Budapest was beautiful, but it was covered in a gloomy haze that lasted two days. Zoey had hoped to capture the magnificent towers of Matthias Church against a blue sky. She had waited until dusk today in hopes that the sun might come out, but it never did. The street was usually a bustle of activity during the day, but the rain had driven people in. The church was shrouded in a mist that added to its Gothic appearance. The sunset put the towers in an ethereal glow that made a good photograph. Zoey heard soft singing from inside as evening mass was being held. The sound floated and hung in the air making the lonely street all the more desolate. She put away her camera and started her walk back to the hotel. The dampness was getting to her. Her clothes were not actually wet, just damp and heavy and cold. The mist seemed to seep through them and penetrate her skin, leaving her chilled. She could hear her footsteps eerily echoing against the buildings and her body shook with a chill unrelated to the cold. There was a scruffy, black dog in the doorway that she just passed. He didn’t bark. He just sat there barely acknowledging her presence with a lift of the eyes. He just sat, shivering as she passed by. He served to remind her how alone she was. Parker was to join her soon, but she hated to have him leave the baby. She was doing her best on her own. But at times like this, she really missed having someone there to make her feel safe. Her mind started to wander to the day she and Alex strolled down the streets of Moscow, window shopping, she would call it. Stop it, she told herself. It didn’t do her any good to think about him. It only made her feel like a crushing weight descending on her chest. She pulled her camera bag closer to her and quickened her pace.
The warm light from the hotel dispelled her discomfort. The hotel had gothic architecture on the outside, but was minimal contemporary on the inside. It was not the Hotel National, but it was nice and it was quiet. The people that she came across there were friendly. She opened the door to her room and secured it behind her. It was dim in the room with only the overhead light on. She promptly turned on all the lamps in the room. She had left the curtains open and she crossed the small room to close them. She stood for a moment trying to see out into the city, but the darkness and the mist made it impossible. Closing the curtains made the room seem even smaller. It was comfortable though and clean and nice and it was very quiet. She didn’t expect the luxury of the Hotel National anyway. She turned on the television to banish the silence and began downloading her pictures and working on edits and emails. She had lots of photos of Budapest. She had filled the last two days walking the city. Some of the buildings were still a mystery to her, but she liked the looks of them and they made lovely pictures.
She sat back in the chair and rubbed her eyes. She looked at her watch. She’d been working on the computer for 2 hours. The chatter from the television was low and Hungarian so it provided a calming noise without being a distraction. But she was still surprised at how much time had passed. Her back was aching from sitting in the chair. She stretched herself out on the full sized bed and stared at the people talking on the TV. It was some game show. The contestants were running a kind of obstacle course. It was amusing even though she didn’t understand it. Her eyes began to get heavy.
She felt his hand take hers. Hers was almost lost inside his large paw. She looked up at him and smiled. He grinned back at her bashfully. The breeze was cool as they walked down the street. There were children playing in a park across the road. Alex pointed at them and laughed. She loved the sound of his laugh. Suddenly, he was across the street with them, playing with them. He had a ball and was tossing it with one of the boys, playing keep away from another. The second was laughing and jumping up to try to get the ball from him. Alex tossed the ball again and looked back to her. He stopped laughing and looked at her with concern. She had tears falling down her cheeks. He came back across to street to her and wiped her tears.
“Do not cry, Kroshka.”
“I love you so much Alex,” she said. “Why can’t we be together? Why don’t you love me?”
He brushed the hair away from her face and lifted her chin so that she looked him in the eye.
“I do love you, Kroshka,” he whispered softly, kissing her lips and holding her tight. “I do love you.”
Zoey woke to the small empty room, quiet because the game show had ended. She rolled over, buried her face in the pillow and wept.
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