The Girlfriend

Chapter Nine

Patrick

I'd been to a lot of European countries and explored countless cities around the world, but none of them were even remotely similar to Krakow, Poland. From the moment I stepped off the plane I felt like I was in another century; everything was this mix of modern industrial glass and steel meets old-world iron and stone. The statues and architecture reminded me of Italy, but the lights that gave the city a golden aura at night were exactly like the ones in Paris. All of it was beautiful, so why did it make me feel so goddamn lonely?

I didn't speak Polish, I wasn't even entirely sure I wanted to go see Aleksy anymore – I'd lost the conviction during my layover in Spain, and the culture I was suddenly thrust into was nothing like I'd experienced before. And it would still be almost another full day before Jon and Lydia got here to offer the barest amount of emotional support. I really had nothing here but a bunch of strangers I was supposed to think of as family. Fuck.

I flopped back on the hotel bed and stared at the ceiling blankly, just trying to zone out and not focus on my own fears. More like an apartment really, the Bogoriahotel only had the presidential suite available, so to help compact the existential loneliness I had an entire bedroom to myself. Groaning, I pushed myself up, I could hear my phone vibrating in my bag. It was him again.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Hej, Patryk?" Hey, Patrick?

Aleksy Junior. His accent was thick, his voice was deep and I could easily hear him saying my name just a bit differently. When I emailed him my number I didn't expect him to actually call, I thought it would be a politely declined or an ignored offer. Apparently not.

"AJ, hey," I replied after a second. "Uh, I just got to Krakow..."

"I figured; did you receive email?"

His English might not have been perfect but I could only hope that his fathers would be at least at his level too. "I did, thanks. I thought maybe tomorrow—"

"Nie, dzisiaj – today."

I didn't have to be a genius to figure out what nie meant. "I just wanted to wait for my...partner." Partner? Fuck me all I needed were those crotchless chaps to complete that gay cowboy image that I told Lydia I'd never stoop to. But it was better than having to say boyfriend or girlfriend.

"We don't know how long left," he argued. "Today, I will pick you up at Bazylika Mariacka. You know where this is?"

St. Mary's Basilica, just down the street from the hotel. "Yeah, that's fine."

"See you at three."

Short, sweet, to the point. I grabbed my phrasebook and flipped through it until I found the right page. "Do zobaczenia wkrótce." See you soon.

He chuckled as he hung up and I made a note to brush up on the language while I was here. I checked the time on my phone and groaned loudly while sweeping my hair back – I only had an hour to get ready emotionally and mentally. I didn't even know who all would be there, his wife probably, definitely AJ, but I didn't know about the sisters. Sisters. I had three siblings now and it felt strange, especially because they were all much older than me and I didn't know a damn thing about any of them.

Grabbing the suitcase on the floor I haphazardly dumped it on the bed and picked through my clothes. It wasn't as warm here as it was in New York or the Bahamas, but it was still pretty nice out at least – a far cry from the cold Europe I remembered. I slipped into a red t-shirt and faded jeans after mulling it over a few times; I wanted to make a decent impression but I also didn't want to look like I was gearing up for a funeral already. Lydia's constant fretting over her closet was starting to rub off on me.