Andreja insisted on it and we stayed last night in Velika Gorica instead of going back to the capital. Using my skills to google things and her knowledge of Croatian language we found a brand new shopping mall where we bought some toiletries, a change of underwear, a couple of jeans, sneakers, T-shirts and two hoodies. They don't look quite fancy but they're exactly what we needed. I found a modern hotel on the outskirts then, it's nowhere near as luxurious as the Esplanade but it'll do for one night. I've slept in worse places, to be honest: the beds are a bit small but decoration is beautiful in shades of whites and greys with orange touches like the rugs and the white tiled bathroom is impeccably clean. There's a view of the city on the wall that looks like a sketch and was painted with clean black strokes by a local artist according to the receptionist. We arrived in time to get some dinner at the hotel's restaurant last night; the floor, tables and bar counter are made of wood but the chairs are of different colours: white, grey and orange. It's pretty clear that someone has worked hard in order to give it a modern and funny atmosphere but spending as little money as possible; staff is lovely and food was delicious.
Breakfast was good too: tea and coffee of acceptable quality and the sandwich's bread was fresh... and what's more, the free WIFI internet connection was also good so I was able to get in touch with Winston and send him a couple of reports that he needed, check some alerts in my phone and find out that Aidan Finn is back in New York again although I don't know what he's up to. At least, he doesn't seem to know that we're here.
Andreja drives slowly to the city's cemetery. She collapsed on her bed last night and slept soundly despite the nap she had before lunch. It took a little longer for me to fall asleep waiting for my painkiller to take effect, I'm feeling much better and I don't need medication through the day, but I need one pill every night so I don't flinch in pain when I turn in bed. And in addition to this, I was worried because I didn't know if her memories were going to bring nightmares: I had a restless night waking up from time to time to check if she was sleeping, thus I'm the one flashing horrible 'panda bear' dark circles under my eyes today while she looks fresh and ready to face the day ahead of us... and it'll be a tough one. We're going to visit Nika.
The cemetery is a great surprise for me: it's big, fringed by tall trees and some lawn areas but the white and black marble tombs are piling up closer than I'm used to see in America's cemeteries. There's a lively atmosphere, women come and go with cleaning supplies, empty flower vases and tons of candles that actually look like little red crystal lanterns. This place is supposed to be quiet and secluded but here women walk in groups, great her neighbours and have a nice talk with them near the graves. I look around totally baffled and a bit taken aback by all those laughs, I don't know what's happening here... Ares hand sneaking my phone from my jeans back pocket startles me, when I turn around I see her typing... wait a minute... how the hell does she know my password? Did she memorize it after seeing me typing it a hundred of times before handing her my phone? I should be more careful with these things, I have highly sensitive information in that device... but the truth is that I trust her. The Assassin hands me my phone back.
Halloween is just a few days away so they're cleaning and getting the tombs ready. While in your country children dress up and go trick or treating, during All Saints' Eve Croatian families come to the cemetery at dusk, they bring flowers and candles, thousands of those lanterns. All the available space on the tombs is covered by candles and they light them all at once to honour the family members that are no longer with us.
"Wow... it must look beautiful," I answer socked.
"Magical..." Andreja whispers before getting closer to a little flower stand. "Ruže..." *Roses. I hear her say and she comes back some minutes later carrying a lovely bouquet of beautiful light pink roses, exactly the ones a 15-year-old girl would love.
We walk slowly dodging ladies carrying candles and their complaisant husbands that are following them carrying ginormous flower arrangements. Everybody looks very busy and no one seems to be paying attention to us even if we're walking holding hands, maybe they think the Assassin is a boy since she has her dark hood over her head and keeps looking at the ground. We finally arrive to an open area surrounded by lawn on the other side of the cemetery, behind some tall trees which keep this place hidden from view but not far from the small chapel in the middle of the tombs. There's a big area covered in sand in front of a tall cross made of black marble with a golden Christ where some woman are placing red lanterns, burying the base slightly on the sand so they don't fall over, very closely together to accommodate more. I think a few hundred could fit in this place... I can't imagine how beautiful the cemetery will look when they light them all at the same time. There's a defined area at the base of the cross reserved for flowers and Andreja walks slowly to leave her bouquet exactly in the middle, it stands out surrounded by white floral arrangements that other people brought before. She remains still and silent for a whole minute staring at the roses...
I know where we're, Tessa told me the story of this place when I visited her last time: it's the cemetery mass grave. Not many people have enough money to pay for a proper funeral during a war and, even if you have that money, so many people are dying at the same time and it's not even possible to arrange separate memorial services... that's why most of them end up here. Whole families died together and there was no one left to make arrangements for a funeral... Andreja's parents must've ended in a place like this when their bodies were recovered from the building destroyed by the bomb but she doesn't know where they're buried. I don't know where either, I researched everything I could find about that day but I didn't find any trace. Nika's body was brought here by her own godmother, she didn't have enough money to pay for a private marble tomb but at least she knew where the teenager was going to be buried and the priest said a prayer for her soul... and the soul of all the neighbours that were buried together. They were probably the same that despised her for being half Serbian... It's curious how bombs fall and bullets fly and they don't ask which side you belong to, they don't care if you're a friend or an enemy, and when you die and you have no one in this world, or your family is poor, or they fail to identify you and they don't know where to find your wife and children... you end up here, with the very same girl you bullied when you were alive. It may well be that Nika is sharing a tomb with those responsible for starting the war... Death doesn't discriminate like human being does.
"Damned war..." I whisper, suddenly I'm angry at the universe.
"Nira..." Ares' sob brings me back to reality. I jump over the candles without a second thought and run to her. Andreja covers her face with her hands and the hood over her head doesn't let me see her but tears are flowing between her fingers... she's crying... the best killer of the whole planet, the most dangerous woman in the underworld... she's crying for the sister she lost 20 years ago and this is the first time she's doing it, as far as I know... No one has seen her crying in public since she was 10 years old. I put my arms around her waist feeling the gun on her hip and she steps back, trying to move away from me.
"No fucking way," I think angrily holding her tighter not giving a damn about the pain in my side, she can break all my ribs if she wants but I'm not giving up. I grit my teeth and step closer to her, I force my way between her forearms and I manage to hug her. She's still looking at the ground but I don't care, I don't want to see her eyes, I just want to feel her closer. I cross my arms behind her back and lean my forehead on her cheek, her hoodie collar is wet due to the tears, I huge her with all my strength holding my breath when I feel a stabbing pain in my side. Andreja gives up and puts her arms around my shoulders squeezing me hard while I feel her body convulsing with each sob. I can see out of the corner of my eye that the women with the candles are staring at us and shaking their heads sadly, the walk away leaving us alone: it's pretty obvious that this isn't the first time they witness something like this... Poor people, I can't bear the thought of this situation being normal for them.
Minutes tick by while my hoodie collar gets soaked with Ares tears and the only thing I can do is hold her in my arms and think how much I love her, how much I'd like to tell her, but words seem to be stuck in my throat. I'm terrified of ruining the relationship we have now, whatever it is, if I confess that I love her. I don't know what to do to comfort her and seeing her crying breaks my heart. All of a sudden, an idea makes its way through my mind I step back without thinking: I cradle her face exactly the way she does when I'm worried about something, the Assassin tries to stop me because she thinks I don't want to hug her anymore but that's not true. I look right into her eyes... they're the most beautiful jewels I've ever seen despite they're red and puffy.
"Andy... I'm here..." I whisper. Her lips taste salty due to her tears but her mouth is as sweet and warm as always is for me. She puts her arms around my waist again while she deepens the kiss, taking control quickly like she always do, my sore rib is killing me but I don't care because she's not crying anymore while our tongues dance in sync. I'm kissing the woman I love in front of her sister's tomb and yes, I'm aware that this is a cemetery and it's a sacred space where people should behave with respect and composure, but I can honestly say that l don't care right now and anyone who doesn't like to see us can go fuck himself.
Finally, after long minutes, Andreja pulls away and takes a deep breathe, taking the pressure off my sore side. She looks like she's feeling better so I release her shoulders and rummage in my bag till I find a tissue while I try to hide a cry of pain. The Assassin wipes her face and stares at the flowers again.
"She shouldn't... be here..." she whispers but I can barely understand her since her voice is raspy and her Croatian accent is thicker than ever. "She should be..." She points at the marble tombs behind our backs. "A nicer place..."
"Andy... do you really think that your sister would've wanted you to spend the money in a better tomb for her instead of paying the ticket to escape from war and starting a new whole life in Italy?" She shakes her head sadly while smiling faintly and holds my hand. She stares at the roses for a moment and whispers:
"Zbogom, Nika..." *Goodbye.
Ares never looks back while we leave the cemetery.
After buying two bottles of water in the refreshments stand nearby we get into the car and the Assassin drives carefully through the city in order to go back to Zagreb. I volunteered to drive but she just rolled her eyes before shaking her head, I guess she still remembers those driving lessons through the neighbourhood when I drove at a snail's pace. She hasn't said a word since then so I make myself comfortable on my seat ready to get some rest during the next half hour. Suddenly, my bodyguard stops the car abruptly and parks next to the sidewalk. She gets out of the vehicle before I can even move and I manage to unfasten my safety belt before she opens my door and pulls my arm. We run together across the lawn, dodging kids and dogs, till we stop under a group of trees. Ares looks around enthusiastically.
"What the hell are we doing here?" I think confused while I do the same trying to find out what's that special about this place... wait a minute... I know that pond with a tulip jet and water lilies floating... I've seen it before... "This is the Easter eggs' park! The one where someone took that picture of you with your sister!" The Assassin nods happily and once again sneaks my phone from my pocket, unlocks it and activates the camera. She puts her arm on my shoulders then, leans her head on mine and smiles, I copy her movements and Ares takes a picture. When she hands me my phone back I can't help growling in frustration. "You look beautiful, of course, but I'll have to erase my dark circles with Photoshop later." Andreja chuckles and kisses my cheek before walking back to the car. Dark circles or no dark circles, I'm going to put this picture in a frame anyway.
*****
When we arrive to the Esplanade hotel I'm exhausted and the pain on my side is almost unbearable, I think I forgot to take one of the doses of the painkiller due to all the excitement we went through today. Ares seems tired too so we don't waste any time: we go to our room and both take a quick shower before changing into comfortable clothes. When I walk out of the bathroom brushing my hair someone knocks on the door, Ares has ordered our dinner and the boy pushes the serving cart into our living room and gets the tip with a smile and his cheeks slightly red.
"I feel you, buddy," I think amused. "She looks hot with those yoga pants and a sports bra. Unfortunately, she's not for you."
Ares has ordered two bowls of corn soup with shrimps that smell heavenly, warm blinis with beluga caviar and sour cream and two desserts: cherry mousse with chocolate and Maraschino liquor and a champagne crème brulée with lime. It's pretty clear that the Assassin has decided today is a great day to pamper ourselves and I'm not complaining. Besides, I think that I'm going to bill it to Winston's account charged as business expenses because I'm sending him reports every day after all. I sit down on the couch and start eating greedily, I take my painkiller immediately after finishing my soup so it kicks in as soon as possible. My bodyguard frowns worried when she sees me and rubs my side with her knuckles gently. I smile trying to lighten things up and I eat some caviar for the first time in my life... it's not that bad, it's fresh and has a creamy texture but it tastes... slightly salty actually. I don't understand what all the fuss is about, to be honest... I prefer those desserts...
I leave the bathroom after finishing our dinner and brushing my teeth to find Ares taking her pants off and lying naked on the bed. I look at her entranced, so beautiful that takes my breath away, till she raises an eyebrow flashing her signature smirk and pats the mattress next to her. I sigh frustrated while taking off my pyjamas printed with cats, blushing slightly... I wonder if one day I'll feel as comfortable with my body as she seems to be with hers. I don't think I'm in the mood for sex right now but I know that Andreja is able to turn on an iceberg covered in female penguins just by throwing them a kiss.
She just hugs me to my great surprise, her body heat sends a shiver down my spine when I feel it, and turns off the lights. Her mouth is over mine all of a sudden, just a gentle touch while her hand rubs my cheek, her lips pinch my lower lip and pull slightly before releasing it. Her mouth goes down leaving sweet pecks on my jaw, my neck and my collarbone. This night seems different to the other times I've slept with her: I'm not the one holding onto her body desperately, she's leaning her head on my shoulder under my chin instead and puts her hand on my hip rubbing sometimes my sore side with great care. She's sweet and caring but she's not suggesting that she wants to go a step further and turn this into a sexual encounter. Her breath fans my breast every time she takes air into her lungs and my fingers are drawing lazy circles on her back skin and sometimes they stroke her silky hair, her soft legs tangle with mines and she makes herself comfortable against my body with a satisfied sigh. The smell of sandalwood and Andy fills my mind, my muscles get relaxed and I'm starting to drift off...
"Thank you..." the whisper with Croatian accent echoes through the dark room. I sigh happily, I'm glad I was there for her in the cemetery: I'll always be the person who comforted her the day she cried for her sister so she won't be able to forget me. I smile smugly while holding her tighter in my arms before falling asleep.