Author's Note: I dedicate this to my friends, anime freak Jahnn and Elaine also to my cousin Jeli! Sorry guys it took long, I was out of town and a few days later my Internet went down…hope you like it!
Caterina twisted the white rose in her hand absentmindedly. She thought of the man a few days ago. He had deep blue eyes and brown hair that was clean-cut.
'I hope he'll feel better, it sounded like they really loved each other.'
The night Caterina and Prosper met, she told Natalie.
"Wow! He must've been a real handsome one if he gave you a flower as a thank you."
Today Caterina had her 'date' with Jonathan. He was supposed to pick her up at the Ivory.
"Ack, he's late!"
She laid flat on her stomach facing her window, the sun was already touching the sea and a slight breeze reached her face.
Natalie was working at the stand today so she was going to be late.
'Miss. Leon should be home by now.'
She got off her bed and thought of visiting Miss. Leon, her room was on the bottom floor and it faced the entrance, so she could see if Jonathan would be at the door.
The phone started to ring when Caterina reached the door.
Natalie's voice chimed on the other line, "Hey Cat, I'm coming home early, are you leaving yet?"
She sighed, "No, he's late. I'm heading over to Miss. Leon's place."
"Ohhhh, I love her cooking. If I come in time, I'll meet you there."
"Okay." She hung up the phone, put the flower away, and headed down the stairs.
Jonathan"Well then Mr. Lorene, your interview is scheduled, and your resume looks really good. You may even have a good chance of getting in." the professor looked Jonathan's resume up and down.
"I have a lot of confidence in my work professor." He smiled thinking of the success he might accomplish.
"Well, we might as well see." He shook his hand leading him out of the room. "Good luck!"
Jonathan walked out the door his head held high. After that talk with his professor, he felt more confident taking Caterina out on their date. 'Oh no!' He totally lost track of time.
He looked at his watch; it was already thirty minutes past seven.
"Damn, I hope she's not mad." He started pacing towards the condominiums.
It took fifteen minutes walking distance towards the Ivory; once he arrived he rang the bell to Caterina's room. No one answered. 'Where was she?'
But he didn't have to wait long; already she was heading for the door with her sister right behind her. Opening the door Jonathan greeted her.
"Okay, I don't want you guys to stay out long, Caterina I need you back by eleven." Natalie lectured, with her 'serious-mom-look'
Caterina smiled, "Yes mother." She teased. "Don't worry we won't be long, promise."
Natalie smiled, "Alright, you guys have fun." And she closed the door.
The night was beautiful. A slight breezed blew through the city, the gondolas made their 'swish' sound as they made their way through the canals. A few lights of houses lit up the streets as well as the lights of the shops and restaurants that surrounded them.
"Life seems peaceful around here." Caterina said, "Almost like no one can worry so much at night. They can just sleep it off, and tomorrow is just a new day."
Jonathan looked her way, "Do you feel that way sometimes?"
She looked down, "Not like I use to." She smiled. "But one day I'll escape that."
"You want to find your father?"
She nodded, "One day I will have enough money so I can go to America and see him. I still have his address. I'm praying that he won't move at such a short notice."
"I'm sure he won't." They sat in silence on the bench overlooking the sea. A performer had his violin at hand playing a slow piece and a woman at his side sang the notes softly (street performers).
Jonathan wanted so much as to help Caterina with what she really wanted in life. He loved her too much.
They met when Caterina first worked at the café. Jonathan would always go to the Vita Tranquilla to get his mind of things. That day he and his dad got into a fight. His father always expected his son to become a doctor, that way they could both share a business when Jonathan grew up.
But Jonathan wanted to help people learn, not just the teaching with the text book and show how to do this equation and blah blah blah… No he wanted to teach other people the important things that they think so little of. More like a psychologist kind of teacher. That was his dream, to help people. Not just in giving them another chance in life, but while they live life.
When Caterina listened to his dream, she understood his situation perfectly. That's what he loved about her. As they knew each other a little more, Jonathan became more and more fond of her.
With that he started to be the sort of sweet, considerate kind of person. Even though Caterina didn't like him in THAT way.
But to Caterina, she likes him for his sincerity. The way he would make her laugh in the weirdest ways, the way he would always try and take a chance with her and he never worried about the result, he took that kind of risk, and the best thing she liked about him was for his way of talking to her and trying to understand his situation. But the problem was he would always insist on things that made her uncomfortable. He was a I-Won't-Accept-No kind of person.
"I think you'll be a great teacher Jon." She said smiling.
"I hope so." He replied, putting his arm over her shoulder as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
Caterina remembered the first time she ever really like-liked Jonathan was when she turned seventeen. But it was just a crush. She never really LOVED him.
Jonathan took Caterina out for dinner at a restaurant that looked over the plaza of Venice. The water in the canal reflected the houses and its glittering lights. Street performers of singers and mimes entertained the people, making them laugh as the light of the sun died down.
The couple head down to the bottom and watched a man with a button up shirt and black vest perform the piece called The Prayer (Andrea Bocelli) with his violin and his partner who supported the song with the guitar. A man and a woman sang the words together.
I pray you'll be our eyes, and watch us where we go…
Jonathan stood up and took Caterina by the hands and they started to dance.
…Let this be our prayer, when we loose our way
Lead us to a place; guide us with your grace, to a place where we'll be safe…
…I pray we find your light
Jonathan spun Caterina and made her glide with him along with the music. He wanted to make sure she would never forget this day. Together they talked about their life so far. Some random things like 'an éclair tastes better than apple crumbs'. (heheh)
… And hold it in our hearts…. …When stars go out each night…
And sometimes they would stay silent as they looked at the scenery.
Let this be our prayer, when shadows fill our days
…Lead us to a place… Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
"Well I had a great time, thanks for everything." She smiled as they came back.
"I'm going to be out of town tomorrow, two months for sure. If not longer." He frowned slightly. "It's for my job I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye. I'm glad we had this sort of time together."
"Yeah, me too. I " It didn't feel all that great, she was just glad that he was able to make time for her, even though he was late.
"But when I get back I'm hoping you could stay with me back at my place. You won't have to stay here, I'll be able to take care of everything."
This came as a surprise to her. 'STAY at HIS place?'
"But I can't leave Natalie."
"She can come too if she wants, It was just a suggestion. It doesn't have to be right away," He smiled, "I want to make sure your alright."
"I'm fine real-."
"Just think about it." And with that he kissed her on the cheek and left.
Walking in she fell on her mattress and smiled, "He's so sweet sometimes it's just too much."
"You mean Jonathan?" Natalie stood at the doorway. "Sooooo, how did it go?" she asked lying down on the mattress.
Caterina sighed, "It was great actually, he took me out to eat, and we danced to the street perfor-."
"Wait!" she said holding up her hand, "YOU dance with HIM!"
"Um…yeah?" she shrugged, "But that's not all." Natalie was laughing
"Oh no this sounds bad."
"Hah, he asked me if I could stay at his place so he could well, take care of me." She waited for Natalie's reply
She laughed, "Hahaha, no way!" she stopped, "You said no right?"
"Of course!" she sat up, "He said you could come along. But I was trying to tell him I didn't need it. But he seemed so anxious for me to stay with him."
Caterina laid on her back and looked at Natalie who was in the same position.
"It's official," she said, "he loves you."
"What! No he doesn't."
"Yes, he does. And the next thing you know he'll ask you to marry him." She sighed, "Of course giving you time and such."
"Have you ever had that kind of feeling, where you don't really like that guy all that much? Yet he is almost everything you need, and everything you want." Caterina didn't love Jonathan, but sometimes he would do things that would make her grow a liking for him. It may not be hard for some people to decide on what they want, but this was the first time Caterina has ever felt something like this.
"Caterina," she sighed, "Okay, remember that guy who would always come to the paper stand whenever he could, and he would always talk to me."
"Yeah, his name was…Riccio and he had a friend…"
"Mosca."
"Yeah, him." She laughed slightly. "I remember when you really, really liked that Riccio. We haven't heard from him in a while."
Natalie sighed, "Well, the last time we went out, he said that he found someone new. That he really loved her and that if it was okay, we could be friends."
"You cried that night and that's when you said you think you loved him, but you weren't sure."
"Yeah, It's like that, even though I was crushed inside I still care for him. And even though we don't talk anymore, it doesn't mean we could still see each other once in a while, right?"
Caterina nodded. Natalie hugged her.
"Really, when the guy is everything you need, but inside you know it's not true. It's not worth it. It's like with Riccio, I may have cared for him, but maybe to him, it wasn't the real thing. Both of you have to face the real deal and find someone who will really love you back, not just for the ideal things."
They sat in silence for a while. Caterina thought what life would be like if she married Jonathan, yet knew inside it wasn't really love. These second thoughts really confused her. 'What if I don't find the right one, the one where both of us love each other truly?'
Natalie practically read her mind, "All of us have someone out there who is really for us. No matter the difference, there is someone out there that we will have that feeling of true love with."
Caterina nodded, "Do you still love him, Riccio I mean?"
Natalie hesitated, "Yes, I still do, but I know he won't love me back, as long as we still care for each other. That's enough for me."
That night they slept in Caterina's room together, staying up late talking about their past crushes.
Caterina mentioned the little boy at the store when they first met. She remembered his brother, finally mentioning that he was pretty cute. They laughed together about their crazy tries to get a guy to notice them.
Natalie met this guy at the plaza when she was coming home from school. She was twelve at the time and would always buy some sort of pastry. That day she didn't have enough to buy her snack.
A young boy was standing there, and saw that she didn't have enough lire, so he payed for her.
His name was David. He was fourteen years old going on fifteen, he had dark brown hair that was spiked at the front and had brown eyes. He was tall and wore glasses, not the dorky kinds, but he was the kind of guy that looked really good in glasses.
"Do you have enough money little one?" the cashier asked, "I can take what you have, it's fine."
"Oh no just take it ba-."
"I can pay for it." A voice called. A boy stood up and paid the cashier. Natalie looked at the boy.
"You don't have too." She said
"But I want to." He smiled and handed her the snack.
"Why?"
"Because you don't have enough money," he walked off, "but also because you're a pretty girl." He winked and left the bakery.
(Back to the present)
Caterina and her laughed at that.
Natalie saw the boy a few days later. This time he waited for her, because he wanted to see her again. That day, he walked her home and at the same time she got to know him better.
After a while he started to write to her, he lived on the other side of Venice while she lived up in the rich neighborhood. Letters was the only way she could keep the 'relationship' from her foster father.
In one of the letters he asks her if she likes him, she replies 'yes'. In the next letter he replies, 'I like you too'.
But one day, the boy didn't write anymore and he didn't wait for her at the bakery. Finally, when she was able to go to his house, she found out that he moved without any goodbye, she didn't know where, but he was surely gone.
Even though he was gone, he didn't write to her anymore. 'That must be the last from him I guess' she would say.
We ask that life be kind…And watch us from above…
We hope it so we'll find… Another soul to love
Let this be our prayer…Just like every child…
Need to find a place, guide us with your grace…
Give us faith so we'll be safe
It comes to show that in life there will be someone a person may like only for their ideal attitude, but inside they do not feel love. Especially, when the other one feels love but they know the other one does not share the same feeling.
Other times the people change or the love would just die. Most of the times, the only person who loves someone may die in an accident or would go away and never be heard of.
For those who feel they can never love or never will be loved, always know that there is someone special for everyone out there. No matter how long you have to wait.
But don't think it could just come to you. You have to open your eyes, and if needed you might need to Take a Chance! Just remember that inside it needs to be true. Not for the ideal things or the material things. But for the way you BOTH feel for each other.
Author's Note: Yes, everyone, this is a chapter dedicated to those who have been dumped, do not feel loved, think they could never love again etc. JUST REMEMBER THAT THERE IS SOMEONE OUT THERE FOR YOU! Just wait for them. Even if it takes forever. You need to open your eyes, especially to those who cannot see the answer is right in front of them and at most times TAKE a CHANCE! Okay love you all!