Things improved after Tris and Tobias talked. He still felt anxious on occasion, but with Tris' encouragement, Tobias went back to work a bit more every day. Tris got in the habit of working on her Albanian lessons again. She also swam most days, read a lot, and relaxed.
Over the weekend, Amar took the couple back to Tirana for a day. They visited a number of sites, including a historic but rundown pyramid-looking building, bunkers created by the leader of Albania during the communist era, a bridge older than the United States, and a number of parks and squares.
Tirana was a beautiful city. Small for a European capital, it still had many parks and monuments. There were many beautiful and unique places to photograph, and Tris fell in love with it. She loved all the color, and the way Tirana was a blend of old and new architecture.
While the couple was sharing lunch at an outdoor cafe, Tris noticed that a few people stared at Tobias as they passed on the street, and a couple of them even snapped pictures.
"Tobias," Tris hissed quietly. "People have been looking at us, and that one guy just took a picture."
Tobias shrugged. "It's a small country," he said, "but between the internet and publications, we do have a little gossip industry. People know the Eaton name and the Eaton businesses, but mostly they know the Eaton money. I've made a few of those 'eligible bachelor' lists since Marcus died. Now that I've been spotted with a beautiful girl, there will probably be talk about me again - if there's nothing else going on in the world. It's not an issue, Zemra ime, I promise."
Tris blushed and bit her bottom lip, and Tobias took her hand. "I'm feeling anxious again," he confessed. "Please tell me it's not too much for you. It's nothing like Hollywood paparazzi, I swear."
Tris squeezed Tobias' hand. "Do you, um… I mean, if it shows up somewhere… Do you think… Can I get a copy?" Tris finally asked, her blush growing darker.
Tobias chuckled. "I'll let Amar know you want that. I'm pretty sure he keeps a scrapbook or something."
Tris smiled. "If he does, I'd like to see it," she said. "I looked you up online back at Christmas, when you sent the roses. I did see some paparazzi-like pictures of you then, but mostly business news. That interview you did with the European business magazine really won me over. That was the first time I got a glimpse of your heart and who you are as a person."
Tobias smiled warmly. "I didn't want to do that interview," he confessed. "I didn't know how to say that Marcus was wrong and I wanted to do better without talking about… about other things he did. I didn't want to put my private family business in print, but at the same time, that interview was my introduction to the world of European business. I needed to show that I was different. I needed it to be my first impression - to open doors of opportunity."
"Well, it worked on me," Tris teased.
"I should send flowers to the reporter," Tobias replied, grinning broadly as he lifted Tris' hand to his lips and kissed each of her fingers.
.
Tobias wasn't joking when he said that Amar had a scrapbook of Tobias' news clippings - he actually had two, plus a pile of additional things still waiting to be added. Before he whisked Tobias away for meetings on Monday, Amar brought the collection out and put it on a table in the den for Tris to look at.
The couple had breakfast on the terrace that morning as usual. Tris had adjusted to the Turkish coffee, and was no longer adding cream, much to Roza's satisfaction. When Amar arrived to take Tobias to work, the younger man balked at leaving.
"Tobias," Tris said firmly. "You will not neglect your business for me. That's not who you are. You are working hard to right Marcus' wrongs and prove yourself. Thousands of workers depend on your companies. Do it for them."
Tobias nodded, and Amar flashed Tris a grateful smile as the men left.
Tris lingered on the terrace, answering emails from home and sipping her strong coffee. She was not surprised when Tobias texted just a few minutes after he left.
4: Are you sure you're okay there alone?
T: I'm not alone. Roza is here, and the rest of the staff.
4: Jorik is available today. If you get too lonely, have Roza call him and he can take you to George at the tattoo shop.
T: Relax. I'm fine. I'm sitting here messing around on my phone right now, and I'm going to go through Amar's scrapbooks later. I'm sure Roza will feed me at lunchtime, you'll be home before I know it.
4: When you agreed to come for the summer, I had no idea I would be this anxious about it. I thought about all the fun things, and sharing a bed every night. I thought you might get homesick, and I would hold you. I'm surprised how it's brought up my insecurities. My father spent my whole life telling me I was unlovable. Bringing you into his house is overwhelming - love coming to the place where I was told it would never happen to me. I'm sorry I've been so clingy. I'm overwhelmed with hope and fear. I want you to be happy, because I want you to come back. I want you to stay. Asking you to be with me is asking a lot, and I'm afraid I'm not worth leaving your home, family, and friends for. I'm afraid I'm not worth the sacrifices, and you're going to go back to Chicago and never return.
The text was so long that it was broken into three parts by Tris' phone. By the time she got through reading it, she was in tears. She carefully crafted her reply.
T: First of all, Marcus was a liar and a horrible human being. I don't hate anyone, but I hate him. What he did to you and said to you was wrong - not just morally/ethically/legally wrong, but incorrect as well. He was wrong about you. You are NOT unlovable. You have been loved your whole life. Your mother loved you. Amar and George love you. Roza loves you. My parents love you. I love you. None of us care about your name or your money. We just love you, because you are worthy of it.
T: Second, thank you for telling me how you feel. You don't have to be perfect, but you do need to be honest with me. Your anxiety doesn't scare me away. Share it with me so you don't get caught up in your own head believing lies when I have the truth right here.
T: Third, yes, being far from home is hard. I'm not overly attached to Chicago. I didn't live there until I was 11. But America, especially the Midwest, is comfortable and familiar. Here I'm confused by the metric system, language, currency, etc. You don't realize how those basic things form the structure of your life until you go where everything is different. I'm learning that the best way to deal with it is to stop trying to translate everything and just accept it. It's 9am. It doesn't matter that it's 2am in Chicago unless I'm thinking about calling home. It's 26 degrees. It matters that it's warmer than yesterday - it doesn't matter that we'd call it 80 in Fahrenheit. I'm learning to accept life here on it's own terms, not relative to my life in America. It's helping. Yes, I miss my parents. But I'm going to leave them whether it's for you and Albania, or a job across the country. That's how life works. I miss my friends, and I miss having a social life. But they're busy living their lives, too. I'd like to make friends here, but the language barrier is frustrating. I'm trying, and it will get better.
T: Fourth (because you're my "Four") it makes my heart do happy little flips to hear you say that you want me to come back and you want me to stay. I love you.
Tobias must have been in a meeting, because Tris was able to type up all four replies without interruption.
She moved to the den and started looking through Amar's scrapbooks. The first book started with a birth announcement, and Tris smiled. Naturally, it was in Albanian, but Tris used the translation app on her phone to read the text. The next few pages had small clippings of sports and accomplishments from Tobias' school years. There were photographs as well, and Tris wondered if Amar had been at Tobias' cello recitals and soccer games, and if he had been the one taking the pictures.
Tris flipped through page after page of Tobias' teen years and college. The scrapbook had programs and ticket stubs from events, as well as photos and news stories. Most of it was not marked, just thoughtfully collected, but a few pictures had captions in Amar's cramped, masculine handwriting.
At the end of the first book, Tris found a manilla envelope tucked inside the back cover. When she peeked inside, she found news stories, an obituary, and a funeral program from Evelyn's death, as well as several pictures of young Tobias with his mother. Tris openly wept as she reverently held the mementos of Tobias' loss.
"Miss Prior?" a soft voice from the doorway asked. "Are you alright?"
Tris set the papers down and looked up at Rosa as she wiped her eyes. "I'm fine," she said softly. "Amar brought me a scrapbook that he put together over the years. I just came across an envelope of things about Tobias' mother's death."
For a moment the two women were quiet as Tris wiped her eyes and put the papers back in their proper places.
"Mrs. Eaton was my best friend," Roza said softly. Tris' head snapped up, unsure if she heard correctly. "I was hired when she was brought from Greece. We spent every day together. I even helped her birth her son. She was a wonderful person, and she deserved better than Mr. Eaton. The way he treated her was terrible. He… He fired me on the very day she died. I didn't even get to say goodbye to little Tobias. Mr. Eaton sent Amar to pick him up, and told me to get out of his house."
"Marcus was a horrible person," Tris said quietly, but with venom.
Roza nodded. "I was afraid to leave Tobias with him, but I didn't have a choice. Every night I prayed that God would keep him safe from that monster and that he would grow up to be a good man."
"He is a good man," Tris said as she wiped at her eyes again. "Tobias is a good man with a good heart because you and Evelyn cared for him, and you prayed for him. Even when he was left with Marcus, Amar and George cared for him. Marcus can't hurt him any more. Marcus can't hurt anyone any more.
"Tobias feels like he's missing something in his life. His mother died, and his father wasn't much of a father. But look at this scrapbook, Roza. Amar cut every news clipping. He took pictures at Tobias' events. He kept programs and mementos. Tobias might not have had parents, but he was never without love and care. Thank you for being part of that. Thank you for loving Tobias and praying for him."
Tris stood from the table and moved cautiously to hug Roza. The older woman responded in kind, and the two held one another for a long moment. "I'm so sorry about Evelyn," Tris said. "I hope you'll tell me about her some time. Tobias remembers so little."
Roza nodded at Tris as they pulled away from one another. "Your lunch is ready, Miss Prior," she said.
"You can call me Tris," the younger woman replied.
Roza shook her head. "No, Miss," she replied, "that isn't right."
"Roza," Tris argued. "If you want to call me Miss Prior in front of others and Tris when it's just us, I'm fine with that. If you like, you can find middle ground and call me 'Miss Tris' like Amar does. If you're only comfortable with 'Miss Prior' that's fine, too. Whatever makes you comfortable. All I'm saying is that you don't have to be formal on my account."
"Alright Miss Tris," Roza said almost shyly.
Tris grinned and followed the housekeeper to the dining room.
.
By his third day back at work, Tobias was feeling much calmer about leaving Tris alone all day. She kept herself busy with Albanian lessons, reading, and puttering around the house. It felt really good to take a break after her stressful semester at DU.
On the designated day, Tris logged on to her school account and registered for her fall classes. The thought made her sad. Being in Albania with Tobias was hard, since she couldn't speak the language and didn't have much to do, but the idea of leaving in the fall was heartbreaking. As a senior, Tris got into the classes she needed quite easily. She took note of the books she would need to order at the end of the summer, then took a glance at her student account.
Where the records usually showed her grants, scholarships, and outstanding loan balance, Tris saw that the loan balance was zero. The grants and scholarships for the coming year were still there, but the student loans were gone. Her first instinct was panic - she needed that loan to go back in the fall.
Rather than incur the international rate for making a phone call, Tris used the wifi to send an email to the university. Within an hour she received a reply that her outstanding loans were paid in full by Tobias Eaton, and that Mr. Eaton was listed as the responsible party for her expenses going forward. Furthermore, Mr. Eaton had upgraded her dorm assignment from a two-person single room to a four-person apartment suite, and had purchased a parking permit in the lot near the apartment housing.
Tris stared at her computer for several minutes and re-read the email at least three times. She fired off a text to Tobias.
T: Interesting news from the university today. It seems someone altered my housing assignment for fall.
4: Surprise!?
T: Why?
4: Because I love you. And don't worry about your roommates. I took care of that, too.
T: And my parking permit? And my student loans?
4: I love you a lot.
T: I love you, too. I'll thank you properly tonight. (Kissy face emoji)
Tris texted Christina, telling her to check her housing assignment for fall. Within minutes Chris replied that she had been upgraded at no additional cost to a four-person apartment suite.
C: How is this possible? An apartment? They cost a fortune! Why is there no extra cost?
T: Tobias did it. I was registering for fall and saw that my outstanding loans were paid off and my housing had been upgraded for fall. I emailed the school, and they said he paid for it. I was afraid he broke us up, but when I texted him he said he arranged my roommates, too.
C: Do you know who we'll be rooming with? Does he know?
T: He's at work, but I think he upgraded Lynn and Mar, too.
Christina didn't reply for several minutes.
C: Yup! Euro-hottie moved all four of us to first class for the year! You'd better be putting out to keep that man around!
T: That is none of your business, but trust me, my man is satisfied.
C: You go girl!
Tris quickly changed the subject, and the girls talked about all the fun they would have in their two-bedroom apartment with two private bathrooms, a living area, and a small kitchen. They looked at what was provided, and started planning what they would need to buy for the space.
.
Over the weekend, Tobias made good on his promise to take Tris to Napoli, Italy for pizza at the world's oldest pizzeria. The flight was a quick hour or so from Tirana, and they left on Saturday morning right after breakfast.
Tobias' favorite tailor was in Napoli, so they started their day with suit shopping. Tobias chuckled at how much easier it was to get Tris to shop for him than for herself. After a light lunch, the couple went on a private guided tour of the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum with an English-speaking guide.
"When was the last time you waited in a line?" Tris asked Tobias as their tour guide led them right past the tourists waiting to get in.
"I don't believe I'm familiar with that expression," Tobias teased back. "I pay Amar good money to make arrangements for me so I don't have to spend time standing around."
"What about all those other people?" Tris asked, gesturing at the people.
"They have other priorities," Tobias said. "They could skip the line if they thought it was worth paying for it, but they obviously don't. In their world time is more abundant than money. In mine, time is more limited, so I'm forced to pay for things I could have more cheaply."
"Oh you poor baby," Tris said with a roll of her eyes.
"These are vacationers, not the hungry," Tobias reminded Tris. "Fair in terms of survival is a lot different than fair in terms of fun and things like vacation."
"I guess," Tris said, "but I still feel bad when we jump the line."
"I love your heart," Tobias said, giving Tris a quick kiss on the nose.
.
Pompeii and Herculaneum were fascinating and sad. When the couple returned to Napoli, Amar took them to a hotel, where they showered off the sweat and dust of the day and changed for dinner.
Antica Pizzeria Port'Alba was believed to be the oldest pizzeria in a city known as the home of pizza. It opened in 1830, a generation before the American Civil War, and they were still making pizza the old fashioned way, in wood-fire ovens. Tris and Tobias had a traditional margarita pizza with glasses of red wine.
"This is better than New York pizza," Tris said between bites.
"Better than Chicago?" Tobias asked with a grin.
"Well…" Tris hedged. "We've had pizza in five cities now. If this is the original, the standard, the real deal, then Tirana is second on the list. New York was good, but it lacked the rustic crispness. London was pretty good. Chicago was entirely different, but I have a soft spot for Chicago."
"I love you, but Chicago is too different," Tobias said. "That was like a pie version of pizza. I like mine thin and crisp, with fresh mozzarella."
.
Tris and Tobias walked back to the hotel slowly, mellowed by red wine, full stomachs, and a day in the sun. They picked up a few souvenirs along the way, as well as some gelato.
The next morning the young couple was up early. They enjoyed breakfast and coffee at the hotel, then walked to see the large square, a cathedral, several other churches, and even an old castle. They ate lunch in an outdoor cafe, and got dressed up for dinner at a fancy restaurant overlooking the water.
After dinner Amar drove them to the airport and two short hours later they were back home in their own bedroom.
While Tobias was in the bathroom, Tris slipped into the dressing room and changed into the sexy nightie they'd bought in London. When Tobias finished getting ready for bed, he walked into the room and saw that the balcony door was open. When he stepped outside, he found his beautiful girlfriend wearing almost nothing, standing in the moonlight.
"A little birdy told me it's your birthday," Tris said.
"A what?" Tobias said, walking up to his girlfriend.
"It's an expression," Tris said. "I have no idea where it came from or why, but it's a way of saying that someone informed me of something kind of secretive. But that's not the point, young man. Why didn't you tell me it was your birthday?"
Tobias shrugged, and ran the back of his hand down Tris' bare arm. "You're so beautiful," he said.
"And you're still avoiding the subject," Tris scolded.
"I don't celebrate my birthday," Tobias said. Though he tried to be nonchalant, Tris could hear pain in his voice.
Tris put her hands on Tobias' hips and stood on her toes to press her body against his and speak low in his ear. "You are a wonderful person, Tobias Marcus Eaton the fourth. You deserve to be celebrated on your birthday. I plan on celebrating you late into the night."
She kissed her boyfriend just below the ear she had been whispering into, then on his neck, throat, and down his chiseled chest and tight abs, unbuttoning his shirt on her way down. When she reached his belt, Tris slipped it through the buckle.
"I'm going to keep celebrating," Tris said slyly, "unless you'd rather stop me."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Tobias said. "Celebrate away."