A gentle pink wave was flowing across the Sunday sky as the sun rose. Von Kaiser sleepily blinked his eyes open, Boy, did it ever feel nice to wake up with his new husband still smushing his face into his chest! "Guten Morgen, Joseph," he whispered to him. (Good morning, Joseph.)
Joe pulled his head up and looked at him. "Bon matin," he yawned. (Good morning.) He rubbed his eyes and looked around the hotel room. The two of them sat up, and watched that morning's new episode of Life with Johnny in California.
When the episode concluded, Von Kaiser sat up to go get dressed. "Also, Joseph, was sollen wir heute tun?" (So, Joseph, what shall we do today?)
Joe looked out the window. "Je ne sais pas," he mumbled. (I don't know.)
Von Kaiser shrugged. "Nun, wir werden bis Dienstag Morgen hier sein." (Well, we'll be here until Tuesday morning.)
Joe hauled himself out of bed. "Eh bien, il y a un beau jardin proche de cet hôtel. Nous pouvons venir pour regarder les fleurs." (Well, there's a beautiful garden close to this hotel. We could go and see the flowers.)
"Das hört sich wunderbar an," said Von Kaiser. (That sounds wonderful.)
Soon, Joe and Von Kaiser were walking along the garden path, admiring the flowers and the amazing patterns and decorations the gardeners had moulded them into. Joe was in particular awe of a patch of roses planted in the shape of a heart, starting as red at the top and fading into pink, into white as they descended down to the point.
"Du hattest recht, Joseph," said Von Kaiser, "das ist wunderbar." (You were right, Joseph, this is lovely.)
"J'ai toujours aimé les fleurs," said Joe. "Les roses et les iris sont mes préférés." (I've always loved flowers. Roses and irises are my favourites.) He pursed his lips. "Je ne connais pas l'opinion de mon père sur les fleurs, mais je pense qu'il va penser que je suis un poule mouillée pour mon amour d'elles." (I don't know what my father thinks about flowers, but I think he'd think I'm a sissy for my love of them.)
He shook his head. "Non. Je ne veux pas y penser. Aujourd'hui c'est une journée heureuse." (No. I don't want to think of him. Today is a happy day.)
When Joe and Von Kaiser got back to the hotel, they decided to go for a dip in the pool. Joe was much slower getting into the water than Von Kaiser, because it was a little colder than he expected. He clung onto Von Kaiser; this wasn't as good an idea as he thought. Von Kaiser chuckled, and the two sat on the water bench.
"Oh my god, it's you again!"
Von Kaiser looked up. It was Judy! "Warum, Judy, was führt dich hierher?" (Why, Judy, what brings you here?)
"Oh, I'm here with my husband for a little getaway," said Judy. She pointed at a blond man goofing around with a couple of kids and a pool noodle. "That's my Ron."
"Je suis heureux pour toi," said Joe. (I'm happy for you.)
"It's kind of nerve-wracking." Judy fiddled with a strand of her hair. "This is our first vacation away without the baby. But nothing terrible has happened so far, so I think we're good." Judy then swam back over to Ron. Von Kaiser smiled warmly, and kissed Joe's cheek.
The next morning, Von Kaiser decided to video chat with Katrina. Katrina was sitting on the couch in Gina's living room, while Marie was braiding her hair. "So what did you do yesterday?"
"Wir haben einen Garten besucht und sind ins Schwimmbad gegangen." Von Kaiser put a hand on Joe's back. "Ich glaube, deinem Vater ist immer noch kalt vom Pool." (We visited a garden and went to the pool. I think your father is still cold from the pool.)
"Hm?" Joe, still half-asleep, blinked, confused. "Qui a tu parler?" (Who are you talking to?)
"Is that Uncle Joe?" Connor pulled himself up onto the couch next to Katrina.
Joe pushed himself upwards so he could properly speak with his daughter, niece, and nephew. "Bon matin, ma belle," he mumbled sleepily. (Good morning, sweetie.)
"Nous avons mangé du pain à l'ail hier," said Connor. (We ate garlic bread yesterday.)
Joe rubbed his eyes. "Ca c'est cool, mon gars." (That's cool, buddy.)
That night, Joe and Von Kaiser went out together for a nice meal. Around halfway through, Von Kaiser noticed that Joe had hardly touched his plate. "Joseph, fühlst du dich okay? Sie haben nichts gegessen." (Joseph, are you feeling okay? You haven't eaten anything.)
Joe jumped a bit. "Oh, oui, je suis ça va. J'étais juste pense que tu es vraiment beau sur ces lumières." (Oh, yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking you were very beautiful under these lights.)
Von Kaiser chuckled, blushing like a cherry tomato. As the two continued eating, Von Kaiser had a lot on his mind. "Also, was denkst du, wie unsere Zukunft aussehen wird?" (So, what do you think our future will look like?)
Joe paused for a moment. "Je ne sais pas vraiment. Je pense que nous allons avoir une vie tranquille, ou nous vivons ensemble, travailler ensemble, et prendre soin de notre fille ensemble." (I don't really know. I think we'll have a peaceful life, where we live together, work together, and look after our daughter together.)
Von Kaiser nodded. "Das gefällt mir." (I like it.)
The next day, it was Tuesday. Von Kaiser was driving back into town with Joe sleeping in the passenger seat. They were on their way to Gina's place to pick up Katrina and bring her home with them.
When they got there, Katrina came out with her overnight bag, with Connor toddling after her. "Uncle Joe! Uncle Joe!"
Von Kaiser exited the car and hugged his stepdaughter. "Dein Onkel Joseph macht im Auto ein Nickerchen," he said to Connor. (Your Uncle Joseph is having a nap in the car.)
"Well, can you tell him I said hi?" Connor cocked his head.
"Ja." Von Kaiser knelt down and hugged his step-nephew, before corralling Katrina into the car to go home and properly begin married life.
