Post
by Beoran » Sun Apr 15, 2012 10:29 am
And another part, this is mostly comedy and romance.
Part 4 - Concord
I hand my camera to an old man and let him take a picture of us with the Triumph Arch in behind us. He returns it to me with a friendly handwave and I bow to him in thanks. We cross the street, pay for entrance, and climb the stairs up to the top. We get a lovely view of the surroundings as the gentle sun pours down it's warm rays on the city. In the distance, I see the Eiffel tower.
I point it out to Hisao.
"Impressive, isn't it?" I say. It does remind me of ... something. I take a breath.
"Yes it is." he says.
"From here, it looks a bit like like a p-penis, huh?" ...There, I said it!
"Well, now you mention it, yes it does... it's even a bit thicker at the top." Hisao says.
"Mine is a lot smaller though, it's not so impessive, I guess" Hisao says with a look of regret on his face. Oh no, I didn't know he was self-conscious about his! It's true that Hisao isn't... that big, but...
"I-- It's fine Hisao, you are plenty big enough!" I say apologetically.
"That's a relief to hear." he says with a smirk. I understand now, he was joking!
"D-don't make me worry like that." I laugh out loud and punch him gently in the arm.
"Ow!" He says with a mock pained face, then he also laughs.
Well, that went well. The mood's not right now, though, so I'll have to talk more seriously later. We walk down the stairs and stand under the Arch.
"Where you want to go next?" Hisao asks.
"I want to take a look at the shops!" I say. I take his hand and we stroll back to the Champs Elisees. We pass by many shops and I stop many times, gazing at all the lovely items on display. Vuitton, Dolce&Gabanna, Lacoste, ... all the famous brands have a shop on this street. Hisao offers to buy an expensive hand bag for me but I decline. His teacher's salary is not that high, and besides I prefer just to windowshop with Hisao by my side.
We continue along the road. I'm getting thirsty, so we go sit down on the terrace of the cafe. We order tea. From my purse I pass Hisao a little box with his daily ration of pills, which he swallows dutifully. Then he goes to the toilet. While he's away, I also take my pill. They are not very popular in Japan yet, but it regulates my flow, and I want to us to have fun together without worrying about protection. When Hisao's back, I head to the toilets too. Not today, I think, I have to keep my energy for this evening!
When I return, I read the guide book a bit more. I can find a tasty looking restaurant for dinner. But it's a bit far, so we'll probably have to take the metro to go there. And it's a bit too early for dinner yet.
"Why don't we take a long walk up to there?" Hisao says as he points to the map.
"All the way up to the Place de la Concorde? That's quite far... Will you be OK?". I worry.
"I'll be fine. You know I've been exercising in the morning. And this will be a good exercise too." he says. So we pay, get up and start waking again. All the time Hisao gallantly carries the big paper bag for me as I holds his other hand.
I enjoy the sun, the trees, the parks, and after half an hour or so we find ourselves on the Place de la Concorde. Hisao points to the column in the middle of the square.
"Do you think that also looks like a penis?" Hisao grins.
"Y-Yes." I smile at his joke. "There are so many of them here..." I joke.
"Maybe that's why they say Paris is the city of love?" he says. We both break out in laughter again. I turn to Hisao, and take his face between my hands.
"And I love you Hisao..." I kiss him on his lips, intensely, and lick his lips with my tongue. "Hanako..." he whispers flusterdly as I break away. Slighlty embarassed, he rubs the back of his head. But then he smiles again.
"Well, this IS the city of love, so...." he says. He steps forward, lifts my chin up with his free hand, and returns my kiss. He even pushes his tongue in my mouth for just a second. Yes! Like that, Hisao, please! Then he breaks away again.
"I love you Hanako!" he says as he looks me in the eyes.
"That's what they call a "F-French Kiss", right?" I giggle.
"Yes, I think so." Hisao smiles back.
"Since we are in F-France, let's a-always kiss like that." I say and blush a bit.
"Well, it would be embarrassing if we did that in Japan, but here... it will be OK. So, it's a promise!" he says with a solemn nod.
"It's a promise." I nod back.
The restaurant is actually not far from the Place de la Concorde. So we decide to keep on walking through the Tuilleries Garden. We sit down there for a few minutes to let Hisao catch his breath and to enjoy the view. Then we go on to the Garden of the Royal palace, where we can see the restaurant. We enter, and an older man in a waiter's uniform greets us. With a look at the rings on our fingers and an understanding smile, he leads us to a small table in a discreet corner. I take out the guide book again. It has a Japanese menu for this restaurant, and small photos of the dishes available here. With them we're able to point out our order. It's our honeymoon after all, so we both decide to have the lobster. With a bottle of white wine to go with it.
The waiter gets the wine and lets Hisao taste it. Hisao approves it with a nod. The waiter then fills my glass and Hisao's and retreats to the kitchen. I put my hand left on top of the table, and Hisao puts his hand on top of mine. A little candle flickers in a vase between us. I enjoy the mood and just stare into Hisao's eyes, and quietly sip at my wine from time to time, until the waiter comes back and announces that our meal is ready with a respectful <Pardonnez-moi>. He puts the large plate with lobster in front of me, then he goes and returns again for Hisao's.
We both tuck in, and I savour the delicious lobster. Hisao breaks a part off and noisily slurps the meat out of the shell.
"You know, it's not polite to slurp in Europe!" I chide him half-jokingly.
"Now you mention it, I remember reading something like that." he says, "but it must be hard to drink hot soup without slurping though." he ponders.
"That's why they blow on their soup here." I tell him.
"Blowing? How is that any more polite than slurping?" he says.
"It's just the a cultural difference, I guess". I say.
Slurping, blowing... I'm reminded of what I saw on TV a few hours ago. A cultural difference... maybe that will excite Hisao?
"Hanako?" Hisao suddenly says.
Surprised, I spill some wine over my lobster. My hand has stopped in mid air, holding the wine glass.
"I'm f-fine, I just z-zoned out a bit."
"You seem a bit distracted today." Hisao wories.
"N-no, it's not that, I enjoy being with you so much I'm over the moon." I say and I put the wine glass down.
Well, it's not a lie! The mood is so romantic. I look into Hisao's eyes, and again I am flooded with happiness. In this moment, everything is all right and everything is perfect. Finally I feel, I can forgive myself.
"Hisao, I love you so much, more than words can say..." I say.
"I love you, I love you!" I whisper as warm tears roll down my face.
Wordlessly I pray in my own mind. Father, mother, thank you so much for saving my life! You sacrificed everything, but all I did was blame myself. But now, I am grateful for what you did for me. You must be happy too to see my life turned out so well. I promise I will never be bitter again! ... But still ... still there is one thing... I know I am selfish and lewd ... but will you please grant me my wish? Will you guide me tonight, if only so you can have grandchildren later?
I notice Hisao looking at me with concern.
"And these tears, these are tears of happiness!" I say. Hisao wipes my tears away with his handkerchief, and kisses it.
"Then I will take good care of them." he says with a sincere face.
"Because, here and now, with you, is the happiest moment of my life." he says as he closes his eyes. A few tear flow down from his eyes as well. I take his hand again, and squeeze it, and we both lean over the table. I close my eyes too, our tongues lock in a deep, passionate kiss.
We go on Frecnh kissing like for a breathles eternity. Then I can hear the waiter cough discreetly behind me. <Monsieur, votre cravatte...> I open my eyes and and see that Hisao's tie is hanging right in the middle of the sauce! We both become as red as lobsters.
<Ah, T-Thank you!> I say. The waiter helpfully passes Hisao a cloth and some salt to clean it up.
<I am sorry to have disturbed you Madame, Monsieur. But I am glad to zee you are enjoying our etablissement.> the waiter jokes to break the awkward mood.
<With my lovely wife, how could I not enjoy?> Hisao replies.
<Of course, your wife is zo very lovely. My congratulationz to both of you! But I shall bozer you no more.> the waiter says as he smiles kindly, and then leaves us to our privacy.
Lovely... the waiter clearly saw my scars, and yet he said such a thing. He might have been joking, but then again.... They say love makes a woman beautiful... perhaps that is why? I see Hisao still is smirking a bit at his own clumsiness, and I giggle a bit again in return.
"Yet another good memory." he says. And I just nod, and smile the the biggest smile I ever had.
Kind Regards, B.
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