Halfway to St. Petersburg, it started raining.
"Oh, Josep! St. Petersburg isn't worth this!"
Josep turned to look at me with an exasperated expression.
Josep wasn't Russian. Not completely, anyway. His hair was coal black, but his eyes were so light grey, they were almost blue. They contrasted nicely with his skin, which always looks lightly tanned. His looks, combined with his unusual name, led us to come to the conclusion that he was probably half Italian.
Josep climbed up onto a fallen tree branch and sat down. I happily plopped down next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder.
"Oh, Anya." He sighed. "Poor, sweet Anya. How ignorant you are of the world around you."
"Ignorant?" I jerked my head up, insulted. ""You don't know any more about the world than I do!"
Josep jumped off the branch. "I know enough about it to want to see it for myself!" He exclaimed, his dramatic side coming out. He came over to me and took my hands. "Isn't there something you've always wanted to see.
I thought about it for a moment and smiled. "Paris in the spring."
Josep smiled wickedly. "London at Christmas time."
He held out his hand for me. I took it, stood, and jumped off the branch.
"Venice during Carnaval!" I said, laughing. Josep joined in and soon we were both laughing so hard, we could hardly breathe.
"Oh, Anya." Josep said after our laughter had died down. "We have a lot in store for us."
