Te Iubsec...Forever.

11 Vows

True. I did love her. She might as well know it. Why hide it? Not like I could, anyway. And that was going to take some getting used to.

We were married the following Saturday in front of the decaying old Casino Royale. We exchanged our vows on the spot where I first saw her and tumbled over my backpack. It was a small ceremony with many of her friends from the hospital and some of her regular patients.

Although we dressed together and walked to the Casino, chatting hand in hand, I felt I hadn't noticed her until she stood next to me in the morning sun, facing the gentle waves coming in off the Black Sea, splashing the ancient rocky shore before us. Wisps of her black hair blew out of and around her veil. Franceska wore the most beautiful white top lace, off-the-shoulder style dress with a buttoned back. The shape and style suited her body so perfectly. Her veil was very delicate lace made by someone in Constanta. She wore red berries and wisteria blooms in her hair, and she smelled of white jasmine and mint.

I wore a suit of clothes we picked out together. I looked like I walked out of a bohemian fashion house, but she liked it, and that was all that mattered. My jacket and pants were nondescript brown colored cotton of some kind, well worn and comfortable. My shirt was a loose and comfortable button-up with a bow tie Ches had to tie for me. I even wore suspenders for the first time in my life and the most uncomfortable pair of brown shoes in the history of footwear. I was sure their purchase was some torture test I was being subjected to.

Admittedly I was lost the whole time. It was all her affair, and she outshined the morning sun. I had helped set up tables, tents, and chairs in the park, but aside from that, I was just along for the ride. The priest was an older fellow, very cordial and diplomatic, and though he tried his best to deliver the service in Romanian and English, at best, it was Romanglish, but that was just fine by me. I knelt when required, spoke when instructed, and kissed when allowed. After one final prayer as we knelt, priest's trembling hands firmly upon our heads, she was all mine, Franceska Adams. He also very nobly waited until the ceremony was complete before very publicly extending his hand for payment. I chuckled as I gladly rendered the cash, just another one of those strange social norms.

The small group of people cheered and clapped. No one pelted us with rice, thank goodness, but there were heaps of flowers tossed at us, oh, and food! Not tossed at us, but prepared for us! What a spread! We had a lovely picnic party in the park across from Ches's condo. It was a beautiful warm day, and even with the torturous shoes, I managed to do some traditional Romanian dances. I looked perfectly ridiculous and felt even worse, but I was on top of the world every time I saw Franceska beaming with smiles and laughing, enjoying herself as I had never seen her do. I promised myself quietly that I would try and make her feel that way from then on.

As a doctor, Franceska spent many years in various small towns around Romania, practicing her gift and remaining alive. No doubt she helped hundreds if not thousands of people, but she would only remain twenty years or so before moving on so as not to draw attention to her physical appearance, which never seemed to change. I found myself feeling more and more sorry for her.

She told me of all the stories that came to light in her magnificent mind. She moved throughout the European continent for centuries. How many tens of thousands of interactions she had with other humans only to feel she had to keep them at arm's length? It was a lonely existence, terribly so. Despite her inner feelings, she never allowed herself to become involved with anyone more than on a superficial level. Surrounded by patients and other people who needed her attention, she was alone and remained that way for an unimaginably long time.

"Nick?" She whispered later that night.

"You are not mad that I was going to turn you in, Petronela? It somehow brought me comfort to be there with you. I knew I loved you. I did not want harm to come to you. Being in that abandoned place made me wish I had known you years ago.; made me sad I will know you only a short time. I wanted you to love me."