Paint the town red

Chapter VII

Another weekend passed almost unnoticed: first, the long and exhausting preparation for Yuki's arrival, then his arrival and my acquaintance with him. In fact, it seems to me that this weekend I was at home just to change clothes and sleep – I spent the rest of the time with these two, because as Pierre said: "You need to relax, Yuki doesn't know anything here, and he needs to show the neighborhood, and we haven't seen each other for a long time, so it's both - pleasant and useful time being for both of us." So I gave in to my friend's persuasion and almost all the time I was like the third wheel in this duo.

I've been trying to text and call Max over the weekend, and I wanted to invite him with us, because he's a relatively new to Monaco, and I think it would be good for him to meet new people, but he didn't respond to any texts or calls. Every time I tried to call him, it went straight to his voicemail. So, having given up all hope of Max's company on our walks, I was just hanging out with my friends.

By the way, I hit it off pretty fast with Pierre's friend. He's an open guy, friendly, non–confrontational, but he likes to swear a lot - though who doesn't like it now? Not everyone can express themselves in pure literary language. Moreover, he likes to have fun and easily pulls into it all who are near him. For example, thanks to Yuki, Pierre fell in love with karaoke, although some time in the past he couldn't be forced to go to a karaoke bar even at gunpoint. Then I'll have to thank the Japanese for the fact that thanks to our trips to karaoke I have dirt on Pierre - you never know where to use a recording of a singing Frenchman. I can't thank the Japanese enough for giving me dirt on Pierre because of our karaoke trips. You never know when to use a recording of a singing Frenchman.

Besides karaoke, Yuki demonstrated his culinary skills to us. Pierre even got a chef's hat and a full chef's uniform for this. Where did he get all this? I have no idea. But Yuki was pleased that he almost squeaked with joy like a real Pikachu. It turns out that the Japanese has always dreamed of opening his own restaurant and, in fact, is moving towards this goal – he attended various culinary courses in Japan, and now he decided to add a little European cuisine to his culinary baggage, so he decided to fly to Monaco. So, he came here not only to visit Pierre, but also to gain experience and learn how to cook new dishes.

Yuki conducted a real cooking show for us one evening, demonstrating how to cook and sampling a few of his favorite Japanese desserts that he prepared himself. I must say, he's very good at cooking. After spending the whole weekend with these two, I noticed that the they were not exactly "just friends", but definitely something more. But why didn't Pierre tell me about their relationship? If there's any at all. No, they must be dating, because I swear I could see how hearts fly out of their eyes every time they look at each other, just like in cartoons. I don't mind if my friends are happy with each other. Although, why would I be against their relationship when I myself had my eye on my partner?

I was even pleased to watch them from the sidelines, even though sometimes I felt like a third wheel and wanted to leave them alone, but both immediately began to protest, and I gave up without a fight. Sometimes it even seemed that they were embarrassed to be alone, although before that they had easily shared a room in Japan. Are they embarrassed by my presence? Or maybe they're just afraid to realize that they're much more than just friends? But never mind, Yuki didn't come here for a couple of days, but for quite a long time – he found cooking courses here and will stay in Monaco until he finishes them. And in order not to spend too much on accommodation, Pierre kindly offered the Japanese to stay with him, which the second refused at first, but then agreed anyway. So they'll have time to figure out who they are to each other and, if they don't chicken out, then try to live together in a new status.

But the weekend, even filled with such pleasant acquaintances and events, is coming to an end, and now another working week begins, which will certainly not bring anything interesting. Before Yuki's classes started, we agreed to meet with this couple a few times during the week in the evenings when I would be free after work. Maybe we should invite Max to our meetings? It's strange, but for some reason I still don't give up hope of attracting him to our group. What if I can do it?