Unexpected

Chapter 18: Kyrie

Exiting the plane, Norman amd Emily grab their bags and start off, immediately, she feels secluded in her own tiny bubble of English- the language of this country is strange to her.

"Welcome to Budapest." Norman announces as he kisses Emily's cheek.

"Budapest? As in Hungary's Budapest?" She raises her eyebrows and a small smile sweeps across her face.

"Igen- that means yes in Hungarian." She grips his hand tightly and pecks his cheek. She knows barely anything about Hungary- except their culture is rich with music. "Now, I have already got us a hotel near the Danube River and have a few things already mapped out. So let's get this adventure started."

They hail a taxi and he takes them to their hotel. The whole city is almost stuck in the 1950's and Emily is in love. The cobble stone side streets, the vendors selling their wares, and kids just playing amongst the throng of people: Emily couldn't have descrived anything more beautiful than this right here.

"What are you thinking?" Norman leans over and kisses under her ear.

"How beautiful this place is. Oh my gosh, I'm in love!" She squeals and all Norman can do is kiss her again and again.

"Here you are." The cabbie says with a thick Hungarian accent. They pay him his 6,000 Forint and get out of the car. Going into the hotel, which is really the only thing that looks modern in this part of the city, they go to the front desk and gets the keys. As they go up to their room, Emily looks at all the old photos and paintings on the walls. Each one is a memory of a time where Hungary was tied closely to Austria- their dealings left the country torn and borsers shrunk losing nearly 75% of its land and so many if their people. World War I was a scar on the countries back, that no one would ever understand.

After getting to their room and putting their clothes away, Norman sits on thr bed momentarily taking a rest from the long flight. This country, though beautiful and rich with culture, was almost too much for this man- mainly because the language was something he could barely learn. Coming from the bathroom, Emily notices the sorry sight of Norman and slowly approaches him. Her mind races with thoughts of compassion and romance, but her whole body feels as though it could be chopped up into tiny pieces and she wouldn't even feel it.

"Let's get going." Norman says as he tries to stand up, but Emily presses him back to bed and curls around his body- cause an entanglement to collapse all thoughts of leaving.

"Yer tired. You need to rest..."

"I'm fine, come on..."

"Norman...you need to take it easy. Okay. Please." It occurs to Emily that Norman is in the phase of "Old Man Syndrome" where older men seem to forget they are limited in energy and strength. Not to buy into this charade, Emily stands up, pulls her coat on and heads to the door. Norman sits forward on the bed and looks at her as though she is out of place.

"What are you doing?"

"Come on Norman. We're sight seeing. You're fine right? Not jet-lagged or overly exhausted. So let's go." His face contorts a little bit and twists up into itself. Wasn't she just saying he should rest- she was insistent that he do so. And now? Now she wants him to go out and do things. "Norman, come on."

It is a game mothers play so well. When the kid refuses to listen to the mother- the mother changes the game to ultimately get what she wants. And Norman hasn't a clue.

"But..." He stutters in his tired speech.

"But nothing. If you're not tired then we shouldn't waste the day inside this hotel room. So let's go." Check Mate.

"Emmy...I am tired. Really tired...can we take a nap and do this tomorrow?" Game over.

"Of course we can." She hustles back to the bed, dropping her coat and purse on the ground and kicking her shoes off before crawling in bed next to him. Tugging him down, she cuddles him closely and he lays there confused.

"Wait a minute...you played me."

"Shhhh....just let the sleep pour over you." She pushes his eyelids down and tugs the covers overtop of them. In minutes they're out like lights and the day ends shortly after it.

***The Next Day***

As they walk along vendors and other propriators, Emily and Norman hold gamds for thr first time in public. It's freeing and wonderful that they don't need to hide in front of anyone. Back home they can barely go to dinner without someone bothering them and making some outlandish story. But here, in Budapest- no one knows or cares about who they are.

"Where are we going?"

"Well, my dear song bird, we are going to hear the Kyrie." Norman kisses her lips and pulls her closer.

"What?"

"The Kyrie. It's part of Beethoven's Mass in C- whatever that means. The choral students of the Kodaly Insistute of Music are performing the whole thing, but The Kyrie is the most beautiful part of the whole mass." Smiling at him, Emily never imagined he of all people, would want to listen to an orchastra and Chorus perform such a long Mass that's all in Latin. It boggles her mind.

**After the Concert- 10:00 PM***

"That was so beautiful..." Emily says as she leans into Norman.

"It really was. I liked Credo." She nods at him and he kisses her lips tenderly. Her whole world is so much better with him in it. As they come upon a bench over looking the Danube, Emiky leans into Norman as they sit down- her heart shriveling in shame.

"Norman."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry I pushed you away all the months ago after we had sex. It wasn't nothing or a mistake. I was just scared to love you, because love always hurts me...but I don't wanna be scared of love any more, because I love you. No matter what people are gonna think or say." Looking into those honest blue eyes, Norman knows that from this moment on, she won't run from him or evade him. Emily is his- forever.

"I love you. I will always love you. Til my last breath."