Where does the good go?

Chapter 2

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, AS WE START OUR DESCENT, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SEAT BACKS AND TRAY TABLES ARE.." WAKES ME UP FROM MY PEACEFUL SLEEP..

Startled, I wake up to a beautiful setting sun and that calm voice of the crew chief announcing the arrival at Amsterdam. As I try to get up and stretch, one of the crew members runs to me and asks me to stay seated and makes me wear my belt. How they manage to keep servicing throughout 15 hours of journey, I have no clue.

The flight begins to descend after about five minutes and we touch down smoothly as the captain announces, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Amsterdam Airport, Schiphol. Local time is 12:25 pm and the temperature is just above 15 C" Fifteen degrees?! Blimey. Thank God for Jason. My California wardrobe would have sent me straight to Hell if not for him.

The captain continues to thank everyone for using their airline, while the passengers begin to remove their hand luggage and start moving out. The next couple of hours are a misery trying to reach my bags and walking out after an immigration check. I walk out of the airport finally to the beautiful city I've come to live in and hail a cab. I turn on my GPS to show the driver my drop point at De Pijp as he drives me to my new house.

I look across at the beautiful view. The old yet stunning architecture of buildings, the parks, and most importantly, the canals! Though this is the first time out of America for me, I know there is no way we could reach this level of amazingness back in The States.

As the cab drives through the roads I notice how there is a balance of trees and buildings and how more people are cycling than driving. I should get myself a bike I note, and turn to see tourists jumping inside boats and drive! I definitely have to try that! Not stopping to satisfy my curiosity, the cab keeps moving and passes the Calisthenics Park and finally stops after a final right and I look at the familiar house from the pictures Paul had sent me.

Gorgeous doesn't cover it.

It is an elegant white, 2 stories building with beautiful half dome windows on either side of the main door which is a beautiful teak wood door, painted rosewood. The top floor has two separate balconies just above the huge windows and one has a garden filled with beautiful flowers while the other has a rocking chair, a birdhouse, and comparatively fewer plants than the other.

I get out of the cab and the driver unloads my bags while I dig through my purse to pay him in their currency. I thank him and take out the keys to this dream house and open the door.

I enter a hallway that has a closet on the side for shoes, coats, and umbrellas and I walk in to find myself in between the living room and dining room. The living room is on my right and is HUGE. The telli and this classy electric fire furnace are on the wall directly visible from the dining room and there is a 6 seater sofa on the right, while the left side is adorned with a beautiful wall attached casing for photos and books.

The soft brown wall paint, dark green carpet, and red and cream white sofa could not have had a better homely feeling. I quickly switch on the furnace to prevent myself from getting cold feet. Amsterdam is definitely different from California.

As I turn and walk into the dining room, I notice on the right wall, a similar casing for plates and glasses, and on my left is the kitchen with a huge breakfast counter. But that's not what grabs my attention, it's the bloody kitchen. It is the most modern kitchen I've seen in a house so far. It has a counter in the middle of the room and on the right extreme is the oven and on the left the fridge. As I open and check out the cabinets, I notice Paul is running low on supplies. Guess I need to go shopping to feed myself. I turn to check out the fridge when I see a note stuck on it,

'Chose whichever room you like darling. Love, Paul.'

Aww! I decided to check out the rooms upstairs next and notice there's only one bathroom and it's in between the rooms. Thank God I live alone then! Imagine Paul walking in while I pee, or worse, poop.

I'm sorry but that's just gross.

I turn right to check out the spare bedroom first with the beautiful garden in the balcony to find its painted completely GREEN. I need a better word than beautiful to describe it! With a queen size bed and a desk being the only furniture, I turn to check out the walk-in closet.

Man, was it spacious! Excited to see the other room I run to it and see a queen bed in the middle with a brick wall behind the headboard. YES! On the opposite is a TV with a dark blue wall and on either side cream white walls. The closet and a double love seat adorn either side. Holy moly. This is better than my room back at home. I immediately know which room is mine and I jump on the bed.

I decide to take a small shower before calling mum and Jason and start opening my bags to get some clothes and my toiletries out. I jump into the shower and welcome the hot steaming water.

When I'm done, I call those two up and show them the entire house and notice a few of Paul's clothes in my closet. I must shift them tomorrow. By the time I finish talking and eat some instant ramen I found, I hit the bed and fall asleep before my eyes close.

***

I wake up to the sound of my alarm and the cold atmosphere, I should definitely increase the temperature around here. The sun is already up and I feel fresh from my sleep. No jet lag, thanks to my walks up and down in the flight. I check my phone and note the temperature is 10 C. It's already May but it's still so cold here! Feeling wide awake for some reason, I drink the last bit of orange juice available and decide to unpack some clothes and jump into the shower. Once I'm done, I go down to breakfast realizing this is the first time I'm having breakfast without mum. She might work late sometimes or I might grab dinner with Jason but we always have breakfast together. I miss that woman already.

I find some white bread and jam, stuff it inside my mouth and grab my purse to go.

I walk down the road, breathing in some fresh air, and go to the park I saw yesterday. On the pathway, I see a 'Juicebox' stall and ask for an apple juice. I walk further in and go near the ponds and see children and their pets running and playing around. I spend an hour just walking around the park and then decide to walk in the direction I didn't see from the cab yesterday.

It takes me about 10 minutes before I realize, I made the right choice as I reach the 'Nieuwe Amstelbrug'. This canal looked much bigger than the one I saw yesterday! There was an old building visible from where I stood and there were so many people biking around as couples or alone. The sight was absolutely stunning and I didn't mind at that moment I didn't have my own McDreamy with me cause the sight had captured all the love I could give.

I continue watching the boats that cross the bridge and click pictures of the sunset and it's already two o'clock. Not having eaten much earlier I decide to grab some food and buy some groceries.

I walk back the way I came and stop at a cute taco place and load myself with some delicious tacos and fries. I notice a few guys looking at me and quickly dash out and find my way to get groceries using my GPS.

I reach the local Marqt which is quite nearby the house and grab everything I need for the next 2 weeks. I load my cart with some extra chocolates, wine, and chips. I decide to wait before buying my baking essentials to check with Andrew Moretti. His call letter doesn't ask me to meet with him until the day after tomorrow so I just get the basics I need to survive. After I pay the hefty amount, I carry the two huge bags and walk in the most ungraceful way possible.

I dig in for my keys and open the door and walk in to dump the bags on the dining table before I walk back out to remove my shoes. Smart, I know. As I place my shoes next to Paul's shoes, I feel uneasy. Something was wrong. These shoes weren't there yesterday, nor this morning as a matter of fact.

Unable to think whose it was, I walk into the kitchen to see some documents on the breakfast counter that I definitely didn't see in the morning. Fear creeping into me, I quickly walk out to get my purse from the dining table to call the local police when I bump into a hard chest.

I look up to see a 6-foot man with the most intense brown eyes I've ever seen before, "AAAAAAARRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!"