The next day, Gunther went out to do groceries and he asked Lorna if Lorna would like to come with him, Lorna gladly accepted it.
The three girls decided to do general cleaning in the house of Gunther. The two, Carla and Thelma did the cleaning and Luisa ironed the clothes stapled in the washroom.
Gunther was glad and surprised. His house was shining clean.
"You girls cleaned the house!" Gunther exclaimed as he put the groceries of the table in the kitchen.
"We have to make ourselves busy!" Carla answered the very delighted Gunther.
"Thank you very much!" Gunther thanked them.
"It's nothing compared what you'd done to us!" Thelma answered him.
"Gunther, how much was our share, I mean we also have to pay for the groceries!" Carla asked Gunther how much they must pay for their share of costs for the groceries.
"No! No! No! You are my guests and as long as you are here in my house, you girls have nothing to pay!" Gunther said.
"We don't know how long we have to stay here in your house, and you must not shoulder all the expenses. Giving us roof above our head was more than enough!" Carla insisted that they must have their share of the expenses for food. But Gunther shook his head, as what he said, the girls have nothing to pay.
One week past but the person that will pick the four Filipinas up did not showed yet. The girls became comfortable with Gunther, especially Lorna. The other three, Carla, Thelma and Luisa noticed the closeness of the two.
"Now that you asked about it, yes, Gunther is already my boyfriend!" Lorna told her group that she and Gunther have already a relation with each other.
"So fast!" Luisa said and laughed. "I knew it! The way you looked each other!"
"Is Gunther serious?" Carla asked Lorna.
"I think so, because he asked me to marry him!" Lorna told the girls that Gunther asked her to marry him.
"What?" Luisa was surprised what she heard. "And you accept it? You will marry Gunther?"
"He promised to help my family. My parents are planning to go back to Cebu. My mother has a small land she had inherited, and my father is planning to cultivate vegetables." Lorna also revealed the plans of her parents. "Gunther promised that he will help. He will pay the debt that was made for my going abroad. My mother wanted a convenience store, you know a sari-sari store. Gunther will also give a capital for that and an amount for the study of my brothers."
"That's nice, good plan and Gunther will all do that? Then you do not have to hesitate, marry him!" Thelma encouraged Lorna to marry Gunther.
"I am happy for you, Lorna. Besides, he will do many good things for you and your family, you really love him!" Luisa was happy for Lorna.
"I like him very much!" Lorna answered.
"You already told your parents?" Carla asked.
"We telephoned them. My father and Gunther talked. Gunther asked my father about marrying me and they agreed." Lorna said.
"You are lucky, I wondered why Gunther chose you not me? Accept it, I am prettier than you!" jokingly and laughing Luisa said to Lorna. "Joke only ha?"
Lorna did not answered Luisa, she just smiled. She was already used to the naivety and brutality of Luisa.
"If you will marry Gunther, then you will not go with us when the person will pick us up?" Carla asked.
"Definitely!" Lorna was very sure to herself. She will leave the group. She will not go with them to still unknown destination. She will stay in Switzerland to be the wife of Gunther.
"How about your contract with the syndicate? You still have one year remaining with our contract of three years?" Thelma asked Lorna.
"Gunther will be the one to solve that problem!" Lorna answered.
One week more but the person that will pick them up did not showed yet. The atmosphere in the house of Gunther with the girls were still harmonious, the only change was that Lorna slept no more with the girls, she slept always together with Gunther in Gunther's room.
One night, the three, Carla, Thelma and Luisa were talking to each other before they sleep. They talked about the begin of their group back in the Philippines. Rehearsing together the dances, eating together, joking to each other, dreaming together, talking together about their problems and they were six, but now, if Lorna will really stay with Gunther, only three of them will be over. They wondered what really happened to Luz, about the luck of Grace marrying Dimitri and now Lorna.
"And us, we are only three left from our group, what will happen to us?" Thelma asked.
"That's a big question. We don't know where we will go and what will we do, we are only three, we cannot perform our cultural dances, especially the Tinikling!" Carla said.
"Three days more to go, we have no more visa here in Switzerland!" Luisa said to Carla and Thelma about the near expiration of their visa.
"Yes, that person must pick us up!" from Thelma's voice one can heard she was very worried.
"What will happen if our visa expires?" Luisa asked.
No one of the two, Carla and Thelma answered the question of Luisa. How could they answer? They also do not know what will happen. And the girls slept with questions that have no answers.
Early in the morning, they were all by the table for breakfast. They three girls noticed that Gunther was giving a cue to Lorna. Lorna first hesitated but later told the girls about Gunther wanted to make photos or portraits of the three.
"No problem, he can make photos of me!" Luisa answered Lorna.
"Me too, yes, there's nothing wrong with making photos of me!" Thelma saw no problem about it.
"Of course, he can make photos no problem!" Carla also saw no problem and she could not understand why Lorna seemed hesitant to asked them about it.
"Don't be angry but Gunther wanted to make photos, of each of you, naked!" Lorna dropped the bomb.
The three girls stopped eating and looked at Gunther. Gunther wanted from them to pose naked in front of his camera and they do not know why.
"Girls, if you don't like I will not force you!" Gunther said.
"Gunther, may I ask you?" Luisa asked. "Why you wanted us to pose nude?"
"Luisa, I am a photographer. You are all beautiful girls. I like to photograph beautiful things and beautiful people." Gunther answered Luisa. "But girls as I said, I am not forcing, if you said no, then it's a no!"
S I L E N C E
"Okay, I will pose nude if Lorna is present while you are taking my photos!" Luisa said.
"Okay!" Gunther was glad. He then said to Lorna, "Darling did you heard it? Luisa agreed!"
Lorna did not answered Gunther, she just smiled at him.
After breakfast while the girls were busy cleaning the kitchen, Gunther excused himself. He went in the basement where he had made it as his studio. He said he will prepare the props for the shooting.
"It's okay for you that Gunther will take nude photos of me?" Luisa asked Lorna. "You will not become angry?"
"Luisa, it's just photos! We have talked about it, so don't worry!" Lorna answered Luisa.
"How about you two? You will not do it, what Gunther was asking?" Luisa asked Carla and Thelma.
Carla and Thelma looked at Lorna askingly.
"I will be glad if you two, also will pose nude to Gunther!" Lorna said to Carla and Thelma.
Carla was thinking. Why Gunther wanted their nude photo?
"What will Gunther do with our nude photos?" It was Thelma who asked Lorna that will answer the question in Carla's mind.
"He's a professional freelance photographer. I'd seen Gunther's photos and I am assuring you all that he is a good photographer."
"Maybe he will sell our nude photos to Playboy!" Thelma said and Luisa upon hearing it laughed.
"Are you sure you have the body to be displayed in Playboy?"
"Hmm, wait till you see my nude photo!" answered Thelma and frowned to Luisa.
"Gunther will not sell your photos, he promised me!" Lorna said.
"You mean it's only for his collection? And you find no problem about it?" Carla asked Lorna.
"Come on girls. Gunther is a good man and besides, he said he will not force either of you." Lorna said to her group.
"Luisa, is okay for you if we observe when Gunther take photos on you?" Carla asked Luisa.
"If I also can observe when it's your turn!" Luisa answered.
"Okay then! We all go to the basement when Gunther call!" Lorna was happy that the three girls agreed to be photographed nude.
The photo session of Gunther with the girls had taken more than two hours. The four left Gunther alone in the basement as he continued his work with the photos. They went to the kitchen, sat around the dining table, and talked to each other about various things when they heard the telephone rang. The three thought that Lorna will answer it, but Lorna said Gunther have telephone extension in the basement and Gunther will answer it. But after the ring stopped for a while, they heard Gunther who came up and said to Lorna to pick the telephone up and answered it. It was Lorna's mother who was calling long distance from the Philippines.
Lorna was surprised why her mother called but at the same time glad. Lorna used the telephone extension in the kitchen.
"Inay? You called?" Lorna gladly asked her mother at the other end of the line. The three girls were silent as they looked at Lorna. Then after a while, they saw the face of Lorna became pale as she exclaimed at the same time 'My God!' ****to be continued****Remedios Dorio