"You were right, summers in Romania are no joke!" Josh hugged Johanna. Apparently, he sweated a lot in the black T-shirt, but Johanna chose not to mention that and just enjoyed the hug. As if he read her mind, he replied: "I won't wear a black shirt tomorrow anymore. I'll grab my blue one!"
A Coccolino scent of fabric conditioner tickled her nose and brought back memories from her childhood. Her grandma used it for clothes so they would be softer and smell better after washing them. "You're so handsome, just like always!" Johanna complimented him after kissing him. "Thank you! Let's go for a walk in the park!" They were in the Carol Park. Luckily there were lots of trees that provided shadow from the cruel, hot sun. A man was reading aloud from his book. Both Johanna and Josh stared, then went a little farther, and when they were far enough burst out into laughter that led to tears.
"The shadow feels so good after walking through that hot sun!" "Yeah, no wonder! Guess how many degrees we have today for the temperature?!"Josh shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't checked the weather's forecast. How many?" "Fourth!" "Whoa! That's a lot!" Josh replied shocked. "Indeed it is!"
"See that pond over there? Let's climb down the stairs! I have a feeling we will have some pleasant surprises if I remember correctly what I remember!" "Ok," Johanna followed him. They sat down on a bench, hand in hand and Johanna put her head on his right shoulder and admired the trees, listened to the beautiful chirping of birds, and enjoyed breathing in the fresh air and the nature around her. "See that pond over there? If I remember correctly, there used to be frogs when I was a child and I would come here and visit this place with my parents. Here used to be little baby frogs. See that one over there?" "Nope, I don't, but I will in a second." She took her smartphone out and zoomed in in the direction he showed her. There she saw some tiny baby frogs next to their parents. "Oh, that's so cute!" she exclaimed and took some pictures quietly. "I used to have a frog when I was a child. I loved it a lot." "Yeah. I remember you gifted me a plush frog when I was a kid! So thoughtful of you!" she smiled happily thinking about the good old days.
"I have my Nintendo DSI with me! Are you in the mood for some nice pictures?" she asked him, taking out her white Nintendo DSI." "Sure, why no! I'll also want the pictures, so if you can upload them on the internet or find a way to send them to me that would be pretty cool!" Then they goofed off in front of the camera, smiled, stretched their tongue out, kissed each other, hugged each other, and posed in different funny or romantic postures as Johanna took picture after picture. "You've got a pretty nice smile and you're the most photogenic one!" Josh remarked after taking a look at the pictures. "Yeah, but you're pretty good-looking and smart too!" "Smart maybe, but good looking is debatable!" Josh replied while swiping through the pictures.
"Want to go to the pond and admire the ducks?" Johanna asked him. "Sure, why not!" Josh agreed and they arrived there a few minutes later. One was catching a fish and feasted on it, another was chased by a drake on the water and a duck was followed by its chicks. "Yep, before you ask, I am the drake beside you. I am the taller one!" Johanna laughed and they kissed. "Do you want kids?" she asked him curiously, as they sat down and observed the ducks. "No, as of right now not. There are still things I want to accomplish. How about you?" "Maybe later. Not now. But things are complicated. I don't know to which percentage the chance is that my kids may inherit my eye disease." 'So, you don't want any kids at all?" he curiously asked. "I may want some kids, but after I have some financial stability and have the possibility to make sure they won't inherit my disease. If I will have kids, I want a better life for them, than the one I had."
"Meh, I am not too crazy about kids now either. I still feel like there's still room for improvement for my life right now." "There's a nice lake nearby. Want to see it?" Johanna agreed. A few minutes later she cuddled into his arms in the grass. "Do you think you'll be able to come one day to Canada, so we can have a normal relationship and don't have to struggle with the issues long- distance brings?" Josh asked, while he was stroking her hand and stared into the distance at the horizon and the lake into uncertainty and lots of questions without answer. "Maybe. Who knows what the future might hold in store for us? I am glad we could see each other again after so many years and so much distance apart. Before I met you, I was afraid I would not like you, once I saw you face to face." Josh giggled before an imperceptible micro-expression of the face of sadness disappeared and he replied: "Well, my uncle tried and moved his girlfriend from Romania to Canada and they broke up shortly. How do I know you won't do the same to me?" Johanna answered: "Love is a gamble and every person is different. However, if I made the effort to move that far away from my home country my intention would not be to break up, but rather to build something that lasts as long as possible, maybe hopefully a lifetime. I can be alone and my loneliness is not an issue for me. However, it would be nice if I had sometimes dear to me get old and grow with me together, as we learn about each other and life…" She threw a stone in the direction of the sea and stared silently in the distance as a lump made its way into her throat. "People are capable of despicable things. I read on the internet about a woman, who slept with her boyfriend's dad: "Ewww. God. That's horrible. I hope nothing of that sort will happen to me!" Johanna could not help but smirk a little bit. "Kinda find it stupid. Of all the people she could have cheated him with: his dad?!" "Who knows, maybe he still is very handsome!" "Yeah, but still… I find it stupid that people get into relationships that don't fulfill their needs, rather than be alone! I'd rather be alone than in a dysfunctional relationship! I am not scared of loneliness, but being in the wrong or in an unhealthy relationship!" she looked him in the eye, as she explained her views on relationships.
He stood up and grabbed her hand softly and gently asked her: "Do you want to be my wife?" "Yes," she answered emotionally, even though she knew that at this point this was just some child's play and not a real proposal. He kissed and hugged her tightly, and she let herself soak into his arms, as some ducks quaked and waved generically their wings.