Chapter 16

• They had sometimes “informal dates” on some weekends—yes, that was what she called them. It was because they would just meet up at some place like a fast food, coffee shop or just strolled somewhere in downtown area. Sometimes they would just stay in one place like an open restobar or refreshment bar just to watch the doves given something to eat by kids, adults and even elderly people. Sometimes, they would just ride the buses that were routed around downtown and some suburbs in the city or Harman would take her to some tourist spots in Bucharest where she hadn’t visited yet. Because of these, she learned some more about Romania and most especially about the Gypsy man.
• Each passing day, her feelings for him grew. She was getting more and more attracted to him without doubt and without any relevant and apparent reason if she’d really want to discern it. If she let herself really fall for him, was she safe from getting hurt like her sister? This, she also asked of herself many times. And yet, she wanted to think she was merely playing with him the game that she was the only one who was aware of. She was afraid she would get hurt in the end. It was better to hurt him first though. As it was, she’d never know if his intentions were pure or not anyway. Again, she didn’t want to end up like her sister Alyanna. That was what she hated the most. She had to be in control of herself and of the entire situation so that she’d live… and go on with her life as if nothing happened in the past.
• “Are you up for a night life or a formal party?” Harman asked her one weekend night. He called her just after preparing dinner for her employers.