Not Giving Up on Forever

by Yana Stevelork

  "Well. Here we are." said Teo, reaching the delightful cafe with a summer terrace, with people walking to and fro. "Now you'll be fed and distracted from all that busy mind of yours. I promise."

  He kissed her hand, and they went to the place.

  Chapter 46

  "What a charming place!" Anna was genuinely delighted when they occupied the table.

  "My favorite," Teo nodded, smiling. "I used to come here as a child."

  Inside it was noisy but fun. Emotionally, as real Italians believe, people discussed news in the world and politics, everyday problems and joys, and Ricardo and Teo were actively involved in casual conversations, gesturing and proving their point of view. Anna watched all this action with warmth and calmness.

  "And now we invite Mateo Reez to the stage!" yelled a sweaty man with a microphone in his hands. The crowd roared in delight.

  "What? Noooo!" Teo protested as soon as he heard his name.

  "Te-o! Te-o! Te-o!" all cafe shouted in unison, applauding.

  "Wow, Teo is clearly known in this place as well as outside of it," Anna thought in surprise.

  "Teo! Get on the stage, you lazy bastard!" some signor encouraged.

  Everyone laughed and Teo, flattered by the attention, in two jumps has reached a well-worn scene, grabbing the guitar on the move which the waitress handed to him.

  "What would you like to hear today, ladies and gentlemen?" he smiled, responding to a welcome of clapping hands and whistling.

  "Whatever, just play already!" shouted one company. "Cose della vita!!!!!" the others were screaming louder.

  "Sing to your girlfriend!" Ricardo shouted, causing Anna to blush for a second and kick him under the table.

  "Yes, sing to her!" the crowd echoed. "Come on, Cose della vita!!!!"

  (Eros Ramazzotti - Cose della vita (Can't Stop Thinking of You)- author's note)

  "Your wish is my command!" Teo nodded and masterfully commenced the famous Italian song.

  All cafe customers were ecstatic. Anna didn't know the song, but from the first seconds the voice of Teo, as before, simply fascinated her. He looked her straight in the eye, making her blush even more and smile in embarrassment as the crowd, believing they were a couple, whistled and encouraged him to change words by saying Anna's name.

  No matter how wrong and awkward it looked, inside Anna was extremely happy about such attention. He sang only for her, she saw it, felt it, he made it clear to everyone present, and he was proud of it. She's never been the center of anyone's world, even for three minutes.

  She smiled broadly, and in her eyes, Teo read sincere gratitude. He smiled back and played the last chord, joking that he was actually singing the song for Ricardo. The crowd roared with laughter and, as he descended from the stage, thanked him and patted him on the shoulder as he made his way to the table where Anna and Ri were sitting.

  Chapter 47

  Anna threw herself on his neck.

  "You're so talented, Teo!" she murmured admiringly.

  "Thanks for the song!" Ricardo grunted, smiling broadly. "You're so cute, but I'm engaged."

  Teo has depicted the heartbreak and dramatically flopped down on the chair.

  "Is this a joke?" Anna asked when they were all seated, and Teo went for a smoke break with two magnificent young ladies who tirelessly praised his performance.

  "What? Nooo. It's the truth. I'm getting married in September!"

  "Wow, Ricardo!"

  "Ri."

  "Ri! It's just wonderful! Why didn't you tell me before? Felicitaciones!"

  "I did not have a chance. My fiancée's name is Leticia, and maybe she'll join us sometime but she's staying with her aunt for the time being. You would have liked her."

  "No doubt!" Anna confirmed. "She has a great taste!"

  Ricardo blushed and put his arm around Anna.

  "I see Teo does too." he whispered in her ear.

  "Teo? Oh, no, between me and him noth..."

  "Time. Everything takes time. Give him a chance, Anna. Teo is a great guy, caring and loyal. All that pomp is part of his image, people like that. It's like a mask, you know?"

  "Ri, I understand, but..."

  "Like your mask is. Behind it hides a girl who believes in love. You and Teo, you both believe in love deep down but you chose not to show it. I see that. It all shows. You must both decide to be happy, together or not, you are both worthy of happiness."

  "Ricardo, I don't know what to say, I'm so grateful for your kind words, you're just amazing!"

  "When I step away for a moment, all the "just amazings" take my fate away!" Teo's voice came from behind them.

  "Worth a try." said Ricardo. "I'm gonna go look for Marie, and you both have some chat until then."

  "A waitress now?" sarcastically wondered Teo, sitting in the place of Ricardo and intending to clear his plate.

  "Teo, thank you for the song, I imagined that you were singing only for me! It was great!"

  "I sang it only for you, Anna."

  "Thank you!"

  "Welcome."

  She looked into his eyes and tried in vain to understand what he was thinking. Teo smiled.

  "The food's cold, Anna. Have something to eat. Don't overthink."

  She breathed out, smiling timidly back, and set to a delicious meal.

  Chapter 48

  The next few days passed without the slightest remark on romance. Teo was as reserved as ever. Despite Anna's pleas, he took the weekend off from work and devoted time to sightseeing with the girl. Ricardo left to meet Leticia and the meeting dragged on for a couple of days. All this time, Anna and Teo rode or wandered around Milan.

  It was a completely different journey than she had with Randall. There was no sunny mood and sparkling jokes, fooling around with friends and freedom in everything. Teo made a very different impression on her. Although he and Randall were the same age, Teo behaved like an accomplished man. It was in everything - in his manner of speaking, of holding on, of acting. There was a weight of responsibility on him that made him grow up so early, and Anna wanted to find out what it was.

  "Teo," she began as they sat in the hall. Teo was going through the guitar chords, writing a new track, and she was sitting next to him for what she imagined was moral support. In fact, she was rather interfering and distracting him constantly but she absolutely despised the idea of going to sleep. "Tell me, does this mansion belong to you?"

  "It was my father's." he responded, holding a pencil in his mouth and humming a tune.

  "Does your father live here with you? Where is he now?"

  "He died." Teo removed his pencil and looked at Anna. She blushed.

  "Sorry, I..."

  "No problem. It was a long time ago. My father was everything to me, and his death was a real blow to our family. My mother was left alone with us - three children - and she struggled a lot. I, as the eldest son, inherited all dad's bills, his family responsibilities and all the other joys of his road when I was 13. Since then, I have worked to provide our entire family with food, to give my brother and sister a decent education, and to give my mother peace. I'm helping as much as I can."

  "God, I'm sorry, Teo, I'm really sorry I asked."

  "It's OK. I still think I'm doing infinitely little. As for the villa, I just don't want to sell it because of the memory of my father. Plus it's a beautiful place. I am somewhat attached to Milan because of family circumstances, but the idea of renting the villa to tourists gave me a bunch of new friends from around the world, new experiences and emotions. Among those who come, there are many musicians and other artistic personalities, and to invite them here and show the city to me is real happiness."

  "And you have a favorite job. You're a musician."

  "Exactly. Music and I are one and the audience feels it because..."

  The phone rang. Teo paused and answered the phone.

  "Yeah, yeah..." he muttered into the phone and the emotions on his face changed at a furious rate. "I'll tell her."

&nbs
p; Suddenly he looked darkly at Anna. She startled. When he put the phone in his pants pocket, she asked:

  "What's up?"

  Teo was silent for a moment but answered:

  "Ricardo called. He and Leticia will be here tomorrow."

  "Great news, right? What then..."

  "And he also said that he got a call from a friend that you obviously corresponded with on Ri's phone, and that friend was vulgar, demanding of you, and ruined the date with Leticia."

  Anna's breath got caught in her chest.

  "Did he say who he was? Who was it?"

  Teo came close to Anna and looked into her eyes.

  "He wanted me to tell you to get in touch with him. He left his number and shouted that it was a matter of life and death. I think you should call him, Anna. I'll dial his number and you can talk."

  In a moment he handed her his phone with the outgoing call named "Randall Parleo".

  Teo took the guitar and left the room.

  Chapter 49

  Anna dropped the call. Randall called back immediately. Through the welling tears, she answered:

  "Hello."

  "Anna! I can't believe!" Randall shouted into the phone. "What the hell, why don't you read my DMs, I wrote into the void for a few days!"

  "I left my phone at home. I took one from my friend to talk to you..."

  "From that idiot Ricardo. Anna, I just can't believe it! Surely in your offended mind, you could not come up with anything less sophisticated than making up with Teo, whom I just hate!"

  "What?"

  "Teo told me you were together, Anna. You didn't take long to get rid of such a deep love for me, did you."

  "Randall, you bastard! How dare you say that! I guess Teo just said that because he doesn't feel the need to explain anything to you but since you're talking nonsense, I guess there's no smoke without fire!"

  "Anna, listen to me and don't you dare to hang up or I'll come and smash Teo's face. You do not understand what you're getting into. Now listen to me. And be quiet, please. Are you crying? Anna!"

  Anna sobbed that Randall's voice was lost in the background.

  "Anna, please stop crying. Anna! Listen to me! I'm in Milan. I'll come to that bastard's villa today and pick you up. You're not staying there, you understand me?"

  "Randall!"

  "You understand me? Pack your bags and be ready by half-past five. These adventures must end. You know little about where you're going or who you're with. Teo's not the one you're supposed to be around and I hate him not just because he's stealing my tourists, Anna! Stop crying, you're listening to me or not!? Anna!"

  "Leave me alone, Randall, go to your whore!" Anna shouted through her sobs. "Who are you to treat me like an object? I'm not going anywhere with you!"

  "Listen to me, stupid!" Randall shouted, barely holding back his emotions. "Anna, darling, darling, listen to me. Teo's a dangerous man! You need to stay away from him and it's not about us, not me and the whores, it's about your safety!"

  Anna could not even say a word more, she wept and did not even struggle with tears.

  Teo entered the room, took the phone from her in one decisive motion and pressed "End".

  "This conversation is over." he muttered angrily. "Come here."

  It was difficult for him to pull Anna away from the back of the sofa which she was grabbing sharply to give vent to tears. He put his arm around her shoulders and led her into the bathroom and washed her face. She continued to cry and he patiently wiped fresh tears with a towel again and again.

  "Leave me, Teo." she squeezed out.

  "Never." he whispered.

  "Hey, children! I'm home!" they heard the playful voice of Ricardo entering the house.

  "Go to Ri." Anna came up with an excuse. "Teo, please leave me alone. I need to be alone."

  Teo stood up.

  "I'll give you a few minutes while I go say Hello."

  At the door he stopped and turned to say:

  "He's not worthy of you, Anna. Whatever he told you in conversation, he's not worthy of your tears."

  "He said he was coming to pick me up at five-thirty, Teo." Anna paused.

  Teo's face changed.

  "What did you just say?"

  "Randall's coming here..."

  "You're very wrong about that." Teo's eyes were full of anger. "I'll kill him on the way here."

  "What? Teo, don't say such things!" suddenly, under the influence of what Randall said to her about Teo, Anna got frightened and ran to him, grabbing him by the hand.

  "Please don't be silly, Teo! If he comes, I'll go out and send him on his merry little way. That's all. Please, Teo!"

  Teo suddenly pulled his hands away from Anna and pushed her away.

  "You'll learn to respect me, Anna. And that jerk won't be here, mark my words."

  "Teo!" Anna was crying again, and despair and fear gripped her entire being. "Teo. Please stop saying that, Teo!"

  "Stay in the room, Anna." his voice was unrecognizable. "Ricardo and I will go for a ride, and you shall stay here waiting for us."

  He left the room abruptly and slammed the door. Voices were heard and both guys quickly left. Anna rushed after them but found Teo had locked the door. She stood in the middle of the hall, strained by dread, completely unaware of what was happening, but it really scared her. She felt that she was missing something important but her brain refused to think about anything at all.

  She ran out onto the balcony and looked down. Teo and Ricardo's car was gone. There were guards at her front door and near the gate.

  The gate was locked.

  Indeed, she didn't seem to know what she was getting into.

  Chapter 50

  Several minutes futile trying to find the exit, Anna finally gave up. She again went to the balcony and looked around. From the height of the balcony, there were great views and the main road but she tried in vain to look out for Teo's car. It was nowhere close.

  Sighing and wiping her tears again, she wandered inside the house. As she walked around the rooms, she saw that one room was locked with the key still in the keyhole. Obviously, this room was constantly in use but she has never been there before.

  Inside the room was more like a pantry – a chaos of things in boxes and plastic bags everywhere. Piles of CDs and - books, books, books. Looking closer, Anna was surprised to find that all the books were in English - classical literature, English textbooks, magazines, newspapers, and even comics.

  She opened the old edition of "The Old man and the Sea" and smiled - the book was signed by Mateo Reez. After checking a few more textbooks, she was surprised to find that all the books belonged to Teo and they were scribbled incessantly with all sorts of notes and comments. It seemed that Teo had read every book more than once. The comics were painted with notes, obviously, when he thought of some compositions. She found in another box a pile of scribbled notebooks where Teo spent hours doing exercises to improve English.

  This was a nice discovery for her. When he spoke, his English was perfect. Without the slightest accent, he could pass as the American. She could see now how much work had been done. But most of all she was pleased that Anna was also in love with the language, she immediately remembered the days and nights spent at notebooks, and it is at that moment she seemed to become one with Teo in that, knowing all he felt completely. He was in love with language, like her. It was amazing.

  She was glad that she had come into this room - it helped her to open Teo from a new side. But what she couldn't comprehend was Randall's warning. Why was he so concerned that she was with Teo? Maybe he was just blackmailing him because even in this situation they were competitors, and even though Randall did not need Anna but just out of pure selfishness he acted this way?

  The door slammed. Dropping the books, Anna ran down the stairs.

  Teo and Ricardo spoke sharply in Italian.

  "Teo!" Anna cried out. "What did you do, Teo??"

  "Calm down, your lover is safe and sound, Anna. He was n
ot at home. He was nowhere to be found actually."

  Anna felt an extraordinary relief, but again she was overcome by fear. Ricardo walked up to her and said:

  "Anna, I don't know what's going on between you and Randall, but I don't like it. You decide, it is your life."

  "Ricardo, I..."

  "I'm hungry, I'll make us dinner."

  "And Leticia?"

  "She's not coming, we had a beef."

  "Because of what?"

  He pivoted and went into the kitchen.

  Wasting no time, Anna ran into the room for Teo. He was lying on the bed with his legs crossed and browsed the Internet.

  "Teo," began Anna. "look at me, please."

  He immediately turned off the screen and put the phone away. They were silent for a moment. Anna broke the clouds but Teo was ahead of her.