Just a Monumental Summer: Girl on the train (7 page)

It was almost four o’clock. Alexandru was going to come in one hour. The crowd began to thin slowly. Some hot girls in bathing suits were trying to talk with Alin and the group, which made my temperature rise a little, though I tried not to show it. George T. disappeared into the radio station.

Then, Alin took Jony aside and screamed at him, “What’s wrong with you?”

“Who the fuck does he think he is, Alin? Why do we have to suck his dick?” Jony answered back angrily.

“You were provoking him. We need him, and you know it.”

“Since when did we become pussies?” Jony said in disgust and left.

I told Alin I needed to go meet my friend.

“When can I see you? How long is he staying with you?” he asked neutrally.

“A couple of days. Not more than four. He needs to introduce me to some friends. Heavy people. And I won’t be staying at the hotel anymore. We will be staying at Crystal Villa. He said it’s by the beach, on the south side.” 

“Crystal Villa?” He sounded surprised and a little annoyed. “Is it one of their villas? Is he a big shot?”

I tried to be funny. “Yes. But he likes to be called one of the most hardworking communist members of our society. Or simply,
the system
.”

Suddenly, he grabbed my hands and walked me to the car. “I need to talk with you alone.” His tone was serious. “Look, you are right. It all happened so fast. We rushed in,” he said.

My heart started beating fast. I thought he would break up with me. I couldn’t say anything. I realized I cared about him.

“I will give you these two days. Figure it out. Get rid of him,” he said.

I tried to say that I don’t take orders from him, but I couldn’t. Because I liked taking orders from him. I burst into tears. He touched my hair and said, “Silly girl. Look, I didn’t get to show you our place. We live in Villa 110. Easy to find. We are at the Summer Theatre every night. Or come and see Dana; she’s there during the afternoon hours.”

I was listening to him and nodding to each word he was saying. He fixed my hair and kissed me on my cheek. “Baby. You are my girl from the train. Ok?”

              More than twenty thousand thoughts arise and develop in your conscious mind, every day. We mostly think of frustrations, worries, fears. I felt them all as I walked by the beach. I should have been happy and relieved; after all, Alin wanted to be with me. That seemed pretty simple. Love should be simple.
Then, why do I worry?
The answer to that was simple. I’d never been in love before I met Alin.

              The hotel room felt empty and cold without Alin filling the space. I opened the balcony door, lay down on the lounge chair, and enjoyed the sun. The sound of the waves, steady and constant, soothed my troubled thoughts. I drifted, my mind at rest. Almost asleep, I was startled and disoriented when I heard a knock at the outer door. It took me a couple of seconds to remember where I was.

              Alexandru was at the door with flowers. “Did I wake you up?” He gave me the flowers, smiling.

              “Alexandru, you shouldn’t have. I don’t know if I have a vase in here. What shall I do with them?” I was trying to find a vase, avoiding his kiss.

              “I didn’t buy them; an old friend gave them to me. I did her a favor, for her son. She’s selling flowers in the resort. I always stop and chat with her, and she always gives me flowers.”

              Alexandru was a good guy; he would help people without asking anything in return. Some favors were easy, like skipping the seven-year waiting line for buying a car. Some were very serious, like getting someone out of jail or reducing his sentence. Ceausescu would forgive prisoners and set them free from time to time. People were very grateful for Alexandru’s help. They would show their gratitude with gifts like imported cigarettes and alcohol, home-made food, money—anything people could afford to give away. He would always give me presents for my family, like expensive brandy and cigarettes. Merchandise from abroad was very valuable.

              I remembered why I liked him. I felt guilty, a feeling I’d never experienced with him. He was married, we were not exclusive. He knew I had my life.

He threw his bag on the floor and then hugged and kissed me. “Get your stuff; we’ll move to the Crystal Villa. Did you get to see the resort?” He was inspecting the room and went out on the balcony.

              “I met some guys, and we hung out at the beach. I went with them to the concert. The guys from Silent Delusion.” I was gathering my stuff.

              “Oh cool, I know them. My daughter loves them,” Alexandru said. “You made new friends. You will have a great time, babe. There are a lot of hot students around here. You will have lots of fun,” he said without any envy in his voice.

              I knew he liked the other resort, Neptune, more than this one. There were a lot of resorts along the Black Sea Coast. Most of all had planets names. Neptune was the most expensive one and the most luxurious one.

We went to meet Sorin, one of Alexandru’s friends. Sorin, the Director of the Resort was an old, overweighed, sweaty guy. After he kissed my hand, a usual custom, he told me his door is always welcome in case I need anything.

Then, we drove to the radio station. George T. didn’t seem friendly, and I wasn’t so excited anymore. He needed me daily from eleven to two. Two days off. He showed me around and asked me what I studied. I told him I didn’t get into university. He didn’t comment on that.

I was to start next Monday. George T. asked me if I knew Dana’s place and asked me to bring his sandwich from there, on my way to the station, from Dana’s place, and I didn’t have to pay for it. 

Then Alexandru and I drove along the shore until the road narrowed as it led into a small, hidden forest of huge, old trees. The forest was dark; the temperature dropped as we entered. The trees arched overhead, making the road feel like a tunnel; there was barely room for the car. I’d heard once they had to destroy many wild forest acres to build the resorts across the Black Sea coast, so this forest was a hidden paradise. The forest encroached further onto the road; I was wondering if we were on the right path when we finally encountered a big, closed gate.

On the other side of the gate, some ostriches were strutting around like they owned the place. Alexandru honked three times, stopped the car, and got out. Then he unlocked the gate. A couple moments later, a car approached, leaving the usual trail of dust behind it. An old guy with a straw hat jumped out the car and opened the gate after pulling his car out of the way beside it. He took off his hat and gave us a military salute. 

“My respects. Long life, Comrade Alexandru," he quickly said, showing his decayed and missing teeth. A common way to say hello, in old-fashioned communist style. “Everything is ready for you. Welcome to Crystal Villa, Miss. I hope you will enjoy it. I will be at your service. If you need anything, let me know.”

“Glad to see you, Relu.” Alexandru said in a polite tone.

We drove the car through the gate, and waited for Relu to close and lock it. Then we followed his vehicle to the entrance of the villa and parked the car. Relu took care of our luggage. The villa looked huge and modern from outside. An old, heavy lady approached us - Maria, Relu’s wife. She embraced Alexandru and kissed him familiarly on the cheek. Alexandru kissed her hand. She hugged me also, welcoming me warmly.

To call the villa a house was a vast understatement. The entrance was enormous, with impressive double stairs on both sides, separated by a big gold-metal looking chandelier. The interior was heavily furnished in a luxurious way. The furniture was a mix of all styles together, which hurt my eyes. A piano was placed majestically in the left corner with fresh flowers in pretty vases lining its edges. More, larger vases with fake flowers were on the floor next to the piano. Smaller vases sat on the various on tables around the room. Pillows splashed cheerful color onto on chairs and the spacious couch. A frivolous and spacious space. The smooth wood flooring was generously piled with multiple priceless Persian carpets.

The impressive living room branched into a labyrinth of bedroom suites. The walls were overburdened under multiple paintings and stuffed animal heads. Huge sculptures guarded the hallways. Each room had its own fireplace. Our upstairs bedroom had a huge balcony; as the villa was on a hill and we were on an upper story, we had a great sea view despite being in the middle of the old growth forest. Alexandru proudly asked me if I liked the place.

I didn’t hide my distaste as I looked around and spoke.“Alexandru, I’ve seen a lot… but nothing like this… it’s too much. I feel I can’t breathe. It’s ostentatious. So much waste. Too much of everything. Too many statues, furniture… and it’s kitsch.”

“Most of the things are gifts from presidents of various African countries. The Party didn’t know what to do with them, so they stuck them out here. That’s why it feels like it’s too much.” he explained happily, shrugging away my discomfort. “Wait till you see the bathroom.” He laughed.

The marble bathroom’s walls were antique style, decorated with gold filigree. The faucets were gold plated. Along with spacious mosaic bathtubs, there was a sofa bed, two chairs, and a white desk.

Let me write a letter after I take a dump.
I laughed at my own thought, shaking my head at the excess.

“It’s yours for one week. Welcome to Ceausescu’s villa.” Alexandru said proudly,

“Are you kidding me? This is
his
villa?” Now I started to like it.

“He never lived here. His close friends did. But not long time ago, they did something which upset them and he is banned from the Villa. He built it for himself, but when they finished the other villa from Neptune, he liked it better. It’s the resort they don’t like, not the house. They hate the students. Future intellectuals. Maybe because they never got to finish school.”

“It’s so impressive. But what if they decide to come by…”

“They won’t. They never have so far. The security guys report to me. Things are changing, baby.” His tone changed. Sadness mixed with some anxiety. He continued conspiratorially: “They are trying desperately to stay on top of things, but things are really about to change…Soon.” He saw my confused look and changed the subject abruptly: “Anyway, they’re not here; they are in Africa. Maria and Relu are nice people. Their older son plays football. He’s not talented, but I put a good word to get him accepted into the national team. He’s sitting on the bench for now. I don’t think he’ll ever get to play more than 5 minutes in a game, but he gets the same benefits as the active players. He lives a nice life.” 

“So, this is really Ceausescu’s place?” I asked again, excited.

“Oh yeah, you have to see the garden. He has exotic animals and birds and a butterfly garden. You’ve seen some of them,” he said proudly while opening the huge balcony door. Outside, in the garden, a huge blue-green fan was strutting proudly in front of us. It was the first time I had ever seen a live peacock.

We went back into the room, leaving the balcony door open – the weather was mild, and a cool breeze brought sea air into the villa. Alexandru was happy, enjoying my excitement. He pulled me toward him and start to pull up my dress. There was no denying him the sex that was part of our relationship – our arrangement. I gave in.

Afterward, we went downstairs, where Maria was setting up the lunch. It was a feast of color and flavors unique to Romania. The star was the famous
Boeuf salad
. The boiled veggie and chicken breast salad was covered in a thick layer of yellow mayonnaise. The cold salad was artistically decorated with homemade pickles and black and green olives. Hard boiled eggs, cut in halves, tuned upside down to cuddle with the rich mayonnaise. The eggs were covered with small black dots of peppercorns, creating small funny hedgehog shapes.

The long slices of red and green pickles were arranged to give the impression of a rich garden invaded by hedgehogs and other funny insects, and making the salad a culinary masterpiece. The cold entrees included feta cheese cubes placed snuggly in the middle of a big round porcelain plate, surrounded in circles by juicy red tomatoes, garden fresh cucumbers, salami and ham, cold chicken and turkey steaks. Small round plates were in tandem with big plates filled with black and red caviar, balanced delicately on top of deviled eggs.

Between the big flat plates, white porcelain cups filled with Greek salad, potatoes and eggplant salad. Goose liver canapés, smoked salmon roulade with horseradish cream cheese, beef tongue and heart slices with horseradish sauce, were trying to compete as well. As if that wasn’t enough excess, there were also deserts. On the other side of the table homemade cookies sat with sugar powdered jelly donuts amongst big funnel cake bows, home-made cocoa and walnut sponge cakes, croissants, crepes, fruits, and cheese.

The highlight of the deserts was the famous
Sausage biscuits
, a pastry resembling a salami, made of dried cookies bathed in rich creamy chocolate, along with Turkish Delight, walnuts and flavored with rum.  Served cold, and cut in slices, it owes its name to its cylindrical shape that resembles an Italian salami. Romanians love food; presentation and showing off is as important as taste. When gathered for a meal, we will sit at the table and eat for hours, without needing a reason to celebrate. But nothing like this. This was a whole other level, and I’d never seen anything like it.” 

“Maria, you are spoiling us. You know we go to Delta Restaurant for dinner.” Alexandru was complimenting her.

Maria blushed.

I was always hungry and luckily, I had no diet issues. Like almost everyone in our country.

After we ate, I wanted to see the garden and the hidden forest, while Alexandu had to make some important calls.

              Later, we drove into the woods and onto a dark street, and after a five-minute drive, we reached Delta Restaurant. The parking lot was full, and cars were parked in all directions, blocking each other. When we entered, the place was packed with elegant people, oozing luxury. Romanians are not afraid to show off; there is no such thing as overdressed. The women used a lot of makeup and expensive clothes, and they wore a lot of jewelry, mostly gold. The men were no strangers to jewelry as well; big, thick bracelets and gold necklaces, expensive watches and fancy shoes.

A waiter recognized Alexandru and brought us the table.

The atmosphere at the table was noisy. I smell the perfume from the beautiful girls with sexy dresses. Ugly old guys breathing success. Sorin saw us and made space for two chairs.

The men were loud. The discussions — mostly about their good times — were colorful. It was one of the long dining tables, with gossip about everyone in general and no one in particular.

“Alexandru, I was just telling them the hunting story… the one with the bear, in Brasov." Sorin was red in the face and sweating visibly. He had finished his plate and sat back on his chair, performing his oral hygiene with a toothpick.

He finally got rid of the toothpick and said: “So, we go to bed. We were all wasted, more or less. The cabin was warm, the fire was still lit. My room was upstairs. I was together with Crina. You know Crina?” Some guys nodded, smirking. That meant they been with her as well. It wasn’t unusual for one girl to become someone else’s ‘girl’.

This time he was cleaning his dirt under his nails with a fork.