Aka. "Destination Anywhere", "The Boy and Girl from County Bavaria"... After a very intense year in Würzburg (Germany), I'm back in Salamanca. I probably won't have that many experiences to write, but there's always an excuse to post a new entry!

18.

"Adrian just texted me. He's going to see a movie with Marco, so that will keep him entertained for about two hours" Johanna explained.
"Great!" Sharon exclaimed, as she finished cleaning up the kitchen counters "This should give us enough time to prepare the decorations and get everyone here."
"Yeah. I'll prepare some snacks."
Sharon took a big cardboard box from her wardrobe, where she kept some decorative items. Amongst others, she had some shiny, coloured letters made of plastic which could be hung on the walls without using pins or nails. There were also some other classics like balloons, Chinese lanterns and some candle holders in different funny shapes. She stood on a chair while she formed the words "Marco you rock" and stuck them to the living-room walls.
"Do you think he'll find balloons too childish?" she asked Johanna.
The redhead tilted her head, looking around the room and trying to picture it full of balloons.
"Well, deep down he's a child, so if you feel like hanging some balloons, go ahead" she finally said.
"Hmm... not sure" Sharon rubbed the back of her neck "Candles would be cute though."
"Yeah, candles are always cool" her roommate laid two plates of crisps on the coffee table "And your holders are so original."
"I know right! I've been collecting them since I was like twelve. My favourites are the ones with dragons."
"Oh, I love them too! They were so perfect for the medieval party we threw on my birthday!"
The brunette giggled and searched the box to find something that could make a nice atmosphere.
"You know what?" she commented "If we had had more time to prepare this, we should have made it themed."
"Oh yeah!" Johanna squealed enthusiastically "I bet Marco would have loved a pirate party!"
"Haha, sure! It would have been so hilarious to dress him up."
"Totally" the younger girl sighed "Too bad he probably wouldn't be in the mood for that."
"Well, that's why we're throwing him a party!" Sharon pointed out "To cheer him up."
"Yeah, I hope it will help."
"Nah, I'm sure he'll feel better having all his friends around."
The Dutch girl hung some candle holders from the metallic hooks on the ceiling, one on each side. She placed some others on the shelves and different corners of the room. Then she stood by the wall, watching her composition and thinking of what she could improve. Meanwhile, Johanna had dished anything she had in her cupboards that could be used as a snack: olives, pretzels, nuts... She took the plates to the living-room and glanced at the work her flatmate was doing.
"Oh, looks nice!" she approved "I was thinking, you know what could be nice for this kind of party? We could put up some pictures of him with us or with other friends."
"Sounds like a sweet idea!" the other smiled "I should have many of those."
"Glad you like it. Do you think we could need more food?"
"No" Sharon shook her head "Martin is bringing some Panini and something to drink, and Alex said she'd bake sweet and salty muffins."
"Very creative!" the Austrian exclaimed "I have strawberries and bananas, so I was thinking of making some fruit skewers."
"Ohhh, I love it! It's gonna be a great party!"
Again, the brunette went to her bedroom and had a look at her photo albums, selecting some pictures of her roommate and other friends. She had never realized how many she had of herself with her two flatmates. It made her smile to think of how many moments they had shared - the three of them at their housewarming party, the three of them at the karaoke bar, the three of them on their trip to New York, birthdays, Christmases... She found it hard to believe almost three years had gone by. After picking some photographs, she headed back to the living-room and began putting them up randomly, sticking them to the wall with blu-tack. Johanna, who was already done with the snacks, stood on another chair and helped her decorate.
"This already looks great" she commented.
"Sure it does! Throwing house parties is so much fun!" Sharon chuckled.
"It is... and it's definitely one of our biggest talents!" the younger girl joined in the laughter.
"Yeah. Kim made such a strange face when I told her that we were throwing one for Marco."
"Why that?"
The brunette shrugged as she held a picture of Marco and Martin playing soccer in a park against the wall.
"She says people usually feel like partying when they have just been broken up with. Besides, she believes a tough guy like him wouldn't be too affected."
Johanna rolled her eyes. Although she decided to keep her opinion about Kimberly to herself, she couldn't help but shake her head.
"How can she be so wrong about him? She has no idea what he's like. He was really in love with Claire, and even if he doesn't show it, he's really having a rough time."
"I know!" Sharon agreed "That's what I told her - deep down, he's a gigantic teddy bear."
"Big guy with a big heart."
"Exactly!"
They kept hanging more photos in different positions, leaving enough space between them. As she ran out of them, Sharon started lighting up the candles.
"Oh, by the way" the Austrian spoke "It's been over a week and you still haven't told me many details about your vacation in Holland with Kim" she faked cough.
Her roommate smiled to herself and left the small tea light in the colourful vase on the shelf.
"It was very good" she replied "Didn't start on the right footing, but in the end everything was quite alright."
"Did things get any better with your parents?"
"Not really" Sharon sighed "My father took it quite ok once he got over the anger that I had lied to them about Kimberly, but my mum... she's been ignoring me ever since."
"Oh no!" Johanna bit her lip.
"Well, actually not completely ignoring. Now she only talks to me when she has something to criticize. And of course she stopped speaking English as soon as she found out who Kim really was."
"That's rude! Oh, I'm so sorry for you!"
Whenever she thought of her mother's reaction, she felt a pain in the back of her eyes. The wounds were still fresh. Yet it was no time to cry.
"It's fine" she forced a smile "Let's talk about something else, alright?"
"Yeah, sure!" the younger girl nodded "How were things with Kimberly there?"
The change in Sharon's expression was radical. Her face lit up immediately, and her lips curled involuntarily into a wide grin.
"Amazing! We visited many places, partied a lot with my cousin and just had a lot of fun together."
"Aw, glad to hear that!"
"Yeah, I was a bit worried at first" Sharon admitted "I thought meeting my family and spending so much time together would be too much for her, but she took it really well. Aside from the incident with my parents, we didn't have a problem at all."
"I guess that's the thing with going on trips with your partner" Johanna commented "Either it ruins the relationship, or it brings you closer."
"Oh, in our case it's definitely been the latter. In fact, she asked me to... move in with her."
The pile of pictures Johanna had in her hand almost fell to the floor. Her first instinct was to scream "Nooooo!" but she knew that wouldn't be right. Without turning to look at her roommate, she put up a photo; pretending to be concentrated, she asked in the calmest tone she could achieve:
"Really? And what did you say?"
"I said yes, of course!" the brunette exclaimed, as if it was obvious "We've already started looking for a new place. Hopefully we'll move in together at the beginning of next month."
At that moment, she noticed the way the redhead was looking at her, chewing on her bottom lip. She blinked, not understanding why she didn't seem so happy with the news.
"Are you sure you guys are ready?" Johanna wondered softly.
Sharon nodded confidently.
"It's almost been a year. We both think it's time we moved on to the next level."
"Yeah, but still... living together is not easy..."
"I know it's not" the Dutch girl agreed "But we've spent a whole month together twenty-four seven and nothing happened. I guess that already says a lot about our relationship."
"Going on holiday together is not the same as sharing a flat or a house."
The brunette frowned. She knew her young friend was very clever and mature for her age, sometimes even more than herself. Even so, it bothered her. Johanna was usually very supportive of her and optimistic; why did it sound as though she was trying to talk her out of it?
"I'm sure we will manage somehow. We love each other, Jo."
It would be pointless to argue. No matter how much she disliked Kim, she had to accept that she and Sharon were in love and wanted to be together. There was nothing she could do about it, but just be a good friend and be happy for her. After all, her job was not to lead her, but just to pick up the pieces if Sharon crashed on the way. Tucking her auburn hair behind her ears, she stepped down the chair and inched towards her roommate.
"In that case, I wish you guys all the best" she said sincerely "I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. I understand" Sharon put her hands on the younger girl's shoulders "I know it's a bit sudden... and believe me, I'll miss you guys a lot, too. But it's not like we won't see each other again. Even if we end up living at the other end of town, we'll still hang out together as much as we can."
"It still won't be the same" Johanna sighed sadly "We'll miss you a lot, too."
"Aw, come on!" the brunette forced a chuckle, although all she could manage was a melancholic smile as her eyes were beginning to well up "You're still stuck with me until the end of the month, at least."
"Good" her friend and roommate smiled weakly, still trying to sound cheerful "But it's fine. I get that you guys love each other and want to have some privacy. I really wish you all the best."
"Thanks for being so understanding, baby sis!"
Both women hugged tenderly in a friendly way. Even though Sharon was looking forward to her life together with Kimberly, saying goodbye to her friends was just as hard for her as it was for Johanna. It was sad to think that such a long time with her two roommates might be over in a matter of weeks. She told herself that they would have to make the most of the days they had left. Breaking the embrace slowly, she said:
"I'm going to take the decoration box to my room."
"Alright."
Johanna took a deep breath as she stepped back up to the chair and put up one last picture. It showed the three of them holding their cups to the camera in front of a big banner saying "Welcome Sharon!"