Page 78 of You + Me – Against the World

“Okay: go for a midnight swim, go skydiving, swim with manta rays, see the northern lights, go to Australia, hold a koala in my arms. Now, your turn.”

“Hmm… Direct a movie, visit Russia, ride a motorcycle at 125 miles an hour, surf a gigantic wave, learn French, take you to see a koala just to see your face when you have it in your arms…”

Vadim’s smile makes something inside me glow. With a nod, he encourages me to continue.

“Let me see… Sit on the back of your motorcycle and scream because I’m so scared, watch your movie and burst with pride in the screening room, go to Russia with you even though I’ll be cold all the time, start a koala sanctuary with you…” I continue, giggling.

“Haha! I love you. Don’t stop!”

“Have a child with curly hair like yours.”

Dreamily, I slip my fingers into the curls I adore.

“Agreed, but he’s got to have your green eyes.”

“And your perfect mouth,” I say before kissing him.

“I’d like to find my brother. Just to know how he turned out.”

My heart tightens when I hear the crack in his voice, see the shadow that falls over his gray gaze, and think about this wish that seems to come from somewhere deep and distant.

“Oh, Vadim, that’s awful. You never saw him again?”

“Not since my parents died. I’ve been looking for him for years. All I know is that he was adopted.”

“We’ll find him. I can help you. We’ll look together, okay?” I assure him, my eyes wet.

“Don’t be sad, Alma. I won’t let you be sad. Tell me some more dreams instead. This list is too short.”

“I wish my father would stop looking down on my mother for being a stay-at-home mom, as if she spends her days doing nothing… when if she had worked instead of taking care of us—and of him—he never could have built the career he has.”

“Maybe that’s what works for them?” Vadim suggests, not joking around for once.

“If you treat me like that, I’ll kill you.”

“Okay, I’ll add ‘stay alive’ to my list,” he decides, laughing.

“We’ll never have time to do all this, huh?”

“Yes, we will, because I’m going to love you for a hundred years.”

Lying on his stomach, the end of the pen stuck between his teeth, Vadim studies his piece of paper, covered in scribbles and notes. I come and lie down on his back, trying to decipher his messy handwriting. He’s even drawn a koala with huge ears, and a baby with curls. I’m fascinated. I gaze at our wish list silently, happier than I’ve been in a long time. It overwhelms me to imagine this life that might be waiting for us. I don’t even dare believe it.

Vadim, meanwhile, puts pen to paper again. He gives a title to his list: “Bucket List: Things to Do Before We Die,” before stopping and thinking for a while. Then he adds right at the top, in big letters which he traces over ten times: “You + Me.”

28

Clemy_juicy: Did your evening end well? If you know what I mean…

Alma_from_paris: Better than well.

Clemy_juicy: I want details!

Alma_from_paris: No.:)

Clemy_juicy: Selfish…

Alma_from_paris: I’m sure Felix would be happy to remind you what it’s like…