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“There’s nothing wrong with being scared. Fear makes us human, and strength is born from fear.”
“I said I wasn’t scared,” she snapped. He froze, his smile gone. The words had come out colder than she’d wanted. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long day.”
“It’s all right. And you know what, we’re in luck. Look over there.” He pointed ahead. Olivia looked in the direction he was pointing and saw dots in the distance—lights.
“The village.” She sighed and closed her eyes, her thumping heart easing. “But will they help us?” she wondered, a newfound doubt creeping into her mind.
“Of course they will,” Christian said. “This is Romania.”
She thought of the woman who had stolen her luggage and the car that had passed them not too long ago. But she didn’t say anything. She looked over at him as he stepped closer.
“I think this just flew off when you uh . . . were a bit jumpy.” He waved her shoe at her.
“Oh.” Her eyes went down to her white sock. She hadn’t even noticed. “Thanks.” Their hands grazed when she reached for the shoe. She felt that skip in her chest again and blushed, nearly dropping the shoe. “Thanks,” she muttered again as they walked together down the road, this time in silence. Somewhere, an owl called out to the cold night wind.
***
It took them another twenty minutes to get to the village. Small farmhouses lined the road, pushing inward. Dim lights hung from poles and buildings. A dog barked somewhere in the distance, but otherwise the place was peaceful, an idyllic country setting with cattle and chickens and that smell of fresh hay and the night breeze.
“It’s a village,” Olivia said.
“I know.” Christian tilted his head.
“No, I mean, you said I’d be the judge if it’s a village or a town.”
He nodded in recollection. “Yeah, I did say that.” He switched the luggage to his other hand. “Over there,” he said and pointed at a red brick building with white grout lines that looked stained and aged. Flowerpots lined the outside with cute little blue and yellow flowers growing out of them. Water dripped along the edge of the roof and the windows gave off a soft, flickering orange glow.
Christian knocked, and a moment later an old man wearing dark wool pants and a blue, long-sleeved shirt answered. The man looked at them and his boxy chin pulled back into a kind smile. His white hair was combed over to cover bald spots. The two men exchanged words in Romanian.
“He asked us to come in,” Christian translated. Olivia nodded and smiled back at him. The old man turned and walked into the house, ushering them in, but Christian grabbed Olivia by her arm, holding her back.
“The people in this town, this man and his wife included, are very religious,” he said. Olivia pinched her lips.
“I forgot my rosary beads at home,” she joked, but Christian let go of her arm and scratched the back of his head.
“Emm . . . what I mean is, they think we’re, well . . .”
Olivia shook her head. “That we’re what?”
“That we’re married.”
“Oooooh,” Olivia whispered. “I see.”
“It would be better to play along. To simplify things for old-fashioned souls, if you know what I mean. If they think us improper,they might turn us away.”
Olivia nodded and threw Christian one last embarrassed look. “Yes, I get it.”
“Well then, after you,dear,” Christian whispered with a teasing look on his face. Olivia went into the house with a fake grin to keep up the charade.
The warmth was very much welcome. The inside of the house reminded Olivia of an old American farmhouse—something from the ’30s. Everything was wooden, and a few of the walls had purple-striped wallpaper on them.
They were brought into a small living room filled with stacks of broken radios and old TVs. The man gestured at them to sit down on the green sofa behind a wooden coffee table. Christian and Olivia sat down.
“Ana,” the old man called out to his wife and then said something in Romanian to her when she entered the room. Then he turned to them, still beaming with that calm smile. “Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll sell you the part you need by morning,” he suddenly said in broken English.
“The morning?” Olivia repeated and exchanged looks with Christian who quickly cut in.
“Uhm, we’ll need to be getting back tonight. No use staying till morning.” Then he added a few more words in Romanian.
