Chapter Twenty Six - One of the Guys

Saturday came quickly and I was all ready for it. I had made sandwiches and some chicken salad and cooked up some chicken wings and breasts with Roderich the previous night, although I think he did more of the preparing than I did. But I helped with the condiments.

I quietly got out of bed without disturbing Roderich and went to take an early morning shower. When I came out I saw it was closing in on nine o'clock. Roderich was still asleep, so I decided to leave him be until I had gotten everything ready.

I went downstairs and took out a cooler from the storage room. It hadn't been used in a while, so it needed a bit of dusting. Once I cleaned it out I began filling it with the food. We had made a lot because I knew those guys had a strong appetite. "I bet Alfred will eat it all in no time."

After everything was packed I set the cooler next to the table and went into the living room. I wasn't in the mood to watch TV, but I found my eyes looking over at Roderich's piano. I remember when Matthew had asked me if I played. "Maybe one note or two..."

Getting positioned on the stool I set my fingers on the keys and began to try and play something simple. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star is pretty basic..." I was wrong. I messed up way more times than I should have. "Ugh, why is this so hard?"

"Because you don't have your fingers set up right." I jumped at the sound of Roderich's voice. "Oh honey, did I wake you up?" He shook his head and said, "No, no, I woke up a while ago and listened while you tried to play." I hung my head down in shame and said, "I'm no good am I..."

He kissed me on the head and said, "You have potential, you just need to ease your fingers more. Don't tense your shoulders so much either." I took in a deep breath and breathed out, letting my shoulders fall. "There, now let me guide your fingers the first time." I nodded and let him move my fingers so I played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. "Now you try."

It took a few tries, but I finally played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star without messing up. "Yay, I feel so accomplished!" Roderich smiled and said, "Maybe one day I can teach you this song." He suddenly began playing a song on the piano which made his fingers move like the speed of light. The sound was soothing, and it was beautiful, but I was more focused at how fast his fingers were moving. When he finished I couldn't find anything to say but, "I don't think so."

We both got ready to head out to the park. "I got the cooler, are you bringing your violin?" Roderich looked back at me after he put on his jacket and asked, "Why would I?" I slipped on my shoes and said, "I'd love to hear the violin while we ate in the park." He leaned in to try and kiss me, but I ducked away and ran out to the car, laughing as I did so. "Hurry up Roderich; we don't want to be late!"

I got in the passenger side and waited for Roderich to come out. I was happy to see the violin case in his hand. "I decided to bring it; I thought I might as well show those boys some real music." I took the case from him and set it on my lap as he started the car up and we drove off.

"Will they know where to find us?" Roderich asked. I nodded and said, "I don't plan going out too far, so they should be able to find us just fine."

I laid out a picnic blanket and took out some food. As I did that, Roderich got out his violin and began to play a little tune on it. "Hey! We're here!" shouted someone. I looked up and saw Alfred and Matthew walking towards us. What surprised me was the small barbeque Alfred was dragging behind him. "Alfred, why did you bring a barbeque?"

"You said I could bring food, and fresh burgers and hot dogs are better right off the grill." Matthew shrugged and smiled at me. "He wouldn't change his mind, and he also bought a lot of food for this too." I got up and walked over to Alfred as he began setting up the small barbeque. "There aren't that many people coming, plus I have a lot of food here too."

Alfred looked down at the picnic setup I had done and said, "Great, you brought chicken!" I sighed and turned to Roderich who was ignoring these two as he continued to play.

"Bonjour!" I saw the famous Bad Touch Trio come walking over. "Hey frau, you didn't start without us did you?" I shook my head and held up the plate of chicken wings. "Alfred's got hot dogs and burgers cooking up, and I have egg salad sandwiches and chicken wings and breasts here. Plus some water."

Antonio came forward first and took a piece of chicken. "Gracias chica, this looks good." I gave a small curtsy and turned to Francis and Gilbert. "Would you two like some?" They both took a piece and ate up.

I set the plate down and saw everyone go off to talk with someone. "Ah! The violin! How nice." Antonio said as he listened to Roderich play. Even though Roderich wasn't too high of these guys, he couldn't pass a compliment from someone. "Thank you."

"Oh yes, I brought my guitar today! Hold on!" Antonio ran off and later came back with a nice looking guitar. "Want to play together?" I waited for Roderich's answer, and without even looking at me, he agreed. "Okay, how about... well, what do you play?"

Antonio thought for a second and then said, "I learned this new song a while ago because it sounded cool, but how about Love Story?" Roderich thought for a second and nodded. "Alright."

Just then, Feliciano and Lovino came walking up. "Ciao!" Feliciano shouted as they came over. Lovino waved and took a seat on the picnic blanket across from Antonio and Roderich. He looked the same, but as those two played, Lovino's harsh look sort of softened.

I went to check on Alfred as he cooked up the food and Matthew who helped him out. "How's it going guys?" Francis suddenly came out of nowhere and wrapped his arm around me. "Everything is wonderful, mon cher."

I almost punched him in the nose, but I took in a breath and said, "Please move your arm Francis..." He laughed and slowly took his arm back. Gilbert came over and poked me in the arm. "Hm?" I turned to him and asked, "Do you need something?" He shrugged and said, "Uh, just wondering when the food will be ready." I turned to Alfred and he said, "Five more minutes." Gilbert nodded and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Okay, hey, wanna take a walk around?" I looked at Roderich and saw he was still playing with Antonio, so I nodded and said, "Yeah, sure."

We began to walk towards the pond and Gilbert said, "I found a bird a little while ago."

"Really?" He nodded. "Yeah, he's still a chick, but he fell out of his nest and even though I tried putting him back, he wouldn't go and just kept following me." I giggled and said, "That's so sweet. Reminds me of that one time you broke your arm trying to help a little bird, remember that?" Gilbert laughed and said, "Yeah, my parents were pissed!" We both laughed.

The sunlight was hitting the pond so nicely, I really liked it. It was sort of cold, but not cold enough for a sweater. "Gilbert, do you ever miss it back home? Like back in high school and stuff?" I asked. He turned and looked at me for a second before turning back to the pond. "It was easier back then, and I didn't need to worry about getting a job."

"Yeah, I guess it was easier back then."

I looked back and saw that Heracles had arrived, and I saw Sadik was with him too. I knew I had to get up there before they started causing havoc. "I better get back up there."

As I turned to leave, Gilbert grabbed my wrist and stopped me. I turned back to him, but I didn't say anything. "What?" He didn't really keep his eyes focused, and he couldn't find anything to say either. "Is there something wrong?"

"N-No! I just wanted to say that... the birds name is Gilbird, and he's awesome!" I giggled and said, "You're so funny Gilbert." He grinned and scratched the back of his head. He let go and I went running back up to join the picnic. "Hey Heracles, hey Sadik."

The rest f picnic was awesome. Roderich and Antonio played together, although they ended up bickering over what songs they would play. Feliciano and Lovino listened as they played, Lovino usually shouted at them when they fought and Feliciano sort of just ignoring the fighting and listening to the pretty music. Alfred and Matthew made the food and it was gone pretty quickly. I didn't think everyone would be eating so much. Francis mostly hung out amongst Alfred and Matthew and Roderich and Antonio. I had to sometimes settle Sadik and Heracles down, but after a sandwich they were fine. And then there was Gilbert and I, just chilling out together.

~~~A while later~~~

"Okay, I need to get going." Heracles said as he looked down at his watch. Sadik nodded and followed Heracles as they left. "See ya Eliz!" he called. I waved as they left and said, "See you later!"

Lovino got up and dusted himself off. "Yeah, we gotta get back to the restaurant too. Come on fratello."

"Aw, now?"

"Si, hurry up!"

"Ve... Bye Eliz!"

They both left, Lovino dragging Feliciano as he blew kisses at me.

The next to go was Alfred and Matthew. "This was fun! You should do it again Eliz" Alfred said as he picked up the barbeque. Matthew nodded. "Yeah, that would be nice." I shrugged and said, "Maybe. See ya later."

Roderich and I began packing up our stuff when Gilbert started to help out too. "Here, I'll get the blanket." I moved the plates and basket off the blanket so he could roll it up while Roderich put his violin away. "There, now we should be going Elizabeta." I looked at Roderich and said, "Take this up to the car, I'll be up in a second." He took the basket and blanket while keeping a strong glare set on Gilbert the entire time.

"Hm, I guess he really doesn't like me." I wanted to say Gilbert was wrong, but it was just so obvious. "Yeah, I guess...I'm sorry, but don't be upset with him. He's just... trying to get used to having so many people around." Gilbert laughed and said, "The nerd doesn't have any friends?" I gave Gilbert a light punch in the arm and said, "Well he does, but he doesn't usually see them."

I heard the car horn beep, and Roderich was waving at me. "Oh, I gotta go, bye Gilbert." I ran up the hill and joined Roderich in the car. I watched as Gilbert waved at me, and Antonio and Francis joined him and also waved.

As we drove home, I asked, "Did you have fun?" Roderich shrugged and kept his eyes on the road. "Come on, you must have had fun playing with Antonio."

"Antonio isn't the best duet partner. He plays too fast for me to keep up with."

"Play faster then." He looked at me quickly and said, "I have a specific way of playing. I can't just change in an instant." I rolled my eyes and looked out the window. "What about everyone else? Did you enjoy the company?"

"Everyone was so... annoying." I sighed and said, "Do you like any of them?" He thought for a second and said, "Feliciano is alright, he appreciates my music." I suppose the fact he enjoyed one person's company was enough to please me for now.

"Roderich, do you ever get lonely?" He took his hand off the wheel and put it on my shoulder. "I have you don't I?" I smiled and said, "Yes, but I'm talking about friends. I have a bunch, don't you have any friends?"

"I do, but they live a ways away."

"What about that one girl that you said you met when you went on that trip? Uh... the guitar player?"

"Christiana?"

"Yes! Her! Does she live in the city?" Roderich pulled into our driveway and said, "She told me she lived in the city somewhere, she said she just moved here from Hungary."

We got out of the car and I went to get the cooler. "I wish I could go to Hungary one day. That's where my parents are from." Roderich got his violin case and said, "Maybe that can be our trip on our anniversary."

The two of us came inside and I began putting the plates in the dishwasher. "But maybe you can invite her over. You two might turn into really good friends." Roderich went into the living room and put his violin away. "I suppose it's worth a try. She was a kind and sophisticated girl." I began washing out the cooler as Roderich turned on the computer. "I'm pretty sure she's on my Facebook... Ah yes." He started typing something, so I quickly finished cleaning up and then ran into the living room to join him.

"What do you think. 'Dear Christiana, I was wondering if you would like to join my wife and I for lunch at an Italian restaurant. Our treat. Roderich.' How's that?" I reread his message and said, "Pretty fancy for a Facebook message. But it's good, so send it! Wait, when would we meet her?" Roderich thought and put down Friday next week. "There, now we'll wait and see."

~~~The next morning~~~

I slept in a bit later than Roderich, so when I woke up he wasn't next to me. I crawled out of bed and ran downstairs to get some breakfast. I wasn't expecting to see a woman sitting at the kitchen table with my husband drinking tea.

"Ah Elizabeta, good morning."

"Um, good morning. Who's this?" The woman stood up and did a small curtsy. "Hello, I'm Christiana Dohnányi. Umm..." She looked like she wanted to say something, but she was holding back.

Suddenly, she ran forward and hugged me. I didn't know what to do, so I stood there in shock, and I was surprised Roderich wasn't doing anything. "It's so good to see you again Eliz!"

"U-Uh, this is sort of weird" I said as she tried to squeeze the life out of me. She let go and set her hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry; I was just so excited to see you! It's been so long!"

She must have seen the confusion in my eyes because I had not a clue as to what she was talking about. "Oh, maybe you don't remember me. I'm your older cousin, and I lived in Hungary for a long time. I haven't seen you since we were just little kids, we used to play together all the time."

I wanted to say I remembered, but I didn't. "Here, see?" She pulled out a picture from her pocket and sure enough, it was of me and her in our younger years. I looked like a boy at that time. "Wow, I guess you are my cousin." She nodded happily and tucked the photo away. "It was a long time ago, so it's okay if you don't remember."

I grabbed myself a cup of tea and joined the two at the table. "So, what are you doing here?" I asked. I thought we weren't expecting her until Friday.

"I got Roderich's message and I thought I would just stop in." I looked at Roderich and asked, "So, you didn't know she was my cousin?" He shook his head. "No, it surprised me just as much as it did you."

Christiana giggled and rested her hand on mine. "I'm just so happy to see you! You were such a tomboy before, and now you're such a... woman!" I laughed and said, "Yeah, I started being a 'girl' in high school."

"Wow, and then I guess that's when you met Roderich?" I nodded. "Yes, he stole my heart back then." Roderich smiled and took a sip of his tea. "As did you Eliz."

We continued to chat until Christiana had to go. "I've got some work to do. Are we still on for Friday?" I nodded and said, "Yeah, sure. See you then." We stood facing each other and before she left she gave me another surprise hug. She finally let go and ran out the door. "Bye!"

After Christiana left, I met Roderich in the kitchen and said, "This was an interesting thing to wake up to." He nodded. "Yes, she saw a picture of you on the wall and asked if your name was Elizabeta Hedervary."

I took a seat at the table. "Funny thing is, I didn't have any idea who she was. Yet she seems to know everything about me!" Roderich gave me another cup of hot tea and said, "Like she said, it was a long time ago." I nodded and took the tea.

"Yeah, a long time ago."