"Oh, and do you remember all the times you fell while skating? How clumsy you were!"
"Nate!" I say, throwing a pillow at him. "I was seven years old! And if I remember correctly, you weren't that good either."
"True, but I wanted to impress you."
"You always have, often getting yourself into trouble."
"It was worth it because I saw you happy." He gets up from the sofa and fetches restaurant menus from the table. He shows them to me and I point to the pizza menu.
"Who knows if things have changed there or you can enjoy the same atmosphere of the past?" I ask thoughtfully.
"The only way to find out is to go there,” he says, bringing me some wine.
"Someday we'll go together. You have to promise me."
"I promise, I'll take you wherever you want."
"My knight in shining armor."
"Nah, this knight is without armor,” he says, looking at me, moving a lock of my hair. I get lost in his eyes and say nothing, just enjoying the moment and trying to clear my mind.
Shortly after, our pizza arrives and we sit down at the table.
"Nate ... what do we do? Is there an escape from this stupid tradition?"
"Not that I know of. What if we got married instead?"
"Tell me you're kidding." I look at him incredulously.
"No, listen. They’ll do anything to get us married. If it’s true that they’ve decided this for 24 years, it means that they’ve already organized almost everything."
"Maybe."
"What if we get married? They want it to happen after your birthday, which is two months from now. You’ll have to put up with me as 'your husband' for just one month. Then I'll leave for three months. Upon my return, we cancel the wedding."
"But marriage, its values..."
"I know. We can play their game but with our rules. And you’ll return to conquer the world."
"And you? What will you do next?"
"I don't know. I don't know whether to leave the service or continue."
"I can’t."
"Why?"
"Because I can't make you happy. And I can't pretend," I say, lowering my head.
"Then don't. And who says you wouldn't make me happy?"
"I say so."
"Why?"
"Because I'm empty. I don't know what it means to be loved or to love someone," I confess in a low voice.
He lifts my chin, looking into my eyes. "You’re a wonderful woman, and anyone would be happy to have you by his side. Alice always says that love is in our hearts. It must be cultivated and nurtured. I don't know precisely what that means, but I know for sure you're not empty. "
