Makarovia? Where The Hell Is That? Freshman Year - 30. Chapter 30

I walked over to the bundle of Milo’s and Bren’s pictures. Seeing how Cassie had treated Milo’s diary, I used a tissue to pull the photo out. I walked over to Drew.

“Can this be repaired?” I asked giving him the picture of Milo and Bren at the beach when they were teenagers.

He took the photo with the tissue. “This is from when? The late 1930s?” He looked at the image and with an appreciative nod and a smile. “Nice looking handsome young men.”

“The blonde one is Milo, the dark-haired one is Bren.” I pointed at the image. “Milo kept it safe as possible the whole time. Can it be repaired?”

Drew grinned with a look that said I shouldn’t question him about that. How could I doubt him? “We are a media business.” He said telling me it should be obvious to me and led me to what looked like a photocopier or scanner. He placed the image on the glass and closed the top. At a computer keyboard he entered some keys or commands, the thing the picture was on hummed as I saw a light pass like it does when making copies and he pointed to a monitor screen. “Media of all kinds is what we do. We’ll do a more detailed scan later, but...” He smiled as the image I gave him came up, much bigger. “There they are.” True to his words, the image was sharper and the details clearer. Now their faces were much clearer and seen better, but so were the white cracks that had come from time and wear. “We have a program that will fix these lines and cracks. That will take more time.”

I reached out and touched the screen to try and touch the faces. “But look at them…they were so young…they look so happy…” I felt a tear coming again. “What they would go through in a year or so from this time…”

Peter came up pulling me to him. “But they were happy later, Eric. You know that, so think about that.”

I nodded. “I know they were, but what was wrong with them loving each other!?” I said getting angry again. “Because they would influence the master race!? They wouldn’t even have children together and who would care if they did?” I looked at the two happy faces again and with renewed determination and looked at Drew, Wayne, and Peter. “Their story has got to be told…I mean all of it. Whatever Milo had written before this horrible war, during and after.” I looked over to Cassie, who, I hadn’t realized had begun reading some entries by Milo. She was crying.

“Eric’s right. This is horrible!” She said sniffing and wiping her face with her hand. “I’ll start to work right now.” She looked at the journals and diaries. “I’ll get all these together by date, translated and send you copies.” She waved some pages at me. “I can’t read Makarovian, but I read German and this is…” she read something else shaking her head, “just ghastly!! I can’t imagine doing this to any living creature, but another human being!?”

I nodded. “It doesn’t get better until they get to Makarovia. None of these documents before and during the war are pleasant.” I waved at the boxes. “There’s an entry where there were dogs that tore a young man apart, before everyone where they were forced to watch because the Nazis needed an execution, there are descriptions of a man being raped with a splintery post, the barrel of a rifle…it is horrible,” I said walking over to her. “It won’t be pleasant. I’ll understand if you can’t do it.”

She shook her head. “No.” She took a deep breath. “This needs to come out. I’ve covered the horrors of war before…and I was prepared…I thought, but this…” she sighed and used some tissue from the box I’d gotten one out to handle the picture and wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I’m fine.” She reassured. “This time, I’m ashamed to be German…if only by my father.”

“I admit, I didn’t like them at all for a few days after reading these, but now I know there are some good people who are Germans. They’re just people.” I smiled. “One I hope may become family.”

“Who?” Drew’s head went up suddenly as he seized on that and quickly asked. “Queen Alla? No, it’s King Olek!!”

“Drew,” Peter growled. “You’re going to piss us off!” He said in warning.

Wayne swatted Drew lightly on the arm. “Stop being a reporter, damn it!” He waved toward Peter and then me. “They agree to be our friends, not even a few minutes ago and you’re doing it again! Don’t scare off my new friends!”

Drew sighed, nodded his head and raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry.” He said to Peter and me and then looked at Wayne. “I think I could sooner quit being gay that not be a reporter. Even if it’s not the fay, fag and fairy shit.” Then he did it again. “Is it?” He asked hopefully.

“Drew!” Wayne nearly shouted. “The gay part, I want you to keep, just work on the reporter part. Knock it off.” He said softly as he looked in Drew’s eyes pleading in a way knew worked with him on Drew. “For me?”

Drew blew a breath. “Sorry, again…I’ll do it.” He grinned at Wayne. “Only because I love you.” He said kissing Wayne.

Wayne nodded smiling at his husband. “Prove it by not doing it with our friends.” He touched Drew’s face lovingly. “I love you.”

“Anyway,” Drew said changing the subject. “We can fix this picture and others, you’ll never know it was like this.” He grinned.

I chuckled. “No problem. As we are now friends, I tell you what…when whoever agrees with whomever to join the family, you’ll be the…” I counted using my fingers as I did, “fifth or sixth person to know. Providing that person allows it.”

Drew nodded. “Yea, sure.” He said not happy but realized he had no choice then brightened. “How long are you staying here?”

“Two or three days,” Peter answered.

“Great!” Drew nodded. “We’ll have a good dinner and I’ll take tomorrow off and Wayne and I will show you some things in London!”

“That would be great.” I smiled as Peter came up and embraced me. “You two should visit Boston. We can show you where we dumped your shipment of tea in the harbor.”

Peter looked a little puzzled and thought, came up with nothing as he looked at me. “What? When did you to that?”

“Revolutionary war?” I hinted and saw nothing on Peter’s face to tell me he knew it. “1773?” Nothing. “The Boston Tea Party?”

Then he gave a shrugging nod. “I must have missed it in class.”

I chuckled pressing my forehead against his chin. “That’s okay, you had other things on your mind I’m sure.” I waved at the bundle of letters and photos. “There are other good pictures of them, too in there.” I waved at the boxes. “And more of the others. Milo and Bren just…touched me.”

Drew nodded. “Sure. We’ll head home soon. You can see how Wayne didn’t panic.”

Wayne smiled, but then looked at the four security guards with us. “What about them? I know I didn’t make enough for all of us if they’re going to eat, too.”

Peter looked at the guards and chuckled. “No, they will be on duty and will stay at the door.”

“They’re not dogs,” I grumbled.

“They are our guards.” Peter reminded me.

“Guards that don’t really talk or even take a break to piss,” I whispered. “Sometimes, I don’t think they’re human at all.”

We did have a good dinner. Wayne was a good cook! Beef Wellington! Wayne had done all the preparation before, so all he did was put what was needed in to cook. We had a good time. They had a great apartment. The next day, Drew and Wayne showed us around London. Buckingham Palace…which I wondered, as grand as it was…it was very elegant and ornate…but the current monarch didn’t even live there. It wasn’t home to him. The one in Stryia, for me, was! It was then I realized, Makarovia had become my home. I also noticed that Peter never lost contact with me. This was just normal for us. Either we held hands or he had his arm around me. He’d kiss me…whenever...not caring if anyone saw us. I noticed that Wayne and Drew did the same thing, but not as much. They were raised in a world that hadn’t really accepted them in the beginning of their relationship and that caution was…ingrained. Peter had never been taught he couldn’t or shouldn’t be, so he didn’t think about it. There were many…regular people going about their daily lives, but seeing us arrive…Drew drove us in his car followed by the SUV with our security guards who kept distance as necessary, but seeing them and us…Peter and me…there were conversations started by those regular people who knew who we were. They even took us to the London Eye! That huge Ferris Wheel you see in pictures of London? Getting on, there was again the sudden conversations and looks from the various people. I now knew, we were known.

In the capsule we rode in on the London Eye, I looked at Peter. “We start our sophomore year in a week.”

“Sure.” Peter chuckled. “I look forward to it. A lot of changes coming in the next year.”

“For Makarovia and us, sure. We’ll be married at this time next year. You’ll officially be my husband and I'll be a real prince. Somethings will be the same…like that all-night studying, the exams…that isn’t changing. Who wouldn’t look forward to that?” I looked at the many faces looking up at us as we rose up slowly. “It won’t be Makarovia? Where the hell is that!?, anymore. Now, it’s Makavovia! Yea, I know where it is.”

Peter nodded pulling me close to him. “They know about Makarovia now. Mostly because of us. How do you feel about that?”

I smiled. “As long as they know…I love you, Peter.”

Smiling, he kissed me. “I know. I love you, Eric.”

Peter kissed me again, tenderly and full of love.

“I know you do,” I said.

The new year begins and you KNOW it's not over for Peter or Eric.  Soon they go back to school.  A lot of things happen.  Makarovia!   Yea, I know where it is!  Sophomore Year begins in a few days.  Back to Romania for now.  I do love you guys.