The Most Valuable Antiques/Chapter Three

Read the previous chapter here.

"Dearest Anastas, I've been pining for you since you've been gone."

As I began approaching the stairwell to greet my beloved husband, I heard the sound of him dropping his bags of materials onto the ground at the bottom of the stairs and the quick rush of footsteps up the staircase. Once he made it to the top, he wrapped his arms around me in a tight – and soaked, for his outfit was entirely drenched from the rain – embrace. I found myself returning the embrace and absolutely melting.

Though Anastas had only been gone for a few hours, to be close with him again reignited a certain feeling I felt hours ago, when I was alone in the shop – it was the sensation of yearning felt for the man whom I loved, and also dearly missed. In his arms, I felt safe and warm.

"Dear Grimm," I thought to myself. "How dearly I've missed him."

"I was pining for you too, Eli'ka," Anastas said as he lowered himself to my level in order to meet my gaze. His frost-blue eyes met with my hazel eyes, which was restlessly fixated on studying his features.

Every part of my being missed Anastas – the smooth, light ashy-brown hair of his which almost reached down to his shoulders, his soft and sincere smile, the icy nature of his droopy but kind eyes, and every aspect of his physique indicating his age, such as the hints of gray and white strands of hair mixed in with the brown and the bit of wrinkles around his smile and eyes. Even if he seemed like an old man at the tender age of twenty-nine, there was still an air of youthfulness to him that seemed apparent everytime he laughed or smiled. T

hough Anastas seemed to be a peculiar-appearing man of Russian descent, he was still my beloved, and every part of me missed every part of him. Being in his company again made me feel ecstatic.

As we parted from our embrace, his hands – which were weathered and worn down from years of involving himself in the art of woodworking – reached to hold my free hand (for the other hand was holding an empty glass), brought it towards his lips, and planted a kiss on it. It was a small but sweet gesture shared between two lovers, and I couldn't help but find myself to be pleased by it. However, I remembered the amount of hours I spent in the store on my own after he left, and began to frown.

"I don't suppose you were too happy to be left alone for so long," Anastas noted as he regarded my expression of displeasure.

"Does it seem apparent?"

"Forgive me for leaving you on your own for a very long time, especially in this dreadful weather."

"You're half-forgiven – I did warn you of the 'dreadful weather' before you left," I inspected his current attire, which I noticed was doused from the rain when he pulled me into an embrace earlier. "I trust you don't anticipate my help in airing those out for you," I said while pointing to his wet clothes.

"Of course not, my dear. I wouldn't want to trouble you as much as I already have," he let out a bashful chuckle, but stopped once he saw I wasn't smiling or laughing. He then coughed nervously, and apologized in self-reproach, "Truly, I am sorry for leaving you alone."

My face softened upon hearing his second apology, and my hand reached to caress his cheek.

"It's okay, darling – it's all water under the bridge," I began to speak, then stopped once our faces inched closer to each other, and soon the distance between us drew to a close as I felt his lips pressed against mine. I smiled against his lips, and I felt a smile form against mine. "I can't stand to stay mad at you forever-after," I whispered to him as I drew away from his lips. The kiss was between us was short, but sweet. Though it was short, I valued it regardless of its length, for every kiss shared between us was valuable to me in their own manner.

"I love you," Anastas said to me.

"And I you," I said back.

Anastas gave me another kiss on the lips, though this time it was a quick peck. "The things I've bought from the crafts store is down there," he turned to the stairwell and pointed down the stairs.

"New paints and the like?" I asked him while looking towards the stairs and seeing the bags he left at the bottom floor.

"Correct – your presumptions are as sharp as always," he answered with a grin.

"Of course," I remarked confidently. I then remembered the glass I was holding in my hand, which caused me to remember Glaucio and Kaden in the other room and water I was meant to fetch for Kaden.

"I hope it isn't too much of me to ask if you could help with the bags," Anastas pleaded, but knowing of Glaucio and Kaden, I had to decline.

"I'm sorry, I can't right now," I replied to his request while gesturing down the hall to the room where Glaucio and Kaden were staying.

"Right, the two gentlemen you mentioned from our talk are staying here for the night," he said, and I noticed a hint of curiosity forming in his expression.

"They might have to stay for a couple more, if the sickness of one of the fellows persists," I added.

"Well, I suppose I should wash up, take care of the bags, and then meet with the two," Anastas gleefully declared. "I must admit," he said, gazing down at his drenched attire, "tonight was not the best night to walk to and from the shop."

"Again, I'm not helping you air your clothes dry," I said, half-jokingly. He chuckled as if he knew I wasn't going to stay true to my words and help with his clothes anyway. Turning away to make his way towards our flat entrance, he started unlocking and opening the door, but he then stopped in his tracks midway through entering the flat.

"By the way," he said. "what were the names of the gentlemen staying with us? I don't recall you mentioning them earlier."

"That's true, I forgot to mention them on the call. They said their names are Glaucio and Kaden," I answered.

"Oh," he simply said. His expression became neutral and with no feeling. "Those names sound familiar," he then said after a minute of maintaining his blank expression. At long last he shrugged, then turned back towards the entrance and walked inside our flat, shutting the door behind him.

"Odd,", I thought. "I've never seen him react that way before."

Nevertheless I paid no mind to it, and the memory left my head as soon as I entered the room Glaucio and Kaden were staying in. I approached the kitchenette, but found myself bewildered at the lights being on inside, and at whom I found inside the room.

There was the golden-haired, rose-bearing man whose name was Glaucio was leaned over the sink with a mug in his hand and his other hand itching to turn on the faucet. "I didn't mean to startle you, sorry," he said in fluent French when he noticed I had walked into the kitchenette. "Kaden kept complaining about wanting water, and it didn't seem as if you were returning with it anytime soon."

"I'm sure I wasn't gone for that long, was I?" I asked while approaching him. I then set the glass down onto the wooden countertop near the sink. He proceeded to turn the faucet on and held the mug under it to collect the water pouring from it. Leaning onto the counter, I crossed my arms and examined Glaucio further.

Glaucio, like Anastas, was of a lanky and statuesque figure. His lips curled into a mysterious smile, similar to the one seen on the Mona Lisa, and his grey eyes seemed fixated on the mug and the water. Though his disposition seemed cheery and lively, I wasn't fully-convinced of it at all.

"In my opinion, it wasn't a long wait, but Kaden isn't typically very patient in the first place," Glaucio explained, then turned off the faucet once he seemed satisfied with the amount of water in the mug.

"I see," I said, not knowing how to respond. "Well, seeing as you've gotten Kaden's drink handled, is there anything I could fix for you? Tea, perhaps?"

"Hot tea seems fitting for the occasion," Glaucio replied. I watched him walk with jaunty steps towards the door. He was about to leave before saying, "I'm heading back to Kaden right now, but I'd appreciate having any kind of tea prepared for me, if that isn't too much trouble."

"Of course it isn't – it's my way of making up for supposedly taking too long with the water," I flashed him a grin, and he returned the gesture with his own mirthful smirk.

"Also, I'm returning back here to have my tea after seeing Kaden. I'd like for us to chat – specifically about you and your husband," he stated excitedly, then winked at me before finally leaving in the direction of the bedroom – and I could've sworn there was a mischievous glint in his eyes before he left.

Letting out a deep sigh, I began to ponder what I got myself and Anastas into this time. It was almost to the point where I felt regret over allowing Glaucio and Kaden to stay in our flat and even wanted to ask them to leave.

But I decided against having these thoughts for much longer.

"You're a gentleman, Eli," I began to judge myself harshly. "Gentlemen are meant to be courteous and hospitable."

Before long, I started preparing tea for not just Glaucio, but for myself as well. This was truly what I merited after the long and difficult day I've had. Tiredly, I said to myself:

"This also will be a difficult night."

Read the next chapter here.