Noortje’s POV

Tony and I were walking back from our short ‘shopping’ trip. Tony had successfully been able to buy condoms and I got the morning after pill. I don’t think anybody caught us. While we were there I also decided to get a fill up for my medication. The dosages were getting lower and eventually I would finally be able to stop taking them. I found out that they were the reason for the pregnancy scare. Apparently they mess with my hormones as well, which is why I had to stop taking birth control. Next time I have to read the side effects before freaking out.

After going to the drugstore we had gone to the florist. No, Tony wasn’t getting flowers for me. He has suggested we go to the cemetery today and visit my brother. I liked the sound of the idea and agreed to it. However, I insisted on getting flowers first. I had chosen flowers that were black, blue, and purple. The colors mixed so that they resembled a galaxy. I thought it fit perfectly.

We were walking through the hallway so we could get to our room and put the bags away. But before we reached our room, we bumped into Vic. Literally bumped into… We were turning a corner and Vic was looking at his phone.
“Oh, hey guys.” Vic squeaked out.
“What’s up, Vic?” Tony asked.
“Oh just wandering around… What’s in the bag?” Vic nodded towards my bag from the drugstore.
“I need to get my medication. No biggy.” I glared at him. He seemed to know something, and I didn’t like it.
“Sure. Why don’t we go to the lobby and call the others, so we can leave.” Vic suggested.
I looked at Tony, asking for him to help me. I still had to take the pill and if I didn’t do it now I would forget it.
“Umm, why don’t you take the bags back to our hotel room? I’ll take the flowers and go with Vic.” Tony said.
“Sure thing. I’ll meet you there.” I grabbed the bag from Tony and kissed his cheek before running off.

I slammed the door closed behind me and rushed to the bathroom. I placed the bags on the floor and rummaged through mine. I found the box and quickly opened it. There were instructions so I quickly skimmed over them before gulping the pill down. Curiosity took over me and I decided to take a peek in Tony’s plastic bag. I blushed as soon as I saw all the things he had bought. He had a whole assortment of different condoms. There were thinner ones and extra safe ones, ones without a flavour and some with, and then there were many different textures and shapes. I looked further and found other things. He also bought a pregnancy test (always useful, I guess?), and lubricant. Well… I guess that things might get eventful with Tony.

I stood up and grabbed a jacket. It was getting a little chilly and I didn’t want to get sick. I took the elevator downstairs and walked over to where everybody else was waiting for me. I smiled and Tony glanced at me. I nodded towards him, telling him I had taken the pill. I was happy that Tony and I were so open about this stuff. It made things less awkward and we could always discuss things. I guess that’s what happens when you’re best friends for years and talk about everything.

“So, are you ready?” I asked the group of 5 men in front of me.
“Yeah!” Jaime exclaimed, “Wait, where are we actually going, and why does Tony have flowers?”
“Well, I thought I just show you around here today. And the flowers have something to do with that.” I grinned.
“Well let’s get going then!” Vic proposed.

We were walking in the direction of the train station, when it came in sight.
“Care to explain why were are at a train station?” Mike, who was walking next to me, inquired.
“We’re not here for the trains. We’re here for those.” I pointed towards some public bikes, “Unless you want to walk. It will most likely take you longer than an hour, but go ahead.”
Mike looked at shocked and I laughed.
“Come on then.” I giggled.

We each got a bike and changed the heights of the seats accordingly. I sped up so I was in front of the group and led the way. We slowly biked towards a more rural area. I took my hands off the handlebars and let myself relax. Vic came up and biked next to me.
“Some looks like they are enjoying themselves.” He smirked.
“Meh. This used to be the road I took home. Of course I could have taken a road that was 10 minutes shorter. But just look at this, it’s even better when it’s pouring down with rain.” I motioned towards the greenery and trees.
“Pouring with rain? I can just think of how annoying it must be!”
“Nope, I was being serious. You can find the best rainbows here. And the rain makes everything give a mysterious gloom.”

We went to cross a road where cars had to wait for bikers to pass. However, a car came and didn’t stop. It almost hit me and drove away. The only way to avoid the car was to make myself fall over.
“Well, fuck you too!” I screamed at the car.
“Oh, shit!” Tony shouted, almost running over me as well.
I followed the car with my eyes and recognized it. I felt anger bubbling inside of me and I counted up to 10 and back down. Tony reach out to help me.
“Don’t touch me.” I growled.
He pulled his hand away and looked at me with a hurt expression. I couldn’t be bothered to apologize to him. There was too much anger inside of me. I stood up and brushed myself off and looked at my knee. There was blood oozing out of it, but I ignored it.
“Fucking hell.” I mumbled.
“I swear the car sped up.” Mike claimed.
“I know he did… I can’t believe he still has the same car.” I grumbled.
“Same car? Who?” Jaime asked.
“And that, everybody, is my father. You’re lucky you didn’t see him yesterday. I guess he wasn’t interested in seeing me.”
Everybody gave me a sympathetic smile and I rolled my eyes.
“Oh my god, you’re bleeding!” Tony shrieked.
“Yes, but I’ll survive. It’s nothing I can’t take.”
“Are you sure?” Tony sounded anxious.
Everybody gave Tony a weird inspecting look and I glared at him. If he kept going on like this they would get suspicious.
Tony coughed, “Let’s go then.”

I stayed behind the group with Tony.
“You have to be more careful! They’re already looking at us weird!” I whisper-shouted.
“I’m sorry, I just can’t stand seeing you hurt.”
I blushed.
“I’m being serious. I really like you.” Tony affirmed.
“I like you too.” I smiled.
“Noortje!” Jay shouted from up front, “Where do we go!”
We were at a four way stop and I knew we were close.
“To the right!” I shouted, hoping he heard.
Everybody turned right and I quickly biked up to the front.
“And now in here.” I said, taking another right up a dirt road.
We placed the bikes in the provided bike rack and walked towards the graveyard, the guys were a few steps behind me.
‘Why are we at a graveyard!” Vic inquired.
I turned around to look at him and pointed towards the flowers. He mouthed an ‘oh’.
“So. This is where I spent most of my time in highschool. I would stay here till the sun set. You might call me crazy, and I can agree on that, but this is like a second home to me.” I told them.
I opened the gate and walked towards the gravestone I was looking for. I walked past another and saw an old woman standing next to it.
“Mrs. Smith!” I exclaimed.
“Noortje! Your back!” She looked really happy to see me.
I ran over to her and hugged her.
“Where have you been?” She asked with her heavy accent from New York.
“I’ve been in America, remember? I told you.”
“Oh yeah.” She said with a shaky hand.
“It’s good seeing you again.” I smiled while looking at her. She had aged and had many new wrinkles. But she still looked like the Mrs. Smith I knew all those years ago.
“I have visited Tom whenever I visited Mr. Smith. It upsets me to see that nobody ever comes to see him.”
“Well, I’m here to see him now. By the way, these are my friends. Guys, this is Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith this is Vic, Jaime, Mike, Tony, and Jay.”
“It’s nice to meet you boys. Noortje has never brought anyone back here.”
“Hmm… you’re right. I guess these guys are special.” I said while looking at Tony and he grinned.
“Well, I should let you go then. Tom will probably be happy to see you again.”
“Thank you.”
I leaned towards Mrs. Smith’s ear and whispered, “One of these guys is my boyfriend, but the other’s don’t know about it. I’d like you to get to know him a bit better. Can we talk a bit after I go see Tom?”
“Of course sweetheart!” She said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.
I turned to the guys, “Ok. Let’s go visit Tom! Woooo!”
I punched the air and everybody laughed at me.

I knew that only Tony knew who Tom was and I was glad nobody asked me any questions. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to go through them again. We walked over to the gravestone placed next to a tree and stopped at it. Mrs. Smith had indeed taken care of it. There was no dirt of the stone and all the letters were still readable. I sat down indian style in front of it and placed the flowers on top. Tony copied my actions and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. The others read what the stone said and realization set over them. They didn’t sit down with me, but showed their respect.

I went to stand up after playing with the stones around the gravestone for a bit, when I remembered something I had stuffed in my pocket. I took out a folded piece of paper and flattened it out. It was a drawing Tom had made of a rocketship the day before he died. I smiled to myself, remembering the fun we had that day, even though I knew he was going to die in either that night or the next morning. At least his last memory of me was good. Put the drawing back in my pocket and Tony helped me stand up.

“You can go explore if you want. I didn’t really have much more planned for today. This place is a lot more than just a graveyard, you just have to find where to look.” I said.
Everybody shrugged and took off.
Tony stayed with me.
“And we are going to see Mrs. Smith. I want you guys to get to know each other better. She took me in when my parents locked me out of the house for 4 days.” I grinned up at Tony while dragging him along.
“I like anybody who takes care of my Noortje.” He smiled back.

I felt a warm fuzzy feeling in me when he called me his. I wrapped my arms around his waist and continued walking. Eventually we arrived at the bench Mrs. Smith always sat on. I sat next to her and Tony sat next to me.

“Mrs. Smith, this is Tony.”
They shook hands and Mrs. Smith chuckled, “He’s a handsome fellow, Noortje.”
“Oh, I know.” Tony smirked.
I hit him against his chest and he pouted. I raised my eyebrows at him and he smiled again.
“So how do you know him?” Mrs. Smith asked.
“Oh, we’re in a band together, with the other guys.” I proclaimed.
“Oh! That sound so adventurous! I remember going to shows when I was your age!”
“Really?” I asked not believing her.
“Yes, dear. I even have a memory from it.” She pulled up her sleeve and revealed a small tattoo.
“No way! How did I not know this! I feel like I’m getting to know you instead of you guys getting to know each other.”
Mrs. Smith chortled, “How long have you been together?”
“Ummm….” I looked over to Tony, hoping he would answer this.
“Almost a day.” Tony mumbled.
“Oh! That’s quite short!”
“Yeah, but there’s something special about him.” I explained and gave Tony a loving glance, which he returned.
“You know, Mr. Smith and I got married 2 weeks into our relationship. When you know, you know.”
“That’s sweet.” I smiled.

Vic, Jaime, Mike, and Jay came walking back our way and I waved at them. They waved back and stopped in front of us. Mrs. Smith slowly stood up and turned to me.
“It’s time I get back home. I still have to feed the dog.”
“It was nice seeing you again Mrs. Smith.” I smiled.
“It was nice seeing you as well, darling. And nice meeting you Tony.”
Tony nodded and we all said goodbye.

My phone buzzed, notifying me that I had gotten a text message. It was from Ewout.
Made a reservation at the vegetarian restaurant at 7, come join us.
I smiled and replied back.
Sure, just don’t mention Tony and I… Nobody knows.
I put my phone back in my pocket and pushed myself up.
“So, Ewout made a reservation at a vegetarian restaurant, we’re meeting him and Ties there at 7. So… we should probably leave now.”

----

We were all stood in the elevator waiting to reach our floor. It was now 6:15, so we still had half an hour till we had to leave. I flashed a look at Tony and bit my lip. He smirked back at me and the elevator door opened.

“So, see you at quarter to seven.” Vic said and we all walked off in different directions.

Notes

So, you got to know Mrs. Smith a bit. Does she seem nice?


- DSN