Love Story 3

THE CURTAIN OF LOVE

It often seems that women are addicts of love. Such a dependency, in fact, is manifested through the woman’s striving to master the art of love by her self-assessment and self-respect. The release from such turbulent feelings of uncertainty relies on the foundations of many thoughts and imaginations that such women have about the stronger sex. This explanation and release is both fictional and imaginary and, at the same time, incomprehensible. It seems that there is no more marvelous feeling than that of the euphoria of amorousness and exaltation.

My old acquaintance Andrea S., born in the region of Lerin, was an engineer by profession. He had been living in Canada for more than ten years. Canada is very far away from Macedonia geographically, but nevertheless intimately very close. He was a spiritual person full of pearls of Macedonian life, obviously inherited from his parents in their homeland.

I didn’t have a chance to meet this interesting fellow citizen of ours in the past in spite of my frequent visits to Toronto. His many years of work in the north, which the Canadian authorities were preparing to be settled on a large-scale, was the reason for that.

We were seated in an elegant restaurant in the city’s downtown, owned by a Macedonian from the Aegean part of Macedonia, when Andrea started narrating his life story which was unusual to a great extent.

His first misfortune in Canada was his friendship with a young Macedonian saleswoman in a textile shop where he went to buy a knitted pullover. Her beauty, grace and entrancing glance, as well as her behaviour towards him, attracted him so much that he immediately forgot the shopping. Beautiful Emilia couldn’t take her eyes off him and she soon accepted the plan he immediately proposed to her.

After several meetings in the store, they continued to see each other in various nightclubs and restaurants where his hard-earned money was quickly being squandered. Soon they reached their finale and he moved into her place.

Emilia was born in a village in the region of Bitola and later went to Toronto to live with her relatives. Two years before he met her she had started a job, rented an apartment and spent all her money in night clubs, hanging around with different men. What Andrea didn’t know was the fact that she had already had intimate relationships with men of different nationalities, race and colour. Her sexual relationship with them lasted only for a month or two. She used to change men as if they were bathroom towels.

Less than three months after the wedding of Andrea and Emilia their marriage simply broke down; without a word, without any quarrel. The young bride just disappeared from his life forever. In addition to that sleepless night, my friend had to resign himself to his fate. However, he was happy that their relationship hadn’t been legalized in any of the municipalities of Toronto.

Disappointed by his failure to start a family, Andrea, after some time, made up his mind to marry a Canadian girl of French origin that he had met at the wedding of his friend from Quebec. He was tortured by the thought that other Macedonian women, after settling in Canada, maybe understood their freedom as a sexual revolution which they had to experience in order to fit into the new society. Therefore he decided to marry Natalie who accepted him without a word, first as her companion in restaurants, clubs and at disco parties where she used to go, and, later, when she got to know him better, also as his soul mate. Natalie was an attractive girl with an unusual captivating smile. She was fairly small in stature but she had lovely breasts and long legs. As a lover, he passed the test with an excellent grade, which motivated them to move their relationship to marriage.

Taught by his experience with Emilia, this time Andrea didn’t rush into legalizing their relationship at a municipality, but simply had a ceremony with their closest and dearest friends. He decided to get to know his soul mate better before putting his signature on a state register. It was as if he had a premonition that his previous experience with the Macedonian woman was possible in this relationship too.

And it happened just like that. Only a month later he found out that Natalie, during her 20s to 30s, went through a period filled with a series of tumultuous adventures, and even two short-term marriages. As an editor-in-chief at a publishing house she carried out her duties meticulously and responsibly, but nevertheless couldn’t find real enjoyment in her job. She easily attracted the attention of men with her temperament and cleverness but unfortunately her relationships didn’t last long. Her days were filled with dreams of a new love. She wondered if the next man would be the one to tame her feelings and desire. Deep in her soul, Natalie was getting more and more tired of her numerous relationships with various men. Therefore she decided to put an end to her “joyful” wanderings and settle down with Andrea. After only one month of abstention however she realized that the life she was leading was senseless and that, besides excitement from love, she was unable to feel the beauty of many activities that she hoped would give her enjoyment. Going to theatres didn’t satisfy her if her last lover was not next to her. Her friends were boring if they didn’t like to talk about men. Even the work at the publishing house was becoming dull and boring if her last lover was not there with her.

Terrified by the strong feelings she was hiding behind the curtain of love addiction, Natalie started to lose her desire and will to fight against it and one day she left Andrea, leaving no explanation for making such a decision.

After several days of waiting for her call, Andrea finally came to terms with his loneliness, as he had with Emilia before her.

He could understand everything, except the situation in which he had nothing but bad luck. But he managed to accept the situation and heal his wounds, determined to use his third chance to be successful in finding a lifelong soul mate. A long period had passed and he had more than one girlfriend. But he was unable to solve the central dilemma: whether this time he was to choose a Macedonian girl or a non-national?

He found the answer to this dilemma during a one-day cruise on Lake Ontario. Many of the passengers enjoyed the summer sun and beautiful panoramic view of the ship’s deck, dozing off in the comfortable beach chairs. Enchanted by the romantic scenery, Andrea napped while the light wind caressed his face. When he opened his eyes he saw a beautiful young girl just a few steps from him who was watching him curiously. Her smile “took” him to her. He made the acquaintance of this beauty. Her name was Angelina. She was born in Canada, but her parents were from Prespa, Macedonia. She was a tall, beautiful and presentable girl. Andrea’s heart leaped when he exchanged his first words with her.

Angelina had a university education and was an environmentalist. She lived in an apartment in a beautiful building near the beach on Lake Ontario, close to downtown. She always arranged their meetings somewhere close to the lake.

Their rendezvous were becoming more and more frequent. Their love affair was becoming stronger and more interesting. One day Angelina, or Angel, as Andrea used to call her, suggested they marry. The expression on his face was of approval and great satisfaction. However his soul was still tortured by his past experiences. He was afraid that destiny would turn its back on him and therefore he felt insecure.

After many sleepless nights thinking about the dilemma – a marriage or not – he nevertheless found the strength to marry Angelina. Although he did have unsettling anxiety, he later realized that Angelina was the woman of his dreams. Their love was so strong so that Andrea opened his heart telling Angela all about the adventures he had experienced since coming to Canada. They spent the following months together and got to know each other better in every way; discovering their characters and characteristics necessary for a successful marriage. When she introduced him to her parents, they were delighted with Andrea. They liked him more because he was a mechanical engineer and they needed one for their metal construction company which used many subcontractors. Getting involved in the business of his wife’s parents gave Andrea a perfect opportunity to get to know them better and vice versa, which was guaranteed to enrich their family.

The wedding ceremony of Andrea and Angel (as her parents also called her) was prepared very carefully. There were more than 500 wedding guests from all parts of Canada where Macedonians live and work. Contrary to his past marriages, this time he took Angela to City Hall where their marriage was legalized. The wedding ceremony and reception lasted for a whole day in a large hall in a hotel.

“The Macedonian marriage is nevertheless an undying fortress,” said Andrea bringing an end to his love story.