Life Of The Newlyweds

Since their wedding night, Andrea hardly ever called Ludwina's name anymore. He always used the word "honey" when addressing the girl.

At first, Ludwina still felt a bit uncomfortable to be called that, because she was used to calling each other by the first name, even with her much older brother.

She thought 'Honey' was a bit cheesy.

However, after a few days, she finally got used to her new pet name, yet she continued calling Andrea by name. Both agreed to express love in their own way.

They didn't control each other, how they should behave, and called each other. Wherever they went, everyone could see how much they loved each other.

Andrea really spoiled his wife. Whenever they were together, he would always hold Ludwina's hand or hug her shoulders.

Whatever the girl said, he agreed. He now smiled a lot. It was so good to be with each other. Their happy faces made the other people around them stared in envy.

Ludwina was really inspired when she came to meet her idol writer, Mary Ann Rowlins.

She came to UWRF every year to get inspiration from successful writers who were her role models. She also dreamt that one day, she would become a speaker at UWRF as a successful writer like them.

"You can do it," Andrea whispered to Ludwina as they watched Mary Ann Rowlins read the first chapter of her new novel.

Ludwina nodded slowly and smiled.

'The inspiration is here', she thought, glancing at Andrea.

***

After their honeymoon in Bali, Ludwina moved to Singapore. Mr. Kurniawan gifted them an apartment, and the two chose a flat on Beach Road that they liked.

Like Andrea's old apartment, their unit had two bedrooms. Ludwina chose the furnishings and decorated their love nest with gray and white accents. It was minimalist yet warm.

One room was used as a bedroom for the two of them, and the other was converted into an office with two desks and comfortable chairs. When Andrea worked from home, he would spend his time there with Ludwina, who was at the next table, filling her inspiration bank.

When Andrea was in the office, Ludwina preferred to read or write on a chair on the balcony of their apartment. She still frequently sent travel articles to print and online media while finishing many of her novels kept in her inspiration bank.

On the weekends, both relaxed more at home and read or watched movies while enjoying wine and chatting about anything. Ludwina was very happy with the life she was living with Andrea, and she was amazed that, for the first time, she did not feel bored staying at home for such a long time.

She no longer felt restless and wanted to explore the world, as she used to do in the past. For some reason, she felt so comfortable being a homie girl, typing or reading while waiting for Andrea to come home from work.

They never had any arguments or fights. Andrea always agreed with what Ludwina said, and his wife was not spoiled nor demanding.

They returned to Jakarta once a month and travel to Europe or America once or twice a year. When Andrea took Ludwina to his company's year-end party for the first time, many of the girls in his office were heartbroken.

They didn't know that Andrea had been secretly married. The two of them were the target of so many jealous looks when Andrea walked into the party venue with Ludwina in his arms.

He introduced his wife to the colleagues in his office, and they could all immediately see why Andrea fell in love with her. The girl had contagious laughter and plenty of interesting stories to tell.

Early in their marriage, Andrea and Ludwina had to explain to people, asking when they would have children, that neither of them intended to add more family members. But the questions didn't stop, and in the end, they stopped trying to explain. They just smiled and changed the subject.

Ludwina felt very grateful because Andrea kept his promise and never talked about children. She felt that she had found the perfect husband for her, and they lived intimately like newlyweds even after years went by.

***

Because they got married and honeymooned in Bali, Ludwina and Andrea did not have time to go to New York in the fall as they wanted initially. Finally, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, they traveled there the following year.

In October 2014, they left for New York and stayed there for a week before continuing to Boston and several smaller cities around NYC.

Andrea finally understood why Ludwina loved the world's busiest metropolis. New York reminded him of Gotham City from the Batman films.

The most expensive thing in New York was the accommodation. If hotels in other cities charge $100 night, in New York, the rates would be double. That's how expensive the city was. However, there was plenty of good food in New York, and many were quite affordable.

As they passed the legendary Grand Central Station, Ludwina took Andrea to eat the famous New York 1 dollar pizza. The pizza was big and meaty, very different from the thin and slightly crispy Italian pizza. It could be bought per piece, for one dollar, and for Ludwina, who ate a little, one slice was more than enough.

Transportation in New York was also good, from subways, buses, and taxis to Uber and Lyft. Still, because the city center was not very big, they often walked on foot from one point to another. Especially with the layout of New York, which was very organized, they could easily find the route.

Andrea was very fond of the parks spread all over the city, and of course, Central Park, which was the lungs of the state. They loved spending time there, reading and chatting, watching people exercising, walking dogs, or just relaxing, and watching the behavior of various adorable park animals such as squirrels and geese.

Ludwina often brought extra food to feed the animals, and once they had enough in Central Park, they usually walked hand in hand to Ludwina's regular coffee shop in Central Park West. When the weekend arrived, the two enjoyed the excitement at various cafes and clubs around the East Village.

"So, how do you like New York?" Ludwina asked when they were checking at the airline check-in counter in for their flight home.

"New York is great, no wonder you love coming here," said Andrea with a smile. "I still prefer Rome, though."

"We can go to Italy during the Christmas holidays, " Ludwina replied. "Next time, we should visit the Vatican. We can buy tickets online, so we don't have to queue for too long."

"Uhmm...shouldn't we go back to Jakarta for Christmas? Let us meet our family," Andrea reminded her. "We can go to Rome and the Vatican some other times."

"That's true."

The two of them walked hand in hand into the lounge while waiting for their flight. Ludwina got them two glasses of wine while Andrea got a snack, and the two sat on the sofa chatting.