Broken Hearts On Boulevard Unirii novel Chapter 57

In the late afternoon of the same day, my friends returned to Italy. Fabrizio returned to his bar, Angelo returned to his daily activities, and I ran around among the various trading houses looking for furniture and electrical appliances.

After I furnished and rented the apartment on Cismigiu, I turned my attention to the apartment on Decebal, where they had already begun tearing down walls, replacing windows including the large picture window, facing the front balcony

I met Dorina in front of the apartment building on Decebal. She greeted me politely. She always tried to be nice, but not overly so, because she knew I disliked it. I behaved with her cautiously; I respected her and suspected her, and she knew it.

Together, we went up to the apartment, where the construction was in full force. Dorina visited the site at least once a day to make sure everything was progressing according to plan, providing the materials, and checking on the workers.

We parted without her even asking how the trip to Vama Veche was.

It is only a ten-minute walk from Decebal Street to Alba Julia, so I decided to go on foot. I passed many real estate brokerage offices that had sprung up in Bucharest like mushrooms after rain.

I randomly entered one of the brokerage offices and inquired about prices of apartments in the area. The broker quoted prices in euros. I asked him why he was not quoting prices in dollars, whereupon he laughed and said to me, "Prices aren't quoted in dollars anymore, everything is now quoted in euros."

He told me that he had a third-floor apartment with an amazing view overlooking Boulevard Unirii. It was currently being used as an office for a Turkish company but the owner, a Romanian who lived in Poiana Brasov, wanted to sell it. I asked what the asking price was and when he said fifty thousand euros, I nearly fainted.

"How and when did prices jump so high," I asked. He tried to explain to me that the change from dollars to euros caused the prices to rise. It really didn't make sense to me.

He asked me if I wanted to see the apartment right away. When I told him I did, he suggested that we go in his car.

The apartment was in immaculate condition, beautiful and well maintained. No investment was necessary. It had marble floors, new windows, a new kitchen and new bathrooms. From the front terrace I could see Ceausescu's palace and Romania's most magnificent boulevard, Boulevard Unirii. The entrance to the building reminded me of the entrances to the luxury buildings in Florence, with a doorman in the elegant lobby, two elevators, large potted plants, mailboxes and an intercom.

I was excited, but stayed completely calm. I didn't want to show signs of enthusiasm or any kind of interest in the apartment.

When we went down I asked, "Shall we talk about the price?"

"Yes," he replied," You can always talk. Agreeing is something else."

"May I try?" I asked.

"Sure. How much are you offering?" he asked.

"You have a deal," I said excitedly, and asked him when he would be in Bucharest.

"Tomorrow morning," he replied. "Prepare the money, at least the portion in cash."

We arranged to meet in the office of my attorney, Giorgina, at ten the next day.

The next morning, before going to the lawyer, I withdrew twenty thousand euros from the bank.

The deal was signed; however, I didn't receive the keys straight away. Giorgina drew up a temporary contract which we both signed and the seller endorsed the rental agreement with the Turkish tenant over to me.

I was now the proud owner of my fourth apartment in Bucharest, on Boulevard Unirii.

I called Sarah that evening to update her about my latest purchase. I also told her about the wonderful trip we had to Vama Veche. She asked how Fabrizio was doing. She told me that she had met Giulia at the monthly antique market in Arezzo, and she told her that Fabrizio had not contacted her at all. She was planning to go to Bucharest in the near future and tell him that either he must come back home or they will get divorced. I told her that I would talk to him and try to convince him to call her.