"No culture?"
"We have a lot of cultures right in front of our hotel. The Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain and so on and so..."
I liked the plan, I just didn't like culture and tourists. The next bottle of wine was decapitated and I became drunker. Hungry we went for the delicious pizza and a delicious Tiramisu for dessert.
Time flew by and before we knew it, it was evening. The street lamps lit up the streets and alleys. After another bottle of wine we paid, Alex pulled out his credit card and paid our bill.
"You and your friend should go to the Trevi Fountain and make a wish," a rough voice said at once. Surprised, I turned around and saw an old, bent woman with a headscarf standing next to our table.
"The well?" I asked, puzzled.
"It's a wishing well and tonight is a special night. Love and happiness are in the air."
She pointed at Alex, I looked at him in surprise.
"But we're not..." I started and turned back. The old woman had disappeared, so I got up and searched the street. She was gone.
"That was a little bit funny," I said to Alex.
The waiter came back with our receipt.
"You know that old woman, who was at our table?" Alex asked.
The waiter looked at him irritated.
"Just now. Small with headscarf and bent. She said something about a wishing well."
The waiter shook his head slowly.
"I didn't see anyone."
"She was just at our table. You saw her, Daniel," Alex insisted.
"Scusi, I probably missed the lady," said the waiter.
I put my hand on Alex's arm as he started to respond and shook my head slightly. He understood my gesture, thanked me friendly and we left the small bistro together.
"We're not crazy, you saw them too, Daniel."
"Yes, I did, but she's gone now. What are we going to do with this young evening?"
"We'll have another drink."
Alex steered purposefully towards the Piazza di Trevi and looked around searching. He quickly saw a small bar with a few free chairs and sat down. Without hesitation Alex ordered a few long drinks for us. From our seats we had a good view of the square and the fountain. I had imagined something smaller under the fountain. Not a structure about 50 meters wide, with masses of tourists standing there and throwing something into the water.
I stopped the waiter.
"What do the people throw in the well and why?"
"It's supposed to bring good luck. A popular belief says it's good luck to throw coins over your shoulder into the well. One coin leads to a safe return to Rome, two coins to the thrower falling in love with a Roman, three coins to a marriage."
Alex listened intently and kept looking at the well.
"Can't you wish for something else?" he asked curiously.
"Sure, tourists wish for all kinds of things, and sometimes wishes come true."
I didn't believe in such stories and thought the whole thing was mummenschanz, but if it made people happy, it was fine with me.
Our conversation flattened a little and we continued drinking in silence. The long drive and the many wines slowly showed their effect. Tired I watched all the tourists, scurrying around the place and throwing coins into the well again and again.
"And what if it does work," I murmured to myself.
"What?"
I pointed towards the well.
"Do you think this will work? I make a wish and voilà it happens?"
Alex thought for a long moment before answering.
"Maybe there is such a thing. Miracles happen often enough. I'd be willing to give it a try."
I nodded slowly.
"Okay, let's go to the well and make a wish," I decided spontaneously.
Alex looked at me surprised and quickly paid our bill.
Only a few minutes later, we stood with our backs to the well together. Both of us held a coin in hands.
"On three. One... two... three!"
I counted out loud and flipped the coin.
I wish for the great love!
Without thinking much, I had formulated the wish in my mind. Satisfied, I smiled at Alex.
"And what did you wish for?"
"It won't come true if you tell," he immediately instructed me.
Happily grinning and drunk we went back to our hotel.
Alex
I was superstitious and believed in fate and higher powers. I didn't want to admit that to Daniel.
With her words, the old woman had awakened in me a hope, which I had not dared to believe before. When we stood together in front of the well and threw a coin into it, there was only one wish for me, which I expressed in my thoughts.
I wish Daniel is gay!
Even if it was a silly wish, that would not come true, I expressed it. The more time I spent with Daniel, the stronger my affection for him became. He was my dream man. The man of my dreams, who was straight and went through a bad breakup.
I took a look at the drunk Daniel, who walked happily beside me. I hadn't seen him that happy and relaxed for a long time. This made me very happy and distracted me a little from my unfulfilled love.
In the hotel room, we puzzled over who got which half of the bed. Luckily for me, I won and chose the right side. On the other side, I'd never get a wink of sleep. Daniel had a great laugh about it.
"You don't sleep naked, do you?" he suddenly asked.
"Don't worry, I don't like my dick dangling out like that."
We were ready for bed. As we stood together in our pajama pants and with naked upper body at the washbasins, my eyes glided again and again inconspicuously over Daniel's well-trained upper body. A well-trained, clean-shaven chest, a flat stomach with a six-pack. Securely shaved, I thought about it briefly and tried to imagine what was under the pajama trousers. I had never seen him naked before.
Together we climbed into bed. As big as the bed was, we
