We hurried through the wharf, noise and bustle swirling around us as we looked for Alexi’s ship. Magdalena was resplendent in a green dress that skimmed her knees, and Alexi looked plucky and seaworthy in suspenders and a newsboy cap. Seagulls swooped and screamed overhead as we three walked arm in arm, craning our necks to read the names of the great ships.

“There it is!” Alexi cried, and we hurried forward to marvel at the ocean liner. It was taller than the apartment building in Paris, strung with cheery flags and thronged by scores of people making their way up the gangplank.

“Do you have your ticket?” Magdalena fretted, straightening Alexi’s collar.

“Right here,” he said, patting his breast pocket.

“And you promise you’ll be safe?” I asked.

Alexi rolled his eyes at me, which earned him a smile. There was my petulant Alexi, as cocksure as ever.

“I’m more dangerous than anyone on that ship,” he muttered. “But yes. I promise.”

Magdalena and I both covered his face in kisses, not worrying who saw us. We adored him, our golden prince, and even though it broke my heart to let him go, I knew we would all be reunited again soon. I wanted him to be free and happy more than I wanted him shackled at my side.

After much deliberation, handwringing, and tears, we had come to wish each other well before going our separate ways. We had spent so much of our lives together under your shadow, clinging to your apron strings, and it was well past time for us to strike out in the world on our own. Magdalena had enrolled in university in Rome to study politics, and Alexi had booked passage on a ship to America. New York was to be his new playground.

“Promise us that you’ll write,” Magdalena went on, reddening his cheeks with her lipstick. “Once a week at first, at least! No matter how busy I get with my studies I’ll always reply.”

“I promise, Maggie,” he said, scrunching his nose up at her fretting. But there was a smile lurking beneath his perturbed exterior, and I knew he would keep his promises.

I squeezed Alexi’s hands between my own, memorizing their weight and shape. In the coming days, I would often lay in the darkness of my room and trace the outline of his hand into my palm, just to keep his memory close.

“I wish you all the happiness in the world. I’m sorry I can’t come with you.”

“You need to find your own way, I know.” He gave me a mischievous smirk. “We’ll be seeing each other sooner than you think, though, when I’ve got my name in lights and you come see me performing in one of those big American theatres.”

We all started as the ship’s horn trumpeted, calling the last of the passengers on board. Alexi gave me one more firm kiss, and then he was off, hoisting himself up the gangplank along with the other passengers. I watched him go with tears in my eyes and my heart in my mouth. Moments later he leaned over the railing of the ship, snatching off his hat and waving at us. Magdalena shouted his name and waved goodbye with her handkerchief while I cried.

We stayed there until the ship was so far on the horizon it was barely more than a speck. Then Magdalena pulled me into a tight hug, rubbing her hand in soothing circles on my back.

“He’ll be alright,” she soothed. “He’s a brave boy.”

“He’ll be better than alright,” I said, taking her offered handkerchief and daubing my eyes. “He’ll be truly great.”

I walked her arm in arm to her carriage, moving at a brisk clip. She had sent her belongings ahead of her to Italy, and had lingered in the city for a few more days to see Alexi off, and to save our last few hours together. We had spent much of that time either in bed or exploring Antwerp together, traipsing down alleyways and slipping in and out of bars and watching the blush of dawn paint the sky. It had been almost a month since we escaped the house in the country, and I was finally able to walk down the street without my stomach tightening at the thought of how angry you would be at me for breaking curfew. Slowly, the noose of your love was loosening around my neck.

I clutched Magdalena’s hands when we came to her carriage, my own hands trembling. I had been with all of you for so long that the thought of walking through the world on my own was as terrifying as it was exhilarating.

“You must take care of yourself,” I said. “If anything were to happen to you, I would die.”

“Sweet Constanta. Come here.”

She pulled me into the forgiving dark of her carriage, took my face between her hands, and kissed me. It was a long, deep kiss, gentle and slow, and when we pulled away both our faces were wet with tears.

Magdalena daubed at her eyes with her handkerchief, then wiped my cheeks clean.

“There,” she pronounced. “As pretty and brave as any storybook princess. I will miss you so desperately, my love. Where will you go?”

“I haven’t decided yet,” I murmured. “But I want to travel. I want to see my own Romania in the springtime again. I want to meet absolutely everyone and make a score of friends and spend every night out in the world, surrounded by people. And I think, someday, I would like to fall in love again.”

“I want that for you. So fiercely. Be well until we meet again. It will be sooner than either of us think. I know it.”

I stepped outside the carriage and stood there with my hand on the door for a long moment, marveling at her beauty one last time. She gave me one of her wry, clever smiles, and blew me a kiss. I could almost feel it burning against my cheek as I stepped away and let the carriage roll on past.

I watched until the carriage had been swept away by traffic, giving one last little wave as it rounded the corner and took my Magdalena off into a new life. Then I took a step into the crowd and let the city swallow me whole.