Bridgette Tell's Blog, page 3
September 1, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 12
He nodded slowly, then turned those hazel eyes on me again. “Nice to meet you, Klara.”
Was it my imagination or did his lips wrap around my name like a sweet treat? Shivering from the deep rumble of his voice, I drop my gaze to my plate. “Nice to meet you, Eric.”
Introductions done, my mom began serving the stew to Eric.
“So, Eric, when does your german class start?”
“Monday.” He doesn’t elaborate.
My mom grabs my bowl and continues her questioning. “Do you need help navigating the trains for Monday? I’m sure Otto could help you.”
Dad interjected, “I work Monday in Dresden.”
Mom frowned. She glances towards me. But I have the opening shift at the café on Mondays and Tuesdays. “I also work,” I add.
She sighs before saying, “I can take you if you like?”
“I’m fine, Therese.”
He continues eating. I can’t help but notice his long elegant fingers wrapped around the fork. He doesn’t bother picking up his knife. I glance towards my parents and see as both of them look at his knife sitting beside his plate. But surprisingly, they keep their thoughts to themselves.
Americans.
Canadians, I correct myself, snorting.
Eric looks up from his plate and I’m caught in his hazel eyes again.
“Are your friends still going out tonight?” I hear my mother’s voice, hazy and far away.
Without thinking, still caught in his gaze, I reply, “Yes. There’s a party at Alois’ house.”
With out breaking our gaze, Eric slowly lifted his fork, his mouth closing over the piece of potato. A flash of his pink tongue has me shivering.
“…You can take the car,” My mother’s voice barges into my thoughts.
Shocked, having only had my license for a month, I turn to my mother.
“Really?” I ask, excited.
She gives me a soft smile before nodding to Eric. “Of course. I’m sure Eric will enjoy getting out and meeting some young people.”
My brows wrinkle and my lips purse. My gaze bounces between my mom and Eric. Did I miss something?
“What time did you say it was tonight, Klara?” Mom prompted.
“Around nine but I was going to Hermoine’s house before to get dressed and ready for seven.”
My mom turned to the big grandfather clock on the wall behind me. “Well, you better hurry. Your father and I can clean up for tonight.”
And just like that it was decided. Somehow I had managed to invite the hot guy that would be living beside me for the next couple weeks over to meet all my friends.
Hermoine would be beyond excited.
Frowning, I face my bowl and finish my stew in silence. Eric stays queit as well while my parents chat in German about their upcoming vist to my mom’s parents after church tomorrow.
It isn’t until I’ve placed my dishes by the sink that he speaks.
“When are we leaving?” he asks right behind me.
I squeak as I turn around, and look up, up, up into his eyes. Wow he is really tall.
“Now,” I mutter as I push past. “I’ll meet you in the car,” I yell over my shoulder as I run for the stairs and my to go bag. Tonight would be interesting for sure.
August 6, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 11
“Eric!” Otto calls.
I shake my head as I realized they are already half a block from the station exit. I jog too catch up to them.
I can’t help but stare at the tall sand stone buildings around us, the brightly coloured window displays.
We walk around the corner and a familiar blue sign points into a tiny space, barely large enough to hold a truck and trailer back home but here it holds ten compact cars, parked within inches of each other.
I fold into the backseat my knees almost touching my nose. I’m forced to put my backpack on the seat beside me because there is simply no room for it with me. Thankfully Therese is short, as the driver seat is pulled forward as far as possible.
The radio pops on as soon as Therese starts the car and I’m a little surprised to hear the familiar English words to WAP. The drive is a blur, with Otto and Therese speaking german in the front seat. All the noises and the jerking movements through traffic press down on me. I grit my teeth and keep my eyes open even as everything outside the windows blurs into one fog.
Then the car is stopped and Therese is getting out.
I shake my head, grab my bag and clamber out of the seat, groaning.
Otto grins. “It’s a long flight from Canada, no?”
I nod, to tired to reply.
“Are you hungry?” he asks as he leads the way through a side door and into an immaculate, if a bit older house. There is even some sweet smelling dessert sitting on a cookie rack in the kitchen. My stomach growls as I remember the small airplane dinner on the flight across the ocean.
Therese laughs lightly. “Let me show you your room while Otto gets dinner started.”
Otto begins pulling out pots as we leave him behind. I follow Therese up a steep and very narrow set of stairs. At the top I can see straight into a small bathroom. Therese is already waiting for me on the right. I briefly glance to the left and glimpse plain blue sheets on a raised bed.
“My daughters room. You will meet her at dinner. She is working now.”
I nod as I drop my bag onto the small single bed. I eye the mattress, already knowing my feet will be hanging off the end.
Therese flutters her hands around befor settling against the doorframe. It’s hard to ignore the tiny frown and crease between her eyes.
I give her a smile, “Thank you for everything. You have a beautiful home.”
A grin spreads across her face as her eyes twinkle. Therese is a natural beauty and I can’t help but wonder what she would have looked like younger.
She pushes off the doorframe. “I’ll let you get settled. Dinner will be ready in an hour.”
I nod but she’s already disappeared, the stairs creaking with her weight.
With a big sigh, I fall back on the mattress. Yup, my feet are hanging off the edge. I grab my phone and set a timer. May as well grab a nap and a shower before dinner.
July 22, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 10
Wow. He was really hot.
That was completely unexpected.
A giggle escapes me and I find myself shaking my hands out. Okay, Klara, you can do this. He’s just a boy. Your age. Living in the room across from yours.
Whose face you want between your legs.
Shaking a my head again, I quickly grab my evening clothes and disappear into the bathroom.
With the door locked behind me, I do a double take of the counter. The strange black bristled tooth brush in the cup beside mine. Biting my lip, I leave my clothes on the floor and step into the still warm tiled shower.
He must have just had a shower before I came home. My arms prickle with awareness as my chest feels hot. There’s a bottle of body wash in the shower caddy that looks just like my fathers, except my parents use the main floor bathroom.
With warm water slipping along my overheated skin, I try not to think to hard about Eric also having stood in this shower minutes before. “He’s just a guy,” I whisper to myself as a I quickly wash my hair and quickly shave my legs. I shove the handle to cold, hissing as the sting of the cool water slices across my back. It feels incredible and awful.
And clears my head.
Dry, with a jean skirt and tshirt on for tonight, I finger my still wet blonde hair. The slightest waves promise curls, but I know with one good stroke of my brush that they will be stick straight again.
“Klara!” My mom calls from downstairs.
Taking another quick breath, I stare at my pale blue eyes in the mirror. The same as my mother.
My gaze tracks down to my large nose and thin lips. Down to my wide square jaw before moving up to my wide forehead.
I wonder if Eric was as surprised as I was seeing him. If he found me as hot.
Grimacing, I give my hair a final rub, throw my dirty clothes in the hamper and head out of the bathroom without another backward glance.
I wasn’t hot. My friends and family and the few boyfriends in my past have always said I wasn’t ugly. Cute at best.
As I walk into the kitchen, I rub my collarbone, wishing that just for once I could be more than just cute.
Mom and Dad are seated across from each other at our small kitchen table, leaving me the seat across from Eric.
Lovely.
I take the seat.
“Eric,” my mom starts.
He glances up from the plate and for a second his gaze catches mine. My breath gets stuck in my chest. Then his gaze slides past to Theresa.
“This is my daughter Klara. She lives in the room across from yours.”
July 8, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 9
“Achtung. Alle Einsteigen. Erste Klasse A, B. Zweite Klasse C, D, E.”
I stand there with Therese and Otto as people of all ages and sizes pour out of the train. Right when I think we aren’t going to make it on the train before the doors close again, the flow of people dissipates. And Therese jumps on without hesitation. I follow her and quickly stand to the side and take a hand railing. Therese settles on a lone open seat, the rest of the benches filled with people. Otto stand beside me, his head coming to my shoulders.
It’s then that I realize there are maybe one or two other guys on the train near my height. I rub my chest with my free hand, trying not to focus on another thing that makes me different. It was easier at home with my violin settled into my neck, the bow vibrating in my fingers as the melody ripped through me and set my heart on fire.
Taking a shuddering breath, I focus on the bite of my fingernails into my palm instead.
You wanted to travel halfway around the world, by yourself, Eric, I remind myself.
“When we get to the U Altstadt Spandau, our car is parked there. It’s a quick drive back,” Therese glances at my backpack, before continuing, “If we had known that you had no luggage, we could have walked. Is a nice walk from Spandau Alt Stadt to the new Burrough.”
I nod, biting my lip.
Therese doesn’t seem bothered by my silence like my friends parents have been in the past. She gives me a soft smile before turning to her husband and falling easily into German.
My gut twists at the sound. It’s why I’m here in Berlin. To find a piece of me, to connect with my families past. But hearing the guttural sounds from their throats that have no defining pauses, I begin to worry. What if I never pick it up? What if this whole trip is a waste of time and money?
I take another deep breath, then another after that. Soon my ears pop as we burst through to the next station, the darkness in the windows lighting up with the dark glow of LED lights.
“Berlin-Spandau. Next Halt, U Altstadt Spandau.”
The ache of traveling begins to settle into my bones, the tiredness dragging my eyelids down. A slow pulse begins beating behind my eyes. My heart slows from the adrenaline of the airports.
Therese suddenly stands up.
I blink several times and follow her and Otto to the crowd in front of the doors.
The train slides to a stop, the screech of the rails making me grit my teeth.
And then the doors slid open and the crowd swept out into crowded station, the other train goers patiently waiting for us to move and leave. I keep my gaze focused on Otto’s white head, already having lost Therese in the frenzy.
We make it up the escalator, before being spit out onto the cobbled streets of berlin.
Again, I find myself blinking in shock and tiredness. The sun is surprisingly hot on my face, the heat of the afternoon pressing down my shoulders. I shift my shoulders, sweat already gathering under my collar.
At the airport, it had said the temperature was only 26 degrees celsius but it felt warmer. Humid. Like walking into the bathroom after my sister Saphine had a shower.
June 23, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 8
“Keep me posted on the new guy! What he looks like! I want-“
I laugh at Hermione, jumping onto my bike without a backward glance. I know she’ll be texting me the rest of the night. Which is fine.
I’m a little curious about this Eric myself.
The night air is humid, still warm despite the sun melting into the horizon. I love this time of day. The street lights are just turning on, giving a soft glow over the city streets. It’s all so romantic. And sweet.
Riiing.
Smiling to myself, I shake my head and focus on the bike path, moving over to let the other biker pass me.
The air cools my heated skin, tickling the loose hairs in my face and ears from my braided hair. I can’t help but bite my lip, relishing the tingles washing over my skin. It’s nights like this that make me feel alive. Like I can do anything. Be anyone.
Like I can jump across the ocean with both feet, no worries for my parents.
The breeze around me picks up, rustling the dark leaves surrounding either street as I race through the residential streets. Here it is queiter. The occasional car.
Peeking over my shoulder, I angle onto the road and speed through Torweg, flying around the corner, before coming up on Kniterickpfad. Home.
Smiling, I hop off the bicycle, the wheels still turning. In moments, I have the side door of the garage open and the bicycle set to the side on the wall, out of the way of my parents car.
Shimmying around the car, I slowly sift my fingers through my hair, untangling the braid. By the time I have the kitchen door open, I can feel my hair floating around my head like a cloud, whisps of white blond falling into my eyes.
“Klara, you are home,” My mother calls as she steps away from the stove and pulls me in for a quick kiss on the cheek. Looking over her shoulder I catch sight of meatballs in white sauce and boiled potatoes. Yumm.
Therese lets me go.
It’s then that I see him.
Eric.
I can’t help the small gasp that leaves my lips.
Hazel eyes look up at me from where he’s sitting at the kitchen table. Full lips that had no right to be on such an angular and serious face tempted me. Chocolatey hair flops into his eyes. It’s rich color has my fingers itching to touch it. Would it be soft as silk?
Damn. The summer exchange student was hot. Super hot.
“Dinner will be ready soon, if you want to clean up first,” Mom called from the kitchen.
I ignore the heated flush rising from my chest. quickly leaning over and giving my dad a kiss on the cheek, I bustle out of their as fast as my short legs can take me. It isn’t until I have my bedroom door shut behind me, my bag sliding down my arm, that I take a deep shuddering breath.
Wow.He was really hot.
June 10, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 7
By the time we land in Berlin, I am sick of being on a plane. Too small seats and a crying baby in the seat in front of me have rid me of any ideas of traveling around the world. I’m not sure how my older sister Saphine does it. I felt like I was seconds away from stabbing my eyes with the plastic spoon they had handed out with the lone vanilla puddings.
Sighing, I leave the plane behind, glad that my only baggage is my backpack. Security is a breeze even if the guards give me the side eye as I pass into the waiting area. I pull my phone out and connect with the airport wifi. Before I can check the WhatsApp for a message from my host family, a sign catches my eye in the atrium.
Wilcommen zu Deutschland Eric.
An older couple, near my dad’s age is holding the sign. The woman looks exactly like the picture she had shared – shorter, white cropped hair and sky blue eyes.
Smiling, I walk over and hold my hand out, as my dad had taught me. The man steps forward and shakes my hand. “Nice to finally meet you, I’m Eric.”
The older man, who is my height with grey at his temples and a round face, smiles at me. “Otto Decker.”
The woman steps forward, the sign gently falling to her side. She shakes my hand with a strong squeeze, “Therese Decker.”
For a moment there is an awkward pause as they look me up and down. Before either can ask, I reply, “I only have a backpack with me.”
Otto frowns but his wife smiles as she rolls the sign up before flattening it and putting it away in her small backpack. “Good. It will make it easier on the bahn.”
She turns and begins walking out towards the doors. Otto and I follow her. I’m a little surprised that we are taking the train. I know that my host family lives in Berlin. I had found them on a host group website that matched international students with placements. The Decker’s had been the only family in Berlin with an availability for the summer and a short stay.
Otto turns to me as he steps out into the main space which looked to be a mall. “Your flight was good, yes?”
I nod. Not much else to say.
Besides, the flashing signs with sharp letters catch my attention. Everything looks so familiar, yet not at all. The letters are all wrong, with dots and lines and to many capitals.
We step off the escalator and onto the next one. The yellow sign above my head has a simple train drawing and the words ‘bahnhoff’.
Therese turns to me, smiling, as she pats my arm. “Here is your ticket. It is only for today.”
“Thanks.” I stare at the flimsy card, nothing like the receipt paper tickets of the LRT back at home in Edmonton. Todays date is printed haphazardly across the box and into the next box.
At the bottom of the escalator, we head to the right. Other couples and familys stand with their rolling luggage. A young woman with dreads pops her gum, her backpack covered in tags. One catches my eye, Screw die Polizei.
Shaking my head I pay attention to the train station, the air rattling as the oncoming train punches through the underground, the rails screeching as it slowed to a stop in front of us.
May 25, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 6
Just as I am about to head upstairs to freshen up, my phone starts buzzing. Hermione.
Sighing, I pop open the video call and continue upstairs to the bathroom. By the time the video connects I have the phone settled on the ledge of the mirror while I pull out my small makeup box.
Hermione’s long red hair is pulled around in a fancy swirling braid and ends below her chest. Her bright brown eyes light up when she sees me.
“What do you mean him?” she squeals as if no time had passed since she sent the message and video calling me.
I roll my eyes as I pull out my concealer. A pimple is coming in on my forehead that hadn’t been there this morning. Of course.
“His names Eric. That’s all I know. And-“ I cut her off as her mouth opens. She sits back and waits, the bright blue sky behind her head letting me know she was still at the café we both worked at. “I only know his name because of the note my mom left in the guest room. That’s it. That’s all.” I dab the concealer on and start with my eyes, lightly lining them with brown eyeliner to make the blue of my eyes really pop. Plus, black always makes me look like a hooker, considering how light my eyelashes and eyebrows are.
“So, is he hot?” She asks, glancing up at something before focusing back on me.
I sigh. Did she even hear me? “I don’t know. And it doesn’t matter. He’s going to be here for like three weeks before he heads back to wherever he’s from.”
I lightly comb my brown mascara over my eyebrows – so I look like I have eyebrows – and then over my eyelashes. Sometimes I loved how light my hair was. I never worried about shaving. But it would be nice to wake up and not look like a ghost before putting my makeup on.
“I thought you said he spoke English? He could be from England or,” She grimaces before whispering, “he could be American.”
Again, I shrug as brush some loose highlighter over my cheekbones and cupids bow on my lips. I couldn’t care less where the guy was from. It was just weird knowing that I would be living beside a stranger for a couple weeks. I sure hope he doesn’t hog the bathroom.
“Anyways,” I growl as I fight to smooth out my flyways in my high ponytail. “I have to be at the café in a half hour. So, I’ll see you soon.”
She grimaced but before Hermione could say anything, I’ve already ended the chat.
I quickly wipe up the loose powders from the bathroom, replace my makeup box in the drawer. Back in my room, I pull on my black skirt and serving shirt, a cute button up with a little dirndl vest. I liked the slight German touch, Hermione hated. Complained constantly about not being from Bayern area. She still wore, it because the tourists always tipped when we wore it.
With my room tidy, I pack my phone and wallet in my purse. At the last second, I pulled my spring jacket with. It could get cool in the evening, and I was planning bike home after work today since my parents would likely be entertaining Eric.
Locking up the house, I pull out my bicycle from the garage and head down the street. The houses slowly blur past, mixed with tall trees and iron fences. Birds chirp and fly overhead. I pass the occasional walker, careful to stay in the bike lane. The cobblestone road gets grittier as I near the Alt Stadt.
Smiling, I let the late afternoon sun wash over me. Maybe we needed to go to the beach this weekend. I’ll have to message the groupchat later.
Just as I reach the edge of the Altstadt, I hope off my bike and mix in with the mass of tourists and city goers shopping and walking and mingling. The old sign, Berliner Milch Café, swings on the left side of the street. Five iron tables with chairs burst out around it, with potted trees and flowers creating a little wall against the mass of pedestrians.
It was quaint.
And it was mine.
A familiar head of red hair shines from inside.
May 12, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 5
I pull my phone out and double check the emails from my host family. They had said they would be waiting for me at the airport. I pop open the latest email which is a picture of an older couple. The posing is a bit awkward and forced, the smiles not real. But they don’t look like they would be scammers.
At least that’s what I hope.
“We will now be boarding Flight 927 for Frankfurt. If people traveling with small children or who need extra time to board could please come to Gate E42.”
The older couple beside me get up. The guy has a cane and slowly hobbles behind his wife as they head to the gate doors behind me.
My leg begins to bounce as I close the email and stare out the airport windows. Despite it being summer, the sky is cloudy with a strong breeze whirling through the planes and teasing the flags. It should be sunny and plus twenty-six when I land in Berlin tomorrow morning.
“Now calling all passengers in Zone A.”
I pull my ticket out, even though I know it says Zone D. A few people get up from around me and begin lining up at the gate even though they haven’t been called.
Should I go to?
Shaking my head, I turn back to the window. There was no point in getting in line only to sit in the plane longer. It was seven hour flight. And then another short flight from Frankfurt to Berlin. My knees already ache. If the plane was anything like the one our family took to Mexico two years ago, I’d be lucky to fit my legs into my seat.
“Now call all passengers in Zone A and B.”
Maybe I should have packed more shirts. What if I didn’t get the chance to buy any before my first class? I didn’t want to be the dork from Canada with the wrinkly clothes.
I mean, it was an international language school, with the sole focus being that everyone was there to learn German. Lots of language classes mixed with a little culture.
That didn’t mean the other students would be German. Probably more than a few would know English. I sure hope so.
“Now call all passengers to board for flight 927, heading to Berlin to Gate E42.”
I bounce out of my seat and quickly walk to the long lineup that has snaked around several columns before ending in front of the gate. As I pass strangers, a mix of English and German fills the air, confusing and familiar at once.
My mom’s parents were from Germany. Near the black forest. Which was no where close to where I was going. But still, it was the same country.
And while my grandparents had passed on years ago, just as my mother had, there were a few cousins sprinkled across the country.
My play with the straps of my back pack as the line slowly moves forward. Beyond the gate desk I can see the sky bridge connecting to the plane. The plane that I will soon be sitting in to cross an ocean.
My palms are sweating by the time I get to the gate attendant. She smiles at me, “Passport? Ticket?”
I hand her both. She briefly glances down at it before handing it back to me. Then she’s already looking past me to the next guy.
Nervous, I take a few quick breaths as I walk down the sky bridge. Another lineup in front of the plane door has me stopping. The rumble of the plane vibrates the bridge as the engines drown out whatever the two flight attendants are saying.
The first, a woman, waves me inside.
Soon enough I’m sitting in row 39, seat C. My legs are stretched out in the aisle. The intercom starts as people begin sitting down.
“Ladies and gentlemen…”
April 28, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 4
I glance down and quickly scan my mother’s familiar clean handwriting.
Dear Eric,
We are excited to be your host family for the next three weeks. If there is anything you need, please let us know. There are…
Smiling, I stroke the even pen marks.
A ping from my phone pulls me out of the strange mood I’ve been in this last morning. Glancing down, I see Hermione sent a snapchat. Popping it open, I’m met with her wide brown eyes and soft smile.
Have you met them yet?
I take a quick snap of the made bed.
Parents just left to pick him up.
I’m not surprised when a chat bubble pops up right away.
Him???
Smiling, I leave her on read and head downstairs. The main floor is not much bigger than the main floor. Like many homes on our street, it is a simple one family cottage and attached garage. The backyard is a strict square just barely as large as the garage. The front had no yard, with the front steps attaching to the sidewalk with the rest of the homes on our street.
But it was fine. I loved our home.
The part I loved the most was our kitchen.
It had a small breakfast nook with sliding doors to the backyard. The rest was counter space, and island, and my personal favourite was the large gas stove and oven. There was something about baking with gas that just made the recipes that much better.
But it also made it that much trickier.
I pull my long hair up into a high ponytail and quickly don my cute apron my Oma had sewn for me. I pull out the little notebook Oma Lydia, mom’s mom, had bought me when I was a little girl. The cover is splattered with eggs and milk. There is a distinct circular burn from the time I accidentally left it on a burner.
I easily flip to the right page, Bienenstich. A classic German recipe. And my Oma’s specialty.
I leave my phone on the island and turn on my baking playlist. Soon I’m humming along to I’m not Pretty by Jessia, mixing the flour, sugar yeast and salt. While the oven heats, I prep the baking pan.
By the time I’m done, my snapchat notification has pinged no less than twenty times. Hermione can be a little dramatic, I mentally eye roll as I lick the spoon.
With the timer on, I quickly clean up the kitchen and pull out the cooling racks. Since I have another thirty minutes baking time, and another hour before work, I pull open my Instagram page, thegermanbakergirl.
It still shocks me seeing the red notification number.
Over two hundred comments, likes and more…
Sighing, I settle onto the bar stool and begin swiping through. Commenting back, liking comments, following back.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Shaking my head, I look up dazedly as the timer on the oven warns me that its time. I gladly set the phone down and pull on my little rabbit oven mits.
With the Bienenstich cooling on the rack, I finally take my apron off and hang it on its hook under the island.
April 14, 2021
Summer of Bliss: Post 3
I slide into my old sneakers and head outside without a backwards glance. If I didn’t linger then it wouldn’t hurt. At least, that was my philosophy in life. Just get in and get out, only do what I need to do and nothing more. The extra, the feeling, the overwhelming, the emotions, I left to my violin.
I take the front passenger seat, adjusting the seat as soon as I sit down. Kitty and Matt get into the sedan on the other side.
“If you get any taller, we’re going to have to buy a truck for you to fit in,” Kitty jokes as she leans into towards the front console.
Matt starts the car, smirking but staying otherwise quiet.
Kitty hits him in the arm. “Don’t you dare,” she threatens as she glares up at him. I try to get closer to the window, not wanting to get in between the loved up couple and their telepathic conversations.
“I didn’t say anything!” Matt protests.
Before either of them can say another word, I hit the radio and turn it up. Thankfully, since they offered to drive me to the airport, they keep quiet.
A short half hour later and we are parked in the day parking for the Edmonton International Airport.
“You don’t have to come with,” I mumble as I stare down at the clean pavement with crisp yellow painted lines.
Kitty pats her hand on my arm. “You’re my little brother. Of course we are coming inside and making sure you get through security.”
“Plus,” Matt adds as he steps up beside his wife and wraps an arm around her waist, “I love an excuse to go location scouting with your sister.”
She glares up at him. “After we get him on the plane.”
We head inside. Thankfully, check in is easy since I don’t have any luggage for under the plane, just my lumpy backpack. The lady at the Air Canada checkout give me a suspicious look but doesn’t say anything.
Apparently it’s a crime to get on a plane with next to no luggage. Whatever.
Shrugging my bag on again, I head to the security line. Kitty and Matt follow. Before I can step into the sectioned off line, Kitty pulls me back.
I ignore her to bright eyes, and her splotchy cheeks. She pulls me into a hard hug. I try to let go after a minute but she growls. “I’m not done yet, doofus.”
Matt chuckles. I look up at him and he shrugs.
Finally she lets go, sniffing and turning away from me. Matt gives me a pat on the shoulder. “Drink a stein for me,” he says with smirk.
I give him a chin nod. Then I turn and get into line.
It isn’t until I’m at the front, backpack in the box to be scanned, that I finally look back out into the lobby. But Kitty and Matt are long gone.
And it finally hits me that I’m alone. That for the next month I will be surrounded by people and places that aren’t familiar to me.
“Passport, please.”
Shaking my head, I pull out my passport and ticket and hand it to the airport security.
“Good. You may step up when they motion for you.”
In five minutes, I’m through security and sitting in gate E42, watching planes take off and land. My fingers play a silent song restlessly against my knee. Boarding starts in an a half hour.
And then I will be flying seven hours straight.
My ear twitches at the familiar guttural sounds from the older couple seated beside me.
Germany. I was really doing it.
