by Leanne Davis
“Yeah.” He kissed her again. “We have. I have to tell you something, you’ve changed the most over this last separation.”
“Must be the job.”
“I think it’s because you are finding yourself and getting to know yourself at last.”
She smiled and finally stepped away. “Lord, I hope so. Come on, there is so much still to see.”
“And yet, I’d rather lie in a bed with you all day.”
She rolled her eyes. “In that case, you should have come to River’s End. You asked me to come to freaking Germany. Become an international traveler. I’m not going to sleep. Not when I could explore and learn and grow and experience ancient history. I’m here to expand all my limited, narrow horizons. Now come help me do that.”
Charlie let Cami tug him across the bridge and they explored some more. “Oh, look. Another one!”
Cami loved how every different alley or street they saw had interesting angles and views like storybook towns. From the cobblestone streets to the towering spires of churches on the horizon. Pointing straight up like great spears aiming at the blue sky and nearly matching the hues in the turquoise-silver rooftops, the scenery and angles of the old city seemed to purposely draw her in every different direction she turned. There were several different doors she saw in one of the tour brochures from the bed and breakfast. They were so elaborate with vibrant colors and windows of circles. Some were arched, and some were square with little panes of stained glass and a framework of brick or iron supported them. “They even know how to make doors look more like artwork.” She had Charlie take a picture of her in front of each unique one she found. “Can you imagine something like this in Brewster? Or at River’s End? They are nothing like what we have.”
They went to the Heiligen Geist Hospital, which Charlie translated for her: The Hospital of the Holy Spirit. It was built in 1260 and located right in the center of the town. She found the old building so ornate that it seemed like the exterior of any church or castle to Cami. The churches were in a category all their own and she never imagined she’d be so eager to explore them. Learning that they were centuries old fascinated her. Walking around the huge and cavernous structures, Cami was shocked to see what they managed to build so long ago. The painted ceilings took her breath away. Ceremonial altars with huge, awe-inspiring arches and stained-glass windows that caught the light and reflected it downwards.
They visited St. Marien’s Church where a cordoned display of broken church bells lay on the floor with wreaths around them. The haunting scene held some obvious significance. “What happened there?” she asked Charlie. When they explored the churches, Cami choked up and lost her voice. Talking in whispers, a sense of holiness, reverence, and history enhanced the places, imbuing them with a mystical aura.
“Let’s see, the church was fire bombed on Palm Sunday in 1942. These bells fell and became imbedded in the church floor. They were left in place as a warning to future generations.” Charlie was reading the information from a tourist book he had about Lubeck. All of it was written in German. “This church, which is over 700 years old, nearly burned down in 1942…” he continued.
“Wow.” Cami could not think of anything more profound to say. She was in awe of her surroundings.
He nodded. “Yeah. Wow. Honestly? I’ve been past so many old churches in Hamburg and I’ve even been inside a couple of them, but I failed to ‘get’ it. The history and unique elegance of each of them was nothing like I am experiencing now, because I am exploring them with you.”
She grinned at him and sensed he wanted to lean over and kiss her. Swiftly ducking away from him, Cami began shaking her head. “Charlie. We’re in church. A very old, and very sacred, nearly burned down church. So that is inappropriate.”
Gasping, Cami approached the altar and worship area. The ceiling went up and up with huge columns and windows and light. The cross hung from the rafters and seemed otherworldly. “Oh, my…” Cami wouldn’t dare to utter God here. Her dad would have loved to have attended mass there. Perhaps she would have too, although church came into her life rather late. At the time, she did not appreciate it as much as AJ hoped she might. Here, however, Cami was moved by something she revered and saw as so much bigger than Charlie and her.
Holding hands, the couple wandered for hours, which turned into all day, stopping only to grab food and drink from the vendors they saw outside the different courtyards. They were sitting at the Rathous, a well-preserved courtyard that harkened back to the red brick of medieval times. Cami could envision women dressed in long dresses and fancy garb of centuries ago.
“It’s so hard to believe nearly half this town burned, isn’t it? They did an amazing job in restoring it to its original integrity and charm.”
Cami glanced up and found him grinning at her. “What?” she replied, slightly perplexed at what he was smiling about.
“I had no idea what a tourist you were. And a lover of history. I wondered if you’d like it, but never thought you’d take to it this much.”
“Are you kidding? I love it. This is gorgeous. I never in my whole life could have imagined what this would feel like. This place bubbles with so much history and culture. I thought it was exaggerated by Americans, but touching bricks that were laid in the early thirteenth century? I mean… I, Cami Reed, feel so lucky to be able to do such a thing. It’s incredible.” She all but spun around in joy as the sun set. Hues of glorious pink and blue and orange and yellow created a uniquely, almost holy, white light that streaked over the clear summer evening sky, silhouetting the city skyline in black. For one moment, the glorious riot of colors made Cami believe the universe was putting the show on simply for her benefit alone.
Charlie pulled her close and kissed her, nearly bending her backward over his arm in his exuberance. When he lifted his face from hers, he was grinning as he said, “It’s a hundred percent better with you. I didn’t feel like this before. Not until today.”
She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself up to kiss his nose. “Well, I’m here now and I intend to make this the trip of our lifetime.”
“So do I.” Charlie eagerly agreed with a grin.
They found a place that served local seafood and drank wine with their meal. Leaning over, Cami kept giggling and telling Charlie that they looked like such cultured citizens. As they finished their meal, she added, “There is still sooo much we could explore, Charlie. I mean, we could spend the whole week here. Never mind Hamburg and the Baltic Sea. I’d love to see East Germany too and visit at least a few war memorials.”
Charlie nearly spat out his wine. “Cami? You mean you want to do all this in a week?”
“Okay, perhaps we can’t do most of that. There’s just so much we could do if we had more time.”
“There is,” Charlie agreed and nodded. “I’ve just never seen you like this, I mean, you’re so into the history and the famous places marking it—”
“I never was before though. Not even for a day. Seeing this now makes me realize how much I don’t know about it. I could start anywhere and enjoy spending hours just reading all about it and learning more. It just—”
“Inflamed your imagination?” Charlie interrupted with a smile. He leaned forward and took her hand in his. “I have to tell you something, it doesn’t mean quite as much for me as it does for you. Shocking to both of us, since I always thought I had to see more of the world. But when I did, it felt… I don’t know, just flat and dull and hard. Now I look at you, and your face is shining at seeing a new culture and country. That’s how it’s supposed to be. I think your appetite for life might turn out to be much bigger than you ever thought.”
She blinked. “I—I don’t know about that. You mean, you don’t feel an urgent, crazy, overwhelming need to see and explore and read everything you possibly can around here… and over there… and…?”
“No, I actually don’t. It would take more than just a few days to fit all of what you suggested in. I prefer to
lie on the beach with you.”
She blushed and squeezed his hand. “How about tomorrow afternoon?”
He nodded smiling with gentle amusement. “Tomorrow? After we explore the Thomas Mann Museum, you mean? Now that you read all about him and his contribution to literature and because he defied the Nazis…”
“Yes, after we explore his house-turned-museum. I think I might know how to get there, it’s right near the Marienkirche.”
“Listen to you. Using the German pronunciation of St. Marien’s.”
“I read it in the book. And I have to admit that I’ve heard Thomas Mann’s name before but knew nothing about him or what he did. His life is so fascinating… maybe I should read some of the literature he wrote.” She nearly flinched at her suggestion. Cami reading literature? On her own, and not because of English class? She flopped back in her chair. “I really don’t sound like myself at all, do I?’
He shook his head. “No. But I actually love it. You’re so turned on and so passionate about something new.”
“Is that all you think about?” she laughed.
“I didn’t mean like sex. You’re getting high on life now. I’ve never witnessed anything like it before with you. Usually, you seem to struggle just to survive and feel safe. You have to grope your way through the days. I don’t know, but this is almost unbelievable for me to witness.”
She sipped her wine. He was right in describing exactly how her life had been. The polar opposite of how she felt here.
They explored a little more of Lubeck before taking a train and heading towards Timmendorfer Strand. They were walking towards Charlie’s friend’s place. Cami gaped all over again with eyes as big as saucers as she took in all the quaint, old shops, and immaculate parks and boardwalk, and oh, yes! The beach. Blue water lapping against the light brown, pristine sand. There were rows of canopied basket chairs lining the shore. They were double-seated wicker with bright fabric seating and some had footrests that could be pulled out. Puzzled, her first inquiry was, “What the hell are all those?” Not just a few, but rows and rows, by the dozens. Maybe a hundred or more standing like soldiers on the beach cove.
“Strandkorbs,” Charlie replied, smiling. Cami scowled at him for his usual German answer and tapped her foot, waiting for the American version. “They are provided on nearly all the beachfronts and resorts located on the Baltic and North Sea areas. People rent them, and some families bring their own.”
“Strange.”
“Different preferences. Seems like a perfect idea to me.”
“You mean, so that the freckled, red-headed, pasty-white-skinned man can hide from the harsh rays of the sun?”
“Exactly,” he grinned.
Their small apartment was located on the second floor of a four-story villa. It was ridiculously beyond their affordable price range. Cami gulped at the high quality and obvious expense considering the location, the exterior, and the interior furnishings.
“Are you sure this is it?” she whispered to him as they stared inside from the front door.
Charlie glanced down at her bug-eyed expression as she looked around. He suddenly dropped all of his stuff and slid hers off her shoulder to the ground. He started laughing as he grabbed her around the waist. Shutting the front door with his foot, he kissed her senseless.
When he finally released her, he was still grinning. “What was that for?” Cami asked.
“You. You never expect anything special and say everything is always too fancy or too much. You were whispering it to me like a burglar or intruder who is waiting to be kicked out of the palace.”
“Well, in any social hierarchy, I’m usually low woman on the totem pole.”
He gripped her waist with his hands. “You embody the highest qualities of any person I know. Honestly, Cami, these people I work with here in this place have so much money to spend…” Shaking his head, he glanced around. “It’s unfathomable. It makes my dad look like he has nothing. It seems like a lot to us, but this is actually considered low rent to them.”
“You like living like this? Spending so much money on first class accommodations?”
“Actually, I do. I enjoy learning all the different lifestyles we never could have imagined at River’s End. And don’t forget, I rented this villa just for us.”
She was lost for several moments. Placing his mouth on hers, Charlie watched her shut her eyes, lulled by the soft, deep tone of his caring voice. When they separated, they were both grinning like kids. “Let’s explore.”
“Yes, let’s. Who knows what we might miss?” He grinned while quickly setting their luggage inside the bedroom. His wry tone obviously amused by her eagerness to see more of Germany rather than have sex on the big bed in their fancy villa. He’d have chosen to have sex all afternoon, but she was too excited to explore to stay inside.
They changed into beachwear and sandals. Cami gaped at the huge surf and empty beach under the endless glow of the sun. It was every bit as glorious as the architecture and charm of Lubeck. But so different in its grandeur.
They walked forever along the beach, holding hands and kissing every so often. They waded in the cold water, comparable to the Pacific Ocean beaches at this time of year, so it was not too surprising to them. The wind whipped around them and Cami’s hair flew into her eyes. It churned the surf up even more into frothy whitecaps.
Walking along and holding hands, Cami suddenly stopped dead, and looked confused. She wrinkled her face and lifted one eyebrow as she glanced up at Charlie who was poised on the verge of laughing hysterically. “What the hell?” she muttered.
“Nude beach,” he said answering her question before cracking up at her reaction. She punched him in the arm.
“You saw a sign.”
“Yes.”
“Oh, gross. NO WAY.”
He grabbed her waist and tickled her. “Oh, c’mon, you prudish, modest American.”
“Yes, yup, and forever so. Didn’t you notice something?”
“Lots of genitalia?”
“Ooh, who’s looking? No. Most of the people are old. Like senior citizen-old.”
He laughed even louder. “You are so easy to shock and amaze.” Charlie laughed intermittently as they wandered back. They stopped to wade some more. Eventually, they grew hungry and grabbed something called a doner, which Charlie insisted that Cami try. It was a lovely blend of seasoned meats, wrapped in a pita and filled with yummy vegetables. The flavor was unexpected and mouth-watering, and Cami was sold. They found a small market and took their groceries back to their villa. They prepared a lovely meal of shrimp and pasta along with more wine. Sitting on the small balcony, they watched the sun setting before the stars came out. They were barely tipsy before they eagerly collided in crazy frenetic heat on the bed.
The next day, they slept in, choosing to spend the entire day resting and soaking up the sun on the beach. Their only job was figuring out what to eat. They talked and laughed and kissed all day and it was so easy to love each other. They were totally in sync. Two more days were spent exactly like that. They explored parts of the small resort town but mostly enjoyed their leisure time on the beaches. Charlie’s smile became his constant companion and the tired circles beneath his eyes started to fade. The stark pallor that first greeted her replaced his ordinary paleness. The sickly look from spending too much time indoors that she first perceived in him was long gone.
While browsing the shops, Cami commented how much she liked a certain black dress. Charlie urged her to buy it, promising they’d go out to dinner and celebrate in it. “I can’t,” Cami replied glumly.
“Consider it a souvenir. How often do you get to continent hop? Make the most of it, Cams.”
Grinning, she finally relented. She was very unsure of the currency conversion and how many euros translated to one American dollar or whatever, but Charlie ignored her concern and shrugged it off. “Let’s just pretend for once, it doesn’t matter.”
Cami tried it on, dressing in the bed
room after a long shower. She put on some perfume and makeup too, along with a subtle piece of jewelry, which was so unlike her. When she walked out to model it for Charlie, her small, toned body really made it seem like something special. She wore heels with it and maybe for the first time in her life, Cami felt elegant. Not something she believed she’d be someday, but here and now. She conformed to the different atmosphere, which seemed like a fairytale. She liked the change from who she really was and would always be. This was, after all, the vacation of a lifetime, so why not do that?
Charlie turned from the balcony where he stood perusing the view. He wore another suit and Cami’s breath caught when she realized he looked like a man, not a gangly boy from Senior Prom. He grabbed her hand and tugged her closer. “You look stunningly beautiful, Cami.”
“I think… dare I say it? I think I actually am stunning and beautiful. I really can feel it for the very first time in my entire life.”
Charlie smiled and leaned down to softly and tenderly graze her lips with his. “You finally realize exactly how I see you.”
She smiled and let his serious words fill her heart with joy. They left and strode the short distance to a small bistro with outdoor seating and lighting. Live music played, and the atmosphere was perfect and lovely. Cami could not do anything but smile. Charlie read and translated the entree choices to her and ordered for both of them. Cami liked to hear him speak in German although she had no idea what he said. She enjoyed his tone of voice and facial expressions.
They sat there for a long time, holding hands on the table top, enjoying glasses of wine, and almost giggling at themselves. They pretended to be a couple of sophisticated, cultured, international dining critics. When they finished eating, they walked towards the pier. It jutted out from the main part of the town center into the Baltic Sea. Street lights illuminated the path out there and they stopped three quarters of the way when they found a quiet spot all alone. They leaned against the railing, staring at the water and waves, as well as the stars overhead. She sighed as she squeezed closer to his lapel and shoulder. The air was pleasantly warm on her face and refreshing at the same time. “This moment could be the best I’ve ever felt in my entire life.”