“Do you want me to tell him that you like him?”
“Nooo,” Melissa cried.
Brigitte laughed. “Okay, okay,” she said just before Rolf whisked her off to the dance floor for one of their favorite songs.
Melissa watched them dance as she glanced around the table and realized that she was left sitting alone with Stefan. With butterflies in her stomach, she gave him a slight, nervous smile.
“How are you enjoying your first festival in Germany?” Stefan asked as he moved closer to Melissa so that he could hear her reply.
“Oh, this isn’t my first festival in Germany. I’ve been to other festivals when I was younger and my family and I were here visiting. But I’m having a really good time,” she said as she gazed into eyes that she thought were a light blue just like a Chicago summer sky. She also noted that the white tee shirt he was wearing was in perfect contrast to the thick, dark hair on his chest that was poking out the top of the shirt.
“How long are you here for?”
“Only six weeks. I start college at the end of August.”
“So, you are eighteen years old?”
“Yes.”
“I will be twenty in December, and that is when I will go into the army for two years. For now, I go to the university.”
What is your major?”
“Major? I do not understand what that is,” Stefan said with a perplexed look on his face.
“Oh, I’m sorry. A major is what you are studying in school. What you will do when you graduate?”
“Oh, now I understand. My ‘major’ is writing. I would like to be an author when I am finished my studies and my time in the army.”
“If you want to be a writer, then why are you going into the army?”
“All German men must give two years to the German army when they are twenty years old.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that,” Melissa said as their friends returned to the table.
“I see that you and Stefan are having fun,” Brigitte said to her cousin.
“Yes. He seems very nice.”
“Would you like to dance, Melissa?”
Melissa looked up to see Stefan standing over her. She looked at hercousin who had a big smile on her face.
“Go,” Brigitte urged.
As Stefan led Melissa to the dance floor, she had butterflies in her stomach for the second time that night. I hope I don’t step on his feet, she thought to herself.
Stefan took Melissa into his arms as they began to sway to the music.
“You will have to forgive me if I step on your feet, Melissa. I do not have much practice with dancing.”
She smiled up at Stefan, who at 6’ tall was several inches taller than Melissa even though she was wearing high heeled sandals. “I was just hoping that I wouldn’t step on your feet.”
“Well, I suppose we will both have to help each other on the dance floor.”
Dancing in Stefan’s arms, Melissa felt as if she were in heaven.
“Do you have a boyfriend in America, Melissa?”
“No. I really don’t have much experience dating,” she replied honestly.
“Good.”
“What?” Melissa looked up at Stefan with a puzzled look on her face. She immediately saw that he was embarrassed.
“I did not mean, I um,” he stammered. Stefan looked into Melissa’s green eyes, took a deep breath, and boldly plunged ahead. “I would like to see you more while you are here in Germany.”
“I would like that, too,” she said as the song came to an end. “I suppose that we aren’t too terrible at dancing. We didn’t step on each other’s feet once during the entire song.”
“Yes. We dance very well together.” He led Melissa back to the table.
Brigitte stood up and announced, “It is time to go.”
“Already?” Melissa looked from her cousin to Stefan and back to her cousin. She was not ready to leave the man who very quickly captured her heart.
“Yes. Papa gave us a curfew. And if we do not make the curfew, then we will not be able to come to the festival tomorrow night.”
“Then you should go,” Stefan said. “I definitely want to see you here tomorrow night, Melissa.”
“Okay,” Melissa reluctantly said as Brigitte and Rolf exchanged a look of amazement.
As Brigitte was saying good night to her boyfriend, Melissa was saying good night to Stefan. “I had a really good time tonight.”
“So did I. I am very happy that I met you, Melissa. You are a very pretty girl.” Stefan caressed her cheek with the back of his knuckles.
Melissa looked up into Stefan’s blue eyes and felt something that she never felt before. She felt a complete connection with a man. She felt as if she found her soul mate.
“Melissa, we need to go now,” Brigitte called as she and Rolf began to walk out of the festival tent.
“I have to leave now,” she said with regret. “But I’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“Good. I cannot wait to see you again.” He gave her a wide grin.
“Goodbye.”
“Not ‘goodbye’, Melissa. Tschuess.”
What does that mean?”
“That means ‘see you soon’,” Stefan replied.
With a smile, Melissa said, “Tschuess,” before she turned and walked out of the festival tent.
* * *
“It looked like you and Stefan had a really good time,” Brigitte said on the short ride home.
“Yes. He is very nice. But I don’t think that he is shy at all.”
“To tell you the truth, Rolf and I have never seen Stefan like he was tonight. I cannot ever remember him asking a girl to dance. He must really like you.” Brigitte glanced over to see her cousin’s reaction.
“Do you really think so?” Melissa asked with hope in her voice.
“Yes. I think so,” Brigitte said with a chuckle as she pulled her car into the driveway of her parents’ home.
Chapter 4
“What do you girls have planned for tonight?” Karl Hoffman asked his daughter and niece as they sat down to dinner.
“We are going to the festival tonight, Papa,” Brigitte answered as she spooned a helping of warm potato salad onto her plate.
With a furrowed brow, Karl looked at his daughter. “Again?”
“We had a good time last night, Papa. And Melissa even met a boy.” Brigitte looked at her cousin sitting across the table from her and gave her a wicked grin.
“What is this? A boy!” Karl exclaimed. “I am not sure that your parents would approve, Melissa.”
Melissa’s jaw dropped as she stared at her uncle.
“Now, Karl, stop teasing Melissa. You know that she is allowed to date,” Inge said to her husband.
Karl threw his head back and laughed. “I know. I know. But I could not resist teasing her.”
Brigitte rolled her eyes at her cousin who was trying to regain her composure.
“So which boy did you meet, Melissa?” asked Inge.
“Stefan Koehler,” Brigitte answered before Melissa had a chance to.
Inge nodded her approval. “Oh, he is a very nice boy, and he comes from a good family, too.”
“Just make sure that he treats you like a lady, Melissa,” Karl remarked. “And remember, you are only here for six weeks. There is no need to ‘fall in love’.”
Melissa looked down at her plate. It might already be too late, she thought to herself as she pushed the food around on her plate.
“They are just spending some time together, Papa,” commented Brigitte. She turned her attention to her cousin. “Melissa, we better go now.”
“Okay.” Melissa, still deep in thought about Stefan, stood up and followed her cousin out the door.
“Do not pay any attention to my father. He loves to tease everyone,” Brigitte said as she got into her car.
“I know,” she said absentmindedly as she thought that maybe her uncle was right. Maybe she and Stefan should only be friends and no
thing more. But it is already past the friendship stage, at least for me, she thought as Brigitte put the car in gear and zoomed off into traffic.
* * *
At the festival, Melissa and Stefan were inseparable. They danced together, ate together, and talked incessantly. “Melissa, do you want to go for a walk?” Stefan asked.
“Okay,” she agreed as she stood up.
“Do not get lost,” Brigitte teased as they walked away from the table.
“I could not stop thinking about you last night,” Stefan said as Melissa fell into step next to him outside of the festival tent. They began to walk on the side of the road under a clear sky with thousands of shining stars.
“I thought about you, too.” She gave him a shy grin.
Stefan nodded. “I was thinking that you are here for only a short while and that it might be better for both of us if we were just friends.”
Melissa stopped in her tracks.
Stefan turned to face her. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Is that how you really feel about me? That you only want to be my friend?”
“I am just thinking about what is best for both of us. I do not want either one of us to get hurt.”
“I’m not going to hurt you, Stefan. But I have to be honest with you. This might sound crazy because I know that we have only known each other for twenty-four hours, but I already think of you as more than just a friend.”
“You do?” He reached over and took Melissa’s hand in his own.
“Yes, I do.” She looked up into his blue eyes and continued. “It’s hard to explain. I’ve never felt like this before.”
“I think of you as more than a friend, too.” Stefan drew Melissa closer to him. Engulfing her in his arms, he leaned down and gave her a sweet and soft kiss. She closed her eyes and melted. Reaching up, she pulled Stefan closer to her as the kiss heated up. Melissa slowly parted her lips to allow Stefan to invade her mouth. Moaning softly, she surrendered to all of the passions that she was feeling.
After a few moments, Stefan pulled himself away from Melissa. He looked down at her, and in a thick voice said, “I think this may become very complicated.”
“I know. But I can’t help myself.”
“I feel the same way. But we need to be adults about this and not do anything hasty. If you know what I mean,” Stefan said as he looked deeply into Melissa’s green eyes.
Melissa lowered her gaze as she blushed. “Yes, I know what you mean. And you should probably know that I am still a virgin.”
“Good,” Stefan said with a grin. “So am I.”
“Really?” Although Brigitte told Melissa that Stefan did not have much experience with girls, she was still surprised to hear this declaration.
“Yes. Is that a problem?”
“No, of course not. I was just a little surprised.”
“I wanted to wait for the right person. And I think that I have found her. But, I still want to take things slowly. Is that okay?” he asked tentatively.
“Yes, that is fine.” She gave him a big smile.
“Come.” He once again took Melissa’s hand in his own. “We should get back to the festival.”
Chapter 5
Melissa was thoroughly enjoying her vacation in Germany. During the day while Stefan was working his summer job, she and Brigitte went sightseeing and shopping. They usually had company of Inge or some of Brigitte friends. Melissa was learning so much about Germany and its culture. But no matter how much fun she was having during the day, Stefan was always on her mind. She would count down the hours until they could be together again.
At night, Melissa and Stefan spent as much time together as possible. They shared double dates with Brigitte and Rolf, but they also spent time alone talking and learning about each other’s lives.
“So, you live in a big, fancy penthouse apartment,” Stefan said as he and Melissa sat in a local pub alone one night.
Melissa laughed at him. “It’s not a penthouse. My family has money, but we’re not rich. And speaking of big fancy homes, your parents’ home isn’t too shabby.”
“’Shabby’? What is that?”
“’Isn’t too shabby’ means that it is also nice and big and fancy.”
Chuckling, Stefan nodded. “No, it is not too shabby. But it is my parents’ home, not mine. I am afraid that I have no money of my own to speak of.”
“Stefan, do you think that money is so important to me that I’m with you only because your father is a doctor and your mother is a teacher and they have a big house and drive a BMW and a Mercedes?” Melissa asked incredulously.
“No. I did not mean to imply that. I just want you to know that if we are beginning a lifetime commitment, then you need to understand that I am not financially secure, at least not yet. First, I need to become established as a writer.”
That statement took Melissa by complete surprise. With a serious expression on her face, she asked, “Is that what we are doing, Stefan? Beginning a lifetime commitment?”
“Is that what you want, Melissa?”
“Is that what you want?” she retorted.
With a sly smile on his face, Stefan said, “I asked you first.”
Melissa sighed and lowered her head. She took a deep breath and looked back up into Stefan’s eyes. “Please don’t play games with me.”
Stefan reached across the table and took Melissa’s hands in his own. “I am not playing games with you. I know that we have only known each other for three weeks, but I have never felt like this before. I think about you all of the time. My days are so long without you, and I cannot wait to see your beautiful smiling face. You have brought so much love and laughter to my life, and I do not want that to ever end.”
“Oh, Stefan,” Melissa said with tears in her eyes.
He saw the tears in her eyes and his heart dropped. “You do not feel the same way about me,” he simply stated.
“Oh, but I do. These are tears of joy. I love you, Stefan.”
“I love you, Melissa. And I do not want you to go back to America in two weeks. I want you to stay here with me.”
Melissa was taken aback. She blinked her eyes as if she didn’t understand what he said to her. “You want me to stay?”
“Yes. I do not want to lose the woman that I love. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to marry you and have a family with you.”
“But how can I stay? I start college in a few weeks and in December you go into the army for two years.”
Hanging his head, Stefan said, “Yes, I know.”
“Maybe we should have just stayed friends,” she said dejectedly. “At least things would have stayed much simpler.”
“No. What we have is real and we cannot let it end.”
“But what are we supposed to do? I go back to America in two weeks.”
“Will you wait for me, Melissa?”
“What do you mean?”
Leaning forward, Stefan looked deeply into her eyes. “Will you wait two years for me until I am finished in the army? You can go back to America and go to college. But when I am out of the army in December 1987, will you come back and be my wife?”
She smiled. “Yes, I will.”
“I know that your college is for four years, but maybe you can finish here at the local university,” he suggested.
Melissa gave him a dismissive wave of her hand. “Don’t even worry about that now. I’m sure that something can be worked out.”
Melissa and Stefan sat gazing into each other’s eyes. “You have made me so happy,” Stefan said as he once again took Melissa’s hands into his own.
“I’m so happy, too. I never thought that I could ever be this happy.” She gave him a wide smile.
“This is only the beginning,” Stefan promised.
* * *
The next morning, Melissa was bursting with happiness. She and Brigitte were enjoying a late breakfast together in an empty house.
“What are you so happy about?”
Brigitte asked her cousin.
“What? Oh, nothing really.” She tried to hide her smile by taking a drink of coffee, but ended up burning the tip of her tongue. “Oh, damn,” she said as she sat her coffee cup down and dabbed at her tongue with a napkin.
“That is what happens when you lie. Now tell me the truth because that big smile does not look like nothing to me.” Brigitte sat back, crossed her arms over her chest and waited for her cousin to tell her the truth.
“Can you keep a secret?”
“Of course I can,” Brigitte answered as she leaned closer to her cousin.
“Last night Stefan told me that he loves me and that he wants me to be his wife.”
Brigitte’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open. “What? When and where did this happen?”
“I know. It’s all happened so fast. Last night, we were at the pub, and he told me that he loves me. He said that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me. Brigitte, I am so happy. I love Stefan so much. I never thought that I would ever feel this happy!”
“But how are you going to marry him if you are going to college in America?”
“We have it all figured out. I’ll go to America and go to college for two years while Stefan is in the army. When he’s discharged in 1987, I will return here and we will be married. And I might finish my education here at the local university.”
“It sounds like you and Stefan have it all planned.”
“Yes, we do.”
“What about your parents? How do you think they will they react to this?”
“My parents will see how much in love I am, and they will be happy for me.”
I hope so, Brigitte thought to herself. She saw how happy her cousin was and she could not help but smile. “It will be wonderful having you here all of the time. We could even be neighbors.”
“Yes. And maybe we will have kids born the same year just like we were,” said Melissa.
I Will Always Love You Page 2