by Pea Jung
“Yes, and you were a mega bad stepdaughter,” he immediately counters.
“I admit it, I really was.”
“Time for a new beginning! The thing is, I do not intend to leave your mother. So you’ll have to put up with me for a very long time.”
“Friends?”
“Friends!” he says and pulls me in for a hug.
Chapter 20
My mother’s operation passes without complications, but she has to stay in the hospital for a few days.
She is pleased when she finds out that Walter and I have reconciled. When I go to visit one afternoon she almost falls over me with a request: “Josefine, can you do me a small favor?”
“What, Mom?”
“Walter’s been invited to a party tonight and I was actually very much looking forward to accompanying him. Would you…?”
“Mom, I have made up with Walter. But whether he wants to take me to a party or not…”
My mother will not let it go. “Please, it’s a big deal for his clinic. One of its main investors invited him to his birthday party, which is a really great honor. I’m afraid that he won’t feel quite so comfortable there unaccompanied.”
“So be it. If he asks me, I’ll go with him. But I won’t impose myself.”
“Thanks, you’re a treasure.”
Of course, my mother talks with Walter. When he comes home that night, he immediately knocks on my bedroom door. His facial expression as the door swings open speaks volumes. I laugh and he says, grinning: “she’s set her mind on it. Shall we give in to her?”
“Ok. What type of party is it? Should I get dressed up?”
“No, I’m going in jeans and a shirt. I don’t think it’s a very pretentious celebration. Dagmar said you can borrow something of hers if you need something to wear.”
His gaze falls on my bed, where my beautiful two-piece sleepwear is lying. “Wow! Are those your pajamas?”
“Umm, Yes.”
“I should get something like that for your mother. Where did you get them?”
“It was a gift. But they’re from Victoria’s secret.”
Walter looks back and forth between me and the satin several times before he correctly interprets my facial expression: “The man?”
I nod “umhmm,” with compressed lips. Walter clears his throat and says: “I’m going to go get ready. We’re leaving in an hour.”
I shower and get dressed. I’m not lacking for jeans, but I borrow a white opaque blouse from my mother. I don’t need to wear anything underneath. I add a black jacket from my mother’s closet. I leave my long hair down. Walter welcomes me with a smile. “Just like your mother!”
“If that’s a compliment, thank you.”
“Of course that was a compliment.”
Once we’re on our way Walter begins to speak immediately: “I’ve been thinking about you and about your future career.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“If you’re interested in the medical field, I could offer you a trainee position in my clinic.”
“Trainee? At 31?”
“You’re not the only one, believe me. At some point, you’ll have to think about where you want to go from here. To be so completely without vocational training is not good in the long term.”
“Yes, Daddy,” I sigh.
Walter laughs. “I thought we were past that point. I just want you to think about it. Alright?”
“I’m thinking already,” I grizzle in reply. “What sort of position would it be?”
“There are a few different options. I’m not the only physician in the clinic. You could work in the laboratory, at the reception, as a physician assistant, or nurse etc. There are a lot of possibilities.”
“Would you be my boss then?”
“Indirectly yes,” admits Walter and smiles. This idea seems to please him.
“Thanks for the offer! I’ll think about it.”
“Hey, no asshole? We’re making progress!” He laughs and I join in his laughter.
Walter parks his car in the banking district. “Someone is celebrating their birthday here?” I ask, amazed.
“Yes, it’s more the birthday party for business partners. The main event is taking place in the Held Investments offices.”
“Held Investments? Never heard of it.”
“You will meet Mr. Held personally in a few minutes. He’s the birthday boy. He owns the whole business and I am honestly quite proud that he has chosen a not very reasonable investment in my clinic. He’s a nice guy, friendly, down to Earth and… handsome,” he adds and eloquently shoves my shoulder while walking.
I shove him back. “Puh. Doesn’t interest me at all. I don’t mean with the clinic. I am of course very glad for you.”
We enter a glass building and take the lift to an upper floor. I don’t pay attention to the journey. As the elevator doors open, we step out into the middle of the crowd. Everywhere smaller and larger groups are standing around laughing. The happy mood spreads to me immediately.
I think I know why my mom wanted me to come, I think to myself. Walter has already spotted a bar with drinks standing ready: “I’ll stick to non-alcoholic. So you can let yourself relax.”
“With you as the driver? Never!” I joke. Still, I take a glass of sparkling wine – or is it champagne? – and follow Walter into a type of open-plan office. A big band is already playing. The petite singer gives her best, as she covers a quiet song by Pink with her eyes closed.
Walter has probably spotted a familiar face. “Be right back,” he says and goes to speak to a woman who greets him with a friendly smile.
My gaze lingers over the crowd. I am swaying gently to the beat of the music, as I suddenly recognize someone. It seems the someone has spotted me at the same time. In any case, we gaze through space at each other for a moment. My mouth slides open. He comes towards me with quick steps and flattens anyone who stands in his way.
“Henry,” I manage to bring forth, I am unable to utter more welcoming words.
“What are you doing here?” he asks reproachfully.
“Nice to see you too,” I respond.
Henry eyes me for a moment in disbelief before an implied smile escapes him. He pulls me with him. “Come!”
I follow him after taking a look at Walter, who is engrossed in a very lively conversation with the woman. Henry pulls me into an office and closes the door to shut out the party noise. We are alone.
“Are you going to get rid of me now?” I ask, slightly amused.
“Jokes aside. What are you doing here, Josefine?” growls Henry and folds his arms as he leans his massive body against the door.
“What is this? I’m here with my stepfather. Walter was invited and I’m his date because my mother is in the hospital.”
“Who is your stepfather?”
“Dr. Walter Probst. What is the problem?”
Henry rolls his eyes. “You really have no idea whose birthday party you’ve landed in?” he asks incredulously.
“Yes. Walter told me…”
Henry looks at me slightly desperately and then something dawns on me.
“No!” I screech.
“Yes.”
“This Mr. Held… is Alfons Mader?”
“Yep,” nods Henry.
“Holy sh…,” I utter and drop into an office chair next to me, then hold my head in my hands.
Henry leaves me time to deal with the situation. Or is he desperately looking for a solution to this delicate situation?
“I should go,” I suggest.
“Just take it easy! He’s not here yet.”
“All the better. I have to go now.”
“Why are you afraid of him? I know that you didn’t exactly part in
friendship. But I also know that he tried constantly last week to get in touch with you. You were not in your home or reachable by telephone. I never encountered you at The Black Widow either.”
“Jörg has… given me some time off,” I lie.
“That is stupid of your boss. You are the best person in the place.”
“It seems like I’m replaceable in every respect. Even as a cleaning lady,” I utter snapping.
Henry is amazed. “I don’t know anything about that. I just remember Marek’s frenzied response when his lawyer called and played him your message,” he says grinning.
“I have to leave now. I actually am afraid of him. Besides, he won’t come to his own birthday party wearing a mask. I don’t want to see his face” I chatter like a machine gun, and move towards Henry, who is still blocking the door. “Let me go, Henry, please. I’ve already been through enough because of this man.”
He actually moves to the side. “I didn’t intend to keep you here.”
Quickly, I leave the smaller office and take a look at the open-plan office. Walter is nowhere to be seen. But cowardly as I am, I find the desire to leave the building more important than my duty to tell him.
The elevator arrives just then with more guests. Once it’s empty, I travel down to the ground floor alone. Only now do I realize that I still have a champagne glass in my hand. Hastily, I drink the rest and put the glass down on the floor of the lift.
Then the doors open and I can already picture myself disappearing through the glass doors to the outside. I look briefly at the man who’s waiting to get on the elevator, nod politely and move to rush past him. But he grabs me by the upper arm. I look at him and it hits me: “Oh, it’s you? You’re the noble popcorn sharer from the movies, right?”
Before I can move, the man pushes me into the elevator and immediately presses a button so that the doors close. When I hear his voice, everything becomes clear in one fell swoop: “I am not only the man from the cinema, Kitten.”
The lift moves upwards again. I feel sick, with rage, fear, and – joy. I’ve turned away from him with arms folded and am staring silently at the elevator doors.
He approaches me from behind. “We need to talk.”
That I do not answer.
“Why so crabby, Kitty?”
“I am no longer your kitten,” I say stubbornly.
He laughs softly. “Oh, yes, you will always be my kitten. Do you wear the blue pajamas to sleep?” When I do not answer back, he continues: “I bet that you wear them as often as possible. What are you doing here, Kitty?”
Before I can formulate a malicious response, the elevator doors open. At this very moment, Walter walks past. He sees me immediately and calls: “Josi, I’ve been looking for you.”
I would have liked to see Mr. Held’s face just then. But because he is still behind me, unfortunately, I cannot. But I’m so used to communicating with him without even having eye contact, that I can almost physically feel his surprise.
“Umm, yes, sorry. I just wanted to get some fresh air,” I declare as I go over to Walter.
“But Josi, we only just arrived!” responds Walter amazed.
Only now does he see Mr. Held, who leaves the elevator and quietly says to him: “Dr. Probst, you concealed from me the fact that your wife is so very lovely.”
Walter is taken aback, mostly probably because of the menacing facial expression of his conversation partner, and his sharp voice. Smiling, he declares: “Mr. Held I’m afraid you are mistaken. My wife, sadly, had a little accident in the garden and is currently in the hospital. That is why my step-daughter is with me today.”
“Oh?” says Mr. Held, looking happy once again.
“Happy birthday,” says Walter and stretches out his hand to Mr. Held.
“Thank you very much. I hope that your wife recovers quickly. Would you introduce me to your beautiful stepdaughter?”
“Oh, but of course. Josefine Wagner, this is Marek Held,” says Walter and I gawk for a moment looking reluctantly at the hand that Marek offers me. Walter nudges me with his shoulder and I stretch out my hand reflexively.
With a cramped smile and rough voice, I stutter: “pleased to meet you, Mr. Held. And of course happy birthday.”
“Thank you, Josefine. May I call you Josefine?”
Oh, man. Without the mask, his voice sounds so damn sexy. And finally, I can see how his mouth moves when he talks, almost salaciously.
“Umm, yes,” I say quietly and my tongue feels like modeling clay.
“And please, call me Marek.” he doesn’t let go of my hand. The smile that he throws me almost puts me in checkmate. “May I offer you a guide through my office space?” he whispers, and Walter and I call out flabbergasted at the same time “what?”
“Maybe later,” Marek answers his own question. “I must take care of my other guests now.”
Only now does he let go of my hand and immediately turns to the next well-wisher. Walter nudges me with his finger and growls angrily: “What did you do in the elevator?”
“Walter!” I answer appalled.
But he just says: “his invitation to look around the office sounded to me just like an invitation to see his stamp collection.”
I laugh hysterically at that. “You’re exaggerating. I only just met the man.”
“Yet as your father, I am on extreme alert,” he quips and puts a protective arm around my shoulders.
We find our way through the crowd. On the edge, Marek is standing next to Henry and whispering something in his ear. The eyes of the two men fall on me at the same time. Henry seems to have something to say.
“I’ve already seen our place cards,” Walter distracts me. “We’re sitting back there.” He indicates in the direction of the table that Henry is heading for. Walter and I watch bemused as Henry takes away two cards from the table and brings them to another, much smaller table.
“What the…?” Walter asks puzzled.
“Don’t tell me those were our seats!”
“Yes, they were.”
“Probably best we just act as if we still don’t know where we’re sitting,” I suggest. “Not make the host uncomfortable, because he has put us at the small table.”
“Yes, let’s do that. It’s probably the outsider table. What did you do in the elevator?”
I groan irritated. Then we walk down the tables as if looking to find our names. Until finally we approach the small round table. The card with the name of Dagmar Probst is directly between those of Marek Held and Walter Probst. I suck air into my lungs surprised and before Walter can say anything, I swap his and his wife’s cards. “You should sit next to your investor,” I say and will tolerate no dissent. Before he can take a breath, I swear: “… and no, nothing happened in the elevator.”
I sit down and Walter resigns himself to his fate. It takes a while before all the guests have taken their seats and the host is one of the last to sit down.
We sit with our backs to the wall, relatively close to the band and the small area that has been left empty. I casually observe Marek as he accepts congratulations and makes small talk.
Now and then, his gaze falls on me and he catches me looking at him more than once. Although I have good reason to be infinitely mean to him, I vividly remember the quite nice side of him that I was able to get to know. He looks good. It fits with his sexy voice. He certainly has no reason to hide his face behind a mask. Oops. Again he throws me a confidential glance. Does he resent the fact that I am extensively analyzing him now that I finally have the opportunity to do so?
“Shall we dance?” Walter asks me suddenly, and I notice that some of the other guests are on the dance floor.
“Ok, just because it’s you, step-dad.”
We sway to a cover version of Demons from Imagine Dragons. Thi
s time it’s Marek who repeatedly looks interestedly over at Walter and me.
Finally, the host goes over to one of the band members and tells him something in his ear. After the song, the band takes a short break.
Walter and I go to our seats and Marek speaks into one of the microphones: “my dear guests. It is quite unusual to so lavishly celebrate such an insignificant birthday. As some of you have congratulated me on turning 40, I would like to solve the mystery about my age. I am now 39 years old, but I didn’t want to wait another year for a big celebration. I am delighted you have all come here this evening to celebrate this joyous event with me. To tell you the truth, I’m only celebrating so I can avoid a surprise party. I’ve just learned that the food is here now and hereby open the buffet. Bon appetit.”
Everyone claps and Marek joins us at the table. “Don’t hold back,” he says to us, but Walter responds immediately: “I always like to wait until the first rush is over.”
“I know someone else like that,” Marek laughs.
After some time, Walter gets up. I remain sitting, however, because I am distracted by the older gentleman who has come over to our table with his plate full. The woman in his company must be about the same age. The two take their places smiling. He looks at me and I realize immediately that he’s thinking about how he knows me. Unfortunately, it occurs to him: “Oh, The Black Widow, right?”
“Yes.”
The woman next to him lambasts him: “Alfons!”
My laughter freezes when I hear the name. Alfons? I throw a sideways look at Marek, little laughter lines are dancing around his eyes.
“Don’t worry, Darling!” Alfons reassures his wife. “This Lady works as a waitress in a restaurant with this name. She was kind enough to sweep up the mess I created.”
“May I introduce…” Marek interrupts, “Josefine Wagner, the stepdaughter of Dr. Walter Probst. Josefine, this is Mr. Alfons Mader and his wife Magdalena Mader.”
In order not to grin, I say quickly: “I should get something to eat.”
“I’ll come with you,” says Marek immediately and follows me.
Of course, he stands in line at the buffet behind me. “How do you like the name?” he whispers to me.