by Hope Franke
“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right. Anyway, my sister is turning into Bridezilla. I have to go help her.”
“Okay. Good. Get your mind off this. Like I said, it’ll blow over before you know it.”
They hung up, and Sebastian collapsed into a chair and rubbed his face with his hands. He was certain Eva would be getting an earful along the lines of “our house, our rules.” Her parents would insist that she end things.
The thought was a knife to his heart.
But he knew they were right. This was just the tip of the iceberg. Hollow Fellows was positioned to get bigger, even worldwide. Especially with the new CD and their new songs.
Eva’s songs.
Staying with him would mean greater heartache for her.
He picked up an empty beer bottle on the coffee table and threw it across the room with a roar.
The bottle crashed and splintered, sending green shards across the tile floor. He stared at the mess, groaned and then went to the closet to search for the broom.
Eva expected a verbal storm, but it didn’t come. She guessed Gabriele’s wedding was providing a temporary shield and that the onslaught would arrive the next day.
Gabriele had shaken her head at her when she got home the night before. “I never in a million years thought you’d manage to upstage my wedding day.”
“Gabi.”
“Save it, Eva. You managed to not only embarrass yourself, but our whole family. Not to mention the church.”
Eva crumbled. “It’s not that bad.”
“If you say so. I’m just glad this is the last night I have to sleep in this house. Have fun dealing with Mama and Papa without me here to buffer you.”
Annette was the only one who thought she’d done something cool. She’d texted: oohlala. E and S for the win!
That was right. Eva and Sebastian for the win. They would survive this. It would blow over in a few days. Maybe less time than that. Everyone would be talking about Gabriele and Lennon soon enough.
She’d texted Annette back: Thanks. You don’t know how much I needed that.
Now she sat on the chair by her guitar with a sage green satin dress that ended just below her knees. It had two thin straps that ran over her shoulders and crossed along her bare back. She had to compensate for weak legs with her upper body, and as a result she had shapely arms and back muscles she rarely got to show off. Her hair had been done, a messy up-do with curls that escaped around her face. Her hair was by nature, stubbornly straight, so it was an unfamiliar look. The curls were hard fought for by the hairdresser, and Eva worried the girl was going to burn Eva’s hair off with the curling iron. She swore they went through a half bottle of hairspray to keep the curls in place.
Julia had given Eva an exaggerated wink when she arrived earlier to help Gabriele get ready but didn’t say anything. None of Gabriele’s friends said anything, and Eva had the feeling Gabriele had issued a gag order.
Eva’s nerves were taut with anticipation. She couldn’t wait to see Sebastian again and especially looked forward to seeing him in a suit. The thought brought a smile to her face. She grabbed her guitar and began picking. The tune brought a calm to the room, and more than one girl glanced at her appreciatively.
Gabriele was last to get her hair done. She shot a look at Eva. “You’re wrinkling your dress with your guitar.”
Eva stopped plucking and gently put the guitar away. She sighed. It was going to be a long day.
From the pedestrian lane of Neustäder Platz, the Three Kings Church was just a flat stone front with a large wooden door. On the other side, the structure loomed tall with a blackened clock tower that shot up to the sky. Tall, narrow doors opened to a vast cobblestoned space dotted with trees and benches focusing on a tall stone fountain in the middle. Eva watched from an upper-floor window as the guests arrived. Her eyes searched for Sebastian’s familiar form though she knew she wouldn’t see him. He’d said he’d arrive late.
At 14:00 precisely, the girls escorted Gabriele down to the back of the sanctuary where Lennon was waiting. The room was smaller than one would expect from looking at the outside, and not nearly as ornate as the Frauenkirche, but another story was about to be added to its ancient whitewashed walls. The chairs were decorated with the ribbons Eva had helped to make, and candelabras burned brightly adding an ethereal touch. White cherub statues hanging from the upper balconies looked down on the ceremony as if to bless it.
Lennon’s handsome face was awash with emotion: excitement, pride, anxiety—
Weddings were nerve-racking (!)—and love. His eyes glistened with deep adoration as he gazed at his bride.
Gabriele was simply stunning. Her blond hair was styled and decorated with diamond-like Zirconia pins that reflected the candlelight. Her chiffon gown draped beautifully over her curvy body and landed in a delicate pool on the stone floor.
They walked down the aisle toward Papa who waited for them at the front and then sat in the two chairs facing him.
Papa officiated the ceremony. He led Gabriele and his soon-to-be son-in-law through the vows of marriage before man and God. “… until death do us part.”
Papa smiled at the couple with fatherly affection and pride. Here was a daughter who was doing it right, Eva thought. This daughter married a good Christian boy. Papa could boast to his friends about this daughter.
The crowd exploded in applause when her Papa pronounced them as husband and wife. Eva had never seen Gabriele happier, and the crowd roared as Lennon kissed her passionately. Gabriele broke away with an enormous smile and a rosy blush on her face. She beamed as she walked hand in hand with her perfect new husband down the aisle and into the spacious foyer. The guests emptied the chairs, family first, which comprised of Gabriele’s side only, as Lennon sadly had no family.
Eva had been given a white cane decorated with a white, silky ribbon and a matching carnation to use for the occasion. Her eyes scanned the back row for Sebastian and she broke into a huge smile when she spotted him. She nodded subtly to the foyer, indicating that she wanted him to meet her there.
She was trapped behind a crowd as guests came to congratulate the couple. A commotion grew on the other side of the foyer and caused Eva concern. A group of girls, and some older women too, had created a circle around Sebastian and were making a scene. Their giggles and requests for autographs echoed in the cavernous space. Soon the attention of the people had turned from her sister to her boyfriend.
Eva willed him to look at her, and when she finally caught his eye, she waved him over. There was no way she could navigate this crowd and steal him away, which was exactly what she wished she could do.
Sebastian managed to escape—he had a lot of practice dodging fans—and made it to her side. Gabriele glared at both of them.
He leaned over and muttered, “I think I should go.”
A pit grew in her stomach. She didn’t want him to leave. Didn’t want him to leave her. “Sebastian.”
He smiled gently. “This is your sister’s special day. I’m stealing her thunder.”
“But…”
“It’s okay.” He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered in her ear. “I’ll meet up with you later. Oh, and by the way, you look gorgeous. Save that dress, okay? I want to see you in it again. When we’re alone.”
Eva blushed and held a hand over her mouth to conceal her sly smile. Sebastian looked amazing himself, and she’d like another private occasion to see him in that suit again, too. She waved weakly as she watched him sneak out the side entrance. Once all the handshaking and kissing ended, the bridal couple headed out to the park in front where more pictures would be taken before everyone headed to the wedding party celebration.
Eva was already exhausted from this day and still had several hours ahead of her to endure. She hung back from her family so she could sneak into the public WC to freshen up. She was drooping like the flower on her cane, and she let out a long sigh. She locked herself into a stall just as a couple of girl
s came in giggling loudly.
“I would die if Sebastian Weiss showed up at my wedding,” one of them said.
“I’d probably leave my groom at the altar and run away with him.” More giggling ensued and Eva’s heart lightened. Even though she and Sebastian had been official for only a short time, she had loved him for much longer. If he asked her to marry him tomorrow, she’d say yes.
“Did you see the girl he was with? The one with the cane? I saw him kiss her cheek.”
“That’s Gabriele’s younger sister.”
“Really? They don’t look anything alike.”
“Yeah, so sad about that accident. She’s going to need that cane for the rest of her life.”
“What does Sebastian Weiss see in her? She doesn’t have Gabriele’s looks or her charisma. If Lennon weren’t so hot, I’d say Sebastian hooked up with the wrong sister.”
“I know what you mean. Maybe it’s a publicity stunt. You know. Famous rock star dates cripple girl.”
“I saw that on Facebook. I didn’t know the mystery girl was Gabriele Baumann’s sister. That’s so random.”
The girls left and Eva turned to the toilet and dry heaved. Her eyes blurred and she gasped for breath, bending over like someone had punched her in the gut.
People believed what they read in the news and it stung. And it was partially true. Sebastian could do better. He could be with someone who could ride her own bike. Could hike up hills and ski down mountains. What would happen when Sebastian decided he wanted to do those things? She knew he skied the Alps in the winter. She’d faithfully followed his adventures on his blog last year.
And worse yet, what if the story were true? She didn’t really know Sebastian all that well. What if he was using her to boost his publicity?
She bent over and dry heaved again.
Eva hadn’t been the same since the wedding, and Sebastian was concerned. He kept asking her if anything was wrong and she kept shaking her head and saying no. But Sebastian could see it in her eyes. The sparkle was missing when she looked at him. Was she pulling back already?
He hadn’t gotten another visit from Herr Baumann, but that didn’t mean he’d given up on seeing his daughter break free of him. He asked Eva about it, if she was being pressured by her parents to end things, but she insisted that she wasn’t.
Something was scaring her and if it wasn’t her family, then he needed to find out what it was.
Maybe it was the tour coming up? He’d be gone for two weeks. Was she worried about that? He knew what they said about him in the tabloids. That he was a womanizer, that maybe that was what had driven Yvonne to cheat.
Did Eva believe he’d cheat as well?
It must be so hard for her, being bombarded with mixed messages and untruths from every side. He didn’t blame her for feeling confused. What could he do to assuage her fears?
He’d love to take her along on tour but never asked because he knew what kind of fallout that would have with her family, and he didn’t want to put her in that position again.
But maybe she wanted to be put in that position. Maybe she needed to know he wanted her with him, even if she had to say no.
The pressure in his chest eased a little. That had to be it. He just needed to give her the option to say no. Then she’d know she could trust him. Two weeks wasn’t that long.
He grabbed his phone and texted her: Come with me on my tour.
Mama and Papa were killing her. Now with Gabriele married and in Greece on her honeymoon, Eva was the sole point of attention. It seemed they were everywhere, watching, probing, frowning. Even the needs of the house church didn’t seem to distract them from her life. Or rather, her love life.
Eva had spent most of her twenty years envying her sister and there was never a time when she envied her more than now. What she’d give to run away with Sebastian. She was willing to go anywhere just about now.
But she hadn’t forgotten what the girls in the WC at Gabriele’s wedding had said about her. Maybe her parents were right about her and her “obsession with the rock-star boy.” Maybe she was just making a big fool of herself, and her father’s premonition would come true, that this relationship was bound to end in heartbreak and disgrace. Her heart felt like it was on the verge of exploding right now. What would she do if Sebastian ended it? He might. He was leaving soon. Maybe she had just been a distraction for him while he licked his wounds over Yvonne’s betrayal. She couldn’t get the thought out of her head. Maybe she was a PR stunt.
Her stomach rolled so much these days she could barely eat, but she had to fuel herself sometime. She pulled herself off her bed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. She heard her parents talking in low tones and stopped when she heard her name.
“We’ll only make things worse if we try to force her to leave him,” her mother said. “We just need to let it run its course and pray it doesn’t go on for too long.”
“He told me he’d end it,” Papa said.
“What do you mean?”
“I went to see him shortly after he started coming around to see her. I asked him to be reasonable. To imagine the future and how it could only end badly for our Eva.”
“And he promised to end it?”
“Well, not in so many words.”
Eva felt sick. Her father had asked Sebastian to end things? Anger stirred hot in her gut. She couldn’t believe he would stoop so low. She could barely breathe. She inched back to her room quietly and folded into her chair. She was trapped. If only she hadn’t dropped out of university, she could be well on her way to acquiring a career and a way to providing for herself. As it was, she depended on her parents for the roof over her head and food in her belly.
Her phone buzzed. She hobbled to her night table wanting to see one name. Part of her was scared to death that he was texting to end it, that her father had gotten to him somehow. But instead she read his invitation and her heart leaped with relief. She didn’t give herself a chance to think it through, to talk herself out of it. She typed one word.
He sent the text, and she responded two seconds later. His heart stuttered to a stop. No argument. No questions. Just one word.
Okay.
Things must be really bad over there. The tour started tomorrow. The guys were busy today packing up gear and the personal stuff they’d need for the duration. He had booked off a couple hours in the evening to say good-bye to Eva. Looked like he didn’t have to do that now.
Sebastian Weiss
We leave at eight tomorrow morning.
Eva Baumann
Can you pick me up? I need help with my bag.
Sebastian Weiss
Yes. For sure. See you then.
He stared out the window feeling stunned. Everything had changed again. So fast. Eva was coming on tour with him. It could mean sharing a hotel room. Heat burst through his body at the thought of that. They hadn’t even slept together yet. He worried that things were moving too fast for her, even if she didn’t realize it herself. He’d let her set the pace. If she wanted her own room, he’d spring for that, his own personal expense.
He rubbed his face hard. His door chime rang, and he buzzed to let in Markus.
“Hey,” Markus said, heading straight for the gear Sebastian had packed up. Sebastian grabbed two guitars and followed Markus out. Most of the gear was stored at their rehearsal space, and that was where the tour bus was parked.
“I need a favor tomorrow morning,” Sebastian said.
Markus gave him a bored look. “Let me guess. You need a ride to the bus.”
“Well, yeah, but then we need to pick up Eva. She’s coming along.”
Markus shot him a hard look.
“I don’t care about the ‘no girlfriend’ rule. If you remember, I never voted for it.”
“Yeah, sure, but… man, why do I have to be the one to break the news.”
“Break what news?”
“Karl is bringing Yvonne.”
Sebastian felt sucker punched. “W
hat?” He didn’t even know the two of them were still seeing each other.
“Yeah, it’s true. Sorry, man.”
Sebastian let his head fall back and groaned. Just what he needed. More drama. Now the question was should he tell Eva before or after he picked her up.
He better call her right away. The sooner she knew the better. She might change her mind about coming and he didn’t want to deal with that scene in the morning. He pressed her number, but she didn’t pick up. He texted her instead: Bad news. Karl is bringing Yvonne. In case that changes anything.
Markus eyed him again. “You look like crap.”
“Thanks. I feel like it, too.” He kept his phone in his palm, hoping Eva would respond soon.
They arrived at the warehouse and Sebastian could see Dirk and Karl loading gear onto the bus.
“Don’t say anything to them about Eva coming along, okay?” he said to Markus. “She might change her mind now.”
He snorted. “No problem. I wasn’t planning to step on that landmine anyway.”
Sebastian kept silent as he joined in with loading the gear. If he said anything to Karl he might end up punching his face in. Instead, he kept his ill feelings to himself. The bus had several rows of forward-facing seats behind the driver, a small kitchen area behind that with a little fridge, microwave and food storage space. A closet-sized bathroom was tucked in behind that and then a section of cots, two deep on each side. That was where they packed the gear. None of their trips necessitated sleeping overnight on the bus, which was a good thing since there were more people than cots.
He jumped out of the bus just as he felt buzzing in his pocket. His breath hitched as he pulled it out. The moment of truth. Was she coming or not?
Eva Baumann
I’m coming for sure now.
Sebastian grinned. He loved it when she got territorial with him.
Sebastian Weiss