by Minkman, Jen
“Just like Axel,” Anne said casually. She was done eating and was coloring a picture of a unicorn with the tip of her tongue sticking out in concentration.
Julia cast Gaby a sideways glance and caught her friend getting a bit red. “Yeah, we just can’t stay away from each other.” Gaby put a hand over her heart in mock-infatuation. She gulped down a large swig of soda too quickly, almost choking on it. “By the way, what time are we leaving?”
Julia snickered. “Half past eight?” she suggested, shaking her head almost imperceptibly. How could she ever have missed what was going on between her cousin and her best friend? It was painfully clear, all of a sudden. She’d have time to interrogate Gaby later on.
After dinner, Julia and Gaby went upstairs to change and do their make-up, while Anne hijacked Thorsten and lured him into the living room to sit him down and watch Robin Hood with her. “They’re getting some new inspiration for their three house,” Julia explained in front of her dressing table. “Thorsten is helping Sabine and Anne build one in the forest.”
“Really? Wow, he’s so awesome he deserves a cape with a giant, embroidered T. I mean, look at how he’s being the sweet-big-brother type around Anne.” Gaby winked at her.
“Yeah, yeah. Just knock it off, all right? You sound like a Thorsten commercial. I’m not blind, you know. I can see the guy next door is a total catch.”
“Well, if you don’t catch him, I just might swoop in and snatch him instead.”
“No, you won’t. You…” Julia stopped mid-sentence. Gaby was obviously interested in Axel, but of course she wasn’t supposed to have picked up on that.
Gaby blinked at her like a deer trapped in headlights. “I… what?”
Julia put away her mascara. “Nothing. Forget it.”
Her friend put her hands on her sides and cocked her head. “Uh-uh, not so fast. What were you going to say?”
“Just that Thorsten isn’t really your type,” Julia mumbled. “I hope.”
“Hah! You think all that heavy mascara is obstructing my view, sister? Even a blind bat can see he’s gorgeous,” Gaby scoffed, sashaying toward the long mirror in the corner. Julia let out a sigh. She would have to wait until Gaby brought up the topic of Axel herself.
That evening, Julia enthused about her new job to her friends. She’d quickly skipped over the part where Michael turned out to be her co-worker – instead, she focused on the perks of the job and her nice colleagues. “I was invited to one of the girls’ birthday party, actually,” she smiled. “Everybody’s being cool and so friendly.”
“If only we felt the same vibe at the riding school,” Gaby grumbled. “Me and Tamara are ready to kill those vapid airheads, forever rhapsodizing over horses and ponies and everything having to do with them.”
Axel started laughing. “Well, don’t you girls rave about horses?”
“Uhm, no.”
“But you like all that equestrian stuff, right?”
Gaby let out a long-suffering sigh. “There is a difference, Axe Effect, a clear distinction between them and me. You can like horse-back riding as an outdoor activity, because that’s cool, or you can live inside a sugar-spun dream where horses are your biggest friends, you communicate with them telepathically, you still have My Little Pony posters in your bedroom, and you secretly dream of a knight on a white charger galloping into your life.”
Florian elbowed his friend in the ribs. “Forget about renting that white horse, man,” he grinned. “She thinks it’s lame.”
In the silence that followed, both Gaby and Axel turned beet-red.
“Who wants another drink?” Tamara chirped in an effort to diffuse the palpable tension.
“Yeah, me,” Thorsten replied, happily oblivious to the clanger Florian had just dropped. He got up from his chair. “Wait, I’ll help you. Would you like another one?” he asked Julia.
“Yeah, sure! I’d like a small wheat beer,” she quickly replied.
Once Thorsten and Tamara were out of hearing range, Florian started snickering and poked Julia mischievously. “Well, Julius Caesar, I think we have a suitable candidate. Your boy next door is cute and he’s totally into you. Well done!”
“Done what? I haven’t done anything yet.”
“Well, you asked him out, didn’t you?”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Julia slung an arm around Gaby’s shoulders. “Gaby told me to take action. She’s got a keen eye for candidates. We had dinner at my place too, before coming here.”
Axel, Florian and Moritz babbled on as Julia felt Gaby’s shoulders slowly relax a bit. She couldn’t believe how much of a bumbling blabbermouth Florian was sometimes. Had Axel fessed up to Florian himself about liking Gaby, or had his best friend just taken a lucky guess? Either way, she hoped things wouldn’t be nipped in the bud now.
Fortunately, everybody thought better of mentioning Gaby and Axel together for the rest of the evening. Axel was mostly talking to the other guys and Gaby was more or less hiding behind her sister and Julia. It was only when the pub was about to close and they were all getting up to get home that Axel approached Gaby again. He purposefully strode over to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Shall I give you a ride home?” he asked with a half-smile.
Gaby’s eyes widened. “I, uhm… I came here by bus, so…”
“I came here by scooter.”
“But… I promised Tamara we’d go home together.”
“Actually, I’m not going home yet,” Tamara piped up next to her. “I just texted Anna and Gretchen and we’re going to that new club together. I haven’t seen them for a while.”
Gaby gave Tamara a look that clearly spelled a desire to strangle her on the spot. “Oh. Right. Okay.” She turned around to face Axel again and bit her lip nervously. “Well… okay then.”
Axel didn’t say anything. He just started grinning more widely and ran off to fetch his scooter.
Julia had listened in on the entire conversation with a sly smile. “Sooo,” she drew out. “Will I see you tomorrow at Silke’s party?”
Gaby nodded, her face still flustered. “Yes, I’ll be at your place at five. So, you’re going home with Thorsten?”
Now it was Julia’s turn to look flustered. “I guess so. We’re taking the same bus.”
Just then, Axel arrived and parked his scooter on the sidewalk next to the pub. He looked at Gaby expectantly. “You ready?”
“Ready Freddy.”
Julia watched Gaby getting on the back of Axel’s scooter, her arms awkwardly around his waist as if she was afraid he’d break in two. She said goodbye to the others, then set off down the road toward the bus stop flanked by Thorsten.
“I had a really good time tonight,” he said. “It was cool of you to invite me.”
“You’re welcome. I know it’s hard to make new friends in the middle of summer. You’ll have friends in no time once college starts in October, though.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I doubt I’d meet people as nice as you,” her neighbor softly replied.
Julia stared at her sneakers. “Yeah, thanks.” She had no idea if his ‘you’ was meant to be singular or plural, and she wasn’t about to ask.
They sat next to each other on the bus sharing Julia’s earbuds to listen to her MP3 player together. Every now and then, Julia pointed out a landmark through the window or Thorsten asked her something about the music on her player, but apart from that, they were quiet. They kept quiet on the walk home from the bus stop to their street, too.
The silence became too pregnant for Julia’s taste when they came to a stop in front of her gate and Thorsten ran a warm hand down her upper arm. She gulped when he came closer, leaning into her.
“Would you be upset if I kissed you now?” he whispered.
Julia looked up shyly. “N-no, of course not. Not upset. Just... I don’t know if you should. It wouldn’t be fair.”
He looked at her earnestly. “You don’t like me that way?”
She blushed. “I do. But somethi
ng happened between me and a guy I’d had a crush on for ages, a while ago, and I haven’t gotten over it yet. I’m not over him yet, either. It’s got nothing to do with you.”
Thorsten smiled gently, caressing her cheek. “Okay, duly noted. I understand. You should take your time. I can be a friendly friend too, okay?”
Julia grinned. “Thanks,” she said timidly. “And sorry for giving off such mixed signals.”
“No worries.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “As long as you do, there’s hope, right?”
He turned around and crossed the street. Julia let out the breath she’d been holding. As Thorsten’s door fell shut, she pushed open the gate and went inside.
What a night.
7.
“I want juicy details,” Gaby demanded when she stepped into the yard on Sunday afternoon, her eyes sparkling with excitement. Julia had just come back from a visit to her gran and was curled up on the bench next to the front door, engrossed in a Sailor Moon manga.
She unhurriedly put away her book as Gaby took a seat next to her. “You do, huh? Well, me too. You. My very own cousin. Last night. Spill.”
Her best friend abruptly shut her mouth, staring at a pebble near her right foot like it had suddenly turned into the most fascinating object in all of Salzburg. “What do you mean?” she said shiftily. “There’s nothing to tell. He just dropped me off at home on his scooter. I mean, he lives in the same neighborhood. Come on, you don’t think something’s going on?” She gingerly looked up, giving Julia an almost pleading look.
“Hmm.”
“So what about you and Thorsten?”
Julia cleared her throat. “What do you mean? There’s nothing to tell. He just dropped me off at home when we walked here from the bus stop. I mean, he lives on the same street.”
Gaby moaned in frustration. “Oh, come on, don’t be like that.”
“Don’t be like what?”
“Like nothing happened! Don’t tell me he didn’t even try.” Gaby started to smile cheekily when Julia couldn’t help blushing. “Hah! I knew it! So tell me.”
“He asked me if... if it would upset me if he kissed me. And I confessed to him that I’m not over Michael yet and that it wouldn’t feel right.”
“Okay. That’s pretty brave of you. But kind of a pity, too.” Gaby sighed.
“Well, it’s not like everything between us is ruined now or anything. He said he’d had a great night.” Julia still remembered the look in Thorsten’s eyes – not defeated, but filled with patience and a quiet hope.
“Sounds like not all hope is gone just yet,” Gaby concluded. “So what time is this Silke expecting us?”
Julia had to stop herself from mentioning Axel again – she’d only rattle her friend by doing that. “From six o’clock onward. Shall we catch the twenty-to-six bus?”
When Julia and Gaby arrived at the gate of Silke and Marco’s large country house, the entire grounds already smelled like barbecue. Julia pushed open the gate leading to the vast lawn, hesitantly stepping inside. She didn’t know any of the guests who were sitting on the lawn, and was happy to discover Donna standing by the patio door sipping from a beer can. Gaby trailed behind Julia and looked around her in awe. “Wow, they have such a neat yard! Silke’s mom must be an avid gardener to keep it all weed-free like this.”
Just then, Silke caught up with them on the path. She was holding a bowl of potato salad in one hand and shook Julia’s hand with the other. “Hey, how nice of you to come! Why don’t you follow me to the patio, I’ll show you the drinks and snacks table.” She looked at Gaby curiously. “Hi, I’m Silke. And you’re not Thorsten.”
Gaby started laughing. “No, I’m sorry. Did Jules promise to bring him instead?”
Chatting, they crunched up the gravel path to the patio where the party was in full swing. A crowd had gathered around the barbecue. Silke took the present Julia brought for her with a smile and put it on the gift table.
Julia noticed the patio doors opened up into a large living room with a beautiful, white grand piano in the corner. “You play?” she asked Silke, pointing at the instrument.
“No, Marco and my dad do. If you want to play something, don’t be shy!”
“Oh, cool! You don’t have to tell me twice.” Of course, she could have dropped by Michael’s place to play his grand piano anytime, but that was nothing short of a bad idea. Besides, playing some songs for a group of people she hardly knew and didn’t care that much about was decidedly less of a hurdle.
Julia stepped inside, sat down on the piano bench and started to play one of Enya’s songs.
“Awesome,” Gaby mumbled, tiptoeing up to her from behind. She always stood in holy awe of Julia’s piano performances, having failed to ever play more than three notes on her recorder before chucking it out the window.
Julia’s piano music floated outside and soon lured more people onto the patio. When she played the last few notes of Watermark, Donna started to applaud fervently and Marco smiled at Julia encouragingly. “Go on, play another one,” he said. “You’re really good.”
Julia hesitated for a second, then started to play the song she’d written for Michael. She didn’t look up at her audience again, but the silence that pervaded the patio was telling her she’d captivated her listeners. Her fingers caressed the keys, her heart beating a steady rhythm. She lost herself in the music. Once, she had poured all of her heart into writing this song, her music expressing something she’d never be able to find words for.
Suddenly, she heard Gaby gasp behind her. Absently, Julia looked up to scan the crowd for the reason of her friend’s concern. Her heart stopped when she looked straight into two familiar green eyes, her hands almost tripping on the keys as she reached the chorus of her song. What was he doing here?
Oh, right. This was Marco’s birthday party too – and he had probably invited Michael. She hadn’t even thought of that. Julia quickly looked back down at the keyboard, trying to continue her recital unperturbedly, but she was fully aware of his eyes on her. In fact, she wanted his gaze on her. She wanted him to absorb every note she was playing. And suddenly, she found herself wishing he could somehow hear that this music had once been meant for him.
Only when the song was over did Julia risk looking up again. A stab of disappointment went through her – Michael had disappeared from the audience around the piano, who were clapping excitedly.
“Thank you,” Julia said shyly, quickly getting up.
Gaby grabbed her hand and unexpectedly dragged her outside even before the applause was over. “Did you see that?” she whispered urgently, as though she was about to tell Julia a rhino had stumbled into the fountain.
“Did I see what?”
“Michael. The way he looked at you.”
Julia blinked in confusion. “What do you mean? Did he look tortured, maybe? He didn’t even bother listening to the entire song.”
Gaby shook her head. “I don’t think he could. He... Jules, he was staring at you, so intensely. So focused on what you were playing. And then… look, I know this sounds ridiculous, but I swear to you, he started to cry. He was crying, and that’s why he walked away. He was touched to the core.”
Julia gaped mutely at her friend for a second. “He wasn’t.”
“He was.” Gaby opened a beer can and gulped down a few generous swigs. Julia picked up a can of beer herself, mindlessly turning it around in her hands.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think you should give him another chance,” Gaby continued. “That look on his face, in his eyes. There was so much emotion. Just… I don’t know.”
Julia bit her lip. “So where is he now?”
“No idea. He’ll be back. You want to talk to him?”
“I don’t know.” Julia gulped down half her can of beer before anxiously looking around. Silke and Donna were just walking up to them.
“You were so cool!” Donna beamed at Julia. “Who wrote the second song?”
“I did
.”
“No way! Really? You should totally record that some time. I’d buy it on iTunes any day.”
Silke vehemently nodded in agreement. “I’m going to make you a regular at all my parties. The audience loved your little show.”
The four girls sat down on the plastic lounge chairs around the fountain. Michael was nowhere to be seen.
“What is that pendant you’re wearing?” Gaby asked curiously, pointing at a small, multi-colored plastic ball dangling from the chain around Silke’s neck. “Are there beads inside that ball?”
“No, they’re dried rowan berries. The rowan tree is my Celtic protection tree. Everybody has a tree assigned to their date of birth, according to the Druids’ thirteen-month system.”
“That’s one too many,” Donna observed dryly.
Silke chuckled. “They use a lunar calendar, so thirteen months is just enough. That’s why their astrology is different, too.”
Julia’s interest was piqued. “Which tree belongs to me? My birthday is at the beginning of March.”
“The ash tree,” Silke replied. “The sorceress tree. You are a creative dreamer with a tendency to run from the real world. And you communicate with nature.”
Gaby giggled. “Those Druids have Julia down to a tee. What about me? Beginning of April?”
“The alder tree. The trailblazer, the pioneer. You don’t care about other people’s opinion and go your own way, even if you always surround yourself with a lot of friends.”
“That’s crazy,” Gaby mumbled. “And eerie. I really am like that. Do you have some books I can borrow? You’ve made me a Druid fan.”
Julia remembered Michael’s birthday. “Which tree belongs to the third of July?” she blurted out without thinking. Gaby elbowed her in the ribs.
“Oh, that is a really nice one,” Silke answered with a smile. “It’s actually the tree that the Druids were named after – the oak tree.”
Suddenly, Julia had a flashback to Michael stretched out under the oak tree in the woods, his head lying in a pool of blood. The look in his eyes when he woke up and recognized her. It made her shiver. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why this was strange, but it was. It was bizarre.