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“Weeh.” The little one sighs. He yawns and snuggles against my chest.
A little later, I hear a soft smacking sound. Carefully, I lift my head and peer down at him.
He puts the middle and ring fingers of his right hand in his mouth and sucks on them while he presses a corner of the blanket against his cheek with his other hand.
The heart in my chest almost bursts with love.For him and for his beautiful mother…I close my eyes, listen to the two-voiced breathing of my beloved and doze off.
Ddjumm-djumm wagga-wagg-wagg dju-umm-djum-djumm…Accompanied by vibrations, Celine’s cell phone plays the theme music fromBreaking Bad.
I lift half an eyelid.
She runs her hand over her face, then pats the nightstand as the cell phone begins a second round of ringing.
Finally, she catches the device and turns off the ominous nagging of the resonator guitar, backed by skinny drums and synth strings.
How can anyone want to be woken up by a song like that, of all things?Once again, I have to smirk about how different our musical tastes are.Even after three years, we can hardly find a common denominator.
“I hate Mondays.” Celine turns to me. She strokes Johannes’ hair and gives me a promising kiss.
“I love you, too.” I can’t help but smirk.
“You’re mean,” she complains, flipping back the covers. “Why do you get Mondays off? And I have to work all day?”
Because you chose Friday as your day off?But I’d rather not point that out to her. “There’s no question offree,” I say, preferring to distract her instead. “Because today is my all-Johannes day.”
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we split the care of the little one. Celine works in the mornings. The studio doesn’t open until ten, and in the time until she gets home shortly after noon, I can take care of Johannes at the reception desk.
This works better thanGrandma Mareikehad predicted.I may be old, but I’m not frail!she had said. If it had been up to Celine’s bustling aunt, she and Horst would be babysitting the little one every day. And not just every other weekend and one evening during the week. The two of them did not miss the opportunity to move to Mosbach specifically for this purpose.
Freshly showered, Celine comes back from the bathroom. The water drops on her only-lightly-dried skin shimmer like the scales of the Rainbow Fish. I only found out about its existence because I have to read Johannes his favorite picture book every day.
“You might get up too,” she grumbles with the handbrake on. “Maybe make me a coffee?”
With increasing amusement, I watch her get into her panties. And to Jolly Jumper’s great displeasure, she hides the soft curves of her bosom behind the plain cups of a bra.Fucking hell! She’s so hot! Baby aside, vestiges of motherhood aside: yesterday we both spent much of our baby-free day in bed… not really sleeping…
“You don’t talk to everyone, do you?” Celine presses me.
“I do, of course.” Careful not to wake up Johannes, I sit up in bed and cross my arms behind my head. “I’m just completely speechless in the face of your divine beauty…”
She wrinkles her nose. “Probably it’s really best if you stay in bed.” With nimble fingers, she picks through the hangers of her business blouses in the closet, deciding on a crème shade that flatters the remnants of her summer tan. “Or you’ll slip on that slime you’re trying to soap me up with.”
Filled with regret, I register how the flowing fabric of the blouse sleeve veils Celine’s tattooed sleeve in watercolor style.
Of course: as delightful as she is annoying, she has got her own way and worked on me until I gave in to her wish. Contrary to my fears, however, the colorful tattoo only emphasizes the purity and innocent appearance of my sweetness.
“…help me?” Fully dressed by now, Celine sits down next to me on the bed. She lets the dainty gold chain with diamond pendant, which I had placed between her breasts back on our wedding night, trickle into my palm as she holds up her silky hair.
Dutifully, I put the jewelry around her neck, then wrap both arms around her body. “And how am I supposed to get through the day without you?”
“Like a true hero does?” She half turns to me and kisses me. All too quickly, she pulls herself away. “Without complaining?”
“Do you think I can do it?” I tease her. “Well then, see you tonight.”
Already at the door, she pauses briefly, looking over her shoulder at me. “Should I actually come here then and we’ll go together, or will we meet at the discount store?”
“The weekly grocery?” I sigh. I’d successfully blocked that one out.
“I’d rather come by here…” Celine laughs. “Otherwise, I’ll be standing there alone again in front of the store and have to wait for you two muddlers.”
