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The joyful excitement in his voice leaps to me. The corners of my mouth tighten.Still, “Right away?”
“Who’s calling?” asks Pauline, who is cutting off the labels.
Instead of responding to her, I put my finger to my lips, because Philipp is already talking on.
“Right away,” he replies to my objection. “This thing can’t wait. You’ve got to look at it! It’s…” A deep intake of breath is heard. “…really fucking awesome!”
Pauline’s gaze literally shines through me, and I become far too aware of my happy-go-lucky facial expressions.
Hoping Pauline will relate my expression to it, I point my finger at the coat she’s holding out for me to slip into.Wow, great!I form silently. Then I turn back to Philipp. “Sure, I can arrange this.” I had taken the afternoon off anyway. “Where do you want me to come?”
“Is that Kevin? Probably not…” Pauline grins slyly as she packs my jacket into a tote bag.
“Just down the stairs and out in front of the building?” Philip’s warm laugh flutters through the phone into my ear like a springtime blackbird on its kamikaze flight between moving cars.
He’s standing outside?Irritated, I turn my head, peering out at the shop windows. There’s no Philipp there. “Why?”
He snorts softly. “Because I’m sitting in the no parking zone in front of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries, hoping you’ll show up before that stupid deputy gives me a ticket?”
“Oh,” I say. “I’m not there at all. I’m at Pauline’s.”
“Down atChic & Grace?” The bubbling of a powerful engine sounds as he starts his car. “I’m coming.”
“See you in a minute,” I say, but he’s already hung up. For the span of a few breaths, I remain motionless, cell phone in hand.
“That wasn’t Kevin,” Pauline startles me out of my strange meditation. “Don’t even try to deny it: It was your Adonis-like Philipp calling you…”
Oh my God! Can’t she stop doing that?Sometimes Pauline is really annoying.He’s notmyPhilipp! How many times do I have to tell her?
A dull rumble comes in from outside. Vibrations make the air inChic & Graceshiver and cause the shop windows to clink softly. In the next instant, a huge, black projectile-like car slides in front of Pauline’s store, darkening the sales area.
My heart takes a running start. Unerringly, it hits the vibrating springboard deep in my lap before catapulting itself up into my throat.Oh my God! Who would have thought my insides were capable of such Olympic records?I feel the heat of the blood rushing to my cheeks and blindly grab the bags Pauline holds out to me. “Farewell,” I press out, rushing for the door. “See you soon.”
“See you soon!” she echoes, “And don’t forget your umbrella…”
But the door has already closed behind me with a melodic ring.
On the top step, I recollect myself. I send a final, silent plea to the heavens that my foundation covers as well as the commercials promised. Then I seek eye contact with the driver of the truck before walking as deliberately as I can to the passenger door.
“Hi.” Philipp takes the bags from me, and the smile which curls his lips sweetens my scrambling up onto the seat.
“Hi.” Something more intelligent cannot be found in my fogged brain, unfortunately.
I barely get my seatbelt fastened when Philipp turns to me. He stretches his arm across to me, and the still palpable aftershock of the springboard in my nether regions intensifies. But then he just puts his hand on the back of my seat to steer the vehicle, with its truck-like dimensions, backward out of the narrow alley.
17. TheSignalthat Broke the Camel’s Back
Philipp
I snort stiffly.This requesting! In some things, girls resemble each other, as different as they may be otherwise.“Because I’m sitting in a no-parking zone in front of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries…” I lean forward, peering up through the front window at the glass glinting in the sunlight. “…hoping you’ll show up before that stupid deputy gives me a ticket.”
“Oh,” it comes from the line in surprise. “I’m not there at all. I’m at Pauline’s.”
“Down atChic & Grace?” I start the engine. “I’m coming.”
A minute and a half later, I curse myself for my casually spoken announcement. The further I advance into the heart of the old town, the more closely the facades of the half-timbered houses nestle against the cobbled alleys.
Truth be told, I’m about to steer the RAM back out again. But turning around here is an impossibility. Just in time, I notice that I’ve almost passed Celine’s friend’s store. I put the selector lever in the parking position and am already considering whether I should go in.
