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Several colorful responses came to mind, but I figured it wouldn’t be a good idea to insult the airline that I was due to fly back within a couple days.
“No, I suppose that’s all I needed,” I said.
“Thank you for choosing our airline,” she said, voice still full of sunshine and rainbows. “If you’ll stay on the line, we’d appreciate your feedback to a brief survey.”
“I don’t think you want me to do that,” I snapped, then hung up on her.
“More bad news?” Hez asked cautiously.
“They sent my luggage back to Detroit,” I informed him with a sigh. “So now, I have no way to get my stuff and no way to get a new phone.”
That had been another disastrous phone call where I’d been informed that the phone company could only expedite replacement phones to the address on file, and that to pick one up at a local store, I’d need photo ID.
“It’s all going to work out,” Hez promised me, though there was no way he could possibly know that. “Let’s just try to enjoy the day and when we get home we’ll see if Simon had any luck accessing your email.”
I knew he was right. There was nothing I could do about the luggage or the phone. I just had to hope that my sister could send me the copies of my passport and driver’s license and that the US Embassy would accept them to issue me a new passport, so I’d be able to fly home.
In the meantime, I may as well do what I’d come to Germany to do in the first place. And, I had the added bonus of having a handsome, German tour guide to show me the best parts of Hamburg. Plus, I got to ride in a limousine. So there were definitely some silver linings to be seen if I let myself.
“So, where are we going?” I asked, forcing myself to relax back against the buttery leather seats.
“I thought we’d walk aroundPlanten un Blomen. Maybe do some ice-skating and visit the tropical gardens,” he suggested. “Then lunch at a café, maybe a couple museums and dinner atHaerlintonight.”
“Wow,” I said, staring at him. “That all sounds amazing.” And kind of romantic, not that I’d admit that to him out loud. “I mean, except the ice-skating part. I don’t know how to do that.”
“It’s easy,” he assured me, giving me a wide smile that made laugh lines appear around his bright blue eyes. “I’ll teach you.”
“Or,” I suggested hopefully. “We could just…not.”
“That is always an option,” he agreed, his smile slipping as he leaned forward and took my hand in his. “Hannah, I promise you that we will figure this out. For today, can you try to relax and have fun?”
“I will try,” I promised him, oddly comforted by his assurance. “Because I do want to have fun while I’m here. I’m just scared.”
“I know.” He squeezed my fingers gently. “But I will take care of everything.”
“I still don’t understand why you’re being so nice to me,” I admitted, twisting my hand to thread my fingers through his. “But I’m very glad I met you.”
“Yeah, the limo has that effect on people,” he teased, giving me a small wink that made me laugh.
I really hoped that Hez was as sweet as he seemed. So far, he hadn’t really given me cause to doubt that he was. But it was hard not to expect a different shoe to drop at any moment.
If nothing else, this trip was supposed to be a once in a lifetime adventure, and I couldn’t deny that so far it certainly had been that.
When we arrived at the park, Hez took my hand in his, the movement so casual it felt as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Our fingers thread together once more as he led me to the tropical gardens.
Once inside, I’d expected him to release me, but he didn’t. And we strolled around, hand in hand, admiring the flora and fauna that seemed to magically flourish in the greenhouse, considering the frigid temperatures outdoors.
“So,” Hez said after a while. “You’ve met my family, you know what I do and where I live, but I really know nothing about you.”
“There’s not much to tell,” I admitted with a shrug. “I do data entry for an insurance company in Detroit. I have a younger sister who is flighty but incredible. And my first international trip has been…interesting.”
“This is your first time out of the USA?” he asked, his tone colored with surprise.
“Yeah,” I said. “And let me tell you, I love Germany, but I’m not impressed with the overall experience.”
“I’m sorry you feel that way,” he said sadly. “We’ll have to see what we can do to change your opinion.”
“I didn’t mean you,” I said, pulling him to a stop and pausing until he looked at me. “You’ve been incredible. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found me. I just meant the mugging and the luggage fiasco.”
