Over the Fence (18 page)

“So you think we should go our separate ways?” David asked. “But you understand that would mean I’d have to move out.”

“But you don’t have to move far away. I mean, the Müllers are renting out an apartment at the end of the street.” Jonas looked at the floor. “That way I could always visit you.”

Jonas’s words hit David like a ton of bricks. He had wanted to talk about everything with Stefanie first, but since Jonas was broaching the subject, there was nothing preventing him from discussing it now. He wouldn’t let himself be swayed again.

“I’ve thought it over myself—”

“You like Leonie’s aunt. A blind man can see that,” Jonas interrupted. “You know, Papa, Leonie thinks her aunt likes you, too. She could ask her about it.”

“You want to fix me up?” David couldn’t believe his ears. What a strange day this was. First, the woman he had hoped to have a future with disappeared from his bed, and now his teenage son wanted to fix him up with the exact same woman.

“Leonie says her aunt Eva is cool. And yeah, I’m with Leonie now, and we want to be a family somehow.” Jonas kept tossing the ball from one hand to the other. David knew it must have been scary and a bit embarrassing for him to say these words. “Leonie also says it’s better to go your separate ways if you don’t like each other anymore. There are a lot of divorced parents in my class. It’s pretty normal. Leonie even broke up with her boyfriend for me, and I think that was the right thing to do.”

“You think it was right because you’re together now. I’m sure the other boy would see it differently.”

“Oh, he already has another girlfriend,” Jonas said.

David had to smile. His son thought of everything in such simple terms. If a girlfriend wasn’t working out, he would unceremoniously trade her in for another. But when David thought back to his teenage years, he realized he’d done the same thing. Once a woman had become too exhausting or started talking about commitment, it wasn’t long before David ended the relationship. That had changed when he met Stefanie, because she had become pregnant with his child. He couldn’t ignore his responsibility. And after Stefanie cheated on him, he wanted to move out, but she had threatened to keep Jonas from him.

And now his son was suggesting he should find someone else? These were the values parents handed down to their children these days? If a relationship no longer suits you, you just find a replacement?

However, this timely conversation would make it easier to move out. He had planned to talk with Stefanie after her vacation anyway. Jonas was old enough to decide when he wanted to see his father. She had no more influence. Jonas would definitely get his way in the matter, David was sure.

“Well, and there’s the fact that you like her,” Jonas continued. “I saw you with her. You walked arm in arm out of the bar.”

“You were hanging around outside in the middle of the night?” David fixed his gaze on Jonas, who then looked at his shoes.

“Just for a short time, then we went back to the RV. Honest,” he said.

“And I’m supposed to believe that?”

“Man, Papa! We met up with Leonie and Jasmin so we could say good night to them. That’s it.”

“In other words, you were making out with your girlfriends,” David noted. “I saw you both in the afternoon at the shooting gallery.” David stood up. “And now, your penalty will be to help me cook. It’s time for dinner.”

Jonas smiled and nodded. “OK.”

“But no more midnight rendezvous. Promise?”

“Promise.”

Thirteen

Eva visited her mother at the hospital before Aunt Inge drove her to the airport. To ensure she wouldn’t run into David, she’d left the house through the backyard, which had direct access to the garage.

In London, she took a taxi to her apartment in Hampstead and soaked up the sights of the streetcars and the classic beige-and-redbrick buildings that were typical of her street.

She’d made the right decision, she reassured herself. She wanted to live in this city, and in due time her feelings for David would fade away. It was better for them to live their own lives.

The driver let her out in front of her building. Eva entered and went upstairs to her apartment. The place smelled musty. Eva opened all the windows to let in some fresh air, and the warm summer breeze wafted in.

While she unpacked, a strange feeling came over her. This was the first time she’d been alone in a while. Despite a bit of traffic noise, she wasn’t used to such quiet. Then she did something she’d seldom done in her apartment: she turned on the TV to dispel the silence. It didn’t do much to distract her from the fact that she felt lonely.

She picked up the phone to tell Sally she had arrived in London and was now preparing the presentation for the following afternoon. Sally told her that Matthew and his staff were discussing the other graphic designers’ ideas right now, and she still didn’t know whose proposals would be submitted to the client.

Eva knew that now was the time to concentrate, so she pushed away her anxiety as best she could. She preferred to work alone but liked to have some background noise, so she put on a CD before sitting down at her computer. Three hours later, she had created a PowerPoint slide show; seeing the designs again and incorporating them into the template reminded her so much of David. When she was finished, she had a serious case of cabin fever, so she decided to go to the gym.

After working out until she was completely drenched in sweat, she returned home to shower and then sprawled out on the couch with a novel. For some reason, she couldn’t focus. She read the same paragraphs over and over again, until finally she decided to call Leonie. In all the rush, she hadn’t been able to say good-bye.

“Hey, Auntie!” Leonie said. “You left without saying anything.”

“I know and I’m sorry. I would have loved to have more time with you, but my job left me no choice,” she said.

“You could have at least come to my soccer game if you knew you had to leave so quickly.”

Eva could imagine Leonie’s sullen expression. Her niece was probably chewing on the insides of her cheeks and knitting her eyebrows together. “I sent you a text, but you weren’t home when I was visiting. But let’s not argue about this, OK? How’s it going with Jonas?”

“Great! That was the reason I wasn’t home,” Leonie explained.

Her niece obviously had other priorities. And she was complaining that they weren’t able to see each other before Eva left?

“Grandpa says you’re coming back in a couple of days anyway,” Leonie said. “Then we can spend the weekend together.”

“Leonie,” Eva began, then hesitated. She couldn’t lie outright to her niece. “For the time being, I won’t be coming back. The job is taking more time than I thought it would.” Eva felt guilty about her little white lie, but she wasn’t ready to share the real reasons for her departure.

“And what’s going on with Jonas’s father?” Leonie asked. “I thought you liked each other. At least that’s what Jonas said.”

“Oh, Leonie, these things aren’t as easy at our age as they are at yours. I live in London, and Jonas᾽s father lives in Holzhausen. How is that going to work?”

“You could move back here again. What’s the problem? Then we would all have more time with one another.”

Eva sighed. “But my work and my life are here. Successful ad agencies are located in big cities. And I love my work.”

“More than David?”

“That’s not the point,” Eva said. “Plus, all your romantic ideas are making you forget about Jonas’s mother.” She sighed. “Besides, you can come visit me soon. You’re old enough to fly alone.”

“Really? When?” Leonie sounded very excited.

“Maybe during the autumn holidays? I can talk to your mother and see whether it’s OK if you and Sophie come here for a couple of days.”

“Awesome! I hope Mama says yes!”

After a few minutes of laughing together, they said their good-byes. But Leonie’s question went around and around in Eva’s head. Did she love her work more than she loved David? Was that such an easy question to answer? Lena had asked her a similar question about Sascha. But it was a different situation when two people had been in a relationship for years, right? And if David really did leave Stefanie, could Eva pull him away from his little town?

As much as she thought about it, Eva couldn’t answer that question.

When Eva arrived at the ad agency the next afternoon, Sally was waiting for her in Eva’s office. “Hi there! Well? Are you ready?”

“I think so.” Eva laid her Mac on the desk.

“Matthew will be with you in a minute,” Sally said. “And Adam is very nervous about the client’s reaction. He’s already inspected the projector two times, though we’ve never had any problem with it.”

Eva sighed and looked at Sally. “No more about how important the client is, OK? Otherwise, I’ll become completely tongue-tied.”

“You’ve got this,” Sally said. “I’ll hook up your Mac to the projector. You’d better go see Matthew and Adam now.”

Eva nodded, grabbed her prototype, and left the office. She knocked three times on her boss’s door.

Adam waved her in. “Eva, come on in. We’ve been waiting for you.”

Eva stepped in and greeted both men. Matthew stood with his back to her, looking out the window, but turned toward her when she entered. “Eva. I’m so happy you could make it.”

“Of course,” she said. She felt lost standing in the middle of the room.

Matthew pointed to a white designer chair that was stylish but not very comfortable. “Sit down, please.”

After Eva sat, she looked first at Adam, then at her boss. “Do you think the client will be impressed?”

Adam leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. “If only we could predict. We’re overjoyed with the layout, but we can’t see inside the minds of the decision makers. Bailey’s Chocolate is a tough client.”

Eva gathered up her courage. “And my colleagues’ layouts?” she asked.

Matthew sniffed. “Terrible!”

“Well, they weren’t that bad,” Adam said. “But yours are undoubtedly the best. The slogan—
The Peak of Enjoyment
—along with the chocolate mountain . . . Nobody could have come up with something like that as fast as you did.”

Adam’s words gave her courage to show the prototypes. She put them on the oversized white lacquer desk, where they looked tiny. Adam and Matthew examined the models from all sides.

“The gentlemen from Bailey’s Chocolate are here,” a voice said behind her. Matthew’s secretary, Meg, had quietly entered the office. “I led them into the conference room. Sally is taking care of them now.”

“Thanks, Meg.” There was a short pause, and Eva noticed that the room suddenly seemed to be electrically charged.

Eva inhaled and exhaled deeply before picking up the prototypes.

Adam shook his head. “Where is the silver tray?” he said. Meg hurried into the reception area and brought the tray in.

“Meg, we need the cover, too! Or should the client see what he’s getting before the presentation?” Matthew huffed. “Do I always have to think of everything myself?”

Eva was feeling worse by the moment. Her stomach was in knots, and she was afraid she might have to throw up. Only a few minutes ago she was calm and composed, but Matthew’s harsh tone had derailed her mood. How would he react if she botched it all?

Don’t think about it,
she told herself. Adam put the samples on the round silver tray. Eva found this a bit over the top, but maybe English clients expected this kind of a show. The tray with the dome cover seemed more appropriate for a five-star restaurant to display tiny gourmet meals from which no normal person would be sated.

Eva put her cold hands on her neck, closed her eyes, and focused. “I’m ready.”

Matthew walked out first, followed by Adam, then her. The three men in the briefing room were standing as Sally made small talk with them. Eva didn’t hear what her boss said as he entered. Her nausea continued unabated.

“May I present our senior graphic designer to you?”

Senior graphic designer?
Eva looked around the room.
Is somebody else here?

“Eva Berger. A very talented and experienced designer who we recruited from Germany. But you know that already.”

Eva snapped out of her stupor when she heard her name. She put on her best smile and shook hands with the gentlemen.

“Eva will also be leading the presentation.” Matthew made a sweeping gesture. “Please sit down and help yourselves. We’ve prepared tea and hors d’oeuvres.”

In her excitement, Eva forgot the men’s names. Fortunately, Matthew had a habit of addressing each client by name whenever he spoke. Eva sat down and opened her Mac, then noted their names on a piece of paper: Mr. Bailey, owner; Mr. Gordon, marketing director; and Mr. Field, financial department.

“Please, we’re ready to see your ideas for our new product line,” Mr. Bailey said to Eva.

Eva smiled and pulled down the blinds, then started the projector. After clearing her throat, she made her opening comments. Images of the cylindrical packaging topped by the chocolate mountain peak appeared on the large screen at the end of the room. She described how the elegant gold design with the dark brown chocolate peak complemented the high quality of the product. Another possibility could be a more traditional rectangular packaging with a tapered point; the tractor-track pattern made by the chocolate bars would necessitate the use of a larger package, giving the appearance of having more content. Then she explained how they could easily integrate the product name and slogan into either one of the new packaging designs.

Eva opened the blinds, while Adam placed the silver tray on the table. Matthew nodded to Eva.

The clients sat still and didn’t say a word. Eva couldn’t discern their reactions from their neutral expressions.

“I’ve also created cardboard prototypes for your inspection.” Eva leaned over the silver tray and lifted the dome cover. “Here you go. You can touch them if you’d like. The models are very stable, though not yet perfect.”

With that, the ball was in the clients’ court.

They inspected the models visually first before Mr. Bailey took one from the tray and turned it in his hands, examining it from all sides. He left the second prototype untouched.

“Well? What do you say?” Matthew asked.

Eva still couldn’t judge their reactions.

Mr. Bailey nodded. “Not bad.” Then he gave the model to his marketing director, who maintained his poker face and handed it to the finance director.

Her nausea returned, and she was afraid she couldn’t keep it under control much longer.

“May we have a moment alone?” Mr. Gordon asked.

“Of course,” Matthew said. He stood, as did Adam. Eva was already at the door. It hadn’t even closed before she ran to the ladies’ room and threw up.

After she emptied her stomach, Eva washed her face and rinsed her mouth out.

“May I come in?” Sally asked from the doorway.

“Yes,” Eva whispered, letting cold water run over her wrists.

“Welcome to the club,” Sally said. She reached in her pocket and put a package of peppermint candy on the washstand.

Eva looked at her, puzzled.

“If you think you’re the only person who’s ever vomited after their first presentation, you’d be sorely mistaken.” Sally leaned on the wall. “Smaller clients aren’t so nerve-racking, but ones like Bailey’s can really do a number on your nerves.”

Eva pulled her powder compact from her purse and touched up her makeup. “Will it get better one of these days?”

“Once you’ve conquered the big guys, it’ll be behind you.” Sally smiled. “At least that’s what I think.”

“Thanks. I really thought I wasn’t going to make it to the bathroom.” Eva inspected herself in the mirror. Except for her watery eyes, nobody could tell she’d just been sick.

“Matthew and Adam are pacing in the hall. To be honest, Adam looks kind of pale.” Sally smirked, which made Eva laugh.

“Then I didn’t make a complete fool of myself?” Eva asked.

“Not at all.” Sally pushed off the wall. “Now let’s go join the others.”

Eva nodded and stuck a peppermint candy in her mouth.

“Are you OK?” Matthew asked and smiled at her.

“Yes, thanks.”

“You did a good job,” Adam said. “Now all we can do is wait and hope that the competition isn’t any better. I believe our presentation was the last one.”

“Hopefully they can make a decision today,” Matthew said. “Waiting always makes me crazy. We need this contract.”

Thirty minutes later, the conference room door opened and the gentlemen from Bailey’s Chocolate stepped out. Mr. Bailey walked over to Matthew and shook his hand. “The design is good. But at this point in time, it’s not the only one. Would it be possible to take both prototypes with us and for you to e-mail us the PowerPoint presentation? We would like to discuss it internally.”