Over the Fence (2 page)

Lena leaned back and looked at her. “Do you still love him?”

Eva looked at Lena in surprise. “Why do you ask?”

“Just answer the question. Do you still love him?”

Did she? Had they ever been in love? Or did they both just want the comfort of a steady relationship? “What difference does it make? He clearly doesn’t love me anymore.”
If he ever did,
she thought glumly. Eva glanced at the boxes in the corner. “Otherwise, he would be here.”

“What would happen if he asked you to move back to Berlin?”

“But he didn’t.”

“But what if he did?” Lena probed further. “Would you go back?”

Eva considered Lena’s question. Would she? Living in London . . . she’d been working toward it for years. She had crammed like crazy to learn English, along with studying graphic design, and had finished a semester as a foreign student in Bristol.

Lena smiled at her. “OK, so the answer is no.”

“I’m still thinking about it.”

“A little too long, don’t you think?”

Eva had never questioned whether her dream was also Sascha’s. When they first met, she had told Sascha about London and he had been crazy about the idea. But had he only been enthusiastic to be supportive, or because he had the same dream? She had never even thought about it. Truth be told, she didn’t want Sascha to give up his dream, whatever it was. Evidently, she hadn’t loved him enough to even consider what he wanted. How could she demand that Sascha love her when she wasn’t even able to consider his needs?

“You know, I thought I’d find you here crying your eyes out,” Lena continued, “but when I saw you, it struck me that you were just really pissed off that Sascha just made it a lot harder for you and left you to make it here alone.”

Eva sighed. “You’re right. I’m pissed off at him, but it’s over things like the rent. I had figured we would share it. If I have to pay nineteen hundred pounds, that only leaves me with a little over twelve hundred to live on. And if I don’t get a raise, I’ll have to find a cheaper place to live.”

“Hampstead is really beautiful but obviously expensive.” Lena poured some more coffee for herself and held up the pot. “More?”

Eva nodded and held up her cup. “Everywhere in London is expensive, unless you live in the East End, but who would want to do that?” Eva blew on the coffee in her cup. “Now that I think about it, I missed him for all the wrong reasons. Anytime I needed a man to do something, I thought,
Oh, if only Sascha was here.
It was always more about drilling a hole in the wall or programming the receiver.”

Lena laughed. “Only that?”

Eva pushed out her lower lip. “Well, I also missed him when I was feeling lonely.”

“Well then, you should buy a dog and get the phone numbers of a couple good handymen.”

“Then I’d need a living space with a garden and that would be even more expensive. Anyway, at least I don’t have to worry about putting together a new armoire anymore. And he can damn well pick up his own stuff.” Eva pointed at the boxes.

After a while, Eva asked, “How did you know I wouldn’t go back to Berlin to live with Sascha?”

“It was just a good guess. I swore I wouldn’t move anywhere for a man again. Because of Ron, I moved to Berlin, and then he cheated on me with my boss, Jörg. Well, you already know the story.” Lena straightened up a bit and smiled. “But now, Peter has a new role in a crime series filming in Munich. He didn’t ask me to move there, but Jörg has a few customers in the city—because of his guilty conscience, he always lines up new clients for me—so I thought I could open a new agency in Munich. Peter is my silent partner for the moment because I can’t afford to rent an office. But as long as I pay him back, the agency will belong to me.”

“You’re moving to another city because of a guy again?”

“Not exactly. If Peter ends up working elsewhere, of course I’ll stay in Munich.”

“Peter hasn’t forced you into this?” Eva wasn’t so sure about Lena’s new boyfriend. Eva had met him only once, but his bad reputation gave her doubts.

“No, he hasn’t,” Lena said with a grin. “Though it would have been inconvenient for Peter to be driving back and forth between Munich and Berlin.”

“OK, then I was probably wrong about him.” Eva was delighted for Lena.

“So what’s going to happen now?”

“No idea. As soon as I’ve finished licking my wounds, I’ll try to make a career at the agency so I don’t have to move again. I just had my first big successful project, and then Sascha took the wind out of my sails.” Eva sighed. “So if I still feel lonely after three months, I’ll pick up a cat. I’m more of a cat person.”

Lena hugged Eva. “You’re going to make it! Now, tell me about your successful project.”

Eva told her about her colleagues’ enthusiasm when she showed them her designs. Her boss had sent them directly to the client, and less than an hour later, they had been approved for the new ad campaign.

“We should definitely celebrate tonight! What do you think? Plus you could show me a little bit of the city. I’ve never been to London before.”

The idea appealed to Eva as a way to distract herself from thinking about Sascha. Although she wasn’t sure if she and Sascha had ever truly loved each other, she still missed him. After all, they’d been together for three years. Though they were no longer a couple, she didn’t want him out of her life completely. She would call him in a few days and find out whether it was possible to remain friends—maybe not right away, but in time. It had worked with a few of her ex-boyfriends, so why should it be any different with Sascha?

Two hours later, Eva put on her jacket. “What do you want to see?”

“I love those double-decker buses. We could see everything in comfort. Then, after we finish trotting through London, we can go out and celebrate.”

Eva screwed up her face. “You want to take a tourist bus?” She shook her head in disgust. “You can do that without me! What if someone saw me?”

Lena grinned. “You can tell them you showed your lazy friend the city. We don’t even have to wear the headphones. I just want the city to work its magic on me. OK?”

Eva shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and looked at Lena. Her friend was serious.

“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun!” Lena leaned on the doorframe and looked at her sternly. “Don’t be so stuffy.”

“Me, stuffy? This doesn’t have anything to do with stuffy! It’s embarrassing!”

“It’s only embarrassing when you make that face.” She mocked Eva’s look of indignation.

At first she grumbled, but then a smile played at her lips. “All right, then. We’re playing the tourist today.”

“I
am
a tourist.” She tapped Eva on the shoulder. “Besides, our feet will be happier to see the city this way.”

“Agreed.” Eva grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around her neck. “I’ll need this. If we’re going through with this, I’ll at least have to sit on the upper deck.”

Lena laughed. “Do you have one for me, too?”

Eva opened the hall closet, pulled out a black wool scarf, and threw it to her friend. “Let’s get a move on!”

Thirty minutes later, after boarding at Finchley Road Underground Station, then transferring at Victoria to the red line, the route the double-decker bus takes, they stood in the middle of a group of tourists. Cameras were obviously much more important to the tourists than a warm scarf. Even though the sun was shining, it was unusually cool for June. “They are going to freeze in the open air,” Eva said quietly as she pointed to the scantily clad tourists.

Lena nodded absently, craning her neck as if there was something exciting to see. Eva smiled and steered her onto the bus. The tour went by the Wellington Museum at Apsley House on Hyde Park Corner. Eva pointed west. “If you want, tomorrow we can go to Hyde Park. It’s a shame it’s still so cold, because swimming in the lake is a great experience.”

“Let’s see how we feel tomorrow morning, because this evening we’re definitely going to celebrate!” They rode past the imposing buildings and travelled north along Park Lane to Speakers’ Corner.

“You want to get out? You won’t believe the quirky characters who show up here to make speeches . . . incredible.”

Lena shook her head. “First I want to get an overview of the city.”

The bus passed Regent’s Park, Piccadilly Circus with its statue of Eros, and Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square before stopping briefly at Downing Street. When they crossed the Thames, Eva and Lena turned around to look at Big Ben. Eva watched her friend’s eyes light up as she absorbed all the sights. The tour reminded Eva why she loved the city. Twenty minutes later, they were riding over the Tower Bridge.

Lena sighed. “I understand why you love this city. All of these magnificent buildings, the parks . . .” Lena beamed. “Simply beautiful!”

Eva nodded. Even though she had reluctantly taken this tour, she had to admit she had seen the city with fresh eyes today. She had seen it through Lena’s eyes. All her stress and anxiety had given way to a warm feeling spreading inside her. It was a privilege to live and work in this city. Now she remembered why she had come here. The city had enchanted her from the first moment, even though she sometimes felt lost.

The tour ended at Buckingham Palace, and Eva hopped off the bus first. When Lena stepped down, Eva hugged her. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Lena looked at her friend with surprise.

“This tour has reminded me why I want to live here. I’d forgotten, and now I know I belong here.”

“Berlin doesn’t hold a candle to this city, that’s for sure,” Lena confirmed. “I totally understand why you want to be here.” Lena hooked arms with her friend. “And hey, you have a great job. You’ll be able to make it work without Sascha. Throw yourself into the adventure. You’ve got nothing to lose.”

Eva beamed. All her worries and fears fell away. “Agreed. I can only win,” she said, even though a little bit of doubt, as well as the fear of being alone, still gnawed at her. “Now, let’s go get dinner. I’m hungry as a bear! We didn’t even eat lunch!”

Eva and Lena rode the Tube back to Finchley Road station, which was surrounded by Italian, Indian, and Chinese restaurants. While they ate their Indian dinner, Lena talked about her plans for Munich. Her face lit up as she spoke, and Eva was happy for her. Apparently, Peter really was the right man for her, and Eva felt ashamed for having judged him without knowing him. Just because he was a successful actor didn’t mean he had to be a womanizer or a moron, even though the press claimed otherwise. Eva was impressed that Lena knew exactly what she wanted and single-mindedly pursued her dream.

“And you’re sure Peter is keeping out of the advertising agency?”

“Yes, he doesn’t know the business anyway.” Lena emptied her wineglass. “And if you ever want to leave London, you can sign up with me. A good graphic designer is worth her weight in gold.”

“Thanks, Lena. You never know what might happen.” Eva rested her chin in her hands. “Should we go to a pub or just stay here and drink another glass of wine?”

“To be honest, I’m dog-tired. I had to get up at five o’clock this morning. How about a nightcap at your place?”

Eva smiled at her friend, who yawned loudly. She ordered a bottle of wine to go since her supply of wine at home had been exhausted; after a tiring day of sightseeing, which followed her own relatively short time in bed the night before, she didn’t relish the thought of going to the supermarket.

Two

After the weekend with Lena, Eva buried herself in work. Although she went out several evenings a week to the gym or met her colleagues for a drink in one of the pubs, by the end of the evening, she was often sobbing in front of the TV. Her phone bill rose to dizzying heights, which decimated her finances even more, and she tried to console herself with the fact that she lived in the most beautiful city in the world, and that every new beginning was difficult. In her worst moments, she calmed herself down by saying she could go back to Germany anytime. But she didn’t know where exactly. Munich could be an option, what with Lena’s job offer. Nevertheless, she didn’t want to give up so quickly.

A few days after their breakup, Eva called Sascha, but their conversation went very differently than she’d imagined. In an e-mail from one of his colleagues, she had learned that Sascha had been meeting with a pretty blonde for quite some time. When Eva gave him a piece of her mind, telling him how cowardly he was to have kept this from her, his only excuse was that he knew she would flip out—which made her
really
flip out. She was also annoyed with herself that she’d never detected Sascha’s lack of backbone, especially after three years together. It was bad enough that he’d told her over the phone that he wanted to break up, but to explore another romantic option behind her back? It hit her hard. From the same acquaintance, she discovered that Sascha had inquired about transfer opportunities within his company but had never actually submitted a written request. He had told her something else entirely. When she confronted him about this, Sascha became even more cowed.

She sat on the sofa, holding a glass of wine, and thought about what she should do with her evening. She eyed the boxes. If Sascha wasn’t going to pick up his stuff, maybe she’d send it all back to him, cut up in little shreds, as a Christmas present. Or better yet, maybe she’d just donate it all to the Salvation Army. Eva sipped her wine and smiled. That would certainly be just punishment for his cowardice. Either he came to London or he’d have to buy a completely new summer wardrobe.

Her cell phone rang, and she winced. It was after ten. Nobody called her at this hour. She glanced at the display. Her brother.
Uh-oh.

“Hi, Chris,” she said.

“Hi.”

She could tell from only one word that he was worn out. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t even know where to start.”

A bad feeling crept over her. If her brother was speechless, that was a bad sign. “Come on, tell me. You’re scaring me.”

“Ma and Pa were in a car accident.”

Eva went cold. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

“The good news is they’ll both recover, and the bad news is we’re going to need you here.”

“What happened?”

“Ma was driving. You know the wooded area between Holzhausen and Pfaffenheim? A deer crossed the road, and Ma . . . she tried to brake, but it was too late. After the collision, she lost control of the steering wheel.” Chris exhaled audibly. “Then the car crashed into a tree.”

Eva swallowed. Her throat was bone-dry. “How are they?”

“Pa broke his leg and bruised some of his ribs. He was lucky.”

“And Mama?” whispered Eva.

“Her left side got hit the worst. Almost the entire left half of her body is broken—her pelvis, hip, leg, and arm. But she’ll be OK. The operation went well.”

“Operation?” Eva screeched. “When did all this happen?”

“Yesterday evening. I was flying back from work, and the hospital’s call came as soon as I landed at the airport. I went to the hospital immediately.”

“Why didn’t you call me earlier? Why am I learning about this today?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. There was nothing you could have done anyway.”

Eva suppressed a nasty remark. How could she have been left out of the loop for almost twenty-four hours? “Does Carola know?”

“I’m calling her next. Hopefully she won’t get too upset.”

Eva thought about her sister, who was eight months pregnant. “Should I call her?”

“No, I’ll do it. We just need to consider how we’re going to manage this whole thing.”

“What do you mean?” Eva asked.

“I’ll be here till Monday . . . well . . . and Carola is in Canada, and the baby’s due date is right around the corner. Dad’s going to need help . . . and I thought maybe you could come. This time I can’t manage everything by myself.”

Of course Eva would fly back home as soon as possible. But her brother was implying that she was needed there for much longer than just a visit.

“I know it’s asking an awful lot, but maybe you could free yourself up for a few weeks and come. Pa will be released in a week, but Ma will need to stay in the hospital longer, and then she’ll need rehab. In the meantime, somebody needs to take care of Pa and the house.” Chris sighed. “I would support you financially, and Kati would help you, but we won’t be able to do this alone.”

Eva thought about Chris’s wife, Kati, her hands full with two teen girls and baby Rafael. Eva’s brother was an aircraft engineer and was rarely home. Once the two girls had become teenagers, Kati started working in an office three times a week for several hours. Kati had been looking for a work situation like this for a long time, and Eva knew how few jobs there were in Pfaffenheim. Kati couldn’t afford to throw this job away. And her brother? He was always fixing whatever needed fixing. Whether it was a tree in need of trimming in the yard or the house in need of reroofing, Chris was always there when their parents needed help. If he was now turning to her, she knew it truly was too much for him. During her last visit, he had dark circles under his eyes because there had been so much to do. Unless she came to help, he would need to take care of their father on top of everything else.

Eva sighed. “Let me think about it, OK? I need to talk to my boss first. I’ll call you tomorrow when I know more.”

“OK. It would be awesome if we had some sort of plan for how to move forward from here. You know what it’s like for me being on standby. One call and I have to pack my bags immediately.”

“I understand. I’ll call you. Give Mama and Papa a big hug and kiss from me, and Chris . . . I’ll be there soon. I promise.” Eva didn’t know what else to say, so she said good-bye.

She sank back onto the sofa. What other choice did she have? Chris had asked her to help with their parents. If she didn’t go, everything would fall on Chris and Kati. She thought about social services bringing food to her parents. But she felt nauseated when she thought of the gossip this would ignite in town.
Cruel children! Ungrateful brats! The poor parents!
In the end, the whole mess would end up in Chris’s lap. Eva would be fine—she didn’t have to encounter anyone who would shoot her an accusatory look. But her brother would get the brunt of it. Eva couldn’t let that happen.

The best thing to do right now would be to book a flight. She looked at the clock. Ten thirty. Would she be able to call her boss at this hour? She had no choice if she didn’t want to drive herself crazy the whole night.

Eva closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and picked up her phone. What would she say if he only approved a few days of vacation time? Even though she’d be risking her job, she couldn’t leave her brother and parents in the lurch. Her heart pounding, she searched for her boss’s business card and punched in his home number.

“Brighton,” a voice answered brusquely. “What’s so urgent that it couldn’t wait till tomorrow?”

Eva swallowed. Then she began to sob. “Matthew, I’m so sorry to bother you at this hour.” Eva fought back her tears and willed herself to pull it together. “My parents were in a terrible car accident.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice softening. “What happened?”

Eva tearfully reported what she had learned from her brother, struggling to keep her composure so that she could explain that she was the only one in her family who could care for her father because her brother travelled so much for work. “I could do design work from Germany, too. It doesn’t matter which computer I work on.” She tried to make the plan sound halfway appealing so that she wouldn’t lose her job.

“Of course, this is a terrible situation,” Matthew said, “but you’ve only been with the company for three months . . .” He let the sentence hang in the air. “And the new project is ongoing. But we landed it because your designs were so well received. The clients are expecting that you’ll be taking over the campaign.”

As if Eva didn’t already know this! She had plowed through the last couple of weeks like a crazy person. That should speak volumes about her work ethic.

Eva didn’t say a word and waited for Matthew to continue.

“I’m sorry, but I have to think over all our options first. I hired you because we were drowning in work, but I’m not sure we’re set up for you to work with us from Germany.” He paused again. “I can’t make this decision alone. Come to my office tomorrow at nine. I hope we can find some sort of solution.”

Eva nodded and wiped away the tears from her eyes. “Thanks, Matthew.”

“Try not to worry. You’ve already said your parents are going to be okay. That’s great news.” His voice sounded sympathetic, which made Eva cry even more. “Eva, are you going to be all right?”

“Yes, thanks so much. It’s just . . .”

“The shock. Drink a glass of wine or, even better, a nice strong swig of Scotch to calm your nerves. We’ll see each other in the morning.”

Eva dropped her phone and buried her face in her hands. She remained in this position for some time before standing and pouring herself a shot of whiskey. Then she thought about Sascha because he loved drinking Irish whiskey. The drink smelled slightly moldy to her, but she wanted to soothe her nerves and medicine didn’t necessarily have to taste good. She wished she had a bottle of vodka. It burned, too, but at least she could reconcile that with the taste.

With her eyes closed tightly, she swallowed the shot in one gulp. A violent coughing fit came over her, but the burning liquid trickled down her throat and warmed her stomach immediately. Nevertheless, she wrapped herself in a wool blanket and curled up on the sofa. It was too cold for the end of July, and the shock caused her to shiver despite the whiskey. What could she say to Matthew the next morning? That she could attend meetings via videoconferences and develop her layouts in her parents’ home? That sounded feasible. She would have to get an Internet connection installed since her parents still lived in the Stone Age. But would Matthew let her do it this way? And if not, what other alternatives were there? She was still in the probationary period, and he could fire her without a second thought. Then she could forget about a pay raise, and the entire basis for living in London would be ruined. Without a job, she couldn’t keep the apartment.

She poured herself another shot of whiskey. She sipped this one, and before the glass was empty, she made a decision. It didn’t matter what her boss decided, she had to fly home the next evening. Even though it might mean forfeiting her dream, she just couldn’t let her family down. She’d never forgive herself.

Eva’s gaze fell on her Mac. Now that she’d made the decision, she could look for a flight right away. She booted up her laptop and booked an evening flight, then called Chris to tell him to pick her up at the Munich Airport tomorrow. Her brother’s relief was palpable.

It felt good to take some decisive action. And sitting in her own apartment in a foreign country proved she had already realized her dream more than she’d ever imagined.

Even though she felt woozy after the two shots of whiskey, she went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of red wine. Her decision to fly home definitely had consequences, and she wanted time to think. She was risking her job and her future in London. On top of that, she would be returning to her childhood home for the first time in years. She could hardly imagine what this meant. Her father was anything but easy to care for. Eva hoped he had softened his ultraconservative ways and become more laid-back; otherwise, spending time with him would not be pleasant. She had tolerated a lot from her father as a child, but she refused to go through it again now. If he wanted her to help, he would need to do his part.

The meeting didn’t take place in Matthew’s office, but in the large conference room. The creative director, marketing manager, and their assistants were present, in addition to her boss. Eva’s stomach cramped up even though her colleagues gave her encouraging smiles. Obviously, they knew about Eva’s situation, which also meant they’d already made a decision. Under these circumstances, she felt anything she had to suggest would be superfluous.

Nevertheless, Matthew urged her to present her proposal for continuing to work for the company. She cleared her throat. Eva explained that she could work from Germany and discuss her presentations via videoconference. She could also be available for daily meetings and obtain the required equipment in Munich. She concluded by saying she would like to continue working for the company because she felt very comfortable here.