Page 54 of Now and Forever

“Are you serious?” I’m perplexed and at the same time convinced I want to do this. “Well, too bad for him, because I can’t live without a tree during the holidays. Epiphany’s coming up. So, horrified or not, he’s going to have to put up with it.”

Marta cracks up as I buy a seven-foot-high red tree. It’s spectacular! I also buy tons of multi-colored ribbons with bells. I want to decorate the house the way it deserves. It’s still the holiday season! We pay for the tree and promise to come back and pick it up at the end of the day.

For more than an hour, the two of us shop, and, when our noses grow red from the cold, Marta suggests we get something to drink.

“I’m going to take you to a very special place. Some other day, I’ll take you to eat at the restaurant at Olympic Tower. It revolves, and you’ll see some extraordinary views of Munich.”

A few minutes later, we’re in an astonishingly huge place.

“Dear Judith, as the good Munich native I am, I’m immensely proud to tell you you’re in the Hofbräuhaus, the oldest brewery in the world.”

The place is dazzling. Vintage vaulted ceilings. There are long, grand wooden benches and tables where the patrons eat and drink.

“C’mon, let’s get something to drink,” says Marta, taking me by the arm.

Ten minutes later, we’re seated on one of the wooden benches next to other people. For about an hour, we talk and talk, and I enjoy a stupendous Spaten-Brau beer.

We’re hungry, so we order something to eat before we go on with our shopping. I let Marta choose, and she orders Leberkäs, a hot appetizer of flour, meat, and bacon meatballs, and a crunchy pretzel on which you can smear all kinds of sauces. Everything is delicious!

“Well, how do you like Munich?”

“What little I’ve seen is magnificent. I think it’s a very stately city,” I say after swallowing a bite of my pretzel.

“Have you come to live with Eric?”

“Wow, direct and to the point. Just like I like it. The answer is yes,” I say, determined to be sincere. “We’re like fire and ice, but we love each other and want to give it a go.”

Marta claps happily, and people around her look at her strangely. But she doesn’t care one wit about that.

“I love it; I love it! I hope my little brother learns life is more than work and seriousness. I hope you’ll open his eyes in many ways, but I’m sorry to say that’s going to be a problem for you. I know him very well.”

“Well, I don’t want problems.” As soon as I say it, I remember David de Maria’s song, and that makes me smile. “Why do you think I’m going to have problems with Eric?”

“Eric has never lived with anybody, except for Flyn, these last few years. He became independent when very young, and if there’s something he doesn’t like, it’s anyone meddling in his affairs and decisions. In fact, I’d love to see his face when he sees that red tree full of colored ribbons you bought.” We both laugh. “I know that hardheaded guy very well, and I’m sure you’re going to have all sorts of arguments with him. And, in terms of Flyn, he’s not always good for him. He overprotects him. He’d keep him in a crystal vase if he could.”

That makes me laugh again.

“Don’t laugh; you’ll see for yourself. And listen to me: my brother’s not going to approve of the gift you got Flyn.”

“He’s not going to approve of a skateboard?”

“No.”

“Why?” I ask, thinking how much fun I have with my niece and her skateboard.

“Eric will very quickly see the danger. You’ll see.”

“But I bought him a helmet, as well as kneepads and elbow pads, so he won’t get hurt when he falls ...”

“It doesn’t matter, Judith. All Eric will see in that gift is danger, and he’ll ban it.”

A half hour later, we head toward Maximilianstrasse, which is considered Munich’s golden mile. At D&G, Marta checks out the jeans. While she tries them on, I quickly buy her a T-shirt I saw that she liked. We visit a number of exclusive stores, each one more expensive than the other, and when we get to Armani, I buy Eric a blue-striped white shirt. He’s going to look so handsome. Once we finish our shopping, we go back to the plaza at city hall to pick up my tree. I begin to doubt whether I’ve done right by buying it.

17

There’s a storm building in the skies above Munich, so we decide to end our shopping for the day. Eric isn’t home when Marta drops me off at six o’clock. Simona tells me he’s at the office but won’t be long. I quickly take my gifts up to my room and hide them in the back of the closet. I don’t want anyone to see them. Before changing, I look out the window. It’s blowing snow, and I remember that poor abandoned dog by the trash cans. Without thinking twice about it, I get a blanket from one of the guest rooms. I’ll buy another to replace it. I go down to the kitchen, pour a little stew into a plastic bowl, and heat it up in the microwave. I walk through the trees to the front gate. I open it and look around the trash cans.

“Susto ...” The word means “fright.” I’ve christened him with this name because of how he frightened me the first time we met and also because of how scared he is. “Susto, are you here?”

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