“Gaby?” Aunt Carol queried when I eventually joined everyone in the Bond Cave.

By the time Gloria and I had eaten and driven back to Dernau from Daun it was knocking on seven.

“’s me,” I agreed, ”hi Auntie.”
“Said you wouldn’t recognise her,” Mad smirked.
“You’ve certainly grown,” Aunt Carol suggested as she pulled me into a hug.
“Not really, actually, let me get these off they’re killing me,” I told those assembled kicking my stilts off.
“Your Mum says you’ve been to some fancy fashion show?” she continued now looking down at me.
“Yeah,” I allowed, “not really my thing.”
“Take it you’re hungry kiddo?” Mum proposed, “tables booked for eight.”
“Erm.”
“She’s always hungry,” Mand put in.
“Where we going?”
“Just the Stube,” Dad told me.
“Honestly Dave, you didn’t need to go to that expense.” my Aunt mentioned.
“Its no trouble Carol,” Mum interjected, “its Gabs turn to cook tonight, she’s a dab hand with a deep frier.”
“Can I get out of this?” I queried.
“What’s wrong with it,” Mum asked.
“I’ve been wearing it all day?”
“Whatever, you’ve got ten minutes before the taxi gets here young lady,” Dad informed me.
“And take those ridiculous heels up with you,” Mum ordered.

I took a breath, tolled my eyes theatrically, claimed my footwear and headed up to my eyrie.
 
Well there wasn’t time to shower or to redo my slap so it really was a strip, quick wash and replace the D&G™ with something a little more er, down market. Yeah, Orsay is hardly in the same class is it but the short sleeved dress I pulled on is less food prone and importantly, not fitted. After the closely tailored dress i’ve been in all day it was almost a joy to wear something less restrictive.
I debated keeping my tights on but comfort won out so a quick peel, fresh pants, a pair of liner socks, my sparkly red ballet flats and I was done.

Beep, Beep!

Guess that's the taxi, I grabbed my D&G™ bag, dumped the contents into my mini ruck and clattered downstairs.
 
Of course I didn’t really want a second dinner, I’d had Beef Roulade with all the trimmings barely two hours ago. Lets just say that the Sebenschuh menu is somewhat traditional – and heavy, wonder if Ing can rustle me up an omelette or something? Anyhow, we all trooped into Helmut’s gaff, which, for midweek, seemed quite busy.

“Dave, Jenny, girls,” Helmut greeted.
“Evening Helmut,” Dad returned, “thanks for fitting us in.”
“Ach, no problem for a friend.”
“You don’t know my cousin,” Mum put in indicating my Aunt, “ Carol and this here is her daughter Madeline.”
“Deutsche?”
“Keine,” Mum replied.
“Welcome to Rech ladies,” Helmut managed in his best English, “you are here long?”
“Just a flying visit,” Aunt C replied giving my cousin a look.
“Well lets make sure its a nice visit,” he reverted to German, “i’ve put you on six, you know the way Gaby, i’ll send Inge over for drinks.”
“She’s busy, i’ll come over when we’re ready.”
“Best take some of these then,” he plonked a pile of menu’s in my hands.
 
Of course, i’ve eaten here before, in the restaurant, the Stube itself and in the house – well Pia is one of my best friends. It does mean there are no surprises on the menu, as I said before, its all standard, traditional, German fare, Minestrone soup and an unexciting cardboard pizza are as exotic as it gets.

“So what’s everyone want to drink?” I switched to waitress mode once everyone was seated in the horseshoe booth .
 
“Didn’t expect to see you today,” Pia opined when I reached the bar, “Con said you’d gone to that fashion show in Trier.”
“That was earlier, things must be desperate if you’re working.”
“I’ll have you know I work all the time!”
“Gotcha!”
“Oo, just you wait Gaby Bond!”
“Gräfin Ahrweiler,” I stated.
“You what?”
“Gräfin Ahrweiler, that’s what Max’s mum has been calling me all day.”
“Bit of a fall from Prinzessin.”
“Oh I don’t know, I think it sounds quite me.”
“If you say so, so what do the Gräfin’s party want to drink?”
“Oh yeah, nearly forgot, two cokes, a Sprite® and a bottle of house red for the rents and my aunt.”
“Wondered who she was, looks a lot like your mum.”
“Her cousin.”
“The girl is the missing one, yeah?” she went on as she deftly poured the soft drinks.
“Mads, didn’t you meet her when they came before?”
“Can’t remember if I did.”
“Was a while ago,” I allowed.
“You taking these?”
“Guess so seeing as i’m stood here.”
 
“Here she is,” Mum stated when I returned to our table, “thought you’d gone to tread the grapes.”
“Har de har.”
“They tread grapes here?” Aunt C queried.
“No Auntie.”
“What about at the Weinfest?” Mand suggested.
“Okay they do it then but only for the visitors. they’ve got proper presses and stuff out in the cellars,” I supplied.
“All hi-tech now Carol,” Dad advised passing her a glass of the Ahrtal’s ‘finest’ grape product.
“Cheers!” Mum proposed.
“Cheers!” we chorused back.
“So what’re we eating,” she went on returning to the menu perusal my arrival had interrupted.
 
The dinner conversation was largely Mum and my Aunt catching up, the Elephant in the room being avoided – at least for now. It wasn’t all oldie talk about Church Warsop, my trip to Trier was deemed of sufficient entertainment value to be included.

“I take it you resisted buying anything,” Dad suggested.
“Well not too much,” I dead panned.
“How much?” he groaned.
“Only two thousand.”
“Two thousand?” he almost choked on his wine.
“Gaby,” Mum warned.
“Sorry Dad, just winding you up.”
“You had us all going there Gaby,” Aunt C told me.
“Trouble is Carol, I wouldn’t put it past her, you saw the dress she had on earlier?”
“Very smart.”
“Tell her Gaby,” Mum instructed.
“Eight hundred euros,” I told the table with a wince.
“Ouch!” Mad opined.
“Lets just say we had words,” Mum continued.
“I think i’ve gotten off easily,” Aunt C suggested, even if I have had to come halfway across Europe to fetch her.”
“I said I was sorry,” Mad whined.
“I still don’t know why or how,” her mum stated, “if you wanted to come visit we could’ve sorted that out, you only had to ask right Jen?”
“You’re always welcome Maddy,” Mum agreed.
“It wasn’t that, I never set out to come here.”
“So where were you hoping to go?” Aunt Carol pressed.
“Scarborough?”
“And you just got on the wrong bus I suppose?”
“Sort of,” Mad told us.
“Well we’re all ears,” Aunt C prompted.
“Not here, back at the house?” my cousin proposed.
“Sounds reasonable Carol,” Mum agreed.

Looks like we’ll finally get the full story. Eating was just about finished – I managed to force down Leberknödel with rice, not too heavy and a nod to the sort of food on the BC diet plan. Mind you, I don’t expect they were working on me eating two dinners in a day!
 
As we got out of the taxi Mum hinted that I should wait a moment before going indoors.
“Wassup?”
“I want you and Amanda to make yourselves scarce when you get indoors.”
“But Mum,” I wailed.
“No buts young lady, this is between Mad and her mum, if she wanted you to know don’t you think she’d have said already?”
“I guess but i’ve hardly seen her have I?”
“If she wants you to know she can tell you tomorrow.”
“Aren’t they going back tomorrow?”
“Saturday, so you’ll have plenty of time to talk.”

Saturday, there’s something happening on Saturday, hmmm, it’ll come.

“I guess,” I sighed, “what about you and Dad?”
“We’ll leave them to talk.”
I sighed, “’kay.”
 
“Nite everyone,” I offered through the lounge door.
“Yeah, goodnight,” Mand added.
“Night girls,” Dad replied.
“Nite Gab.”
“G’night you two.”
“See you tomorrow,” Mad completed the Waltons sequence.
 
I followed Mand up stairs.

“So what was that charade all about?” de Vreen demanded, “we were gonna get all the dirty.”
“Tell me about it,” I sighed, “Mum says we should give them some space tonight, they’re not flying back till Saturday so we can get the gritty tomorrow I guess.”
“Isn’t your friend with the baby coming Saturday?”
“Thats this week?”
“You marked it on the calendar.”
“I knew there was something, i’m supposed to be going with Mart to meet them at the airport.”
“Kill two birds, see your aunt and cousin off and meet the others.”

like that’s gonna work out!
 
Maddy Bell © 24.08.2018