Me and Mand got cooks get out on the clean up so it seemed prudent to head to our own beds – the Rent’s, I’m sure will be talking for quite a while yet. Mand was keen to catch some z’s but rather than do the same I took a seat on a step half way up ‘my’ stairs.
“Nite!” Mads voice sounded from below followed shortly after by the padding of feet up the lower staircase.

“When were you gonna tell me?”
“Don’t do that, you scared the poo out of me!”
“Not as much as you did us this week,” I suggested as my cousin came over to the Eyrie stairs.
“I said I was sorry.”
“I guess you’re forgiven.”
She climbed up and joined me on the stair, “bit like old times eh?”
“Old times?”
“Yeah, you know all this cloak and dagger stuff, like when we did that stuff with Jules and her friends, by the way, that Boris is hot.”
“I don’t recall having to be rescued from another country by the parents.”
“Well maybe not that but we had some right adventures, yeah?”

I thought back, adventures – not exactly what I’d call them, if I remember rightly it was mostly Mad conniving to get me in dresses and other girl stuff when I was pretty certain I was a boy called Drew. Okay, I’ll admit some of it was fun but I’m sure I only went along with it because I was soft on Mad and wanted to keep in her good books. Thinking back, the Angels have never really done anything too ‘edgy’, I’ve had more excitement with Max and my sister, that’s okay though, I know the girls will always be there for me.

“I guess there were some,” I allowed.

My original intention of interrogation was shunted sideways as the sound of parental units heading upstairs intruded on our tête a tête.

“Oops, best go or Mum’ll beat me to the hot water,” Mad opined, “see you tomorrow yeah?”
“Er yeah,” I agreed before being surprised by quick cheek kiss.
“Nite!”
“Nite,” hot water? All our showers have their own heating units, we never run out of hot.

I was woken, not by sunlight streaming through the dormer but by the beating of rain on the roof tiles. After a summer almost devoid of wet it was a stark reminder that we were now in September, well just, and we could expect more changeable weather. I crawled out of bed – if I get my bum in gear I can get a lift up with Con and the bread.

Of course, by the time I got to Thesing’s the rain had all but stopped and the sun was peeking through the clouds.

“So you find anything out?” Con enquired once her dad left the kiosk.
“Eh?”
“Don’t act dumb Bond, your cousin?”
“Oh right, yeah, we got the whole tale after dinner last night.”
“Well come on then, spill.”
“Yeah, out with it Gab’s,” Nena chimed in joining us after putting out the seating.
“Gi’s a chance,” I requested as I topped up the friers with oil.

“Really? She walked from Münster?” Nen queried, “Why didn’t she just ring from there?”
“No idea,” I admitted.
“She doesn’t sound too bright, you sure you’re related?” Con proposed.
“You do funny stuff under stress,” I mentioned, well maybe she isn’t the sharpest knife but she’s not a thicko.
“Why was she heading to Remagen?” Nen asked.
“She remembered me telling her about going swimming and assumed that's where we lived.”
“I guess there’s some logic to that,” Con allowed.
“Still can’t believe she was frightened of the Polizei,” Nen mused.
“They can be a bit intimidating with the guns and stuff.”
“Of course they have guns,” my friend stated.

On one level I know that but you sort of learn to ignore it.

“They don’t in England,” I pointed out, “and she hadn’t got a passport or anything.”
“What about her ID card?” Nen queried.
“They don’t have them in England,” Con supplied.
“Really?”
“Nope,” I agreed with my BGF, “you have to have a passport to travel outside of the country.”
“Weird.”

By mid morning the only signs of the earlier rain were a few small puddles along the road gutters and across on the Bahnhof forecourt. It wasn’t a complete return to the summer sunshine, clouds hid the sun from time to time and whilst still warm it was closer to twenty than thirty degrees. We were fairly busy considering, I guess people are making the most of any half decent weather before the holiday season ends.

“Isn’t that your Mum’s car?” Nen suggested, pointing with her chin towards the station.
I craned to see, “looks like it, wonder what she wants.”
“That's not your Mum,” Con observed.
“Its not?” I went up onto my toes to get a better view of the A Klasse, “oh right, its my Aunt, Mum must’ve leant her the car.”
“So I guess that’s your cousin then,” Nena suggested.
“Looks like it,” I agreed.
“She really does look like you.”
“I can see why people thought you were twins,” Con added.
“I guess so, except for my hair and her tattoo.”
“Tattoo?”
“Later,” I suggested, “they’re coming over.”

“So this is the famous kiosk,” Aunt C stated.
I shrugged, “I wouldn’t say famous.”
“Not what your Mum says, you’ve been on telly and in the papers.”
“Only on Rhein Abend, like the local version of Calendar .”
“Is there a Harry ?” Mad asked.
“Nah, we’ve got Gertie Schmidt, you saw her last year.”
“We did?” my Aunt queried.
“The Sports Personality thing.”
“When you had that long dress and that silly hat?”
Don’t remind me, “yeah, she did the presenting stuff here. So where are you guys off to?”
“Not really sure,” my Aunt allowed, “your Dad suggested this Adenburg place for lunch, we’re meeting your Mum in Rem something later.”
“Adenburg? Oh that’ll be Adenau, a few shops, you could eat here,” I offered.
“Told ya,” Mad grinned.

I looked enquiringly at my rels.

“Your Dad said you’d suggest that,” Aunt C told me.
“Well it might not be Michelin™ but we are a cafe and there’s a table free.”
“Go on then,” she agreed.
“Sit down, I’ll get you the menu, coffee?”
“Any chance of tea?”
“think we can manage that, Mad?”
“Coke?”
“One cola, one tea, be right back.”

“So where’s this tattoo,” Nen enquired as I sorted out my Aunt’s tea.
“No idea, I haven’t seen it yet.”
“It’ll be a butterfly or something like that,” Con proposed.
“I really have no idea, I can’t believe she got one at all.”
“You’ll have to get one now,” Nen told me.
“Not likely!”

So okay its not like I hate them or anything, some are really good art and stuff but they aren’t for me, ut uh.

“Shouldn’t you be working,” Mad asked when I joined them as they tucked into pie of the week, Huhn und Spargel , with Pommes.
“Its my break,” I told them with a shrug.
“So your young man,” Aunt C started, “seems like a nice lad, very good manners.”
“I guess, his Oma, the Baroness that is, goes ballistic if he uses any sort of slang.”
“Baroness?” Mad squealed.
“You saw where they live the other day, its like the family seat.”
“Other day?”
“We went to Max’s for dinner,” I filled in for my Aunt, “his dad is a bit of a chef.”
“Yeah, he’s nothing like the Duke up at Welbeck,” Mad put in, “really ordinary except they live in a castle.”
“Well strictly speaking the Schloss is a fortified house,” I pointed out.
“Splitting hairs Gabs,” my cousin opined, “you should see it Mum.”
“You certainly live in a different world here Gaby.”
“I guess,” I allowed, “you want dessert?”
“More tea would be nice,” Aunt C suggested.
“Coming up.”

“Well?” Con asked as I refilled the tea pot.
“Nothing, must be on her bum or something.”
“Or one of those tramp stamp things,” Nena added.
“Could be.”
“Why don’t you just ask her?” Thesing suggested.
“What, with her mum sat there?”
“Why not?”
“Oh I can see that going well, 'so Mad lets see your tattoo then, sure Gab let me take my knickers off so you can see.' Not gonna happen.”
“You could be more subtle Gab,” Nen pointed out.
“I’ll find out, maybe we could go to the pool?”
“And lend her your white bikini,” Con suggested.
“Why that one?”
“You gonna tell her?” Con asked Nena.
“What?”
“Well it doesn’t exactly hide much,” Nen supplied.
“It is a bikini.”
“A very see through bikini when it gets wet,” Con added.
“What! You all knew this, why didn’t anyone say anything?”
“Well you look so cute in it,” Nen chuckled.
“You know I can never wear it again don’t you?”
“Spoil sport,” Con scoffed.
“Urgh!” I put the fresh tea things on a tray and headed back out to my Aunt and Cousin.
 

Maddy Bell © 21.09.2018