Arrhythmia Read online

Right???

  Man, I really had to stop making myself crazy like this. Especially since I hardly had any fingernails left to chew on.

  One hour to go.

  I returned to the bathroom and combed my hair. I put it in a ponytail, then a bun, then back to a ponytail. Then I shook it out, piled it on top of my head for an updo, braided it, shook it out again . . .

  Enough already! A ponytail would do.

  Another half hour.

  I sat on my couch and gnawed on a finger because I had chewed off the nail. I was fully dressed, had stowed my wallet and cell phone, and was holding the key to my apartment. And yet I felt woefully unprepared.

  Desiderio and his stupid surprise! I hated not knowing what to expect. It made things so unpredictable and hard to control.

  My phone rang and my heart immediately began to race.

  Was it Desiderio? Was he calling to cancel?

  Thank God!

  But why would he suddenly cancel?

  Feverishly, I fumbled in my pants pocket for my phone and took a deep breath. It was only Vera.

  “What do you want?” I snapped.

  She giggled. “Hee-hee, I just wanted to know if you were still responsive or if you’re already in a coma from the excitement.”

  “Blah, blah, blah,” I mocked her, although she wasn’t far off the mark.

  “Oh, don’t be like that. Are you all ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “This early? Uh-oh, you must be really nervous.”

  I groaned. “Veraaaa! What do you want?”

  “Nothing, really. I just wanted to hear your voice to see—”

  “Thanks for calling, you dork!” I growled and hung up.

  Just a few seconds later, I received a text message from her:

  Hee hee hee. Have fun! Don’t make out too much!

  The woman really knew how to get on my nerves.

  Ten minutes to go.

  I began to roam around my apartment again. Every time I passed a mirror, I scrutinized my appearance. The black eye was totally hidden. I jingled my key chain like a prison warden while I paced.

  When the doorbell rang, the key chain fell to the floor with a loud clang.

  Five minutes to six! He was early! Much too early!

  My God, what was I going to do now?

  How about just calming down for a change? the rest of my wits were telling me, desperately trying to stay on top.

  All right, then. Pick up keys, check reflection, operate intercom.

  “On my way down,” I said, in a honeyed voice, into the gray box on the wall.

  Then I straightened my shoulders and left the apartment.

  Desiderio was leaning against a black car. An Alfa Romeo—how fitting. Weak-kneed, I went up to him, trying to appear as relaxed as he did. The closer I got, the more I failed in my endeavor. He just looked incredible and, next to him, I felt like a yokel.

  He was wearing a plain white button-down shirt, and those amazing faded jeans were held around his slender hips by a broad leather belt. All in all, nothing special, and I began to realize that, no matter what this man wore, he would always look like a demigod.

  Desiderio detached himself from his car as I approached.

  “Hi,” he said and beamed at me. I had feared that he might come up and give me a kiss on the cheek, but all he did was graciously open the passenger door and say, “If you please.”

  Relieved, I complied. “Why, thank you, sir,” I joked and tried to get in gracefully. With some effort, I managed not to plop directly onto the seat, despite the fact that my legs nearly failed me when I squeezed past Desiderio and he said softly, “You look ravishing this evening, madam.”

  My God, how am I supposed to make it through an entire evening like this?

  While Desiderio walked around the car, I did some deep-breathing exercises. I hadn’t even come close to calming myself down by the time he was seated next to me.

  Right next to me.

  A little too close, considering my present condition, but since we were in a car—and a sports car at that—I had no alternative.

  Desiderio started the engine. “Ready?” he asked with a grin.

  No!

  I nodded and fastened my seat belt. The Alfa started moving with a soft purr. The doors locked automatically.

  The noise caused me to stiffen for a second. Now I was imprisoned on the way to the unknown . . .

  “On the backseat?” he was asking.

  What??? We’d barely started moving and he already wanted to get me in the backseat?

  “Did you want to put your jacket on the backseat?” he calmly repeated.

  “Oh, I see. Uh, yes.” Relieved, I placed the soft-shell in the back.

  “What did you think I said?” he laughed.

  “Dunno,” I mumbled and began cracking my knuckles. “Nice car. It’s pretty new, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, I’ve had this car for about six months.” He patted the steering wheel affectionately. “Italian workmanship.”

  I suppressed a smart-alecky reply and instead asked, “Will you tell me where we’re going now?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s still a surprise.”

  “Hm.” I cracked my knuckles again.

  “Does that make you nervous?” he asked, looking at my fingers.

  “No!” I quickly hid my telltale hands between my thighs. “Why?”

  “No reason.”

  We left Wollbach, and Desiderio turned onto the highway. He increased his speed, and I couldn’t help but watch as he shifted gears. I was almost disappointed when he reached the sixth and last gear and placed his slender hand with the delicate fingers back on the steering wheel.

  I turned my attention to the road.

  “How long till we get there?” I asked.

  “Oh, a while.”

  “How long exactly?”

  “A while.”

  “You’re driving me crazy.” I sighed with resignation and leaned back.

  “I’m glad.”

  “That wasn’t meant as a compliment!”

  Desiderio looked at me in surprise. “Really?”

  “No,” I grumbled and again asked myself what the hell I had gotten myself into with this date.

  He stole a glance over at me before turning his eyes back to the road. “Is it that you don’t like surprises in general or is it because you still don’t trust me?”

  I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “In general. I think.”

  “You think?” He bit his beautiful lower lip. “OK, will you promise me something?”

  “What’s that?”

  “Promise me that you will give me a chance today,” he solemnly urged me. “If I screw it up, you can hate me forever.”

  I swallowed and didn’t know how to answer him.

  Finally, I softly answered, “OK.”

  He nodded happily and smiled to himself. I sneaked a look at his profile and couldn’t help but grin to myself. I didn’t know precisely why I was grinning; it just felt good. I gradually began to relax and was able to keep my hands in a normal position—despite the fact that his irresistible aftershave started wafting over to me.

  “Since we’re going to be on the road for a ‘while,’ you might as well tell me the latest from the ER,” I suggested.

  “I’d love to. But really, not that much has happened in the last two weeks.”

  “No drama, no bizarre accidents, no massive collisions?”

  “No. Although . . . Did you know that the male nurse in endoscopy is gay?”

  I giggled. “Sure. Oh, wait! He didn’t come on to you, did he?”

  “He sure did!” He chuckled cheerfully. “A real pro; I have to hand it to him. But he ac
cepted my rejection with good humor.”

  Little by little, we found ourselves having a carefree conversation about work and our colleagues. While the landscape rolled by, I loosened up until I was finally myself. Sometimes, when our eyes met, my heart would begin its annoying flutter, but it calmed down again pretty quickly.

  We’d been on the road for a good hour and it was starting to get dark outside when, during a lull in the conversation, Desiderio turned up the music a little. A sound rang out, like a mixture of electric guitar and shouting.

  “God, what is that?” I asked and made a face.

  “Don’t you like it?”

  I shook my head vigorously. “Not at all my cup of tea!”

  “Hm,” he said quietly and looked at me in surprise. “But I thought you liked Iron Maiden?”

  “Iron . . . Oh!” I didn’t know what shocked me more, the fact that he remembered the shirt I’d been wearing during our first encounter on the sidewalk or the fact that he really believed I would like music like this. Probably the former.

  “You know, that shirt . . . My goodness, I really have no idea why I even own it, but I sleep in it and that day I was in a big rush, and that’s why I looked so terrible,” I tried to explain.

  “I didn’t think you looked terrible.”

  “What? Please! I had just climbed out of bed and was still bleary eyed and . . .”

  “And still beautiful.”

  “Yeah, uh-huh, whatever you say.” I put him off distractedly and tried not to blush. I didn’t know what else to say, so I was relieved that Desiderio had to focus on the road for a minute as he signaled and turned.

  “Munich?” I ascertained this with astonishment and looked around. I hadn’t realized that the sports car had carried us so far from Wollbach already.

  “Correct.”

  “OK, and what are we going to do here?”

  “Just wait. We’ll be there soon.”

  I watched the urban bustle on the Ringstrasse and tried to figure out where Desiderio was taking me.

  It was only after the second sign for the Olympic Stadium that it hit me.

  “We’re going to see Pink!” I squeaked.

  He just smiled, which answered my question. I drummed my hands on my thighs in excitement as the brightly lit stadium came in sight. While Desiderio was trying to find a place to park, I fidgeted like a small child. I could hardly believe my good fortune.

  I was going to see Pink live!

  He had no sooner parked his Alfa than I jumped out.

  “Do you want to take your jacket?” Desiderio wanted to know.

  “No, it’ll only get in the way,” I said as I bounced up and down.

  “Don’t worry, we still have an hour before the concert starts,” he said, visibly amused by my impatience.

  “An hour? We still have to get inside and we have to squeeze to the front and by then we’ll practically be late!” I whined.

  Again, he kept his cool. Unruffled, he stopped and chuckled to himself. “I have the feeling my surprise was just right.”

  Excitement and anticipation made me lose any trace of shyness. Overjoyed, I hopped up to Desiderio and gave him a hug. “Oh yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” I screeched in his ear and placed a big smacking kiss on his cheek.

  Then I put my arm through his and dragged him toward the main entrance.

  The concert was incredible!

  We had to abandon my plan of squeezing up to the front because of the acute crushing hazard, but that didn’t matter. We made it to the front third of the audience and allowed ourselves to be carried away by the ambience.

  We cheered, we bawled out songs, and we swayed to and fro until long past midnight. Pink lived up to her superstar image.

  After the last encore, we allowed the crowd to push us to the exit, and I entered the cool night air in a daze.

  “That was sooo amazing!” I laughed as I stumbled into Desiderio.

  All the euphoria made me feel intoxicated. I felt loose, in a good mood, and I talked nonstop. In my mind’s eye, I could see the flashing spotlights, the awesome rocker as she whirled around on the stage . . . I would never forget this evening.

  “How often did she change? There must have been at least twenty costumes!” I gushed.

  “No idea,” said Desiderio, “but the stage show was really fantastic.”

  “That’s an understatement. It was staggering, indescribable, phenomenal!”

  The sight of the black Alfa dampened my transcendent mood. The evening would be over once we got in. But I didn’t want it to ever end! I wanted to continue cheering, singing, and dancing. And the shoulder I had been leaning on all night was so wonderfully warm and strong . . .

  Desiderio unlocked the car with his remote control. The blinking headlights depressed me.

  “Oh, I don’t want it to be over!” I huffed loudly as I reluctantly left the strong shoulder to get in on the passenger side.

  “Well, even Pink has to sleep now and then,” Desiderio said, amused. “But I have her new album in the car if you think that will cheer you up.”

  “What? No Iron Maiden?” I smirked.

  “I mean, lady’s choice . . .”

  “No, no! I was just joking!”

  We got in the car and both fastened our seat belts at the same time. In the process, our hands touched, and we gave each other a scared look.

  Now, it was pretty clear that something like that would make me feel awkward, but the fact that Desiderio seemed unsure for a moment was almost a little eerie.

  As though we had rehearsed it, we both said, “Pink!”

  We laughed a little artificially and then studiously looked in different directions. While he was fiddling with the car radio, I pretended that my shoelace had suddenly come undone. Only when the car started moving did I emerge from the footwell. As Pink began to sing, we listened, both of us lost in thought.

  The silence between us was by no means unpleasant. That surely meant something, at least for me. It was easy to fill an awkward pause in a conversation with meaningless words, but to say nothing and feel comfortable was evidence of a strong interpersonal relationship.

  After we had left Munich far behind, Desiderio turned the music down.

  “May I ask you something?” he asked.

  His tone of voice made me prick up my ears. Curious, I studied his profile, which was lit only by the faint light of the dashboard.

  “Sure,” I replied.

  He paused for a moment. I noticed that his fingers were ceaselessly tracing the seam on the steering wheel up and down nervously. The question seemed to mean a lot to him. I waited in eager anticipation.

  Finally, he cleared his throat audibly and asked, “Did I use my chance well?”

  I took a deep breath. A tingling sensation spread throughout my body and brought a smile to my face.

  “Well, the evening isn’t over yet,” I said with astonishing composure.

  Desiderio looked at me. “It isn’t?”

  “No, I’m much too wired to go to bed.”

  Now he was definitely nervous!

  “Hm.” He fiddled with the steering wheel.

  God, this was good! At last it was my turn to play the cool one!

  “Of course, when we get back, all of Wollbach will probably be sleeping already,” I thought out loud.

  “I’m sure,” he agreed, looking straight ahead.

  I pretended to be thinking about the rest of the evening, even though I knew exactly where we were going.

  “It might be better if we just go to bed,” I said slowly. I relished watching Desiderio’s anticipation turn to disappointment.

  So this was how he’d felt all the time? It was very tempting to abuse my newly won power, but since I was no monster, I quickly relieved his disappointment.
r />   “Oh, now I know where we can go at this hour!”

  “Where’s that?”

  “That’s going to be my secret for now,” I said sweetly.

  Yes, revenge is sweet . . .

  Desiderio gave me a disdainful look. “I get it. It’s payback time.”

  I just grinned, turned the music back up, and didn’t say a word.

  Chapter 22

  I had come to a decision. The true answer to Desiderio’s question was: yes.

  Yes, he had used his chance well, and I was finally ready to trust him. Just one place was perfect for showing that.

  “Turn right,” I directed him just before we reached the Wollbach city limit sign.

  Without questioning, he signaled and turned onto a side street.

  “Now left.”

  The corner of his mouth twitched as he recognized where I was guiding him.

  We reached the Waldsee parking lot, and Desiderio was about to stop the car.

  “No,” I said calmly. “Can you see that path over there marked ‘Private’? Head over that way.”

  With his eyebrows arched in astonishment, he followed my directions. The car rumbled along on the neglected gravel path leading into complete darkness. My navigation surprised Desiderio more and more the farther we went, and he looked at me questioningly a few times. Maybe he was just concerned about his new sports car.

  “Park here,” I said and pointed to the small space in front of the dilapidated house.

  “You want to go inside that house?” Desiderio asked with some dismay.

  “Of course not! Just follow me.” I laughed and got out. “Do you happen to have a blanket?”

  “No, but I’ve got a beach towel. Will that do?”

  “Perfect. Why do you have a beach towel?”

  Desiderio opened the trunk and pulled out the folded terry cloth. “You never know when you might need a beach towel, right?”

  I giggled and waited until he had locked the car. Then I took his hand and resolutely pulled him toward the briar.

  “Wait, I’ve forgotten my machete,” he joked. “Where are we going anyway? To the gingerbread house?”

  “Not quite. Just wait.”

  I single-mindedly wove my way through the underbrush and yanked Desiderio behind me. He let it happen, although his quiet mumbling indicated that he was beginning to have doubts about my sanity. I couldn’t blame him, because in the dark it really did seem like we were in the middle of nowhere. If I hadn’t walked this trail a thousand times before, we would have gotten hopelessly lost. Also, it was kind of spooky in the middle of the forest at night.