Gaby Book 18 - Summery

 
It was almost three when Therese dropped me off at Bond Acres, plenty of time to get dinner started, change for Garde and have a squint at this month’s Rad-sport. I tripped up the steps to the kitchen door and went inside.

“I'm back!”
“Good day?” Dad enquired poking his head into the kitchen I few seconds later.
“Well we spent a lot of the Thesing’s money if that’s anything to go by.”
“Let’s hope it all works out okay.”
“Da-ad!”
“I'm sure it will.”
“You want a cuppa?”
“Wouldn’t say no – oh Max was trying to get hold of you earlier, dunno why he didn’t ring you direct.”
“I'll call him, I'll bring your tea through.”
“I'm in the office.”

He disappeared and I only took time to put the kettle on before digging my Handy from my Handtasche. Duh, that’s why he rang the house, I turned it off before we went into the shopfitters. Whatever, he can wait a bit longer, I kicked my shoes off before gathering the components for a pot of tea.

I hit the speed dial for Max, it’s easier than looking it up all the time right? Well anyway it rang several times before he picked up.

“Strechau.”
“What’s up?”
“That's nice I must say,” Max complained.
“Well?”
“Where’ve you been?”
“What’s it to you, you don’t own me.”
“Keep your hair on, I was just asking.”
“So what’s so important you had to disturb Dad all day?”
“I called once,” he pointed out, “you remember I said about Sara getting married?”
“Because she’s schwanger? Yeah you mentioned.”
“They’ve set the date, June third.”
“That's quick.”
“I er think time’s of the essence?” he suggested.
“Erm I guess so,” I agreed, of course there are unmarried mothers here but not I think within the monied elite living in the world of Stern and castles. I bet her parents are spitting feathers. “So why do I need to know this?”
“I, that is, we, are invited.”
I should’ve seen that coming.
“How, I mean why me? You could take anyone along.”
“Nope, hang on a minute,” the phone went dead for a couple of minutes, “back, blah de blah de blah, here we are, ‘cordially invite Maximilian von Strechau and Gabrielle Bond to the wedding’, blah, blah, blah.”
“Great. Can’t you go on your own?”
“We’re both invited.”
Yeah, I guess it would be mean to make him go alone, “So where is this bun fight?”
“Bun fight?”
“You know, the nuptials, wedding?”
“Sometimes, Gab you are quite obtuse.”
“Stop avoiding the question, oh my god, it’s not at Munich again?”
“Thankfully not, no it’s at the Dom in Stuttgart.”
“Wonderful.”
“So you’ll come?”
“’Spose I'll have to,” I sighed.
“Yes!”
“What was that?”
“Er, you’re the best, Gab.”
“Speak to you later.”
“Tschuss.”
“Tschuss.,” I agreed.

I suppose this means another visit to Eloise Couture, joy.

“Gott, you look like you lost a fifty and found five,” Pia stated when I arrived at the Sebenschuh mansion.
“Er yeah, no,”
“Make your mind up.”
“Eh?”
“Earth to Gaby, hello!”
“Um, sorry P, just thinking about stuff.”
“Like? Come on, Gabs, spill.”
“I've been arm twisted into another wedding.”
“Max?”
“Yeah,” I agreed, “another cousin.”
“Lucky sod.”
“What’s lucky about it?”
“I thought you enjoyed the last one?”
“It was okay but it was quite small, Sara’s family are a bit further up the ladder, like near the top, Ludwig’s like a Duke.”
“Hark at her, calling duke’s by their given name! So I suppose you know this Sara girl?”
“It’s Sophia’s sister, we met at New Year.”
“So what’s the problem?”

Indeed, what is my problem? It’s not the wedding really, exactly, not even all the dressing up stuff, no I think it’s the assumption that me and Max are a couple. Even The invitation that’s been sent to the Schloss names me, not Max and partner or plus one, no Maximilian von flippin’ Strechau and Gabrielle Bond. It’s like I don’t exist without the great lummox, duh, I'm here, really, separate person.

I took a deep breath, “Nothing I guess.”

We were riding up to the Tanzklub tonight, we’d be home, well at least to Pia’s well before it gets dark.

“So how’s this burger bar going?”
“It’s not a burger bar, it’s würst and stuff.”
“Same difference.”

There wasn’t any point arguing, she’d win whatever I say.

“We ordered all the equipment today, Connie’s uncle’s doing the building work, full speed ahead.”
“So when’s it opening, it’s by the bridge right?”
“Uh huh, three, four weeks.”
“Cool, never took you or Con as burger flippers.”
“We’re not doing burgers!”
“Gotcha!”

She was saved from bodily harm by our arrival at the club building.

“You with us, Gaby?” Hannah enquired.
“Er, oh yeah sorry, second wheel right?”
“That was five minutes ago, why don’t you go sit down for a bit.”
“Um sure.”

I left the line and headed to a chair as instructed.

“So what’s the matter?” Han queried, “You’ve been distracted all night.”
“I've been invited to a wedding in a few weeks.”
“That's nice except I sense a but coming.”
“That’s just it, there isn’t really a but, it’s a friend’s sister down in Stuttgart, it’s just, well they just assume I'll go with Max.”
“Max?”
“Von Strechau, he’s a……..friend.”
“Why would ‘they’ think that?”
“I've sort of gone with him to a couple of ‘family’ functions.”
“He’s your boyfriend?”
“No, course not, as if! He’s just like a friend who happens to be a boy.” I answered perhaps a little quickly.

Han didn’t say anything in reply, instead directing her attention to the rest of the Garde.

“It’s alright to like a boy, Gab, you are allowed.”
“It’s, it’s not that Han, it’s just the way that his family sort of assume I'll be the next Frau von Strechau, I'm not ready for anything like that, I'm not sure I'll ever be ready for that.”
She put her arms around me and pulled me into a hug, “Gab, you have to stand up to them, tell them how you feel.”
“It’s not his parents really, they’re great, it’s like his wider family, I mean they’re great, really they are but it’s like I'm being assimilated as part of the family. This wedding, the invite was to Max and me, me specifically, I didn’t even get my own invitation, it’s like we’re already married.”
Han cuddled me again, “Poor Gabs.”

“What’re you watching?” I asked flopping onto the sofa next to Mand.
“They go around fixing peoples’ houses.”
“Just random like?”
“Be daft, no they get nominated by friends or neighbours, you know, they’re disabled or got twenty kids or something and the house is falling down. They go in and fix it all up.”
“Sounds riveting.”
“It’s good,” she defended, “you should get ‘em to fix the kiosk.”
“Ha de har. So what’re they doing this time?”
“This lad and his mum, he’s like disabled and the house was left by the grandmother, it was like a deathtrap, they’ve put in a new bath and kitchen and stuff,” Mand supplied.
“Maybe I could get them in here,” Dad suggested from behind his paper, “destitute father with a house full of women and bikes.”
“Don’t think they’d go for that, Mr B.”
“Huh, I sink further into penury, anyone fancy making a brew?”
I looked at Mand.
“I'm watching this,” she stated.
“Whatever,” I allowed, “tea?”
“Chocolate?” the cheeky moo suggested.

I lay staring at the moon, clearly visible through the skylight above my bed. Why did I get so wound up earlier, I'm sure nothing was meant by including both of us on the one invite but, well it rankles. It’s like I'm not my own person, I'm part of Max – sort of like inviting Max and his trousers, you assume he’ll wear them but you invite them by name just to cover the angles.

Ha, at least I'm a step ahead of Gerta for a change, I'll catch her out this time, I'll go down on Monday, ‘Hello, Gabrielle, why are you here?’, ‘I've a wedding to go to, I need a dress’, ‘oh woe, I didn’t know, what shall we do?’. Yeah, she’ll be well discombobulated. I'd best check with Gloria what I need to take, I suppose we’ll be staying over too and that won’t be a tatty hotel in Stuttgart down-town either.

Have to make sure we’re covered at the kiosk, we should be open by then. Have to speak to Therese tomorrow about staff, they’ll probably need training and stuff – oh and some sort of uniform. That four cup Gaggia was something else, if I ever have my own place I'm having one of them! It’ll be better with the pot cups and plates, much classier than those horrible paper things.

My mind jumped about for another twenty minutes before the weight of my eyelids became too much to fight and sleep took me.

Maddy Bell © 19.12.16