Heroine: California Dreamin' (32 page)

Except for my relation with Irene I had worked through everything that needed to be done only three days before our departure. These last few days let me become an ‘expert’ in the Valley’s bus schedule. Days before departure I still visited Bruce. The night before I had passed on a note under his door telling him that I wanted to see him once more before I left. If he were interested he should call me on my cell. He did and told me that he would take the day off. Daniel was in his office when I set out in the morning. Bruce had cleaned up his apartment and even the bed had fresh linen. We made love all morning long, then I invited him to a restaurant. The afternoon we spent in bed again. He caressed me, we talked and had a shower together. When it was time to say good bye we hugged and cried. I would miss him just like Irene.

On the day of our departure it rained cats and dogs. Winter had finally arrived following fall that was much too long and hot. The news reported that the Sacramento River had flooded a few towns. The weather seemed to take an example from my bad mood. I had learned to love that country despite those bad experiences I had to go through. Therefore I already cried on my way to the airport. I couldn’t say good bye to Irene and it almost broke my heart. A year before on my way to America I had also cried – because I missed Cologne, Jan and Erich. Now I cried for Irene and Bruce.

The flight took the whole night and we reached Geneva, after a stopover in London, the next midday. When we landed snowflakes flew by the cabin window reminding us that there was in fact proper winter. With our German passports we passed quickly through passport control. We didn’t need a visa any longer. Daniel lifted the few suitcases with our belongings from the luggage conveyor onto two carts. He had two suitcases on wheels, I had five. Everything we didn’t need any longer we had thrown away. From our PC Daniel kept only the hard disk and I had packed my Taser into a small steel saucepan. I wanted to smuggle it through customs. It worked. I gave the customs’ officer a friendly look and he waved us through looking quite bored. Another twenty minutes with a cab and we were at a hotel in the south of the city. We would stay there until we had found a suitable apartment. Daniel had already made reservations for this apartment through the Internet. The owner rented only to coworkers of diverse companies or also government officials from other countries whose coworkers were in the country for a few weeks or months. Accordingly, the prices were exuberant. Already the day after our arrival I got myself a phone contract for my cell phone. A friendly operator of the phone company would call me even twice to request some of my data. I was impressed how strict the Swiss were with almost everything.

Daily life had caught up with us very quickly. Different from when I had arrived in California I found my ways around right from the start. I was happy that I finally could use my knowledge of foreign languages again. When we went shopping or out to a restaurant I took care of most of the conversation since Daniel didn’t speak a word of French. For the first few weeks we were mostly alone. Only a few times one of Daniel’s colleagues would stop by, mostly for accompanying him to the fitness studio. By the beginning of March the parties started up again. At this time of the year in California we had already met under tents in the hot spring sun. Here in Geneva it was still cold and so we came together in the diverse apartments with the exception of ours. Daniel wanted to play host only after we had found a bigger apartment or a house. With the exuberant rental prices in the city he was probably facing a long search.

One day Daniel surprised me with the announcement that we would spent the next weekend at a ski cabin. His company had planned a ‘get to know you’ event in the mountains. The entire headquarters of the new company would be present. As I knew my husband quite well he had known about this event for a period of time but didn’t manage to inform me. I was a bit unsettled. Daniel was a good skier. I knew skiing only from watching TV. On Friday night we took the train to the close-by Chamonix. In front of the train station waited several luxury buses that took us to the ski lodge. Before the gigantic building I noticed that the cabin had mutated into a luxury hotel. That was fine with me because from my childhood those ‘cabins’ in the Alps did not bring back positive memories. As a director Daniel was granted to move into a suite. That privilege was given to only five people from management, Daniel explained to me proudly. I was happy for him. And for myself. So far I only knew suites that I had shared with Erich. In comparison this one was significantly smaller and less luxurious. But I still enjoyed the luxury to having two rooms and a large bathroom available. In the evening there was a champagne reception where Mei Li gave a speech. She looked stunning and I felt that jealousy was bubbling in my belly once more. Or was it envy? Mei Li was an absolute beauty. I guess in that respect I could surely compete. But beyond that Mei Li had a powerful appearance and when men were around her she dominated them without constraint. I knew from Daniel that she had graduated from M.I.T. with summa cum laude. With not even thirty years of age she advanced in record time to top manage
ment of her company’s European headquarters. Daniel saw her as a role model. “
Hopefully not much longe
r
″
,
I thought to myself.

Although I was aware of the danger I treated myself to a glass of champagne. Daniel would need to help me later on in bed to solv
e my ongoing problems with my consumption of alcohol.

“Now tell me what was the matter with you this evening?” he asked me late at night when we got undressed.

“You turned those guys on as if you wanted to fuck them on the spot. I actually have nothing against you flirting around a bit. But do you have to do it with my colleagues?” He appeared to be indignant. I was completely unaware that I had done more than having a few nice talks. Therefore I now cuddled up to my husband and asked for his forgiveness. He liked it and we got along again.

“If you want to get it on with one of these guys please ask me first. Not that you pick somebody of all things who is competing against me.” That was the old Daniel. That single glass of champagne was enough to make me horny again. I was awake all night long and I came down for breakfast not until almost everybody had gone skiing already. Daniel had booked a beginner’s class for me with a ski instructor. The sky was perfectly blue and in the background the tall mountains radiated in brilliant white. The Mont Blanc towered everything and the reflecting light from the glaciers’ slopes blinded my eyes. A beautiful view, I had to admit.

With a two hour delay I reached the rather flat slope on which the beginners’ group already took their exercises. So it was good fun when I absolved my first practices on the slippery skis. All the other students could already move around quite comfortably. I fell on my behind all the time. The ski instructor was a tall young man with broad shoulders who could have posed in advertising catalogs for such people. Tanned, blond, blue eyes, prominent lower jaws. What I liked best was that he was laughing when he had to pick me up out of the snow. And he seemed to like it and also because he invited me for a drink at the end of our practice session. This time I was careful and ordered a cup of tea. We joked around for a while then he asked me if we should do something together the upcoming evening.

“I must first ask my husband”, I replied with a naïve look. I liked flirting with him but I didn’t really want to be alone with him. For a while we kept on discussing this and that. I promised him to appear in the bar of a disco no later than nine o’clock that night. But I wasn’t serious about my promise. Which was just as well because at said time we all sat together for a splendid dinner. I might as well forget about that ski instructor. I wore a knee-long peach-colored skin tight dress that underlined my figure. With that I wore high heels fitting in color. When I noticed back in the suite that I didn’t have a suitable purse I was disappointed and so I picked, reluctantly, a black baguette purse which I found boring.

By about eleven o’clock that night we went down into the basement where the owner had put in a bar into an old cellar. The ceiling rested on columns of granite that were probably very old. Even the floor was laid out with plates of granite, lighting was hidden behind the columns. Soft music played from invisible loudspeakers and thus one could entertain a good conversation. I certainly would have preferred this kind of atmosphere over a disco if Mei Li wouldn’t have stood at the bar.

When I saw her I was tempted to still pay a visit to the disco a few blocks down the street. But Daniel pushed me towards Mei Li and we greeted one another friendly. She again wore a pant suit with fitting flat shoes, this time in red.

Different from our first encounter my husband’s boss was downright jovial this time. No patronizing looks. She asked me how I liked Geneva and we engaged in some lively small talk. I relaxed. Had I misjudged her? Perhaps she was actually really nice and I made such a fuss just because I was jealous.

Over time more of Daniel’s colleagues arrived and we stood around the bar and had fun. There were only men and they all were rather older than Daniel and certainly not as handsome.

The only one who was good looking – beside my husband – was Marco, an Italian who had been working for the company for several years. Marco had studied in Torino then he came to Geneva via Milano. He had already worked with Daniel in New York. Marco was not very tall in particular but had broad shoulders. Underneath his dark shirt you could hint some strong muscles. His black hair was combed back. However, the most fascinating feature were his eyes. They radiated from his small evenly cut face. When he looked at me I had the sense as if he would look right into me. His nose reminded me a bit of Erich because it was also somewhat hook-shaped. But that looked more masculine than ugly. His Italian accent lent him some exotic flair. I caught myself later on that I was flirting with him.

I looked across to Daniel who was engaged talking with Mei Li. He winked at me which I interpreted that Marco posed no danger for his career.

Soon the room filled up with more of Daniel’s colleagues. Daniel was boss to some of them and they greeted him friendly, partially even with respect. There were also women and when a DJ behind the bar turned up the music the first visitors dared to go onto the dance floor that was illuminated from below. I looked again to Daniel a bit rattled when Marco took my hand and asked me to dance with him.

My husband nodded in agreement. Everything was okay. Marco was an excellent dancer. I was happy that we could dance into the night. Different from the USA, here they would only finish up when the last guests would give up. So Old Europe had at least one advantage. Slowly I took a liking to my new home land.

At an advanced hour the DJ became nostalgic and put on film music from ‘Dirty Dancing’. Marco produced an impressive solo that would have brought tears to Patrick Swayze’s eyes. Out of envy. I teased Marco and asked him if he would be Patrick’s grandson by any chance. He growled and then laughed. I tried twice to drag Daniel to the dance floor. But he declined. It was too finicky for him. As a boss he couldn’t let himself go this way.

“Should we go to my room?” I heard Marco’s voice at my ear. He had his arms around me and slow-danced where he pressed me against his body. It was three o’clock in the morning and the DJ had already turned down the music’s volume and put on some slow dancing music. I flinched a bit in surprise. I liked Marco and the night before I probably would have left with him at once. I should at least talk it over with Daniel, I pondered in my head. But Daniel wasn’t there. The bar was empty and beside me there were only two other couples left.

“Hang in for a moment. I need to make a phone call?” I put off Marco and retreated to the bathroom where I was by myself. Daniel’s cell rang twice then he picked up. I heard noises in the background and music. Mei Li laughed.

“Darling, this Marco would like with me, ah, you know. May I …” he interrupted me.

“No problem. Marco is okay”, he whispered. “Have fun.” His voice sounded happy. Oh well, I would need to tell him everything about it afterwards anyways. I returned to Marco who stood at the bar alone and was talking to the host. He looked at me smiling and I put my arms around him and kissed him. His reaction was passionate.

For a moment I suspected Marco would take me right here and then on the bar counter; but then he preferred to leave with me on his arm. In the elevator up to the fifth floor he cornered me and kept on kissing me with passion while caressing my neck. I just melted. Marco had only a simple hotel room but even that was furbished nicely.

In the morning I was both tired and relaxed at the same time. I could not remember to ever have had such an unselfish and gentle lover. Except Jan. By the crack of dawn I had fallen in love with Marco. Then I fell asleep.

I wanted to take a shower later in my room because I was hardly able to move. When I entered our suite I saw that our bed had been untouched. Daniel was not in the room. Suddenly it dawned on me that he also must have found somebody with whom he could spend the night. At this very moment I didn’t care. I fell onto the bed and fell asleep immediately.

A hand gently touched my behind. I hoped it would be Marco and still sleepy I opened my eyes. It was Daniel. He sat beside me all smiles.

“To figure from your condition I assume you had a lot of fun last night”, he ridiculed me. I nodded.

“Marco is a fantastic lover. If you hadn’t come back I would have run away with him”, I whispered and put my head into my husband’s lap.

“Don’t you dare”, he grinned. “Mei Li would rip my head off if Marco wouldn’t return to work.” I was wide awake in an instant and sat up straight.

“Mei Li? What’s she got to do with it?”

“Marco is her friend. They live together once in a while.” I must have looked totally dumbfounded at that moment because Daniel broke out in loud laughter.

“He had taking a liking to you and so we agreed to swap partners.”

“And at this time you were in bed with your boss?” I looked at him flabbergasted. He nodded and I saw from his eyes that he was actually proud of it.

“Yes. Actually it was her idea. But it would have been too risky back in the USA. Therefore we waited until we came to Europe. Nobody cares about any sex stories between employees here.” I sat there with my mouth wide open. I didn’t believe him.