by Hope Franke
“The sea air is growing on me.” Gabriele worked to control her shock. It was just weird to see her German friend here in her cottage in Emsworth and to be speaking German again. “Can I get you something?”
“Nah, they fed me breakfast on the plane. Show me my room. I need to freshen up and then we need to talk.”
Gabriele led her to the empty bedroom. “How long are you staying?”
“Just one night. I have to go back to work on Monday. After we talked yesterday, I looked up flights to London on impulse and there was this great, last minute seat sale. I thought to myself, This is a sign! The train ride here was pretty straightforward.”
“It’s great to see you, but you know, you didn’t have to interrupt your plans to check up on me. I’m okay. Really.”
“Gabriele, you’ve had a big shock. I’m your friend. Of course, I would come. And it wasn’t a big inconvenience at all. I’m excited to get away for a little while.”
“Okay, well now that you’re here, what do you want to do?”
Julia flashed a mischievous smile. “I want to meet your neighbour naturally.”
Gabriele swallowed. She wasn’t ready to make that particular introduction. Julia would judge, come to conclusions, say something about Lennon—she wasn’t always the most tactful person.
“He works during the day.”
“Even on weekends?” Julia questioned.
“I’m picking up that he’s a bit of a work-a-holic.”
“So, you don’t see him that much?”
Actually, at first she saw him more than she wanted. Now, she felt like she wouldn’t mind a little more of his attention. But she didn’t want Julia to know that, and they’d been friends for so long, it was hard to hide anything from her. She had a freaky way of reading her mind sometimes. “It’s a small town. I’m sure we’ll run into him eventually.”
“Then show me around the town!”
The weather had calmed enough that Gabriele thought it’d be safe to take a turn on the promenade. Julia had the foresight to pack an umbrella and Gabriele grabbed a spare one she’d found in one of the cupboards.
She showed Julia the steps that led down to the beach. Julia stared back at the cottage from the damp shoreline. “Which one is his?”
Gabriele didn’t have to ask to whom she was referring. She pointed to the house next door with the terrace light left on. “That one.”
“A close neighbour.”
Gabriele nodded. “Too close.” She grabbed her friend’s arm and they padded over the broken shells and shiny wet pebbles.
“I love this smell,” Julia said. Then she pointed to two rows of short, old boards visible with the tide out so far.
“Those are old oyster beds. Apparently it used to be a big industry in the 1800s.”
Julia wrinkled her nose. “I’m not a fan of oysters.”
“I think they are an acquired taste.”
They made it to the promenade and began the walk that divided the sea from the manmade pond. They were passed by a couple joggers and a mother pushing a stroller. Some of the sailboats on the seaside lay like the elderly in need of hip replacements. Others were tied to buoys farther out and had enough water to maintain their dignity and remain upright. The misty fog that billowed between added an eerie element.
“It’s beautiful,” Julia said. “I can imagine how gorgeous it must be in good weather.”
“It was sunny when I first arrived and it was lovely,” Gabriele admitted.
“So that’s your cottage and Lennon’s identical twin brother lives next door.” Julia eyed Gabriele carefully. “What’s your next move?”
“Honestly, I’m torn. Part of me wants to keep it because it’s cool to have something right on the sea.” She chuckled. “Under different circumstances, I might even be able to relax.”
“How often do you think you would come?”
Gabriele shrugged. “That’s the thing. Not enough to merit keeping it. There are a number of nice places to stay if I really want to come back. It’s not necessary to own.”
“But…”
“But nothing. I just want answers first.”
“To what questions?”
Gabriele bit the inside of her lip. “For one, why didn’t Lennon tell me he had a brother? And secondly, why didn’t he want me to know about this place? Why didn’t he tell me about his girlfriend?”
“That’s three questions. Who’s the girlfriend?”
Gabriele shot her a look.
Julia corrected, “I mean former girlfriend.”
“Her name’s Clover Swift.”
“And…”
“And nothing.” Gabriele didn’t want to point out the hair similarities or her fear that she’d been Clover’s replacement.
“I totally understand your need to know. And the brother Callum? He can’t answer?”
Gabriele’s gaze cut to the Leatherby house. She wouldn’t be surprised if Callum were spying on her with his binoculars.
“So far his lips have been sealed, but I’m working on him. That’s why I need to stay. I think he’s starting to warm up to me.”
Julia rubbed her arms. “Speaking of warming up, I’m freezing. And hungry. Is there a place we can eat?”
They turned around and headed into town. Gabriele led Julia to Callahans and they found a booth near the bar. Ciara was tending again and Gabriele waved. “Hi Ciara.”
“Hi Gabriele.”
“This is my friend Julia from Dresden.”
“Welcome to Emsworth,” Ciara said with a smile.
“She seems nice,” Julia said quietly when Ciara had turned.
“She is.”
Julia grinned crookedly. “My British counterpart?”
Gabriele rolled her eyes.
One of the servers approached and Gabriele ordered fish and chips for both of them. Julia gaped.
“You can’t come to England and not eat fish and chips,” Gabriele explained.
They took turns using the loo where they touched up their makeup. They were thoroughly warmed up and had raging appetites by the time their food arrived.
“So when do I get to meet this mystery brother?” Julia asked as she tossed a fry into her mouth.
Gabriele nodded with her chin. “He’s right over there behind you.”
Julia swiveled around and stared. Callum lifted his fingers in a weak wave as acknowledgement. Julia spun back around.
“Oh my goodness, Gabi. He looks just like Lennon! How can you stand it?”
“I’ve spent enough time with him now that I know he’s not Lennon. He’s not just different in personality, but also in looks if you check closely. After a while, the differences become so pronounced, you stop seeing Lennon and just see Callum.”
Julia stared hard at her friend. “You’ve thought this through.”
“It’s true.”
“When did he arrive?”
“About twenty minutes ago.”
“And you didn’t say anything?”
Gabriele shrugged a shoulder. “I’m getting used to him hovering. I told you he’d show up.”
“The guy’s a stalker?” Julia twisted one of her short, dark pigtails. “That’s creepy, Gabi. Maybe Lennon and Callum are like Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. Maybe where Lennon was all goodness, Callum is the evil twin.”
Gabriele laughed, but it wasn’t like the same thought hadn’t occurred to her. However, Callum had plenty of chances to act on any evil impulses he may have had and he seemed to be sincerely concerned for her well-being. Even if that concern was misplaced.
It was like he knew they were talking about him. He stood, shoved fists into his pockets and sauntered over. Julia gasped audibly when Callum slid in beside Gabriele.
“This is too weird,” Julia spouted in rapid German. “I don’t see the difference. I feel like I’m seeing a ghost!”
Callum’s brow furrowed. “What’s she saying?”
“He doesn’t understand what you’re saying,” Gabr
iele said to Julia in German, “thankfully.”
“Good. Then I can tell you that he’s super hot. Lightning strikes twice for you.”
“Well, I’m not interested.”
“Oh.” She batted her eyes at Callum. “Too bad I’m taken.”
“As fun as this is,” Callum said, “any chance of switching to English?” He nudged Gabriele’s leg with his knee. “How about introducing me to your friend?”
Gabriele’s face grew warm. It was just a leg tap, but it felt incredibly friendly, shooting sparks through her body. His closeness was like radiation. Why was she reacting like this? She swallowed hard and forced her expression to remain blank. “This is my friend Julia,” she said in English. “She doesn’t speak English very well, but she understands a lot. Julia, this is Callum.”
“Nice to meet you,” Callum said.
Julia extended a hand and said in heavily accented English, “Nice to meet you, too.”
“You’re here to visit for how long?”
Gabriele noted the concern in Callum’s eyes. A lengthy visit would put a kink into his plan to extract her.
Gabriele answered for her. “She came to check up on me for one day, that’s how good a friend she is. She has to leave tomorrow.”
Callum’s jaw relaxed, apparently happy with the answer. “I hope you enjoy your visit to Emsworth.”
He leaned back and casually let his arm rest along the back of the booth behind Gabriele’s back. He motioned to a server to bring him another drink and didn’t see Julia’s eyes widen in question, though Gabriele thought he had to be aware of her body stiffening at his friendly gesture.
“Are you sure there’s nothing going on between you?” Julia asked in German.
Gabriele shook her head. “I’d tell you if there were.”
“If I had to go on the way he’s looking at you right now,” Julia said pointedly, “I’d say I don’t believe you.”
Gabriele’s eyes cut back to Callum. He was looking at her with something of a glint in his eye. His lips turned up slightly. “Do you want anything else? Your lunch and Julia’s are on me.”
Gabriele’s jaw dropped. She hadn’t seen this version of Callum before. This friendly, easygoing version. She narrowed her eyes. “What are you up to?”
“What? Can’t a guy buy a couple pretty girls their lunch?”
“What happened to the mean Callum intent on scaring the new girl out of town?”
His grin grew wider. “Turns out the new girl is tougher than he thought.”
JULIA TURNED up her nose at Gabriele. “These are the best buns you could find?”
“They don’t have a German bakery here, or, if they do, I haven’t had a chance to discover it.” Gabriele spread butter on her bun and added a slice of meat. “Can you pass me the juice?”
She pressed her palm against her mouth as she yawned. She and Julia had stayed up way too late talking last night. She had to throw her pillow at her friend more than once. Julia was such a crazy romantic. She had Gabriele alternately married to Callum Leatherby and running for dear life before midnight.
Gabriele had clicked on the television to catch the morning news and it hummed in the background of their subdued conversation: the young royal family at a petting zoo on a visit to Australia, the Prime Minister of Israel in London to meet with the British PM, another weather system moving in from the northeast.
“You don’t have to walk me,” Julia said as she prepared to leave. “I found my way here from the station by myself.”
Gabriele wrapped a scarf around her neck. “I don’t mind. You’ve come all this way to see me for one day. It’s the least I can do.”
It took about twenty minutes. Julia’s suitcase made clopping noises as she pulled it along the bumpy pavement, past the Irish pub, through the center of town and into the pedestrian underpass that circumvented the busy cross street.
They paused to admire the Emsworth quay murals that took up the surface area of both walls. “This looks like your cottage,” Julia said and they slowed their pace.
Gabriele squinted. “It might be.”
Julia stood at the ticket window to purchase her ticket on the national railway to the London City Airport.
“Let me get that,” Gabriele said as she pulled out her wallet.
Julia slapped her hand away. “You don’t have to do that.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
“I came uninvited,” Julia said.
“I loved that you came.”
“I’m the one with the job.”
Gabriele couldn’t argue that one.
“I’ll buy you and Ulrich dinner when I get home.”
Julia smiled. “I’m glad to hear you’re coming back. Does that mean you’re selling?”
“Eventually. There are still some things I want to find out.”
“From your closed-lipped neighbour?”
Gabriele nodded, but she had to work at not thinking about her neighbor’s actual lips. She shook her head sharply. What was the matter with her?
Julia bought her ticket and Gabriele waited with her on the platform. The wind had picked up again quite suddenly and the sky overhead darkened noticeably. “You may be getting out of England just in time,” Gabriele said.
Julia nodded. “Looks like you might be in for a storm.”
Gabriele exhaled. She had a feeling that the same statement could be true metaphorically, as well.
Julia looked at Gabriele kindly. “Be careful with your heart, my friend.”
“I’m not going to fall for him, Julia. You don’t have to worry.”
“Maybe you should.”
“You think I should date Lennon’s brother? What about being careful with my heart?”
“It can go both ways. Maybe dating him would be a bad idea. But maybe not dating him is equally bad, if you won’t do it just because… you know.”
“You’re the queen of giving conflicting advice today.”
“Just don’t rush into anything. Either way.”
Gabriele smiled and squeezed her friend. “Your train is coming. Have a good trip home.”
It started to rain as Gabriele walked back to the cottage. She sprung open the umbrella she had tucked into her purse. The tap, tap on the nylon surface was soothing. Her mind returned to Julia’s confusing piece of advice. Be careful not to fall for Callum just because he’s Lennon’s brother and looks like Lennon. Be careful not to stop yourself from falling for Callum just because he’s Lennon’s brother and looks like Lennon.
How on earth was she to navigate that kind of land mine?
Her mind was so captivated by this train of thought that she almost missed seeing the very object of her consternation leaning against the rail at the opening of the underground walkway. Her eyes fluttered along with her heart when she registered it was Callum resting there with arms crossed against his blue jacket.
Gabriele gave him a look. “I’m beginning to think I need to get a restraining order.” She didn’t slow as she walked past him. He fell into stride beside her.
“Just making sure you make it back okay.”
“Why wouldn’t I make it home okay?”
He lowered his voice as he entered the underpass. “You thought you were being followed before.”
“It was just a cat or something,” Gabriele said, but her mind flashed to another time, with Lennon. They were walking home after dark, just a week or so before Lennon died, and she noticed how he kept looking over his shoulder. He did it in such a way as to not be obvious about it, but she remembered thinking he was acting oddly. He had his hand on her lower back and pushed her to speed up her pace. She’d chalked it up to stress from work and his growing trouble with insomnia, but now…
They exited the underpass and Gabriele’s hair whipped across her face. She held the umbrella higher and motioned for Callum to join her underneath.
He ducked in, relieving Gabriele of the task of holding the umbrella, wrapping his arm around her sh
oulder to do so.
He spoke into her ear, “This storm could be bad.”
His closeness was unnerving, but she appreciated his willingness to shield her from the weather. She shoved cold hands into her pockets and stayed close to Callum’s side.
They were both cold and wet by the time they reached her front door.
Gabriele deliberated with herself as he hovered beside her. Should she invite him inside? He had insinuated that he might tell her the truth and now would be a great time, in her book. She just wished it were nice enough to sit outside. Being alone together felt too… friendly.
She imagined he felt as awkward as she did. But they were adults. They could deal.
She tilted her head and caught his eye. “Would you like to come inside?”
Callum simply nodded.
Gabriele hung her jacket in the closet, replacing it with a warmer, drier cardigan. Callum draped his coat over the back of a kitchen chair. Yes. The kitchen was less intimate than the living room.
“Can I get you a coffee?” Gabriele offered. “I’m making myself one.”
“Sure.”
Gabriele put the hot water kettle on the stove and scooped grounds into the Bodem carafe. She leaned against the counter and crossed her arms, watching Callum as he sat stiffly at the table. His eyes flickered to hers and they locked gazes. His expression was cool and intense. His likeness to Lennon made her heart leap, but she didn’t mistake Callum for his brother. The man before her was practically a stranger.
An attractive, alluring, enigmatic stranger.
He glanced away to retrieve his phone from his pocket, glancing at the name of the caller.
“Excuse me,” he said, standing. “I have to take this.”
He disappeared into the living room, but his low tenor voice echoed across the high beams of the slanted ceiling and Gabriele could make out a few words.
“... when did this happen?... whereabouts of Sati Habib... I have to deal with the girl...”
The girl? Gabriele stiffened. Was she the girl?
Her stomach tightened. She hated feeling like she was being managed. The whistle blew, startling her and she poured the hot water over the grounds.
