Love Chaos by Ute Jackle

Author:Ute Jackle [Jackle, Ute]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-24T16:00:00+00:00

32

We strolled leisurely down the street. It was still light outside, and the sun shone warmly on us. Phyllis was between us, each of us holding one hand. Lost in thought, I stared straight ahead, while Phyllis did all the talking.

“Is Luca your wife?” she suddenly asked. Immediately, Ben’s back tense up suspiciously. Obviously, he didn’t consider me a candidate for that position.

“No,” he replied curtly, shooting me a sideways glance which I deliberately ignored. Let him explain that one to her on his own.

“Then why are you living together?”

“Because we live in a dorm. That means the university decides who gets to share the apartment. It’s not up to us.” He stroked her hair. “Besides, you already promised to marry me when you grow up.”

She hopped on one foot. “Yeah. But Timo from my kindergarten said that when I’m a grown-up, you’ll be really old and die soon, and then I won’t have a husband anymore if I marry you.”

I burst out laughing at Ben’s alarmed look. Served him right. Mr. Nowak obviously got rejected every once in a while. My pity was limited.

“Timo really said that? Looks like he and I need to talk. I won’t be all that old when you’re a grown-up.”

“In their eyes, you will,” I declared, opening my mouth for the first time since we had left the house.

Ben sighed. “There goes my fiancée.”

“You poor thing. I’m sure you’ll meet Miss Right one day,” I soothed him. What would she look like, the right girl?

“I highly doubt it,” he replied softly. Suddenly, Ben seemed so closed off that I didn’t dare ask any more questions. What was on his mind? A strange awkwardness seemed to drape over us like a heavy coat, and we remained silent for the rest of the way until we reached a brightly lit storefront.

“This is Yasir’s new grocery store,” Ben said. “Tomorrow is the grand opening, and the way Erdie sounded, they’ll have to pull an all-nighter to get everything ready. If you hadn’t helped with Phyllis, it would’ve been even worse.”

“It was fun. I loved spending time with her.”

We entered the store, and indeed, the place still resembled a construction site. I had my doubts about the opening tomorrow. Empty white shelves lined the walls. Two men were drilling holes to mount more of them, and there was a cloud of dust in the air. Towers of boxes and crates were piled everywhere. I discovered Erdie in the back of the store, inserting boards into the shelf brackets. When he spotted us, he came over. His black hair was coated in a layer of gray dust.

“Hey. I hope Phyllis wasn’t too much trouble.”

“No, she was a good girl,” I assured him, when I was interrupted by a deafening noise. The two men were drilling into the wall with a high-pitched grinding screech.

Phyllis covered her ears and yelled, “Too loud!”

When the noise finally stopped, Erdie turned around. “Cengiz, Yasir, come here a minute. I want you to meet Luca.”

The two came over.

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