Race to War by Greg van den Dries

Author:Greg van den Dries [van den Dries, Greg]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2022-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

A rainy day

It is snowing and raining in Berlin, a typical winter day that has turned nasty. Sleet pours from the sky as Nicolette leaves the Mitte shopping area, bags in hand.

She has no umbrella and scurries beneath a nearby doorway, seeking shelter until the shower has passed.

Bernd, peering out beneath his bobbing umbrella as he passes down the street, catches sight of her figure in the doorway.

“Nicolette! What are you doing? Drowning out here?”

“Bernd!” she says, thoroughly surprised. “My gracious, how good to see you! Yes, I’m just waiting until this passes, shouldn’t be too long.” She stamps her feet, trying to shake off the snow that has accumulated on her coat.

“Nonsense! Come with me, let’s get out of this rain! Give me those.”

Bernd grabs the bags and holds his umbrella over the both of them. Their shoulders touch as they walk. Bernd gently guides her around the quickly accumulating puddles with his free arm. They arrive at a nearby cafe and take a seat in the front window.

As they remove their gloves and wet jackets and shake themselves dry, steam emerges from Nicolette’s drenched blouse where water has seeped in. Bernd glances down.

“There’s mist in the highlands today,” he says, amused, nodding to her collar.

Nicolette lets out a burst of laughter, and they fan themselves to acclimate to the temperature as the waiter approaches.

“Two coffees please,” Bernd says.

“Excuse me, aren’t you Bernd Rosemeyer?” the waiter says excitedly.

“Sorry no, you have me mistaken.”

“Oh— sorry, you look a bit like him. Two coffees, right away.”

As the waiter departs, Nicolette chuckles. “Do you do that often?”

“Constantly,” he says as he looks down, almost bashful. “I love the fans, but sometimes it’s nice to be a shadow.”

”How interesting!” she says. “I wish Rudi would do that sometimes. He seems to crave the attention,” she trails off. “So, what are you doing out in this storm?”

“I was visiting a friend who lives close by and was walking to my car when I spotted you. You know, you’re not hard to find.”

“Whatever do you mean?” she asks, puzzled.

“Well, when it’s rainy and suddenly the heavens open and the bright, beautiful sun shines through, you take notice.”

Nicolette blushes and scrunches her nose. “Such a playboy, even in the rain.”

“Apologies, my dear, I’m a cad,” he says with a cheeky grin.

The waiter sets down the two coffees in front of the pair and departs.

“Perhaps, but a heroic cad. I still can’t thank you enough for helping Rudi,” she says, exuding pure gratitude from her hazel eyes.

“How is the old boy? On the mend, I hope?” He means it, she can tell.

“Oh, he’s doing much better now. I believe he’s in town as we speak, meeting with a dealer. They want to use his face to sell more Mercedes.”

“They should use yours instead, sell more cars,” Bernd quips.

“Oh Bernd, do you ever stop?” she asks, incredulous but amused.

“Only at the end of a race. Even then, sometimes I forget.” He laughs.

“So is this a race?”

Bernd pauses for a moment, flashes Nicolette an inquisitive eye.

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