Wrapped in the Stars by Elena Mikalsen

Author:Elena Mikalsen [Mikalsen, Elena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, vintage
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2018-01-18T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 21

Bern. August, Tuesday—Present Time

I stopped at the Inselspital, following Emelie’s suggestion, but the modern set of hospital buildings affiliated with the University of Bern triggered no memories of the past. A polite woman at the information desk informed me that the old buildings had been demolished in order to upgrade the hospital. Another dead end.

There was a long white envelope tucked underneath my room door when I finally arrived at the Wildflower. A quick squeeze of the envelope confirmed a plastic card inside. Finally, things were turning around for me! A few minutes later, I ran downstairs to the bar with my newly activated credit card.

“Oh, here you are, Maya,” Jacob, the neighbor, greeted me. “Did you have a good day exploring?”

“I did. I sure did.” I plopped happily into one of the chairs next to him and stretched my tired legs.

“And what can I get you?” Franz appeared from a small area behind the bar, startling me.

“A soda, please. And if you have some cheese or any other snack, I’d appreciate that as well. Really hungry.”

Franz gave me a curious look, but a few minutes later, a plate of sliced bread, butter, cheese, and olives appeared.

“If you are this hungry,” said Jacob, “you should come for dinner. My wife makes a much better schnitzel than Franz’s cook. We have a grandnephew visiting from New York, so she’ll probably make her best recipe tonight.”

My mouth watered at the thought of schnitzel, and I swallowed. I thought of my grandmother’s schnitzel and felt a tug at my heart. It was too late to call her tonight, though.

“I’m sorry, but I already have plans for tonight. Thank you.”

“Another day maybe,” Jacob said, taking a slice of cheese from my platter.

I pushed the platter closer to him. I thought of David then and how I’d handle sitting next to him at dinner and spending an entire evening with him. What did he really think of me? And why did I feel such a strong need to be with him?

I distracted myself by getting up and walking around the small bar area. I felt strangely comfortable in this room, just as I felt uneasy in the rest of the house. What was it about the room? I touched the dark paneling and the old shelves holding glasses, my fingers gently gliding on the worn wood.

There it was—that slipping-from-reality feeling I was beginning to get used to…

“You like what I’ve done here?” Franz’s voice brought me back to the present world.

I shook the feeling off. “I love this room. I feel…at home in it, somehow.”

He looked pleased. “The bar was my special project. Most of the rest of the home was remodeled. Everything is new and rooms have even been added on the side and on the top floor. But for this room, I saved the old wood from the furniture I found in the doctor’s office. I made the shelves here myself, and I paneled the walls.” He touched the paneling gently. “I even saved the old doctor’s desk.

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