you.” I felt a jolt in my belly. Tears welled up in my eyes. How I missed him.... We talked a little while longer, and then I went to bed.
That night I dreamed of a bird of prey with mottled gray feathers that circled high above me. I was a small bird coasting along a cliff side, frantically looking for a place to perch or hold on to. Or rather, it was a sensation of falling, for I had no feathers and was totally naked. The bird – I think it was an eagle – suddenly swooped down and took hold of me. I was terrified, until I felt the eagle set me down into a nest which lay concealed in the rock face. It was dry and warm in the nest and as the eagle draped its wings over me, I felt instantly secure.
Beauty and Appearances
It was 8 p.m., when the phone rang again. I had just finished my nightly talk with Daniel shortly before. My husband and I had spoken at length, and I had told him, like a proud little girl, about the progress I had made in my studies.
At the end of the conversation he mentioned that he wouldn't be able to make it this weekend. Saturday and Sunday he was invited to an executive seminar in a hotel at the Riesser Lake.
Where on earth was Riesser Lake? Below the Zugspitze, a tall mountain in the Alps, he informed me.
Part of him was uneasy about leaving me home alone for the weekend, on the other hand he felt honored, because only aspiring managers had been invited to the seminar.
I was reluctantly assimilating the news and preparing myself for a dull weekend when I got now this unexpected call from Erich. At 8:00 p.m., as mentioned before, on the dot. No “cum tempore” this time.
Erich asked me what had I thought of the previous evening, and I said it had been “fantastic”. After Daniel's disappointing news just moments prior, I suddenly felt a surge of well-being as I heard Erich's voice.
That must have been why I began enthusing about it, and thanking him profusely for his charming manner. Indeed, I used the word “charming,” because I had often heard it used in Austria by men looking to compliment women.
He was inviting me to the Montjoie Golf Resort. It’s a real luxury locale, with golf courses, a spa and so on. I thought I had misheard him. For a moment I wanted to say no, because of Daniel...then I remembered his seminar and felt myself getting defiant. If Daniel could go gallivanting around in a luxury hotel, then so could I.
Erich must have sensed my hesitation:
“I swear on my honor, that I will not try to take advantage of you. Nothing will happen that you don't wish to happen.
I have a brief business meeting to conduct there, and I was planning on spending some leisure time afterwards. It would give me great pleasure to have such a kind and gentle person as you at my side for the occasion. You'll have your own room and you could also enjoy some rest and recovery if you wish.”
And so it happened, that on Friday night a red Jaguar stood before my door, in which a distinguished older gentleman proceeded to whisk a young lady, clad in a summer dress and carrying nothing but a faded gym bag, off into the Eifel countryside.
Two hours later we entered the woodland. By this time it was dark and chilly, as spring had not quite set in yet. We checked into the hotel, he took room 412, I got number 233. It was a double room with all manner of luxuries, which I had never experienced before. A sliding door led to the balcony with views of the golf course behind the hotel, and below I could glimpse the dim blue lights of the swimming pool. Damn , I thought to myself, I had forgotten to pack my bikini.
Shortly after 9:30 we met in the restaurant. Over a fine wine – about which he seemed to know a lot – he informed me that tomorrow, after breakfast, he had to attend a meeting with his firm, as he referred to it, after which he was “at my disposal.”
Following dinner, he retired to his
That night I dreamed of a bird of prey with mottled gray feathers that circled high above me. I was a small bird coasting along a cliff side, frantically looking for a place to perch or hold on to. Or rather, it was a sensation of falling, for I had no feathers and was totally naked. The bird – I think it was an eagle – suddenly swooped down and took hold of me. I was terrified, until I felt the eagle set me down into a nest which lay concealed in the rock face. It was dry and warm in the nest and as the eagle draped its wings over me, I felt instantly secure.
Beauty and Appearances
It was 8 p.m., when the phone rang again. I had just finished my nightly talk with Daniel shortly before. My husband and I had spoken at length, and I had told him, like a proud little girl, about the progress I had made in my studies.
At the end of the conversation he mentioned that he wouldn't be able to make it this weekend. Saturday and Sunday he was invited to an executive seminar in a hotel at the Riesser Lake.
Where on earth was Riesser Lake? Below the Zugspitze, a tall mountain in the Alps, he informed me.
Part of him was uneasy about leaving me home alone for the weekend, on the other hand he felt honored, because only aspiring managers had been invited to the seminar.
I was reluctantly assimilating the news and preparing myself for a dull weekend when I got now this unexpected call from Erich. At 8:00 p.m., as mentioned before, on the dot. No “cum tempore” this time.
Erich asked me what had I thought of the previous evening, and I said it had been “fantastic”. After Daniel's disappointing news just moments prior, I suddenly felt a surge of well-being as I heard Erich's voice.
That must have been why I began enthusing about it, and thanking him profusely for his charming manner. Indeed, I used the word “charming,” because I had often heard it used in Austria by men looking to compliment women.
He was inviting me to the Montjoie Golf Resort. It’s a real luxury locale, with golf courses, a spa and so on. I thought I had misheard him. For a moment I wanted to say no, because of Daniel...then I remembered his seminar and felt myself getting defiant. If Daniel could go gallivanting around in a luxury hotel, then so could I.
Erich must have sensed my hesitation:
“I swear on my honor, that I will not try to take advantage of you. Nothing will happen that you don't wish to happen.
I have a brief business meeting to conduct there, and I was planning on spending some leisure time afterwards. It would give me great pleasure to have such a kind and gentle person as you at my side for the occasion. You'll have your own room and you could also enjoy some rest and recovery if you wish.”
And so it happened, that on Friday night a red Jaguar stood before my door, in which a distinguished older gentleman proceeded to whisk a young lady, clad in a summer dress and carrying nothing but a faded gym bag, off into the Eifel countryside.
Two hours later we entered the woodland. By this time it was dark and chilly, as spring had not quite set in yet. We checked into the hotel, he took room 412, I got number 233. It was a double room with all manner of luxuries, which I had never experienced before. A sliding door led to the balcony with views of the golf course behind the hotel, and below I could glimpse the dim blue lights of the swimming pool. Damn , I thought to myself, I had forgotten to pack my bikini.
Shortly after 9:30 we met in the restaurant. Over a fine wine – about which he seemed to know a lot – he informed me that tomorrow, after breakfast, he had to attend a meeting with his firm, as he referred to it, after which he was “at my disposal.”
Following dinner, he retired to his
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