Never Trust a Callboy by Birgit Kluger

romantic nonsense I've been embroiled over the last few years! Edward only did it for the money after all. Like them all. Maybe he didn't even like me.
    “Here. Have a drink, and you'll feel better in no time," encourages Nana.
    "There’s nothing to celebrate," I say and feel infinitely tired suddenly. Tired and empty.
    "Nothing to celebrate? That's a laugh. Of course there something to celebrate! You're rid of him. This devious, dishonest, nasty..."
    A reluctant smile creeps onto my lips. "You're right," I allow. "I'm glad it's over." The lie comes slowly to my lips, and I wonder whether I will ever actually be happy about it.
    "How could he do this to you? Four weeks before the wedding! The next time I see him, I'll show him that even a septuagenarian knows exactly where men are most vulnerable," says Nana enraged. Her anger over Ron's behavior is good for me. At least there is one person in this world who loves me just as I am.
    "Believe me, you deserve better than that," Nana interrupts her tirade.
    I nod and take another sip of champagne. A toasty warm feeling unfolds in my stomach while Nana continues to be annoyed on my behalf. With a sigh I let myself sink back into one of the thick pillows scattered on the grass-green couch like little moss islands. It's so cozy here, so... decadent.
    My grandmother loves luxury and everything connected with it. At her home in Königstein she has established her own jungle in the two hundred and forty square meters and approximately seven meter high entrance hall. Okay, there are no lions but a plethora of rare birds and iridescent butterflies for which Nana has a special affection. A small pond sits in the middle with colorful fish in it, and of course a waterfall. The waterfall alone ensures that the pulse is slower in this paradise. This oasis acts as a balm to my soul. I always liked it here, but today it feels to me as though all the plants and animals that inhabit Nana's artificial tropical forest are turning my own world into an iridescent bubble that flies high up into the canopy and dissolves there in the shimmering sunlight.
    My gaze glides over to my grandmother, who is still outraged on my behalf and pulling Ron to pieces. The alcohol has worked peacefully on me, Nana's words meld together with the murmur of the waterfall like a long forgotten fairy tale. My brilliant Nana is the fairy godmother in this charming jungle. A contented glow emanates from her, almost as if she were in love.
    Nana is happy.
    The realization hits me unprepared. So far I've always assumed that she is satisfied with her life, and yes, that she was happy. But I've never seen her like she is today. I sit upright and look closely at my grandmother. Fleeting images run through my head: Nana’s racehorse winning at the Baden-Baden Grand Prix, my grandmother as grand lady holding a summer festival every year during my grandfather's lifetime for the crème de la crème of the Frankfurt society, not forgetting the countless celebrities that as a child I found horribly boring and conceited.
    Despite her success in all these years she never looked so happy as she does now!
    Although upset about Ron's behavior, she cannot hide it.
    She's in love.
    My grandmother has a lover. I should ask her, I think again of my mother's accusatory voice ringing in my ear, but I can't.
    Not now. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of Nana's voice and the sound of the waterfall. The beguiling effect that emanated from it, is suddenly gone.
    And me? What do I have? Nothing but a lying, unfaithful ex-fiancé. Apparently, my grandma has more sex appeal than I do!

13
    M y brother Reinhard begins the conversation with "Sis, I have bad news for you." I wait for him to continue talking without saying anything. After all that I’ve witnessed in the last few days, Reinhard would have to tell me that World War Three had broken out to shock me.
    "It looks as if Ron..... I think you should reconsider, whether you really want to