Chapter One
„Mommy, please!", Samantha begged her mother for another round on the merry-go-round.
„Darling, you know we have to go home now. Daddy is waiting for you. You did not see him for a week now, I am sure he is absolutely eager to see you as soon as possible. We don't want to let him wait, do we? So come on, be a good girl and let's go!"
After pathetically sighing, Samantha finally jumped off the carousel, took a few steps to the close-by bench and let herself falling down on it.
„Need something to drink first", she insisted, reached out her hand and waited for her mother to hand over her drinking bottle. Lena, her 24 years old mother, gently smiled and sat down next to her.
„You are totally right. It definitely is a long way home. How dreadful to imagine going on that exhausting march of fifteen minutes without having drunk anything!", Lena teased while taking a bottle of water out of her bag. She handed it over to her little girl and watched her drinking greedily. In the gradually cooling heat of late summer afternoon, they both had already spent one and a half hours on the playground without pause. The sun was setting down and bathed the whole park in a warm mixture of orange and purple light. Lena got lost watching her beautiful daughter. Soft shadows played around her nose and gave her young face an even blurred expression. Her light blond hair fell in curls down her naked shoulders. It would get dark soon and Lena forgot to take Samantha's favourite cotton jacket with her. High time to go now.
„Well, sweety, it is really time to go now. Say goodbye to Mr. Pepper."
Samantha nodded, slid down the bench and ran to her beloved rocking horse next to the carousel. She gave him a kiss on the wooden cheek, then turned around and came back to her mother. Lena laughed a little, took the bottle of water out of Samantha's hands, closed it and put it back in her bag. Samantha reached for her hand when they left the sandy playground and headed towards the southern park entrance. While crossing the meadow between playground and the paved way leading through the whole park, Lena recognised that this would probably have been the last warm and pleasant summer day. Large parts of the grass they were walking on was pitiless burned by the summer sun and she could see the first leaves turn to red and brown. The setting sun did the rest to create a perfect golden and red and orange atmosphere. Lena desperately tried to burn this picture into her mind. She deeply breathed in the dark and rich scent of summer.
„Excuse me, Miss! Hello, wait a second!", a gentle male voice with a strong british accent tore away her thoughts and pushed her back to reality. She recognised that the comfortable voice belonged to a young man passing by.
„Yes, please?", she turned around and looked into kind brown eyes and a gentle smile.
„Your bag. It trickles."
„Excuse me please, it what?", Lena asked back with total confusion.
„You've got anything liquid in that bag? I suppose it's leaking."
Lena glanced at her bag and immediately touched its bottom.
„Oh shit!", she cursed as she realised that the bottle of water turned her whole bag into a swimming pool. She fell down on her knees and rushed through her bag. She found her keys and the bootle of water and threw them on the grass lining the road. Next was her pocket calendar, then her small vanity bag with loose powder, her favourite lipstick, rouge and mascara.
„Where is my mobile?", she desperately muttered to herself.
„It is really impressive what women tend to carry with themselves. Your bag has to weight a ton!", the young man teased.
„Yeah, funny, isn't it?", Lena hissed and gave him a nasty look, still desperately searching for her mobile phone.
"You think you could at least help me out with some handkerchiefs? Because if not, please do me a favour and get lost!", Lena said not deigning to look at him.
"I did not mean to insult you, I am sorry. Did you already check the inner pockets? Maybe you put it there", the young british man tried to appease when kneeling down next to her.
"Mommy, this is just boring! Can't we go home? You said we would go home now!", Samantha complained.
"Yes, honey, I know. Mommy just has to clean up this mess", Lena answered.
"Mommy, I'm cold!", Samantha insisted and impatiently watched her mother's hectic attempt to clean her bag.
The young man got back to his feet. "We cannot let such a beautiful young lady as you are freeze, can we?", he said gently smiling with the warmest voice Lena heard for quite a long time. She stopped turning her bag inside out and lifted her head. Samantha sceptically stared at the stranger. He slipped out of his jacket in one smooth move, then knelt down next to the little girl and softly hung the jacket over the small shoulders. Before turning back to Lena, he kindly touches Samantha's head and she returned his smile.
"Found it?", he asked.
"What? Ah, no, not yet. Well... Thank you!", Lena stuttered and looked right into his eyes. He was quite good-looking, athletically slender and somewhat taller than average. He was immaculately dressed in a black suit, a dark green shirt and black shoes. The outfit fit his waist perfectly, certainly no clothes off-the-peg. His attitude was an appealing mixture of arrogance and kindness as if he would be fully aware of his effect on women, savouring their attempts at flirting while never playing on them.
"I think you should find it before it is completely inundated!", he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
Lena silently nodded, turned back to her bag and checked one of the inner pockets. All the stress and tension left her as she finally hold her mobile phone in hands again. She could not recognise any damage and was deeply relieved of not getting into trouble with Tom for not appreciating what he affords her.
She put it in her left jean's pocket, carelessly threw the remaining things into her bag again without cleaning them first and came back to her feet.
"Thank you for your extensive help, Samantha, hand over the jacket to this nice man!"
"No, please, keep it. The sun went already down and it is going to turn quite cold very soon. Please keep it!", he assured.
"You can't be serious! This jacket looks far too expensive for leaving it to us. Completely inacceptable!", Lena insisted. Again, the hint of a smile played around his eyes and mouth. "Good, look, you are wearing a Lacoste-outfit that must have been quite expensive, although I have to admit that you managed to make it a rather carelessly well-dressed look, and just completely ruined a Burberry leather bag that must have cost as much as my first apartment during university. And apparently you don't even care about it that much. I am pretty sure you don't go and sell my jacket on Ebay as soon as you get home, so please, keep it. You will find my address embroidered inside, just send it back to me and I am fine! "
Lena blushed as she did not like people recognizing her being excessively supported by her husband. He tends to use her as a status symbol and only allows her to wear the most expensive designer brands in public. Though this might be the dream of a lot of girls, she could hardly stand being dictated like that.
She hesitated another second, then took a look at little Samantha, who was quite bad-tempered by now, and finally decided to accept his offering.
"Very generous, really, thank you! I really owe you something", Lena said. She felt slightly uncomfortable with him doing her this favour. It was bad enough for her being dependent on Tom. Seems as if she would never be able to be that tough, independent woman she always wanted herself to be. What was she thinking? Borrowing a jacket was not such a big deal. She would bring it to laundry by tomorrow morning and just send it back. No big deal at all.
"I am afraid I need to go now. I hope you have a nice day and enjoy the rest of this wonderful day. It was a pleasure for me to meet you", he said. Suddenly, he seemed to be in a hurry, took leave with gently touching her shoulder and giving her a bright smile, then turned around and left. Lena was irritated for a moment for being left alone so quickly. But Samantha didn't let her think about that any longer. Again, she was moaning about being bored and absolutely unwilling of spending just another second outside. She wanted to play with her Pocahontas-Barbie. Immediately.
Lena deeply sighed, took Samantha's little hand and spent the rest of their way home trying to appease her daughter.
