It was only the next day when I saw Valeria again.

"How would you like to have dinner with my family and me?"

Her offer was a little surprising, I hadn't expected to meet her family quite so soon, but I gladly accepted.

An hour later, I was hovering in her living room, feeling a little out of place. Valeria was in the dining room, setting the table. She had refused to let me help her, despite all the help she had given me.

"You're our guest, don't be silly."

The front door opened and I heard a male voice ring out. Frau Gottlieb answered him, but I couldn't catch her words. A moment later, the young man I had heard came into the room. He had a strong jaw and ink black hair and looked to be about my own age. He immediately shook my hand and introduced himself as Mathias.

"Dinner's ready. And Mom says that Dad will be a bit late. He told us to go ahead and start without him." Mathias led the way to the dining room and took a seat. Sitting down across from him, I asked him what his father does.

Mathias hesitated. "I'm not supposed to say. Not sure why. Mom and Dad are being very mysterious about this whole dinner." My eyebrow raise without my telling it to, and he shrugged. "They'll probably explain everything when he gets here."

Valeria walked in carrying a casserole. An incredible fragrance followed in her wake. I was about to tell her that I couldn't wait to try it when the door opened again. The voice that carried in from the hall was…oddly familiar. It didn't take long to find out why the voice was familiar.

Herr Gottlieb's swagger was all too recognizable. When he walked in, my voice left me completely. His brown eyes landed on me and he smiled crookedly. My heart fluttered as I realized that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. He really was Dero Goi. I considered trying to speak, but decided against it. No doubt whatever came out of my mouth would be complete gibberish. Some mangled mess of English, German, and utter fangirly nonsense. Dero sidled up to his place at the table and sat. Mathias burst out laughing. Everyone turned to look at him. He was wiping tears from his eyes as he finally managed to talk.

"No wonder you didn't want me to tell her, she already knows!" Personally, I didn't find it all that funny, but Mathias' laugh certainly was. It reminded me of the laugh that I knew his father was capable of doing. The laugh was silly, yet somehow evil. Amusing, to say the least.

Valeria spoke over her son's rampant laughter. "I almost told you yesterday, when I saw the CD. It very nearly slipped out. But, I thought it would be best to run it by Dero first. It was his idea to invite you over to dinner. Though he wasn't supposed to be late." She admonished.

"You know what happened, Val. Or I'm sure you can guess, anyway."

"Who was it this time? Robert or Andreas?"
"Robert this time." Dero spotted the confused look in my eyes. "He had an idea at the very last minute and we couldn't really leave until it had been thought through properly. It was actually a pretty good one too." His dark eyes glittered and I tried my hardest not to blush when he smiled at me again. He's married, Kirsten. He's married, he's married, he' s married. After clearing my throat, I finally found my voice.

"So you're working on the next CD, then?"
"That's right."

Valeria passed me a plate of casserole and salad.

"Val tells me you speak six languages, but she didn't say which."

"I don't think I told her," I suddenly realized. "Anyway, I speak English and German obviously."

Dero put up two fingers.

"Norwegian, Russian, French, and Arabic."

Dero's fingers read six.

"So what's the one you're currently working on?"
"Italian. Quite a bit easier than the others. Though languages may be one of those things where the more you know, the easier it gets," I said thoughtfully.

"That's an unusual combination of languages. What do you do with them all?" He sounded impressed.
Smiling, I replied, "I do my job. I'm a translator at the United States Embassy. I've also worked for the Peace Corps and Red Cross. Also had a brief stint with Greenpeace."
"Wow. That was…not the answer that I was expecting."
"It usually isn't. Most people think that I'm just learning all these languages as some kind of deranged hobby." I rolled my eyes. "Course, I love languages and learning new ones, so it kind of is a hobby for me."

"Sounds like the perfect job for you then."

"Yep." Can you believe my luck? Accidentally moving in across the street from Dero Goi! I may DIE of shock. Suddenly starving, I took a hearty bite of the salad.

The four of us slipped into a comfortable silence as we ate. It took me a few minutes to realize that there was no meat in the casserole.

"Oh, that's right! You're a vegetarian!" I clapped my hand over my mouth, embarrassed.

Dero only laughed. "That's right. It doesn't really surprise me that you know that. I don't exactly try to hide it."

"Doesn't mean I needed to yell," I mumbled in English, without thinking about the fact that they could understand every word. Mathias sniggered across the table.

"I think this is the most fun I've ever had meeting one of your fans, Dad. This one's different from the others."

"How so?" I asked.

"You actually have a brain in your head. I've met way too many screaming fangirls for my taste. If I'd known you were a fan, I'm not sure I would've come tonight. Guess it's a good thing they decided to leave that little tidbit out."

"What did they tell you?"

"Only that you're new to the area and American."

Nodding my head, I continued eating. The four of us sat in near silence, the only sound being the clinking of utensils.