Rafe sat up in the bed, the possibility of seeing Anya that evening making his heart pick up pace. But then, as he thought about it, his eyes narrowed. “So you want me to come off like some kind of stalker?”
“No, man. We would never set you up like that.” Khalil looked at Rafe like he should have known better. “We already talked to the little lady. She’s expecting you.”
“You talked…huh?” Now Rafe was really confused. “First of all, how the heck did you find her to talk to her and second, what in God’s name did you say that would convince her to see me?”
“We have our ways,” Khalil said. “Never underestimate the power of the internet.”
Rafe’s brows fell. “You did an internet search?”
“Yep. I did a search on Miss Anya Petersen and found her on Linked In. I found a couple of articles about her, too. Apparently she’s big on volunteer work in Bremen.”
“Okay,” Rafe said slowly, “but how did you find her? You said you talked to her, right?”
“He called the seniors’ center featured in the article,” Lion said, “and they were so nice they gave him her number. Can you believe it?”
“No, I can’t.” Rafe shook his head. “That’s a breach of personal privacy by anybody’s standards. Why the heck would they do that?”
Lion shrugged. “Maybe because Khalil put on a fake accent and pretended to be Anya’s brother from America.”
“She doesn’t have a brother,” Rafe said, exasperated.
Khalil lifted an eyebrow and gave him a crooked grin. “I guess the sweet old lady I spoke to didn’t know that. She was so nice. And she spoke pretty good English, too.”
Rafe bit down on his lip. He wasn’t liking the sound of this. According to his friends they’d gotten him a second chance with Anya but they’d done it through deceit. How would she react when she found out? Or maybe she’d figured it out already? And what would that mean? That, although she stormed off, she really wanted to see him so it didn’t matter? Rafe didn’t know what to think.
“Anyway, it doesn’t matter how we found her,” Khalil continued. “The important thing is that she’s expecting you at the center this evening, right after her session with the seniors.” With that he got up, rubbing his hands together, looking satisfied. “Well, my work here is done. You’re leaving at six o’clock, Rafe. I’ll come get you. Don’t be late.”
He sauntered out of the room with Lion in tow, leaving Rafe wondering if they’d just done him a huge favor or if they’d screwed up his chances with Anya for good. The problem was, the only way he could find out was to go to this little ‘meeting’ they’d arranged. If Anya turned around and slammed him for showing up he would kill them.
That plan resolved in his mind, Rafe got out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Half the day was already gone. Now it was time to get cracking and get productive. There were tons of things sitting on his laptop, waiting to get done and he was never one to shirk his responsibilities, no matter what his big brother thought.
Hours later, after a late lunch he'd gobbled down in his room, Rafe was still busy on the laptop when there was a knock on his door. It was Khalil again but this time there was no Lion playing shadow.
“It’s almost time to go,” he said. “Just reminding you to get yourself ready.”
“I’m ready,” Rafe said. “I’m just finishing up some work then I’ll be good to go.”
“Cool. I wrote down the address for you.” Khalil walked over and deposited a small piece of paper on the night table. “So do you want me to come or you’re good?”
“I’m good. Why would I need you to come with me?”
“I don’t know. Moral support or something like that.” Khalil shrugged. “I just want to make sure things work out all right this time. Of all the girls you’ve met on this trip I can see you really like this one.”
“Yeah, I do,” Rafe said, “so no more talk about all the girls I’ve met. That kind of talk already got me in enough trouble.”
“Right. I’ll keep that under wraps.” And with that Khalil gave him a quick nod and exited the room, leaving Rafe to his preparations.
Immediately, he got up from the table where he’d been working, picked up the paper Khalil left and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he got the keys to the rented car.
As he walked out the door he could only hope that things would take a turn for the better.
***
“A little lower, Edith. Like this.” Anya made a pointy elbow and jerked her arm back. “With force. Give it everything you’ve got.”
The elderly woman copied her move, jabbing backwards with her elbow. “Ja, I have it now, Anya,” she said with a satisfied laugh.
“Good job.” Anya smiled back at her, pleased she was showing progress, then she moved on to the next person in line. “Ready, Magda?”
“Ready.” Magda nodded and then proceeded to show what she could do.
Anya’s class was small this Sunday evening, with only eight of the ladies showing up. Normally she would have at least twelve and when it was a full house, fifteen. Tonight was different, though, because The Three Tenors would be performing in Bremen that evening and quite a few of her students were huge fans. Anya didn’t mind, though. A couple of the really talkative ones were among the absentees which meant she would get her students to focus better. There was nothing so distracting as a proud grandmother pulling out photos of the newest addition to the family.
By the end of her volunteer session with her seniors' group Anya was feeling good. They’d had a productive evening and were all tired, but in a good way. One by one the ladies bid her goodbye and as they filed out she waved to them then, still smiling, she turned to gather up her things.
The smile froze on her face. Through the plate glass window she saw the figure of a man walking up the pathway and although the shadows of evening had already fallen she knew exactly who that man was. It was Rafe.
What in heaven’s name was he doing here? Hadn’t she told his friend she had no desire to speak with him? Had Rafe simply ignored what she’d said?
Intent on getting out of there before he entered the building Anya grabbed her jacket and her shoulder bag but just as she turned to go a figure appeared at the door.
“Oh, Anya, I just remembered something.” Magda was shaking her head as she walked back into the room. "This is what happens to you when you get old. You forget things all the time.”