Over the Fence (4 page)

Eva nodded and moved a chair next to the bed. Chris kissed their mother, too. He picked up a vase full of flowers and filled it with fresh water.

“You gave me a good scare,” Eva began and looked over her mother’s body. The entire left half of her body was either in a cast or wrapped in bandages. Eva swallowed hard, trying to suppress the rising lump in her throat.

“It looks worse than it is,” her mother said, playing down her injuries. “That’s why you shouldn’t have come.”

“But I wanted to come. Besides, Papa’s going to need help.”

Her mother gnawed on her lower lip before she nodded. “Yes, but Chris and Kati could have managed.”

Eva looked at Chris, who looked bleary-eyed from exhaustion. Her mother’s statement confirmed that once again Chris would have endured most of the responsibility for their parents. Coming to help her brother was the correct decision.

“I probably won’t be released for a long time. In three weeks, they want to send me to rehab. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do that with a broken leg and a broken arm. It’s bad enough when they turn my limbs every day while I’m still in bed.” Eva’s mother knocked on her left arm cast. “But I guess they know what they’re doing. They said the hip and pelvis should be moved early and gently so that they don’t get stiff.”

“That sounds good,” Eva said, trying to give her mother a little encouragement. “I’ll stay here until you’re healthy again.”

“What about your new job?” her mother asked with an alarmed expression. “You’re still in the probationary period.”

“Everything’s been worked out. Don’t worry, OK?” Eva said the words with confidence, though she had serious doubts about the setup. “You need to get back on your feet first.”

“Maybe you and Chris can mow the lawn? I wanted to do it, but it was always raining and now . . .” Her mother looked out the window. The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky, and even though it was still morning, it was quite warm.

Chris put the vase of flowers on the bedside table. “Ma, we’ll take care of it. Eva knows the drill. Mow the lawn every three weeks and sweep the sidewalk every Saturday.” Chris winked at Eva and smiled.

Boy, did she know that procedure well. She’d prefer to hire somebody to do it, but then she’d have to pay for it and money was just too tight right now.

“It’s going to be quite an adjustment for Papa,” her mother said. “He’s gotten so used to my cooking.”

“He won’t go hungry. And it won’t hurt him to lose a couple of pounds.” As the reality of the situation began to dawn on Eva, a reflex to escape kicked in, but she knew that would be childish. Her mother had spent decades living in the country and somehow relished it. Eva could endure it for a couple of weeks.

“You’re right about that. Maybe it will do him good to see how things go without me. Then maybe he’ll learn to appreciate me a bit more.” Her mother laughed, then grimaced in pain. “I shouldn’t laugh. My ribs still hurt.”

“Then you relax, OK?” Chris said. “We’re going to go visit Pa now, and then we’ll fill up the fridge so Eva is strong enough to push the lawn mower.”

Eva slapped her brother on the shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. “Very funny, twerp.”

“No fighting, you two,” their mother said.

“We’re not fighting,” Chris and Eva said simultaneously, which made their mother laugh once again. She held her side in pain.

“Then get going so I can have a little peace and quiet,” she said. She shooed them away with a wave of her hand.

“I’ll bring you a couple of magazines tomorrow, if you’d like,” Eva offered and kissed her mother good-bye.

Their mother stifled a yawn and nodded. “Tell Papa I said hello. OK?”

Their father was in a neighboring wing. They found him sitting on the side of the bed when they entered the room. “Where are you going?” Chris asked. “You shouldn’t be walking much.”

“Well, I have to go to the bathroom, if I can,” their father muttered.

Eva laughed. “I’ll take you, but I’m not going to wipe your butt.”

“Eva! Wow, so great to see you!” her father bellowed. He supported himself with his crutches and limped over to her. “Let me take a look at you.”

He surveyed her from head to toe. “You’ve gotten too thin. But we’ll change that in the next few weeks, won’t we?”

Eva hugged him and smiled. “Well, obviously you’re doing pretty well already.”

“I’ll be discharged in four days. Have you seen your mother?” he asked as he hobbled toward the bathroom.

Eva watched as her father disappeared inside. “Does Papa know I’ll be taking care of him?” she whispered to Chris.

“I told him yesterday. Don’t worry. He’s happy to have your company.”

Eva spent the next hour going over the finest details of the arrangement with her father. Eva promised she could handle everything without a problem. When they left the hospital, Chris threw her a doubtful glance and Eva laughed. “Papa will be glad when Mama is back. He’ll heave a huge sigh of relief when I’m gone.”

“Oh, he’ll enjoy having you around for a while longer. Both of them talk about you so much, I sometimes can’t bear to hear it.” Chris put his arm around her. “Now, let’s go stock up that refrigerator.”

Five

Eva sat on the terrace watching Felix hunt a bird that eventually got away. She looked at the yard and shuddered while thinking about getting the lawn mower out of the garage. Though her parents’ plot of land was less than a quarter of an acre, Eva was relieved when Chris told her she didn’t need to worry about the bushes. He only trimmed them depending on their growth, normally in the spring or autumn.

She would have preferred to stretch out on the lawn, just like Felix did after his unsuccessful hunt. But she wanted to keep her promise. After one last wistful look at the cat, she went inside to put on shorts, a T-shirt, and sneakers.

Eva stared at the ancient monstrosity in the garage and wondered how she was going to get the machine up and running. They’d had the same lawn mower since her childhood. Would it still roar to life after pulling on the coiled cable? It was old enough to be a museum piece. The orange-red paint was flaking off in several places, and rust appeared to hold the rest together. She rolled the machine into the backyard so as not to embarrass herself in front of the neighbors if she couldn’t get the damned thing started.

Before she grabbed the cord, she checked whether there was enough gasoline in the tank. As expected, it was full, so there was no excuse to postpone the upcoming work. She grabbed the handle, braced one foot against the cutter deck, and pulled the cord with all her might. A soft rattle came from the engine, then died out. After her third attempt, the motor jumped to life with a loud clatter. Eva had seen her father and mother mow the lawn, and she knew she had to cut the grass in neat overlapping rows. She pushed the beast along the side of the house and rejoiced as the cut grass blew out from under the machine. This wasn’t so hard after all! After the second go-round, the engine began to splutter, but Eva ignored it. She continued pushing until, with one last rumble, it died.

“Crap!” Eva whispered at the ancient wreck, “What the hell is your problem?”

The sun burned down on her, and Eva wished it weren’t so hot. She tipped over the machine to investigate whether something was stuck in the blades. Everything looked good, though. Once again, she braced her foot against the cutter deck and pulled the cord. The engine roared back to life. Eva shrugged. “Well, there we go!”

After her next pass around the yard, the motor started to sputter again. It couldn’t be this hard to mow a fucking lawn! A few feet farther, the motor went out again.

“What the fuck! Why didn’t we get rid of this monster a long time ago?” With hands on her hips, she bent over the lawn mower and kicked the stupid thing.

“You haven’t changed,” she heard a voice say from behind her.

Eva spun around and found a shirtless guy in jeans standing behind the white picket fence.

“Do we know each other?” Eva snapped. She quickly took in the man’s mischievous smile, dark hair, and muscular torso. His chocolate-brown eyes twinkled at her.

The man in the neighbor’s yard nodded and smiled widely. “Eva. Right? We worked at the same company.”

Try as she might, she couldn’t remember this man at all. She certainly would have remembered a man like him, wouldn’t she?

“At Grau-Werke,” he said. “I was in the IT division.”

Grau-Werke—that certainly took her back. When she was eighteen, she had worked at the company for almost four months while still living at home. She had left to take a temp job in Berlin.

“You really don’t remember me? Well, that’s disappointing. Michael and Karsten, your most ardent admirers, were always surrounding you. I sat in the farthest corner.”

She remembered Michael and Karsten. She always had fun with those two. They often got beers from a pub around the corner, even though all three were in committed relationships. They had an understanding. So this guy worked in the same department?

“I’m sorry,” Eva said. “Did we ever speak?”

“No. At that time, I was new to the company and . . . well, then . . . you quit too soon. I was one of your silent admirers.” He grinned broadly.

Was he serious or just teasing her?

“And what are you doing in my neighbor’s yard?” Eva continued.

“I live here.”

She remembered her parents telling her that Stefanie had moved in with her husband after her father died. Could this good-looking guy be married to that bitch?

“I’m with Stef . . .” he started to explain, then stopped.

Eva nodded. She resisted making a snide comment about his spouse. She didn’t know him, and maybe he and Stefanie were a good match, though she doubted anybody could get along with that spoiled brat.

“I just wanted to ask how it’s going with your parents,” he added.

The neighborhood grapevine was alive and well. “Thanks for asking. My father’s coming home in four days, and my mother’s on the road to recovery.”

“Glad to hear it. I like them both a great deal,” he said. He sprang over the fence and stretched his hand out to her. “David Prescher, at your service,” he said and winked at her. “Promise me you won’t kick the lawn mower again. OK?”

Eva looked at him, confused.

“You did it with the company copier and the thing stopped working.”

“You were watching me?”

David nodded. “You were furious, so I thought I’d better hide.” He grinned at her crookedly. “And I didn’t betray you. I eventually was able to fix that piece of shit.”

“And you were watching me again just now?” she demanded.

“You were cursing so loudly that I thought I should see whether you needed some help. Or can you handle this alone?” David leaned against an oak tree and folded his arms across his chest.

“Well, something’s wrong with
this
piece of shit now.”

“You’ve never mowed a lawn, I presume?”

Eva shook her head.

David laughed heartily. “And you’re a country girl?” He pushed himself off the oak tree, walked up to the lawn mower, and stooped over to lift it up. “Let’s see what’s going on then.”

Eva leaned over and saw nothing. “So? Everything looks good.”

“The whole interior is clogged. That’s why it keeps dying on you.” David pulled on the cord, and the engine purred like a kitten. Then he tilted the lawn mower back slightly. “This baby is old, so you’ll have to tilt it back occasionally to give it more air.” He mowed two more rows, then briefly tilted the machine back. “Understand?”

That didn’t sound too hard. Eva nodded. “Thanks for the explanation. I think I’ve got it now.” She stood behind the machine and pushed it forward.

“OK, then. If you need anything . . . just ask. I took some vacation days, so don’t be shy.” David winked at her before lifting his hand and springing over the fence.

Eva waved back and devoted herself to the lawn. Using his little trick, she didn’t have any more problems. But her thoughts went back to David, and she wondered why she hadn’t noticed him before. He looked pretty damned good and seemed nice. As she thought about it, the answer occurred to her: at that time, she had been in love with Thomas and only had eyes for him. Nobody could hold a candle to him.

Eva caught herself grinning and thinking about David as she pushed the mower. She tried to convince herself that something was wrong with him because he had married Stefanie, which brought her to the second issue: he was married and thus was off-limits.

What were Michael and Karsten doing after all these years? She would have to ask David. In any case, it would be nice to catch up with them.

Eva wiped the sweat from her brow. She longed for a shower. But first she had to finish cutting the grass properly so that it was worthy of being placed on the lush green town square in Gautheim. Composting had been easier—just rake the cut grass onto the compost heap, and you’re done. To distract herself, she moved her parents’ old boombox outside and turned on the radio.

Several minutes later, Eva’s favorite song came on. She ran to the radio and turned it up. “I Love It” by Icona Pop thundered through the yard. She mowed in rhythm with the music, singing along at the top of her lungs without considering whether the neighbors could hear or if she had the music up too loud. The song put her in a good mood. She thought about stuffing all of Sascha’s clothes in bags and putting all his crap on his doorstep.

When the song ended, Eva turned around and was shocked to see her thirteen-year-old niece, Leonie, standing with Chris on the terrace. Chris grinned and turned the radio down, while Leonie nodded.

“I always knew I had a cool aunt,” she said, her face serious.

“Or that she was a little bit crazy,” Chris added. “But . . . as long as you’re having fun.”

“Hi!” Eva said. She dropped the rake and was about to rush over until she noticed that Leonie hadn’t moved. The days of her niece flying into her arms seemed to be over. Well, at least she thought Eva was cool. That was something. “You two can help me!”

Leonie shook her head. “In your dreams.”

Chris shot her a reproachful glance. “That’s not a bad idea,” Chris said. “After all, you wanted to ask your aunt to pick you up from soccer tomorrow so you don’t have to walk.”

Leonie just stared.

“I can pick her up, no worries,” Eva said.

Leonie finally came to her and hugged her. “That would be so great! We haven’t seen each other in forever. You can watch me practice.”

Eva suddenly remembered that she had to connect with the London office for a videoconference. “When will the Internet get installed?” she asked her brother.

“It’s expected on Monday. You can come over to our house if you need anything. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be installed any faster.”

“When is practice?” she asked Leonie.

“At six. So you’re coming?”

Eva couldn’t resist the sweet tone of her niece’s voice and nodded. “I’ll have time after my meeting is over.”

“Awesome!” Leonie squeaked, which made Eva happy. Her niece seemed so adult, but at the same time, she wasn’t quite yet.

She looked at her brother, who shifted from one foot to the other. “What is it?” she asked.

“We’ve had an incident at work, and I have to leave right now. No one else can investigate the malfunction because everyone’s too far away. I should be gone already.”

“When will you be back?”

“In a few days.”

“Will you be gone over the weekend?”

“Maybe, depending on how long everything takes. I’ll try to be back as quickly as possible.”

Eva nodded. She knew the nature of her brother’s job. “Good luck.”

“Thanks.” He checked his watch.

“I’ll just finish this up while I’m still motivated; otherwise, I’ll be buried in grass clippings.”

“You know where everything is,” Chris said.

“I can find everything I need in Mama’s sacred dresser drawer.” Eva laughed.

“Also, can you watch Rafael for a couple of hours today? While Kati goes to the office?”

Eva’s eyes widened. “I’ve hardly seen the little guy. He probably doesn’t even know me. Besides, I’ve never changed a diaper in my life!”

“You never mowed a lawn before either. You can do this! Kati will bring him over freshly diapered. And if the diaper gets full, he’ll survive a few minutes.” Chris had a pleading look in his eyes. “I wouldn’t ask you if there was another way. Kati can’t take him to the office today because there’s an important meeting. It just isn’t possible.”

“When?” Eva asked.

“Today.”

“I know that. What time?”

“In an hour. Around four.”

“Leonie, I really need your help now in the yard. In an hour, I’ll be doing the impossible.”

Leonie pouted. “Great . . . Whenever something goes wrong, I have to step up. It’s so unfair!”

Chris was ready to give her a piece of his mind, but when he saw Eva’s face, he remained silent.

“Yes, it’s unfair, but I promise you, I’ll return the favor. OK?” Eva reached out and patted Leonie’s hand.

Leonie swallowed, then grabbed a rake.

Eva hugged her brother. He got into his car with a look of relief on his face and drove away.