Page 38 of Tattooed Sweetness
Perfect!I catch myself smiling. All that’s missing now are a few good wishes for the future. While I’m still finishing the sentence, my fingers are already jumping over the keys as if by magic:
Stay in good health and may you retain the enviable creative power that distinguishes you.
In this spirit, we remain, with best wishes and greetings, Your Chamber of Commerce and Industries (name/signature)
I am leaning back in my office chair, rereading what I have written, when there is a knock at the door. “Come in!” I ask, hoping it isn’t Mr. Bretschneider. Because even though I’ve just finished the assignment, I’d love to have a second set of eyes look over it. Spelling, word repetition, and so on…
“Yoo-hoo, Celine!” Ms. Walter—Katja, I remind myself—sidles into the room with a package wrapped in baker’s paper in her hand. “Look what I got hold of: French-style raspberry tarts.”
I can barely move the scribbled design paper from the desk before she places the package on the edge.
With her foot, she pulls the visitor’s chair over and magically fetches two cake forks from her blazer pocket.
Gently, I fold back the wrapping paper and fall into devotion. “Oh my God, Katja!” slips out of my mouth. “They’re fresh! I thought you defrosted some frozen goods!”
“Did you think I bought it fromBart and Ziese?” Katja pulls a face. “No, stay away from me with frozen food! With me, there is only home-baked…”
Irritated, I flip up the wrapping paper, which looks suspiciously fresh from the store.
“…or from theHaerdtnerbakery,” Katja qualifies. “Because since the twins have started school, it feels like I’m wrapped in clouds of flour three times a week. Donations for any cake stands and soccer camps are constantly expected to come from one’s own kitchen.”
“Poor you,” I console her, which she acknowledges with a wave of the hand.
Simultaneously, we dip our forks into the fruity cream cheese mixture.
“Mhhhmmm.” They’re so good! Although it hardly seems possible, the painted-looking cupcakes taste even better than their appearance suggests.
“Epic, isn’t it?” Katja sighs. “If only they weren’t so love-handles-activating, I could buy them every day.”
I chuckle at her creative term, then scan her frame. “What love handles are you babbling about?” For both her mid-thirties and the fact she gave birth to twins, she’s as slim as a young birch tree.
The unusual comparison resonates with me.Slim as a young birch tree.How on earth did I come up with that?While I’m still asking myself, the surge of realization crashes over me like a fiery wave:What was that, Celine?Philipp shouted at me three weeks ago.You dropped like a felled birch tree!
“What are you smirking about?” Katja picks a crumb off the paper plate with her fingertip and crosses her legs.
“Oh nothing, I…” How do I phrase this without sounding silly? “I was thinking about the day we met—well, really met.” It’s almost not a lie. After all, not only Philipp but also Katja offered me her first name back then.
“When your client dropped you off here because you fainted?” She shakes her head. “My oh my, that was some scare! Sorry I blurted out my suspicions you might be pregnant. But when I was expecting the boys, I was constantly getting nauseous. So, it was an obvious assumption…”
I wave it off appeasingly and hope once again Philipp didn’t notice her awkward assumption. And especially not the even more embarrassing openness with which I confessed to Katja the permanent dullness in Kevin’s and my bed. Although, at the time, she was known to me only as Mrs. Walter…
“Speaking of which…” With extreme precision, Katja divides a bite from her cupcake that’s just right for the fork. “Were you able to implement some of my tips on natural Viagra substitutes?”
Almost getting a crumb of the cookie crust stuck in my throat, I look around, coughing.Oh my God, Celine! As if someone could overhear our conversation!
Katja smirks and licks the cake fork with relish. “So, no, you haven’t yet…”
“I… first read up on the substances you recommended. Royal jelly is out because Kevin is allergic to daisies,” I explain. “Gingko he has taken before when he wanted to increase his memory performance—and it gave him a stomachache.” To be exact, he was completely obnoxious for three weeks because of it. I don’t need another one of those!
“He’s a little special, your Kevin, is it possible?” Katja gives me a mischievous grin.
Special is almost an understatement…I suppress a sigh. “And the other compound you mentioned… Yokohama…?”No, that’s the Japanese city…
Katja giggles. “You mean yohimbine. It’s one of the oldest aphrodisiacs. Even the ancient Egyptians used it to help theirlittle friendgain more stamina and endurance.”
Geez, do I actually want to hear this?“Yes, you mentioned that…”
“Of all the sexual enhancers available in Germany, it’s the most effective!” continues Katja, pontificating. “I mean, not that my sweetheart would need this stuff…” She winks at me. “But the leader of my herbology group has already given us comprehensive information just in case. Imagine, in a placebo-controlled study at the University of Munich, yohimbine extract helped over seventy percent of the participants!”