Page 3 of Enchanted in Time
“That’s very kind of you, Mrs.—”
“Please, call me Frieda!” Her neighbor admonished her, raising her forefinger and smiling over her half-moon glasses. Her large front teeth slid out over her lower lip and gave her pointy face a mouselike appearance.
Hannah sighed inwardly. “That’s very kind of you, Frieda, but I can manage.”
“Don’t you like to go out sometime? You’re still so young. Maybe something will come up?—”
“No, I’m not going out! Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have some other things to do.”
“Yes, of course, my dear Mrs. Meyer. If anything should come up, I’m right next door!”
Hannah rolled her eyes again as she shut the apartment door.
“We’re so lucky that that nice lady Frieda moved in next door!” Leon exclaimed as he struggled to unwrap the chocolate bar.
“She’s a lot nicer than that man who used to live there and was always mumbling,” Emi agreed, popping the first piece of chocolate in her mouth.
Hannah thought so, too, even if Frieda was overly meddlesome. They had really lucked out with her. Friendly and decent neighbors were hard to come by where they lived. The man who’d lived in that apartment before had been drunk most of the time, shouting his head off not only inside his apartment but in the hallway and down on the street as well. Whenever Hannah had stepped out the door with her kids, she’d always felt uneasy and had hoped that he wouldn’t take them by surprise.
She took the two bars with intact wrappers from the hands of her two youngest children. “You can share one!”
“But Emi won’t let go of it!” Leon immediately cried.
“Give me a piece, too,” Marco said, shuffling over. With a nonchalant movement of his head, he shook his dark-blond hair off his forehead and yanked the chocolate bar out of his little sister’s hand. Then he split the bar into three equal pieces and, like a good brother, doled out two of the shares to his younger siblings. Hannah stashed the remaining bars in a drawer that was already bursting with all the sweets their neighbor brought by every day. She wondered if she shouldn’t start selling the candy at the playgrounds—supply would not be an issue.
Hannah had driven Marco to soccer practice and now, with her two youngest kids, was on her way to the baby shower that Lena, her old friend from kindergarten, was throwing. Every time they came to a red light, she would glance at the nicely wrapped gift lying on the passenger seat. Tucked inside, beneath the tiny pink baby onesie, was the cute little dress her daughter had worn to her baptism.
Hannah remembered it as if it were yesterday. How sweet little Emi had looked in the dress, and how Andrew had admired her in it. He had held her in his arms proudly and adored her so much that he would barely let go of her.
Was it a mistake to give Lena the dress? It looked so charming and held so many memories. But that was exactly why Hannah had chosen it. Andrew had been gone for more than five years. And clothes would not bring him back.
Besides, Lena would be thrilled with the baby dress. At Emi’s christening, she had said over and over how beautiful the littledress was and that Hannah shouldn’t throw it away under any circumstances.
As if she would ever throw away her children’s clothes! Sure, she had tossed the items that were worn and full of holes into the old clothes bin, but she would sell online whatever still looked nice. That made more work than money, but every penny counted. Providing for three children all by herself was no easy task. She couldn’t afford to be sentimental.
And, anyway, she really couldn’t have bought a bigger gift for Lena. She’d spent her last dime on filling her tank on the way to her friend’s house so she could make it to the baby shower at all. And, honestly, it was certainly far more important to her friend for her to come the party than for her to give her a big, expensive gift.
As Hannah was parking by the roadside and getting her children out of the car, a huge, gleaming Mercedes pulled up. The driver honked so loudly that Emi and Leon jumped up alongside their mother, startled. Out of the car stepped a very pregnant woman who was balancing an oversized gift on her arms. Hannah stopped for a moment. She wasn’t going to the party, too, was she?
Before the woman could notice her stare, Hannah tucked the nicely wrapped present under her arm and hurried across the street to Lena’s house with her two kids in tow. The seriously pregnant honker was coming up right behind her.
“Are you also a friend of Lena’s?”
Hannah turned around nonchalantly as Emi rang the bell. Of course, the super pregnant woman was standing right behind her. And, of course, she was also on her way to Lena’s and the baby shower.
“Yes, we’ve known each other since kindergarten.”
“That’s so cute. We’ve been colleagues at work for two years.” She groaned as she directed her gaze toward the monstrous gift in her arms. “It’s really pretty heavy. Had it specially imported.”
Hannah tried to smile but failed to do so. The door finally opened and Lena stood before them, beaming. “Hannah, Emi, Leon, it’s so great that you’re here! I’m so glad you brought the two of them!”
They greeted each other warmly, and Hannah was about to hand Lena the gift, but Lena had already turned to the very pregnant woman behind them. “Charlotte, what is this?” She pointed to the enormous gift. “I said just something small!” Then they laughed loudly as if they both knew it had just been a joke.
“Only the best for our little ones!” As she spoke these words, Charlotte stroked her humongous baby belly with one hand while holding the gift with the other. So the imported present wasn’t that heavy after all!
Hannah pushed her kids into the house and stopped short. Everything was pink. Pink balloons, pink tablecloths—even the glasses, cups, and plates were pink. Next to them was a buffet that instantly made Hannah’s mouth start to water at the mere sight of it. Pink petit fours, marble cake, cake with pink sugar pearls, salads, casseroles, and barbecue skewers. Delicious!
Alongside these delicacies stood another table piled high with gifts. And what gigantic packages were lying there! How much money did people spend on baby showers?
