35. Berlin
BERLIN
Bryn was the gentler of her two bosses, so she was the one Lucy called from outside the car rental drop-off.
While the phone was ringing, she glanced at Jack, who was leaning against the car, texting.
Maybe he was writing Drew or Rosie. It seemed the trip to the beach and to Copenhagen had brought him back to life; he looked relaxed and happy.
“Lucy?” Bryn said. “Is this a butt-dial?”
“Hi. And no, I’m actually calling you on purpose. Sorry it’s so late.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Sort of,” Lucy said, biting her fingernail. “I have an odd favor to ask. It’s not actually about work.”
Bryn didn’t answer, so Lucy kept talking, knowing this request was leagues out of the ordinary and that it might even lead to a confession about where she was.
“I was wondering,” she said, “if you might be willing to go to Marina Del Rey to pick someone up. She’s, well, she’s family.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Her name’s Lillian, and I wouldn’t ask something like this under normal circumstances, but she’s not feeling well. Nothing contagious, of course,” she added quickly. “Just an older lady with a little bout of motion sickness.”
“Have you been drinking, Lucy?”
“Fair question,” Lucy said. “But in all seriousness, I was hoping you could help me out.”
“I mean… Why is this necessary?” Bryn said. “Can’t she take a cab to wherever she’s going?”
“I know it’s a huge favor,” Lucy said, “but I’d feel better if someone accompanied her. She got seasick on this yacht, and she probably shouldn’t be alone.”
“Well, this is an odd request,” Bryn said, and sighed. “But family comes first. Who exactly are we meeting and when?”
“We?” said Lucy.
“I’m still at the office with Harper. We’ve got that pitch tomorrow.”
“Hi, Lucy,” Harper called out.
Lucy put a palm to her forehead. She wanted to help Greta in any way she could, but this wasn’t going to be easy.
“So how do we find this person?” Bryn said. “And who is she?”
“I’ll put you in touch with the captain of the boat she’s on.” There was no way around the truth. “She’s the mother of a very close friend. But the thing is I’ve never actually met her.”
“I thought you said she was family,” Bryn said.
“On some level, she’s family. Or she feels like family, in a way. And I was wondering if you could meet her like… now-ish.”
“ Tonight? ” Harper said.
“I have a better idea,” Bryn said, clearly trying to temper Harper’s annoyance. “Why don’t you fly to LA first thing in the morning to meet up with this woman, and then you can attend the pitch in person tomorrow and spend a couple of days in the office.”
“I can’t,” Lucy said. “I’m not in Dallas.”
“You’re not still in Copenhagen?” Harper said.
“I’m in Berlin.” It was almost a relief to come clean. “I’ve been in Berlin all summer. I was afraid to tell you because I worried you might think I was putting in less than a hundred percent. But as you know, I’ve been working my—”
“Berlin… Germany? ” Bryn said.
“I wondered why your Zoom background changed,” said Harper. “And—that explains why you’ve looked so exhausted the past weeks. What’s the time difference there?”
“I’m not exhausted,” Lucy said. “I’m focused, I’m energized—”
“Text us the information about this seasick woman you’ve never met before,” Harper said. “But you should know I’m not happy about this, Lucy. Any of it.”
Lucy apologized and texted her bosses the number Greta had given her for Tobias, the man who was not, Greta had been happy to report, sleeping with her mother.
She and Jack walked to the S-Bahn.
“Are you getting fired?” Jack said.
“I hope not,” said Lucy, but in truth it felt like a possibility.
As much as there was to talk about, Lucy was quiet on the train ride back to Berlin. Sitting beside Jack, she tried to stay awake as she processed the events of the past days.
At some point, the train screeched to a halt, and the conductor made an announcement about a delay.
“Remember when you said I should learn German?” Jack said, interrupting her thoughts.
She glanced over to find him looking at her, his eyes brighter than they’d been since the day he’d gotten kicked out of school.
“I was thinking,” he went on, “maybe you were right about that.”
“ Ausgezeichnet ,” Lucy said, pleased he’d finally come around. “That’s great. What made you change your mind?”
He shrugged. “Bj?rn speaks, like, five languages, and it’s embarrassing that I can’t understand people here.”
She smiled, relieved to know he was looking ahead, setting goals. “Are you glad you met Bj?rn?”
“Yeah, he’s really cool,” Jack said. “I like his family.” He frowned then and sighed. “But for some reason, I miss Dad even more now.”
Lucy nodded. “Me too,” she said.
Lucy wanted to show her parents a bit of Berlin since they’d traveled so far.
That afternoon they all went to the Jagdschloss , a small hunting castle by a lake, a place she remembered fondly from her college days.
They walked along the path through the woods until they got to a kiosk, where Rex got in line with the kids to buy ice cream.
Lucy and her mom walked to a bench by the edge of the lake and sat down, looking across the water.
“You were right as usual about everything,” Lucy said. “Mason needs to come home.”
Her mom turned to look at her. “Mason is on Mars,” she said dryly.
“Mason is in New Mexico,” Lucy said. “And I’m thinking it’s time to go bust him out.”
Her mother crossed her arms. “Where’s this coming from?”
“I’m done,” Lucy said. “I quit. I can’t do this anymore without him.”
“Yes, you can,” Irene said.
“Well, even if I can ,” she said, “I don’t want to. Everything’s turned to complete garbage since he left. The kids have no schools, I’m about to get fired, I managed to lose my three children in Europe—”
“You found them again,” her mom said, as though that episode hadn’t completely shaken them all.
“I miss him so much,” Lucy said. “I need him.”
Irene sighed. “You’re flip-flopping, Lucy,” she said. “You’re the one who said how important it is to respect his commitment, to understand the importance of what he’s doing there.”
“I know I did,” Lucy said, “but I changed my mind.”
Lucy’s phone rang: Harper was calling.
“Oh God,” Lucy said nervously, “time to get fired.”
She sat up straight and answered the phone.
“That was no small favor, Lucy,” Harper sniped. Lucy checked her watch; it was seven in the morning in LA. “That poor Lillian was sick as a dog when we picked her up.”
“I’m so sorry,” said Lucy. “Is she okay?”
“No, she’s not okay. She threw up in Bryn’s car.
We had to drive her to a hospital to get IV fluids.
And for reasons I can’t even understand myself, I let her spend the night at my place.
If she’s well enough, we’ll take her to catch a seven p.m. flight to Frankfurt tonight, and she’ll land in Berlin tomorrow afternoon. ”
“Her daughter Bettina will pick her up. And thank you, Harper,” she said. “I mean that, really, thank you so much.”
“This lady better be important to you,” Harper said.
She was, although Lucy could not possibly explain why, not even to herself.
Harper cleared her throat. “It was dishonest of you to keep your whereabouts a secret from us,” she said. “When do you intend to come back to the States anyway?”
Lucy decided she wouldn’t lie anymore. “I don’t know.”
“I told Bryn we should fire you,” Harper said plainly. “But she said you must have had your reasons for leaving like you did. And that it’s none of our business that you’re only sleeping a few hours a night as long as you’re doing your job. So we’ll keep you on.”
“Thank you,” said Lucy.
“For now. But consider your status probationary. This Laurel account is too important to our business for you to be—”
“Yes, I know,” said Lucy. “It’s important to me too. In fact, Harper, I’d love to talk about the shutters I found in Copenhagen. I was thinking we could—”
“Sure, but before we get to that,” Harper said, lowering her voice, “tell me what you know about that good-looking captain who brought Lillian off the yacht.”
“Tobias?” Lucy smiled. “I don’t know anything about him,” she said, “but I’ll ask my friend Greta.”