Chapter 1
Chapter 1Steph
“Eeeek!”
Stephanie Haas bolted upright in bed. It had been a long night. They’d had a three-course dinner at one of Munich’s pricier restaurants before their monthly theatre evening and a couple of drinks after. As usual, she’d courted Lilou, complimented her, and attended to her every wish. Steph rubbed her eyes. All evening she’d sweated uncomfortably in her too-tight suit, which was draped over the back of the chair now. White dress shirt rumpled, maroon bowtie half undone, the suit seemed to be mocking her now, a reminder of how she was just not…enough.
“Steph! Are you up? Ste-eph!”
Grimacing, Steph swung both legs out of bed, and ran a hand through the unruly mop that was her hair before she styled it, the afterglow from last night’s lovemaking fading fast. Robe securely belted, she made her way into the kitchen. Expecting her to be seated at the table, steaming cup of espresso and croissant in front of her, she was surprised to find Lilou standing awkwardly in one corner.
“Why aren’t you—? Oh.”
“Get rid of it! Get rid of it now!”
It being a mouse, the mouse Lilou had claimed she’d seen darting across the tile floor of their tidy little kitchen weeks ago. The mouse Steph had never quite believed existed, as there hadn’t been a trace since. Nothing had been gnawed on in the pantry; no droppings were left anywhere. But there it was now, caught in the trap Steph diligently baited night after night.
Phh.
The empty paper bag that had held the croissants was still on the counter and Steph grabbed it, intending to dump both mouse and trap into it, before throwing it into the trash. She crouched, careful not to trail the hem of her robe across the carcass when she saw it: the mouse twitched.
“It’s not dead yet.”
Lilou made a gagging sound. “Kill it then.”
Kill it?
“What if I—?”
Peering at the mouse more closely, Steph didn’t bother finishing her sentence. Yes, there was a park within walking distance. But something had already oozed out from somewhere underneath the mouse and while its beady eyes still stared accusingly, there was no point in trying to save it.
“No. You have to kill it.”
Lilou was right. Of course she was.
“What are you waiting for?”
There it was again, the tone Steph had come to dread. Not condemning, not quite yet, but just incredulous enough to point out one more of Steph’s inadequacies.
“I’m not. I’m just trying to figure out—”
“Here.” Lilou thrust the metal dustpan at her. “I don’t care how you do it, just get it out of the house.”
In front of the communal dumpsters, Steph set the mouse on the asphalt, and after looking in all directions to make sure none of the neighbors were out, brought the dustpan down on it hard. She imagined a tiny squeak, imagined air being forced from equally tiny lungs, and imagined the mouse saying its last goodbye to all its little mouse friends, and choked back a sob before bringing the dustpan down several more times.
When she returned to the kitchen, Lilou was halfway through her croissant. “Did I ever tell you about that time when Barb and I had—”
Steph banged the cupboard open. “Yes.”
Steph had heard a million stories about Barb in the five years they’d been together. About Martin, too, and Timo, whom Lilou met on vacation one year and still claimed was the most charismatic lover she’d ever had.
“The show was great last night, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. That new director is simply amazing. But then, he is from Vienna’s Staatsoper, after all. Don’t you love what he did with the second act?”
Lilou’s face became animated as she talked about the musical, praising the singer in the leading role along with several others. Her eyes sparkled and her lively gestures underlined each fresh statement. Sipping her coffee as she listened, Steph’s mood lifted. Their trip to the United States was coming up soon and Lilou was always in top form when they traveled. Steph could hardly wait. She was so lucky to be with her.
