The Man I Met on Holiday

Chapter 03 -Hanging Out

There was a town near the inn. Crowded with tourists. I always wondered about the residents of these small towns. Did they like to be an attraction? Maybe the idea of being a place focused on tourism wasn’t so interesting for them. How could I know? I was born and raised in the big city.

"What are you thinking?" I heard a familiar voice coming up. "You seem distracted," Theo mentioned as he looked at me. His hair was wet, perhaps from the snow-weather breeze, or else he had just bathed. He no longer wore his work uniform, and the plaque with his name was not glued to the side of his chest, as before.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Earlier, he had handed me a pamphlet with the best restaurants. I thought I ended up there.

"Lunch time. I always have lunch at the same place and pass by here. It’s just a coincidence," he mentioned. I would believe it if he hadn’t stopped by my side while he was with me. "Have you decided where to go for lunch? There are many options," Theo said. He seemed much more alive and happy than before. He didn’t even seem like the same person.

"I’ll go into the first one I see," I replied. "I have a month to enjoy the food here, so I don’t think I need to rush to find the best," I said while walking and looking around, looking for a restaurant that wasn’t crowded yet. I was terribly mistaken if I continued to think that place was calm and isolated. It definitely wasn’t.

"Since you’re not in a hurry, why don’t you come with me? It’s over there. I even paid you, as a courtesy for having offended her earlier," he offered. That all seemed too good to be true. However, saving money was never a bad idea.

"Offended me? With what exactly?" I wanted to know. I didn’t want him to think I was a weak woman and that his simple comment about my hair would hurt me or something. Likewise, I wasn’t like that, and I wouldn’t let him get the wrong idea about it.

"About your hair. I think I was just used to seeing his red-haired picture, so it was strange to see that shade of black", he said, signaling that he wanted to touch my hair. I didn’t sketch any reaction. "After all, you made that reservation a long time ago, so we were watching you since the day never came. Redheaded people are a bit rare, and thinking about Christmas…" he said. And there we were again, talking about the big holiday. December was unbearable. "Looking back now, until that shade of black looks good. You’re beautiful, Elena," he said.

Any other woman would have blushed or something like that. But I didn’t. "I know, I’ve heard that a lot, actually," I said. It wasn’t a lie. I’ve always heard good things about my appearance. And it’s not that I hated the redhead; I just wished they wouldn’t associate him with things often, or that I was some kind of attraction.

"Are you saying that about the redhead or the black hair?" he asked, laughing. It was hilarious, indeed. When I realized it, I was following him in his mood. The restaurant was right out front, and I hadn’t even noticed that I had been following it from the start.

"It looks crowded to me," I said, as I watched through the windows outside. "I think we should look for another place," I suggested, as I was already walking again. To my surprise, he took my hand and stopped me.

"Don’t go. I have a lifetime reservation at that restaurant. Rest assured, there’s room," Theo warned me. It seemed like he really wanted company. How could I say no, especially with him paying for my lunch?

We entered and almost walked through the entire restaurant until we arrived at that reserved table. It was in the corner, with cushioned seats. The place had a whole rustic aesthetic that resembled an inn. While we were walking, the feeling of no one noticing me was great. Every tourist takes care of their own life, the way it should be.

"Hello, Theo, how are you today? Lots of work?" an older woman came up to greet him. She carried an air of comfort that I couldn’t explain. Theo seemed relaxed around her, too.

"The usual: too many tourists, too many suitcases, too many doubts, and so on," he said, smiling. He really looked like a different person, almost as if the problem in his life was the inn. "This here is Elena; she’s staying for a month. He arrived today", he said, introducing me.

"Oh, good morning," she said, now directing all her sympathy to me. From what I noticed, she had already noticed my presence but was waiting for Theo to say something. "I am Helga, the owner of this place. Theo is my nephew", she said, playing with his hair as if he were a child. He didn’t seem to mind.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you," I said, greeting her. I stared at Theo for a moment and then at her. "I hadn’t noticed the Weiss writing on the facade," I recounted. I really didn’t remember reading that name when I entered. Actually, I didn’t remember reading about any restaurant in the pamphlet with the name of the inn. Maybe I just had so much on my mind that I hadn’t even noticed. It’s not like any of that was a thing for me either. I was just a tourist. My job was just to take advantage of what was in my favor.

"Oh, that’s because we’re not Weiss," she said, smiling. From the way she spoke, it wasn’t the first time someone had been surprised. "We are the Pretts, the maternal part of the family," she explained.

Then, after she told a little about them, Theo broke the silence dryly. "It was they who raised me when my parents died," he said.