The Lure of the Lake
The next morning, Erika and I loaded all of our stuff into my red Ghibli and helped our friends pack up Ina’s squat Volkswagen in preparation for their journey home. “So jealous of you two,” Trudi complained while I shoved the tent deep into my trunk—it belonged to Erika and thus would make the trip in my car. “Not only are you going to the lake country, you get to ride there in style.”
“Artists get to have all the fun while the rest of us slave away,” Traudl said in response, sounding more wistful than upset.
I finished with the tent and extracted myself from the trunk, closing it and pushing my glasses back into place before turning to face my cousins. “You two could ride with us as far as Stainach if you want. That’s where we turn north.”
My cousins looked at ea
