across my own forehead.
“Not really. Why do you even want to know?”
“I’m just trying to get to know you. I don’t mean to pry, but since we’ll be hanging out all summer, we might as well cut to the chase, don’t you think? What’d this guy do to make you so defensive?”
“Why do you assume we’ll be hanging out all summer?”
“How many people do you know in Newport? Including me and Grace, who’s only here part-time?” It wasn’t a question so much as a challenge, like he was saying I simply had no choice but to be his friend or be alone. Little did he know that I was quite comfortable with being alone, so it wasn’t a hard choice at all.
“Two,” I admitted, hating to concede he had a point.
“Exactly. But okay, I get it. You like to keep your life private. I can respect that.”
“Thank you.” I sighed, feeling the tension leave my shoulders.
“Eventually you’ll fill me in. I’ll be patient.”
“That’s your way of respecting my privacy?”
Before he could answer, a very tall man made his way over to our group. He gently slapped Bobby on the back and said hello, betraying a thick European accent I couldn’t place. Then again, I’d never been to Europe, and my familiarity with accents was confined to what David Beckham sounded like in fast-food commercials, so that wasn’t all that surprising. He waved to Grace and me as he energetically introduced himself.
“Hi there, I’m Maximillian Wolfgang, but everyone calls me Wolf. It’s so nice to meet you guys.”
“Your name is Wolf?” I asked as I stared up at him. He was probably six-five, and standing next to Bobby, he looked like André the Giant. Thank God he was friendly because otherwise I’d have been terrified of him.
“Yah, I know it sounds a little strange, but it’s a common name where I’m from.”
“I’m Abby,” I said as I found myself relaxing a bit after Bobby’s forward introduction. I liked Wolf. I already could tell he would never probe into a girl’s personal life within a minute of meeting her. Kind of sad that that’s how low the bar was to impress me.
“So, Wolf, where are you from?” I asked, feeling comfortable talking to a guy for the first time in a long time.
“Munich, but I’ve been living here for about a year now. My dream is to one day get my citizenship and be proud to be an American,” he said, excited, the way I sound if I find a pair of boots on sale or read something scandalous in one of the gossip rags.
My priorities are apparently very screwed up.
“That’s great, congrats. I’ve actually never been to Germany,” I admitted, without confessing that I’d never even left the continental United States.
“Oh really? You should definitely go, it’s a ton of fun. I go back to the tents at Oktoberfest every year. You should check that out at some point! People get super-drunk, but it’s one of the best weekends in Europe, and all the girls wear dirndls. I’m sure you’d love it.”
“What’s a dirndl?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to hear the answer. Then again, Ben had said he wanted to travel, so maybe it wouldn’t kill me to learn a few things about foreign cultures, just to give Ben another reason to wish he’d never broken up with me.
“Traditional German garb,” Bobby informed me. “Think Heidi. Or the girl on the Swiss Miss box.”
Since we’d just met, I gave Wolf a pass on being sure that I would enjoy dressing up like one of the von Trapps or seeing a grown man of any kind wearing lederhosen. I figured if nothing else he had just informed me that my first trip to Europe would not be for Oktoberfest. I’d stick to countries where people wore normal clothes that actually fit and didn’t parade around half-naked in public.
Like the south of France or something.
“How did you and Bobby meet?” I asked Wolf.
“I’m a caddy at the Newport Country Club,” he answered. “Last summer Bobby was playing a round, and he kept losing his
“Not really. Why do you even want to know?”
“I’m just trying to get to know you. I don’t mean to pry, but since we’ll be hanging out all summer, we might as well cut to the chase, don’t you think? What’d this guy do to make you so defensive?”
“Why do you assume we’ll be hanging out all summer?”
“How many people do you know in Newport? Including me and Grace, who’s only here part-time?” It wasn’t a question so much as a challenge, like he was saying I simply had no choice but to be his friend or be alone. Little did he know that I was quite comfortable with being alone, so it wasn’t a hard choice at all.
“Two,” I admitted, hating to concede he had a point.
“Exactly. But okay, I get it. You like to keep your life private. I can respect that.”
“Thank you.” I sighed, feeling the tension leave my shoulders.
“Eventually you’ll fill me in. I’ll be patient.”
“That’s your way of respecting my privacy?”
Before he could answer, a very tall man made his way over to our group. He gently slapped Bobby on the back and said hello, betraying a thick European accent I couldn’t place. Then again, I’d never been to Europe, and my familiarity with accents was confined to what David Beckham sounded like in fast-food commercials, so that wasn’t all that surprising. He waved to Grace and me as he energetically introduced himself.
“Hi there, I’m Maximillian Wolfgang, but everyone calls me Wolf. It’s so nice to meet you guys.”
“Your name is Wolf?” I asked as I stared up at him. He was probably six-five, and standing next to Bobby, he looked like André the Giant. Thank God he was friendly because otherwise I’d have been terrified of him.
“Yah, I know it sounds a little strange, but it’s a common name where I’m from.”
“I’m Abby,” I said as I found myself relaxing a bit after Bobby’s forward introduction. I liked Wolf. I already could tell he would never probe into a girl’s personal life within a minute of meeting her. Kind of sad that that’s how low the bar was to impress me.
“So, Wolf, where are you from?” I asked, feeling comfortable talking to a guy for the first time in a long time.
“Munich, but I’ve been living here for about a year now. My dream is to one day get my citizenship and be proud to be an American,” he said, excited, the way I sound if I find a pair of boots on sale or read something scandalous in one of the gossip rags.
My priorities are apparently very screwed up.
“That’s great, congrats. I’ve actually never been to Germany,” I admitted, without confessing that I’d never even left the continental United States.
“Oh really? You should definitely go, it’s a ton of fun. I go back to the tents at Oktoberfest every year. You should check that out at some point! People get super-drunk, but it’s one of the best weekends in Europe, and all the girls wear dirndls. I’m sure you’d love it.”
“What’s a dirndl?” I asked, not entirely sure I wanted to hear the answer. Then again, Ben had said he wanted to travel, so maybe it wouldn’t kill me to learn a few things about foreign cultures, just to give Ben another reason to wish he’d never broken up with me.
“Traditional German garb,” Bobby informed me. “Think Heidi. Or the girl on the Swiss Miss box.”
Since we’d just met, I gave Wolf a pass on being sure that I would enjoy dressing up like one of the von Trapps or seeing a grown man of any kind wearing lederhosen. I figured if nothing else he had just informed me that my first trip to Europe would not be for Oktoberfest. I’d stick to countries where people wore normal clothes that actually fit and didn’t parade around half-naked in public.
Like the south of France or something.
“How did you and Bobby meet?” I asked Wolf.
“I’m a caddy at the Newport Country Club,” he answered. “Last summer Bobby was playing a round, and he kept losing his
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