The Arrangement

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

When I come down to the dining room after getting dressed, everyone is sitting by the table and everyone besides Mr. Walter. He has not arrived yet, so at least not the last one to arrive.

I sit down on the chair in front of Rich and beside Flora.

“Good morning”, I say.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?” Rich asks.

“I did thank you”, I say and he winks at me.

“I hope you feel comfortable here dear”, Mrs. Walter says. If she only knew. “I want you to feel like home”.

“Thank you, I feel comfortable”, I say with a smile. I wonder when she’s due, it looks like she is going to explode any minute, and yet, if you only look into her slim face, you wouldn’t even see that she was pregnant. “You are all very kind to me, and I appreciate that a lot”.

“You are going to be family soon”, Mrs. Walter says. “You are one of us”.

Mr. Walter takes this opportunity to enter the room.

“Good morning father!” Ana shouts happily.

“Good morning honey”, Mr. Walter says and sits down on his chair in the middle of the table.

I don’t know how to explain Mr. Walter. He looks like someone you want to be on good terms with. I don’t want to end up on his bad side. But at the same time, he looks so kind, like a teddy bear almost. A serious teddy bear. That’s a weird comparison but that’s exactly what he looks like.

I think Rich has big ambitions to take over his fathers' imperium. His sisters are very young, he’s ten years older than Ana and 14 years older than Flora. His mother is pregnant and he's going to be 20 years older than the baby. I couldn’t even imagine my parents having a baby, though it looks like Mrs. Walter is younger than Mr. Walter and my parents, she must’ve been young when she had Rich.

“I was thinking of talking Katherine on a small tour through Berlin today”, Rich says just as the scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, bread, and all you can think of is being served on the table.

“That sounds lovely”, Mrs. Walter says with a smile. “Katherine I think you are going to just love Berlin”.

“I’m sure, I’ve never been to Berlin before now”, I answer. “I enjoy traveling a lot and see a lot of things, especially big cities”.

“Than you have something in common with Amalrich”, Mr. Walter says.

”I guess so”, I say with a smile looking at Rich. Maybe the universe picked Rich for me and now our fathers. Maybe the universe influenced our fathers. I’m starting to think that not everything is as it seems.

Maybe the universe is good to me, for giving me, Rich. I don’t know how the universe works really and I don’t know very much about Rich, but it seems mine we have a lot in common. And that’s great I think. The things I do know about Rich, I like and he makes me feel comfortable.

I am not all that hungry this morning, I’ve never been a big breakfast eater, to be honest, I eat a little scrambled eggs and one sausage, but that’s about it, I tend to feel nauseous in the mornings. Always been like that. Water I drink a lot though, that’s highly important to me, I drink a lot of water, at least 2l a day but sometimes more. That’s how I keep my hair fresh.

When everyone has finished their breakfast, Rich announces that it’s time for him and me to leave. He also tells his mother that we are eating lunch out so no need to count us for lunch today. I wonder where he will take me for lunch.

“I have a car, but I want us to take train and busses so you can see more of Berlin”, Rich says as we leave the house. It’s sunny outside but it’s cold and snowy. It’s a very nice day outside today. I love winter days like these. Snowstorms I don’t fancy too much though, but who does really? The only time I like snowstorms is when I’m inside under a cozy blanket with hot chocolate and an animated movie like Sleeping Beauty or something. Or watching Friends. I like doing that for rainstorms as well. Or when it’s just foggy and grey outside. But on sunny days I love spending outside even if it’s cold or warm.

“That sounds good”, I say. “But do you actually drive your own car?”

“Of course, Karl doesn’t drive me everywhere I go”, Rich says. “I like being independent”.

“You will never be independent, you were born into gold”, I tease.

“Yeah you may be right, but I’m trying to be independent”, he says.

“That’s good”, I smile and poke his arm.

He announces that our first destination of the day is Brandenburger Tor. He also says that he will take me there during the summer as well. Rich insists that this is a must-see when you are in Berlin.

When we arrive I can do nothing but agree with Rich. I am blown away by the beauty of it. The Brandenburg Gate is a magnificent work of art and visibly old work of art. I appreciate old architecture a lot, there’s just something special about it, especially old castles and such.

“It’s built in 1790 actually”. Rich informs me. “And is probably Berlin’s most famous building”.

“Wow 1790”, I say, I feel like I’m glowing with excitement. “That’s amazing”.

“You got that right”, Rich chuckles.

I realize that the hotel Adlon that I was staying at before coming to Walter’s house is actually pretty close by. Rich tells me that Hotel Adlon is actually Berlin’s most famous hotel. They didn’t place me in just any hotel, and I appreciate that a lot. They cared about putting me in a good hotel.

“I’m in love with Berlin already”, I say.

“That’s great”, Rich says. “I hope you’ll enjoy the restaurant I’m talking to you too soon”.

“I think I will”, I say. “As long as it’s a good one”.

“Oh it will be”, he assures me.

I think this day will be a very good one. I already enjoy myself so much. And I’m starting to really discover a lot of things about myself.

When I look at Rich, all I want is to rip his clothes off, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself soon.