9. The Dame from Dusseldorf
A year & a half after my 2nd meeting with Kate, I was granted a vacation from Christmas to New Year's. I spent Christmas Day at my home with my parents, siblings, nieces & nephews; then at 7:00 the next morning I embarked on my first transatlantic flight--to Dusseldorf, Germany. Having taken German in high school, I had considered going to the country one day so I could practice my skills in the language with the inhabitants. The flight took 10 hours--or rather 16 hours since Germany is 6 time zones east of Philly. I didn't land in Dusseldorf until 11 PM, so I spent practically 2/3 of a day flying.
After retrieving my luggage from the Dusseldorf airport, I rented a car & drove to a small inn on the outskirts of the city, where a room was waiting for me because I had made reservations (via Travelocity) 2 weeks in advance. As soon as I walked in I saw a buxom brunette of about 40 (probably the innkeeper) standing behind the front desk. She uttered a greeting that I remembered was German for "Good evening." So I said it back to her. I did my best to say more, considering how little I remembered due to being out of practice since my high school years. She could tell from my loss for words that I was an American, then assured me that she understood English. She bolted the front door for the night, then led me upstairs to the room I had reserved. She was very friendly, asking me questions such as how my flight to Germany was. She said her name was Octavia; she was indeed the innkeeper, & never married. Her accent enchanted meβpronouncing her W's as V's, her V's as F's, & her "th" sounds as T's or D's. A gas stove was attached to the wall across from my bed so I could keep the winter cold at bay. After about 10 minutes of conversation, she unfolded the covers from my bed & told me that if I needed anything else I should knock on her door across the hall from mine. She wished me good night, turned off the light, & closed the door after her.