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The House in Tuscany E-Book

Marc Lin

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Herausgeber: Books on Demand
Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
Sprache: Englisch
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Outrageously wealthy, very successful and dazzling in appearance, this is Leander Brand. He lives a life that others do not even dare to dream of, let alone live! Until one day a letter destroys everything so far! In his search for the truth, suddenly nothing shall be as it seems until now and a deep secret reveals itself to him. There are doors in life that we open, that we can never close again! And this forever!

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Leseprobe

My personal word

It took me a really, really long time to write my story 'The House in Tuscany'! Why? A good question! There were so many ideas that I wanted to write down in this book. But first, let's start where it all began.

What many do not know, my mother was Italian, perhaps this is a reason why I love Italy, especially Tuscany so much. Thus, it resulted without question, at some point to write down the love for this country, which has now happened in this book. But not only this love alone should come to bear here, but also that to the animals. I am of the opinion that an animal comes before a human being, even if many others probably do not see it that way. I grew up with animals, my mother loved animals above everything and was quite clear of the opinion:

"Those who do not like animals do not like people and are not capable of love!" Yes, that is the truth. Never has an animal betrayed me, lied to me or hurt me emotionally, except when I had to carry it to the grave. Then my heart bleeds deeply and it breaks a little more. But who never let an animal into his life, into his heart, can and will never understand how much the death of a beloved animal can break your heart.

I have a very good friend, when I see how he treats animals, so gently, talks to them, treats and touches them, looks at them, notices them, loves and respects them, I wish that every person would have such a loving relationship with animals as he and people have with each other ... only!

Yes, and it is precisely of all this, of the sun, the land, the animals and of this friend that I wanted to tell in this novel, and of course, as always, love is in the foreground. The true love in which I believe and of which I know that it exists. Should the love, upright and forever not exist, the question remains in me, for what, yes, for what we come here on earth? Hate and rage, egoism and jealousy, envy and ill-will, murder and blood we have nevertheless enough and besides in us! We all do not have to learn this, just as little as also the greed and the falsehood, this can the still so smallest child! But to love, yes, to love upright and for a life, even for eternity, we can not! What we all, every single creature on earth, must learn bitterly. As I wrote this in all my books again and again, we could love only as much as we hate, how beautiful would be then this world! Love, faithfulness - unconditionally, as an animal is able to do this, without any question of gender, color, religion, sexuality, after which others permanently judge and condemn us. Yes, as faithful as a dog can be and is, this is exactly what I wish from humans. As this was drawn by me in the story through Neve and Cesare! Unconditionally. Forever! The legend says not in vain: Man's best friend is the dog!

Yes, I wrote of a dog that waited daily for its master, although just this one person does not come back. About a horse that was looking for closeness, which unfortunately we often can't give. For whatever reasons. And of course, about the love for a country, with which our soul is connected for inexplicable reasons. Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to pack into this novel! Whether I actually succeeded, is now to be seen by you. Animals and humans in harmony with the world, what a beautiful idea, which unfortunately also often falters in my narrative.

What is definitely special in this book are the three different endings. Here the reader asks himself: Why? Well, this is explained quite simply, how quickly an ending turns out completely different, just by chance. How abruptly a story, a life, changes just because we were five minutes too early or too late. An end can change so quickly by a wrong decision, a wrong way, a single moment of carelessness! By a feeling! I would have also known a fourth and fifth end, but at some point, there should be an end ...

Yes, 'The House in Tuscany' has sprung from my heart, to a country that I love, even if we all know that this very country through unemployment, corruption is at the end and I have here for Italy no alternative end ready. But even if I knew one thing that could save this country from this suffering, unfortunately I am not the author of that story! I can be just and upright only in my books. Give to the reader that what I carry and feel in my heart! And you know, only in such a way my books are to be read! With the heart!

And if I can only pass on something small with my way of writing, of telling stories, only change the point of view a little ... then I have probably achieved more than any other politician in this world. Because we humans must finally understand that a large part of our own actions will not lead us all to where we should basically already be. Namely to a world in peace and in such a way that every single creature gets the chance to live in freedom in his kind!

But who knows, maybe we will find at least such a world in my books. In this sense, have fun in Tuscany, together with Neve, Cesare and Foxxy!

This book:

... was written for all those who like to read exciting and entertaining stories. I have decided to tell a story that should take the reader into another world ... make him laugh as well as cry, reveal anger and hatred, but also let him love dearly. When the reader closes the book at the end of this story, he should be able to say:

"What a story ... what a journey!" I hope to provide the reader with this story excitement and entertainment and ... almost more important ... a slightly different perspective on this world. So that we do not take everything at face value, what the politics and the media world make us believe, but go with a little more reason into the future and put the common sense again in the foreground and recognize that we are only guest on this globe!

This story is to be read with the heart, because that's exactly how it was written, and that's the only way this story will unfold its true potential!

We at the publishing house want a story to be fun to read! It has always been our ambition that this book, too, as once

City in the Dark

has three goals to fulfill:

Distract the reader from his daily routine ...

Touch his heart ...

And at the end of the story to create a lasting memory ...

If this book fulfills just one of these points, then the story has achieved more than we could have hoped for, and much is suddenly unimportant!

We claim at the end of this story ...

Nothing will ever be the same again!

Thanks to

GABRIELE GÜNTHER,

that you have taken the work upon yourself,

The House in Tuscany - The Story of a true Friend

over months, to proofread and correct. I know that this work is and was not an easy undertaking!

Without you, all my books would be nothing!

THANKS

for your work! And I look forward to starting the next adventure with you!

Further thanks go to:

MARC UTIGER,

who very often gave me courage when mine left me. Who read my story and with his opinion and feeling about it, helped me to believe in myself - and in the story. Even to bring all my books to an end. THANK YOU!

THANK YOU to all those who motivated me to keep going ... not to give up ... even when I often didn't want to anymore!

THANK YOU for being there in the crucial moments!

A very big THANK YOU also to

MERCI!

Furthermore, I would like to thank the following people for their work, who inspired me with their work and accompanied me throughout my life and gave me strength:

MIREILLE MATHIEU, PETULA CLARK, DALIDA, JUDY GARLAND, LARA FABIAN, DORIS DAY & ELVIS PRESLEY.

Without these people, many things would not have been possible for me!

Further thank you:

JAMES HORNER, JOHN WILLIAMS, CHRISTOPHER YOUNG, HANS ZIMMER, JERRY GOLDSMITH & PATRICK DOYLE

and all the other great film composers whose names I can not mention here in full! I needed their music to often get into the desired mood, so that I could feel as the story is now to read! With the heart!

THANK YOU a thousand times!

The loyalty of a friendship …

… goes far beyond any imagination!

Marc Lin

My last THANK YOU et mille fois MERCI àJACQUELINE BOYER

She gave me courage to never give up and often said to me:IL FAUT, MARC!

In 1960 Jacqueline won the Grand Prix Eurovision with the song

TOM PILLIBI

- the song still rings in me today! She often inspired me with her music. When I met her in PARIS in the summer of 2004, it was clear to me: She is a piece of my PARIS! And my life!

MERCI, JACQUELINE!

We have translated this book with the best possibilities and knowledge. It was not easy to translate from German, very emotional words into English. We did what we could to tell this story in English because we think this book is worth reading. In any language! Of course, we are grateful for any help to make this book even better!

Chapter 1: The expectations of a father ...

New York City is located on the east coast of the United States of America. The cosmopolitan city in the state of New York is the most populous city in the USA with almost nine million inhabitants. The territory of New York includes the boroughs: Manhattan, New York City, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and the Staten Island. The New York metropolitan area, soon to have 21 million inhabitants, has almost three times the population of Switzerland. The city involves one of the most important world economic areas and trading centers. Furthermore, the Big Apple is home to many international and important corporations as well as globally significant, influential organizations. The largest financial center is the stock exchange, probably best known for Wall Street. The seaport on the American East Coast is another important hub. The city itself enjoys a good reputation with its large number of sights. More than 500 galleries, around 200 museums, well over 150 theaters and well over 18,000 restaurants are available for tourists. Art and culture attract about 50 million visitors to this metropolis every year.

New York City is the city with the highest cost of living in the United States and one of the most expensive cities in the world, along with Paris, London and Zurich. And it is there in New York that this story should begin.

Leander Brand, 35 years old, son of Rosalind and Theron Brand, grew up in the streets of posh New York. He was a rich, spoiled and privileged boy, but he was brought up with strictness. Theron, his father, was a respected doctor in the city, with his own practice and wealthy clients. His mother ran a fur business on the most expensive shopping street in New York. Her business was doing well. Too well, probably, because for the third time that year her shop windows were sprayed or smeared by animal rights activists and environmentalists. Once she even found the large storefront smashed in. From the time the alarm was raised until the police arrived on the scene, the perpetrators had enough time to ruin all the furs with spray paint or even cut them to shreds. A million-dollar loss she incurred as a result.

Except for three sables that were still in their packaging and overlooked by the perpetrators, everything was ruined. Since this incident, Rosalind had to have the window cleaning service come almost every day to clean up the massive sprayings. Yes, for Rosalind this was almost part of the daily routine. But she not only sold furs, she cleaned, repaired and reconditioned them. Once a worn fur passed through her hands, it was like new, and no one should ever just recognize that it was once worn.

Leander graduated from high school with flying colors and graduated at the top of his class with a degree in business. His minor was drawing, which was his true passion, if not calling. He was a true talent. But Theron saw it differently and responded with the following stern words:

"You won't earn money by drawing and painting... my son! No matter how good you are! Life leaves no room for dreams!", and this prompted Leander to steer his studies towards finance and keep his beloved drawing as a minor. Even against the wishes of his art professor, who thought he was an exceptional talent. The professor tried to encourage him, but economics would win out. Leander did graduate in art, but rather to prove to himself that he was capable of the same. To everyone's amazement, much better than in all his major subjects. Which showed and remained his true passion. But as his father advised him, he was to take a different, completely opposite path.

After I graduated, he immediately found a job on the stock exchange, more precisely in the heart of the financial world, on Wall Street, and raked in a fortune. By the time he was 28, he was a millionaire several times over, and a year later he managed to multiply his fortune. But let's not get Ahead of ourselves in this story. Leander - dazzling in appearance, tall, powerfully built, blessed with beautiful and brilliant white teeth, raven-black full hair, full lips, skin like that of a peach. Anyone who saw Leander immediately thought he was a fiery Italian with his lightly tanned skin and dark, almost black eyes that were steel blue when he came into the world. He had everything that an earthly existence could ever offer, even desire, to a human being, except love! A dear person at his side was missing to make his happiness perfect!

Every day on his way to the office he went to the coffee shop 'Caffaro'. He always got the same thing:

"A latte macchiato and a hazelnut donut!" was his order. Every day at exactly eight o'clock. Not a second later, and certainly not a second earlier. He lived about a mile from Wall Street in a luxurious 200-square-foot penthouse. Alone. His best friend Alan Tayler, with whom he had already gone to school, later to high school, and most recently to university together. Alan studied law, against Leander's advice. Alan wanted to learn something with which he could make a difference in this world, do some good. But the truth seemed different. How often did Leander say:

"You're in the wrong profession for that! You are not made for such a job!" Alan was far more than the opposite of Leander. He wore copper-red unruly wiry hair, a face dotted with freckles. Which almost looked splattered. The redhead's skin, pale, rather sickly looking. Often red from the sun like a crab. The eyes light blue, almost bland looking. Cold. Straw eyelashes, eyebrows light so that they were barely visible, drawing him even paler.

Through thick and thin the two boys went. They were truly inseparable and maintained one of those male friendships that lasted a lifetime. For Leander, Alan was like a brother he never had, even if the latter always teased him with the words:

"You're a spoiled mama's boy! An only child and you had everything! You didn't have to struggle with five sisters! And share everything! But especially the bathroom!" Their classmates were already calling them Siamese twins. Alan finished his law exams rather mediocre. He had everything else on his mind than his studies. Women were probably his greatest undoing. Alan was actually a handsome boy, his looks also made him very special, especially among all the blondes, brunettes and black-haireds. He had charm and a smile that disarmed everyone. Among the representatives of his sex, he was certainly striking. Many also called him 'Prince Harry', because he was quite similar to him in appearance, probably also in his behavior.

Leander loved his mother more than anything. No, he adored her. Even as a little boy, he always asked her:

"Will I ever love a girl as much as I love you, Mom?" He couldn't imagine loving anyone else as much as he loved his mother. Sometimes he was downright embarrassed to realize how much he adored his mother. But Rosalind also spoiled him like a prince in a way that was not good for any child. His father often said to his wife:

"Strictness, discipline and consistency ... should be his school! And not this eternal coddling!" Maybe that's why his father was so strict with him, because he realized very early on how much Rosalind pampered her son. Everything in Rosalind's life revolved exclusively around her boy. From the first day she had him. He alone was her path, her purpose and her life.

Leander was extremely popular with friends and colleagues, especially the female sex. But he had no time to surrender to love. Like Alan, he didn't want to take each one just to prove to himself that he was as much of a man as others. Alan brought one after another through, the right one never seemed to be there. So, the two boys often hung out day and night. The older the two got, the less time they had for each other. For Leander in particular, Wall Street didn't leave much free time. His fortune grew bigger and bigger, but his private life became smaller and smaller.

At least until one morning, when he was standing in the coffee shop at eight o'clock sharp, as usual, and a voice asked him:

"What do you want?" Completely unexpectedly, it went through him like an electric shock. Like a butterfly that settled on his cheek and he felt a tickling sensation. Yes, he was standing there in front, behind him a line of people who needed their cup of coffee just as he did. But he just looked at the simple beauty without uttering a word. And the line behind him was getting longer and longer.

Chapter 2: The Swan ...

Mutely he looked at the saleswoman and did not bring a sound over his lips, so enchanted, even blown away he was by this natural beauty.

"I should know what you want ... Sir?" she prompted him gently, giving him a look that made him all the more unable to give her an answer.

"He always has a latte macchiato and a hazelnut donut! Just like every day!", a colleague at work explained and smiled.

"Good!" she said, nodding only slightly, and hastily provided these two things. The customers behind him were already showing extreme impatience. She handed him the drink and donat without another word, and just looked at him. He reached into his pocket, paid with a $50 bill, wordlessly just turned around and disappeared as if in a trance.

"Hey mister, you're still getting return money!" she called after him. But Leander did not hear her.

"What's wrong with him today? He's never like that! On the contrary," remarked her colleague, who had been working in the store for five years and had been serving him for a year.

Yes, that's how it was, Leander didn't hear her call, but strode out into the street as if dazed. He looked at the coffee cup and didn't even know how he got to it, much less how the donut ended up sticky in his hands. When he had regained his composure to some extent, he took his day as usual and tried to increase his money, as if he didn't have enough of it already.

Every day now he went rapturously to the bistro and let himself be served by the beauty, every day! And every time he gave her abundant, probably excessive tips. But how disappointed he was when she did not stand behind the sales table as usual. He knew nothing about her, except her first name, and this only because it was clearly written on her name tag, and remained enraptured every day.

At noon in the middle of the week, Alan met with Leander as he always did once a month. This time, however, Leander determined the location of the meeting. So, naturally, he chose the coffee shop, faintly hoping to see her. But as soon as he entered, he realized with disappointment:

"She's not here!" and so he returned with two mugs of coffee as well as two Cesar salads to Alan, who sat patiently at a table in this almost overstaffed bistro. Leander sat down, took a sip of coffee, and poked irrelevantly, even appetitively, at his salad.

"Ahh...you're in love!" suddenly mocked Alan as he gazed into the transfigured eyes of his best friend.

"Certainly not!" he immediately defended himself vehemently.

"Anyone who resists ... has something to hide! My mother always says that!" Alan laughed.

"It's not true!" insisted Leander.

"Tell me ... who is she? The one who so thoroughly turns your head? Who is this wonder woman? Heavens that I live to see this!" the mockery persisted.

"Nobody!", Leander was visibly annoyed.

"Come on, you're not fooling me! I know you!" Alan continued to demand.

"You're fantasizing ... my good man!", Leander continued to defend himself.

"Oh no ... the last time I experienced you like this ... you were so madly in love with ... Donna Elena. Who didn't even look at you! I'm sure you remember!" he laughed mockingly.

"I was 16 at the time! Had no idea about love at all!"

"You don't have them yet today!" laughed Alan almost meanly.

Yes, Leander was so much in love with this girl at the time, who paid him no attention at all, and thereupon vowed to fall in love only with the one and only.

"How could she want me then ... I had as many pimples as a cactus has spines ... my hair, which was greasy and stringy ... stuck to my forehead as if pinned down, and even otherwise ... I was the ugly duckling!" he vehemently objected.

"And today you are a graceful swan and still unloved!" blasphemed Alan.

"Maybe!" said Leander and was actually miffed.

"Look at me! I'm not half as beautiful as you ... but I've laid dozens!" cut in Alan.

"This alone ... is not the way ... that leads to love! Absolutely not!", Leander was convinced.

"Are you still that hopeless romantic who possibly believes in true and upright love?"

"Is it so wrong to believe in something ... which can't be a bad thing?" asked Leander seriously, his face wrinkling thoughtfully.

"I don't know if true love ... is to be taken seriously!"

"It is!" assured Leander.

"But when I see how badly we humans treat this one true love ...", Alan doubted.

"Sure ... how can it germinate there?", Leander pondered aloud, looking at his best friend.

"Alas!" the latter only said and stabbed vigorously into his salad, while Leander rather just poked around.

"Yes, if everyone would take care of the first love worth waiting for! The world would be so much better!" Leander remained convinced.

"Suppose it really existed, this true love ... why ... doesn't it stay? Why doesn't anyone still have their first love? Tell me?"

"I don't know ...", Leander admitted to himself.

"At least tell me ... if you already believe in them!", Alan demanded and stuffed an overflowing fork of lettuce into his mouth, so that it barely fit into his gullet on the left and right. Yes, he even had to help with two fingers to get everything in.

"I can't give you an answer to that either! Unfortunately!", Leander confessed, thinking of the unknown beauty, who seemed even more unapproachable to him in this second than she already was.

"You have to!" urged Alan.

"As I said ... I don't have as much expertise as you, my dear!" this time Leander mocked Alan.

"Experiancen?"

"Experience!" clarified Leander with a grin.

"I may have had one or two more girls than you!" the latter laughed heartily.

"One ... two ... Hugh Hafner is an orphan against you, my best! Your brisk turnover of women is beyond counting! You've had more women than there are jewelry in the window at Tiffany's!", Leander countered.

"Maybe ... that I live his visions!", Alan laughed and didn't take the mocking remarks of his best friend very seriously. Why should he, he was right.

Leander looked at his friend silently and very seriously for a long time, then abruptly asked him:

"Have you ever really loved?" Alan returned his gaze and suddenly became quite somber, the color of his blue eyes changing to gray.

"Yes ... once ..." he revealed hesitantly.

"Really? And who was she?" Leander was amazed.

"Do you remember Cheryl?"

"I think vaguely!"

"Oh! How I loved this girl ... to die I wanted for her! Yes! She was probably the only one ... who could ever open my heart and own it!", Alan confessed, which almost sounded like a confession he admitted to himself at last.

"And what happened ... that she no longer plays a leading role in your life?", Leander naturally wanted to know, sipping his coffee, which had long since gone cold.

"You don't really ... want me to tell you about my love woes now! Do you?", Alan tried to play.

"Of course! Sure ... about everything!", Leander nodded affirmatively.

"Very well ... I warned you ... this story will not be pretty ..."

"I love dramatic love stories!"

"Great, here's one more in your great collection! So ...

I loved this girl... I had never imagined that I could ever love like this. I didn't even know I was capable of feeling so deeply. So unconditionally! Without any question of what was to come and what would be! She chose me ... my heart! Even though I didn't place in a beauty contest, even though I wasn't considered an Adonis ... she chose only me! I felt like I was in heaven! And was sure that it must be the same up there. Loved and safe. Not a minute did I ever want to be without her again. She was my life, my way! At last also my meaning!", Alan told heavily.

Leander watched his best friend and after a little pause and another sip of coffee, noticed:

"You never told me about any of this!"

"How could I? You weren't there!" Alan complained.

"And where was I?", Leander did not understand.

"It was that summer when you were drafted into the military, you remember ..."

"That's right, a whole summer! How long ago that was now! Oh, how time flies!" he nodded.

"Exactly!"

"I don't know how I could have committed myself to this unit in the first place! The biggest mistake of my life!" Leander bitterly admitted to himself.

"Yes! While you were learning to ride, to handle horses ... I got to know her ... as I said ... not an hour should pass without her. We spent the summer together without exception. Every day she was mine! I was as happy as never before in my life! One warm evening, the summer had just said goodbye, the autumn was about to arrive ... I proposed to her ... with my grandmother's ring! She said 'yes' right away ... and I was happy! We got engaged! She was so happy and so was I ... that evening ... and I was indescribably in love!

'Dearest ... I have to go ...', she said to me as we kissed. Passionately! Never again was a kiss as beautiful as this one! I can still feel her lips on mine today!

'Stay ... just a moment ...', I asked her.

'I have an exam to write tomorrow if I want to graduate at the end of the year!' she smiled.

'Sure ... I know ... but I miss you already!' I confessed, pining for her.

'I'll see you again tomorrow ... my love ...' she breathed with a smile.

'I know ... and yet ...', I whispered and kissed her again with passion.

'Don't make my walking so difficult every time!' she complained, tenderly stroking my cheek.

'Just ...', I breathed.

She then got into her father's car, an old red 1987 Alfa Spider. I leaned into the open car and told her:

'I love you!'

'I you the same ... My parents will be amazed ... when I tell them ... that I got engaged!' she beamed at me.

'Yes, and I hope they will ... and won't hold it against you ... that you chose me of all people, the ugly duckling ... out of all the swans that surround you!', I spat, basically meaning it far more than seriously.

I have found a swan ... and when my parents see you with my eyes ... they will recognize a prince ... the one of my heart," she smiled, and her words hit me right in the heart. She started the old carburetor model that made more noise than a Corvette, and as a farewell I kissed her again passionately, and once again this kiss was like a balm for my heart. Our lips parted, then she drove home.

I watched her for a long time until her red taillights disappeared in the darkness of the night. You know, I was so indescribably happy, I was floating on all clouds. I could have cried from sheer happiness. Until suddenly my portable phone rang. I picked it up. Then I got the news that my best friend had fallen off his horse and suffered a life-threatening injury," Alan recounted sadly.

"Oh! Yes, I remember! An exhaust banged somewhere, and the stallion took fright! The horse threw me off him so violently! I flew up, through the air, and fell on the horse's back ... I banged so hard that I broke the animal's back and almost all my bones!", Leander recalled the story with horror.

"Exactly! I received your call for help!", Alan nodded thoughtfully, as Leander had never seen him before.

"Five hours I was operated on, and for six months I had to lie in the hospital ... and was not allowed to move ... my service in the cavalry was over forever ... and I never got on a horse again!" confessed Leander heavily.

"Riding was your passion ... your life! I didn't know you without a horse!", Alan knew.

"Sure, I love horses more than anything, and I was the best in my unit! But today I no longer trust any horse! The fear is much too deep!", Leander confessed bitterly.

"Yes ... but a second call was to reach me that night!" revealed Alan, taking a sip of his coffee, which had long since gone cold.

Chapter 3: Caught ...

Alan put down the paper cup, pushed the almost eaten salad away from him, of which he left just one leaf.

"And what kind of phone call was that supposed to be?", Leander wanted to know. Alan looked at him, nodding slightly, and said:

"I stood there ... after your call for help and promised you ... that I would be right there!"

"But you didn't come ... I waited for you all night long!" recalled Leander.

"Yes! I rushed to my car after your desperate call ... just as I was about to get in. The clock showed already midnight ... I knew, until I am with you ... the sun should be already again in the sky! I just started the engine, there rang ... as I said ... my phone! I looked at the display, but the number, which showed up on it, was strange to me! Irritated, I picked up and suspected nothing good.

'Alan ... yes ... who is it? Oh ... Noooooo!", I screamed in horror. Cheryl's parents informed me that their daughter had run off the road. The car skidded for some reason, overturned several times. On the way to the hospital, she succumbed to her injuries. The mother told me that until the end she only ever mentioned my name. This was the reason why the parents notified me. I sat in my car, close to fainting. I could not and would not believe that Cheryl would no longer be there, after I had been so happy! Was everything supposed to be over now, from one minute to the next? So quickly? Is love only a fraction of a whole life? And no more? Irrevocably forever? I did not understand and did not want.

'An hour ago, I was with her," I cried behind the wheel of my car. I don't know how long I sat there, and in all my sorrow I forgot the way to you. I also don't know how I found my way to bed that terrible evening. When I woke up in the morning, I only wished that all this was a bad dream ... but unfortunately it was not so! I did not know any further! Never before have I experienced such love as with her! And now? Never was my heart more hurt than that morning. I did not know how to go on. Just the fact that my best friend was still alive and needed me for everything gave me the strength to go on. Not to break. Your sorrow helped me get over mine. When I came to you the next day, saw you lying unconscious on that bed, clamped like a piece of wood, fixed so you couldn't move ... your mother's report as soon as you entered the hospital was shocking. The fact that you might never be able to walk again made me swear never to let my wounded heart break again ... let alone ever show this to anyone! And I hold on to it until today!", Alan told with teary eyes and spoke for the first time about that fateful night.

"But why ... I would have stood by you ... just like you stood by me!", Leander didn't get it.

"I couldn't talk about it ... I pretended that all this never happened ... I even convinced myself ... that she broke off the engagement and never wanted to see me again. Imagine, I couldn't even make it to her funeral! I couldn't attend a farewell ... that I didn't want for anything on earth. I held on to my lie! Until today!"

"But why?"

"It hurt less that way!" admitted Alan bitterly.

"But then why all those girls you had? What was that all about?" Leander wanted to know.

"I ... always looked for Cheryl in everything ... always ... but each one fails her! None is even close to what she was ... none was or is good enough!"

"You will never find such love again ... as the one you once lost! Others have already failed in this! Love cannot be replaced like a car!", Leander affirmed almost stunned and pushed his almost untouched salad away from him.

"Of that I am aware ... but my heart is not ... today I realize ... would have ...", Alan paused abruptly.

"Had what?" inquired Leander, taking his last sip of coffee.

"... But to say goodbye ... on that rainy day when she was carried to her grave ...", Alan tried not to cry.

"Why didn't you ever tell me any of this ... I would have been there for you!"

"As you remember, you were not able to do anything at that time! I was tied to a bed. Unconscious!"

"You came to see me every day!"

"Yes ... without exception!"

"You never let your sadness show!", Leander recognized and was deeply moved by this story. But above all about this deep friendship.

"After the doctors took you to rehab, I realized it was my job to be there for my best friend ... I vowed ... not to show you my grief ... I wanted you to get better and not let any grief hinder your recovery!" explained Alan.

Leander looked at him and said shaken, while he pettily put his paper cup on the almost full plate:

"You really are a true friend!"

"The truth is basically very simple ... by helping you ... I helped myself!" nodded Alan, who also pushed aside his dishes, only just empty.

"What a tragedy!", Leander shook his head bitterly, not knowing what else to say to that.

"And so, I look for in all the girls that which I lost forever in a single night ... but none is even close to ... like them!", Alan stated clearly.

"It is not possible to replace a human being ... with nothing! This is like a mother giving away her children! There is no second one!", Leander tried to give him some sense.

"I know all that myself ... believe me, better than you could ever guess!" affirmed Alan heavily.

"I've never been in such a position ... but I think ... a heart can only open ... when the pain is no more!" remarked Leander amid the noise of this bistro.

"But this very one will not go away! This pain in my heart! It won't go away for anything ... it is inside me in the evening when I go to bed, and in the morning when I wake up, the same! Nothing has changed ... not in all these years ...", Alan said with deep sadness.

"I'll bet!" declared Leander, nodding slightly.

"I have hope every day that one of these girls I have around me will manage to open my heart like this ... scare away my pain! But there is none who has come close to achieving this. Except for sex ... there was nothing! Only the tears I cry for love!", he confessed.

"But one of those girls out of all the dozens that passed you by ... surely there was one among them ... who came close to loving you?", Leander wanted to know.

"No! Never!" Alan interrupted him and continued to explain:

"None ... that ever touched my heart!"

"But there was some ... who fell in love with you?"

"Oh ... this is not the problem either ..." groaned Alan.

"But?"

"Me! I am not capable ... of love!" he claimed.

"But you had so many nice ... very pretty girls there, too!"

"What good is all this ... if the heart doesn't play along!" affirmed Alan with a deep sigh.

"But surely you broke all those girls' hearts!", Leander shook his head in bewilderment.

"It may well be ... that one or the other ... came to harm in the process ... only mine didn't want to ...", Alan nodded sadly.

"And that with Cindy ... you were even engaged to her! And suddenly you broke up with her ... nobody knew why!", Leander remembered and put his fork and knife together on his plate.

"Good, now you know the truth!!!", Alan answered simply. Leander looked at him silently for a long time and after minutes replied nodding slightly:

"But you can't go on living like this, can you?"

"How?"

"Laying one after the other ... just in the quiet hope there might be the right one!" exclaimed Leander.

"Of that I am ... as I said ... aware ... but my heart cannot help it!"

"You know how it is with love!", Leander expressed.

"And how?" asked Alan.

"Whoever plays with it ... will reap revenge!"

"Pure superstition!" he asserted.

"Apparently not! As you now realize ... love can't be cheated! Never!", Leander warned.

"Maybe!", Alan dismissed this succinctly, glancing at his watch and hastily adding:

"Oh heavens, I've got to ... what a rush ... I've got another court date there!"

"Honestly, I never understood why you chose this particular job!" remarked Leander seriously.

"I can make a difference ... if only in a small way!" lied Alan to himself.

"Dealing with criminals ... or even murderers ... no ... I'd rather work with other people's money ...", Leander smiled mischievously.

"Not much better ... at last I'm doing the same thing you are!" laughed Alan.

"And what is that supposed to be?" Leander wanted to know.

"All for the sake of filthy lucre!" he grinned.

"Don't we all?"

"Oh ... I would also have preferred to be a writer or anything creative ... but as you know, I have absolutely no talent ... like you ..."

"Oh, talent ... is also of precious little use to me if I don't get to live it!" smiled Leander, suddenly looking up.

Alan immediately recognized Leander's eyes looking at someone, and he called out right away, too:

"It's her!" Startled, even caught, Leander stared at him.

"Who ... like, the coffee saleswoman?" remarked Alan, puzzled.

"Oh, what ...", Leander stammered and became embarrassed.

"Come on, my dear, you don't fool me! I know that look! Far more!"

"That's deceptive!", Leander tried to dismiss it, but he didn't really succeed.

"So that's why ...", Alan suddenly cried out.

"What?"

"... Were you dying to go to this restaurant ... now I understand!" he laughed.

"Pure coincidence!" remained the pitiful attempt to deny it.

"Never in my life have I had a coffee and a Cesar salad together ... now I know why!" continued Alan, laughing mockingly.

"Why please?"

"You had hopes of seeing them!"

"Oh, come on!" objected Leonard stubbornly.

"What a sneak you are!" realized Alan.

Leander looked at his best friend and thought it better not to comment further. But Alan gave him a look that clearly said he had seen through him. Far more, and a mocking grin adorned his best friend's face, almost gloating.

Chapter 4: Solutions ...

Leander just looked mutely at his best friend and, of course, remained silent about the fact, which was tantamount to a confession. Much worse, he concealed a truth that almost seemed to scream. And Alan made himself with the words:

"Does the good one already know about her happiness?", funny to boot.

"Who?" asked Leander, startled.

"The one you're gazing at obliviously?" and Alan remained directly honest, as always, and he certainly didn't mince words.

He had so often embarrassed Leander with his all too spontaneous honesty, and it was to be no different this time.

"What?" pretended Leander didn't understand.

"Well, that you love her?"

"Keep it down, please, not everyone has to hear! Or?" Leander became embarrassed.

"I'm right as usual!" his friend laughed loudly, almost resoundingly.

"No!", Leander firmly defended himself.

"No ... what?" was also immediately followed by the counter question.

"She doesn't know anything ...", Leander confessed in a whisper, hesitant and more than embarrassed.

"I knew it!" laughed Alan again at the top of his voice.

"Not so loud!" he was embarrassed.

"You can't hide anything from me anyway! So!" Alan blasphemed, and the mockery belonged to Leander.

"Alas!" pouted Leander in a moment, lips pressed together.

"And how are you going to ... conquer the good one?"

"If I knew that! You'd better ask me something ... what I know!", Leander gave an overwhelmed answer.

"Honestly, it's hardly going to be too hard ... to usurp a simple coffee seller!" joked Alan, who was always so sarcastic.

"To usurp ... how cheap!" blubbered Leander, who was even more embarrassed by Alan's mockery.

"Turn-on doesn't sound any better!" countered Alan with a laugh.

Yes, Alan had always been said to have a jet-black British sense of humor, and this was to come to bear unchecked today as well. Leander hated it to death when Alan played such cheap jokes on him.

"For me, this simple girl is enough!"

"If she wants you, and if she ever finds out that you love her heart!" laughed Alan again.

"You'd better tell me ... what to do, too ... instead of being so disparaging about my feelings!" rumbled Leonard.

"I don't!"

"Oh, and what do you call this?" he fussed.

"I'm just being realistic ..."

"You of all people, my best friend!", Leander was a bit miffed.

"Well, the solution is basically quite simple ...", Alan casually replied after a few seconds.

"And what do you want this to look like?"

"You're beautiful and rich ... the guarantee to take any woman's heart by storm!" laughed Alan, glancing at his watch again, meaning:

"So, now I really have to ... I'm already too late ... I can't keep my client waiting any longer ... even though I would still love to look into your amorous face!", then he rose.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow ... at Chinese, as usual?" asked Leander, rather out of embarrassment.

"But just ... after all, I need to know how your love story continues!"

"Ha ha ha!"

"Good! I finally have to go ... we can continue philosophizing about love tomorrow!", Alan said goodbye, turned and disappeared with a laugh that Leander could see reflected in the wide window of the restaurant.

Leander rose after a moment, turned to his beloved, gave her an affectionate look and went his way, albeit most reluctantly.

All day long he thought only about her. Above all, how he could show her that there was a heart that beat exclusively for the foreign beauty. Alan's pointed remarks constantly circled around in his head.

'Well ... it's hardly going to be that hard ... to usurp a simple coffee seller!' and Leander got annoyed.

"He's right ... it should hardly be that hard!" remained his oath, and yet it was the hardest thing on earth. Precisely this should also remain so for Leander.

Every day without exception, he went to this coffee shop and secretly pined for her. Each time he tipped her generously, which was far above any norm. Always he paid with a $50 bill and left her the rest by just walking silently. He just couldn't find the courage to address her.

So, he remained infatuated and in love until he and Alan decided to have some sandwiches in the park one sunny day over lunch. The two boys strolled side by side, but suddenly Alan broke the lingering silence.

"That's just not sustainable!"

"What?", Leander looked at him and didn't understand.

"This state!"

"Which one?"

"The one of your infatuation!"

"Why? What about it?" asked Leander.

"Unbearable is probably the more accurate word for this! I'd say!" Alan remarked as he bit into his chicken curry sandwich with relish.

"Why, I didn't do or say anything!" defended Leander.

"Exactly ... that's just it!" laughed Alan mockingly, as usual.

"I don't understand ... you're joking with me!", and Leander once again felt pranked by his best friend.

"How long are you going to keep from her how much your heart cries out for her?" asked Alan, becoming a little more serious.

"What should I do ... like go to her and tell her that just like that ... out of the blue ... I fell in love with her?" replied Leander, perplexed, with a questioning look.

"Would be a start ... if not exactly the best!" laughed Alan once more.

"You are so wonderfully funny today! And what do you want me to do? Dance naked on a table in the coffee shop?" Leander looked at his friend, who was busy with his sandwich.

"Would certainly be a picture ... which does not fit into everyday life ... but whether you should show her everything in advance ... is probably not a good strategy!", Alan blasphemed and bit into his sandwich again. So heartily that it just oozed out left and right and he had to hold the chicken pieces with his left hand.

"Joker ... you better help me!"

"That is no doubt a question ... indeed it cannot be answered so quickly!" admitted Alan with difficulty, using two fingers to push the gravy, which was now also running down both sides, back into his mouth.

"Well! You see, and I'm supposed to!"

"I'm not head over heels in love either, my best! I take women by storm, and when I've achieved what I wanted ... I let them go again!", he spoke with his mouth overflowing so that Leander almost couldn't understand him.

"Nice, and what would you do in my place?" asked Leander, looking at his best friend.

"As you know ... I never get into such a situation!", Alan replied and kept his grin, which already had something mean about it.

The two strolled across the gloriously green meadows of Central Park, although their business shoes made of the finest leather were anything but suitable for the occasion.

"Which one?"

"Just that I could fall head over heels in love with someone!" replied Alan, not taking his best buddy seriously.

"Ha ha ha!"

"... Whose name I don't even know! Like you ...", Alan laughed and continued to bite into his bread with relish. Leander, on the other hand, remained appetite-less while nibbling.

"Ha-ha ... You really are a real help to me!"

"Always!" countered Alan, not giving the same importance to his friend's love problem. On the contrary, he was rather of the opinion that this crush would be over sooner than it started.

"Now tell me, what would you do ... in my place?", Leander looked at him.

"Well, now I imagine ... I would find myself in such a disaster as you! What I would never allow ...", Alan said with amusement and stuffed the rest of his chicken sandwich into his mouth.

"Just pretend ..."

"So, let's say...Cupid's arrow would hit me like this...which I don't think ..." he laughed with his mouth full.

"And why not?"

"Because I don't believe in such kitsch ... quite simply!", Alan defended himself, not wanting to know anything about love being so easy to find. Quite the opposite.

"You don't? About love at first sight?"

"Never!" he objected vigorously.

"Oh, and why not?"

"Because it's ... as you're proving right now ... very one-sided!"

"Why, I don't understand ..."

"What good is Cupid's arrow, possibly in the middle of my chest ... if it hits me full on and my beloved doesn't know about it? No, that's ridiculous! Yes, and what if his arrow doesn't hit the right one ... the good one misses his target ... must I languish there ... into the void ... no ... is too vague for me! That alone clearly shows the nonsense of this thing!" Alan bristled and wiped his curry-smeared hands on the napkin he had laid with it.

"But at least love at first sight?" Leander wanted to know.

"As I told you yesterday ... just as one-sided ... no, a woman has to be conquered, a woman has to be revealed ... that a man loves her ... and that's what your job is now!" declared Alan with conviction.

"And what?"

"Show her that you love her ... if I can put it that way!"

"Ha ha ha! You are once again very helpful! Conquer! Heavens, how hopeless!", Leander realized and gave a deep sigh that resembled defeat.

"Why? ... I'm just giving you the facts!"

"But I don't need truths now ... I need a solution!" demanded Leander plaintively.

Chapter 5: I would ...

The two boys sat down on a bench that stood invitingly next to a tree that bore a magnificent canopy, its leaves casting a soothing shade. A light breeze blew through the branches, giving one the illusion of some coolness on this hot summer day.

"As a womanizer, at least give me some advice!" begged Leander as he continued to nibble appetitively at his sandwich.

"A council? No! But I can tell you what I would do ... if my heart screamed so loud ...", Alan laughed, taking a sip of water from a plastic bottle.

"Oh great ... you don't take me very seriously! What?"

"You can't say that ..." the redhead continued to joke, loosening his tie a bit, leaning against the tree and enjoying the few minutes away from the world.

"How? After you?"

"You know, women give only suffering, and from that I should protect you for everything!", he suddenly became thoughtful.

"Let me ... I'll protect myself ... so say!"

"Do you have to go through the same experiences I've already had? Believe me, don't!", Alan suddenly became visibly serious.