It began fantastically. I met them at the airport. I had arranged that we spend a few relaxing days at my parent’s lake place. It was perfect. The kids swam and the three adults, relaxed in the sun, played with the kids and prepared easy summer meals. Little did I know that would be the beginning of the end of our pleasant vacation.
After the lake, our next stop was my hometown of Chicago. I had a wide array of ideas for them to choose from but the only thing they wanted to do was take a bus tour of where Al Capone had done his dirty deeds. I declined to go along although I later learned that the bus took you to many varied neighborhoods. They didn’t want to go up in any skyscrapers, or go to the museums or planetarium, even if it was on a free day. I was a confused and frustrated guide. I was tempted to jump ship at that point but wanted things to end on a good note.
After Chicago we camped for a few days. I thought that would be my chance to cook them an all American breakfast of fried potatoes and eggs for breakfast. Hans’ wife informed me that they only eat potatoes for supper. Same for pancakes. So much for when in the Midwest, do as the Midwesterners. It gets better. I will spare my readers some of the details with the exception of the following.
In St. Louis, we stayed in a motel. We shared one room. I imagined that their daughter would sleep with me and their son on a cot. I was wrong. Both of the kids, wanted to sleep with Mom. That left me and Hans. Since this was their vacation, if anyone was going to be physically put out, I wanted it to be me, so I offered to sleep on the floor or a cot. Hans said he and his wife had discussed it and had agreed that we (he and I) should share a bed. I haven’t mentioned that Hans’ wife spoke very little English and my German consisted of “Haben sie gut geschlafen” (which I think means “Sleep well.”) and Ich liebe kasekuchen. (I love cheesecake.) This decision making process was all occurring late at night after several beers. Truth be told, after having slept alone for ten months at this point, the idea of sharing a bed with a person of the male sex was tempting and who was I to argue.
