THE MORNING STAR ENTANGLEMENT (PREVIEW)

2 | Pay It Forward

The next few days after the tense Q&A dinner was wrought with some unavoidable tension in the house. Adaobi expected that the sisters would come back with more questions, but surprisingly they did not. 

Soon, it was time for Fey to leave for Germany. Tutu left the house with Ada and Fey, but she did not go with them to the airport. They dropped her off at the mall to hang out with a college friend who was in town. The rest of the ride to Wilmington airport was quiet. Adaobi and Fey were both lost in their thoughts.

Once they arrived, Fey immediately checked in her luggage. Just before she was about to head over to the security search line, she turned around and hugged her mother.

“Have a safe trip, dear. Make sure you call as soon as you arrive in Munich,” Ada said.

Fey nodded. Then she reached into her purse and handed her mom an envelope. “If there’s a way, and you think it’s a good idea, please send this to Dad for me.” She pulled her mother in for another hug.

Adaobi took the letter but was silent. She waited until Fey had completed the security search and was headed to her departure gate before she started to head home. 

While driving home, Adaobi couldn’t help but feel a bit sad. Dropping Fey off at the airport reminded her of the last time she had seen her husband. Just like today, she had taken him to the airport so that he could go back home to Nigeria to visit his ailing father. Little did she know that he would not be coming back. 

She placed the letter that Fey had given her on the passenger seat next to her. Should she mail the letter? Was it a good idea? She wasn’t sure she could answer those questions at the moment. Temidayo wrote to them via PO Box, which she had kept active over the years. There was a reason she couldn’t answer the question from the other night about the last time that he had written to them. It was because she hadn’t gone to check the box in a very long time. Why? Because the entire situation became too painful and difficult.

Initially, when Temidayo started writing, Adaobi would write back. Mostly it was her venting her anger and frustration at their circumstances, while he apologized profusely. Not once did he seem frustrated with her or upset with her. In every letter, he reminded her that he loved her, and she flip-flopped between hoping he’d come back to them and wondering why she was holding out hope. It was also difficult to communicate in this way since she had to wait for weeks or months to receive a response from him. Snail mail communication across the Atlantic in those days required a lot of patience and dedication. One day, she decided to stop wasting her time with a man who swore in his letters that she was the only woman he loved, but who was powerless to do anything about reuniting with her.

A while later, when Ada stopped her car, she was parked in front of the post office. She sighed to herself. Why am I here? She had subconsciously driven there without realizing it. Was this a good idea? She grabbed Fey’s letter from the seat and debated whether to read it. That would be an invasion of privacy, but she was curious to see what her daughter had written. After a few more minutes, she finally summoned up enough courage to get out of the car and go inside the post office.

She located the box and quickly opened it before she convinced herself otherwise. She took all the letters in there and left. When she got home, Tutu wasn’t there. She was just about to check the time when she received a notification on her phone. It was Tutu letting her know that she’d be staying out later than planned and wouldn’t be home for dinner. 

Realizing that she had the next few hours to herself, Ada took a wine glass, her favorite bottle of red wine, and went to the living room. She hadn’t done this in a while—not since her daughters had been home for the summer. Occasionally, she would kick back on the weekend and enjoy a glass or two of wine, while watching some of the TV shows she had recorded.

For the first time in a long time, she felt a bit lonely. She was very devoted to her career as a college professor, which didn’t give her much time for dating. Not that she was looking for a serious relationship, but it would be nice to just have some company from time to time. Years ago, she’d tried dating again to prove to herself that she had moved on from Temidayo. That didn’t quite work out well. She threw herself into her career with determined enthusiasm after that.

Her thoughts drifted to the letters she had picked up from the post office. There was no better time than the present, so she decided to look through them. There were about forty envelopes altogether. Twelve of them were addressed to Tutu, fourteen to Fey, and the rest to Ada. The most recent one was postmarked a month ago. It was a birthday card for Ada. She smiled to herself. Although she hadn’t expected anything, she was glad Temidayo hadn’t completely forgotten about them—about her.

Looking through the rest of the envelopes, it looked like he had sent birthday cards to all three of them every year, for the last ten years. Although Ada had stopped checking for and responding to his letters many years ago, he never stopped writing as he had promised. She was impressed. She suddenly realized that she hadn’t mailed Fey’s letter. She’d have to stop by the post office sometime soon. Ada continued sorting the envelopes in three separate piles, one for each of them. 

Although she was unhappy about the confrontation a couple of weeks ago, Ada was relieved that she didn’t have to keep hiding everything from the girls anymore. However, she wasn’t going to divulge information unnecessarily. She still had to ensure their safety after all. She disagreed with his methods, but their father was also keeping them safe in his own way.

***

Fey woke up from her nap. Glancing at her watch, she realized she’d been asleep for most of the second half of her flight. The pilot just announced the plane’s descent, and Fey began to feel the butterflies in her stomach. She was finally here, in Germany!

After going through airport security, she took a cab to the Wohngemeinschaft, the shared housing accommodation that she would be staying in with her friends. She was the first to arrive. Her best friend Demi and the others would be arriving over the next few days. Even though she would be the only one in the house, she didn’t mind. She was looking forward to some peacefulness. 

She checked out all four available bedrooms and selected one of the larger ones for herself. Although the rooms were smaller than her bedroom back home, they were still larger than the dorm rooms on the Georgia Tech campus where she attended college in the States. There were two full bathrooms upstairs and a guest bathroom downstairs. She thought about getting ready for classes in the mornings and hoped that none of the other girls had a habit of taking forever to shower in the morning.

She spent the next two hours unpacking. She flopped down on the bed and reached for her phone to call her mother, who picked up after the fourth ring.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Mom. It’s Fey.”

“Hello dear, glad you made it safely. How is the boarding house? I hope there are no unwanted surprises.”

“No, actually, it’s very nice—just like the pictures in the online listing.”

“That’s good…” Adaobi yawned. “What time is it over there?”

“7:30 PM. I forgot there’s a time difference.”

“It’s about 1:30 AM over here. I fell asleep on the couch in the living room, so I’m glad you called. I would’ve been sore if I slept here all night.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I should let you go. I just wanted to let you know that I arrived safely, and I’m settling in okay.”

“Alright, dear. I’ll talk to you later. Stay safe, okay?”

“Sure, Mom. Good night!”

After Fey hung up, she decided to get some dinner. She was eager to explore the neighborhood, but could wait until tomorrow. Walking around aimlessly at dusk on your first day in a foreign land was a potential recipe for disaster. She decided to order in instead. Thanks to Google, she found a pizza place nearby that offered delivery.

As Fey settled in bed for the night, her thoughts drifted to the recent news about her father. Based on the postage dates on the letters Tutu found, the last letter was from over ten years ago. She wondered if he had given up on trying to reach out to them. She hoped her mother would mail the letter but more importantly, she hoped he would respond.

She reluctantly pushed those thoughts out of her mind and she focused on her plans for the next few months here in Munich. As a Civil Engineering major at Georgia Tech, Atlanta, she was ecstatic about starting her senior year at TUM. While soaking in knowledge was her number one goal, she was also looking forward to new cultural experiences here in Munich. Maybe she’d even pick up a little German.

The next morning, Fey woke up to unfamiliar surroundings and was confused as to where she was for a moment. Then she remembered that she had arrived in Germany yesterday. She checked the time. It was a little after 10:00 AM. She dragged herself out of bed, took a shower, got dressed, and went out to explore the neighborhood in hopes of getting breakfast or brunch.

As she walked a few blocks, Fey couldn’t help but admire the different building architecture. Being in a big city like this kind of reminded her of downtown Atlanta. Still, it was different—even the air smelled different. Just as her stomach gave a sudden hunger growl in protest, she spotted a cafe that offered a variety of breakfast foods and outdoor seating. She took out the paper with the list of places that the landlord had provided to help his tenants get acquainted with the neighborhood. This cafe was on the list. The food must be good, she thought to herself as she walked in.

Once inside, Fey ordered a croissant and a cup of coffee. She tried to pay with her credit card, but the cashier refused it and pointed to a sign that read, ‘Keine Kreditkarte, No credit card.’  When she looked in her wallet, she realized that she didn’t have any cash. She face-palmed herself at the realization that she never got around to converting her US dollars into Euros. She started to apologize to the cashier that she wouldn’t be able to buy the food she ordered when someone behind her offered to pay. To her surprise, he spoke English.

“That’s alright, Miss. I have some spare change.” 

Before she could refuse, he quickly stepped in front of her and handed the cashier some bills. Fey stepped aside while he placed his order.

“You didn’t have to do that,” she protested weakly, feeling embarrassed.

He turned to her and smiled pleasantly. “It’s no bother. I’ve been in your shoes before, and a stranger bailed me out just like this. I’m simply paying it forward. Now, you can do the same for someone else.”

Fey nodded and smiled. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he said with a playful wink.

Fey couldn’t help but smile shyly at that. She even felt some heat briefly rush to her face. 

While they were waiting for their orders, Fey stole glances at him and took in his features as he answered a call on his cellphone. He was a handsome guy of African descent, but he spoke with a British accent. The man was taller than her by about six inches and was wearing a pair of jeans and a fitted dress shirt, which accentuated his broad shoulders and toned arms. He looked to be a few years older than Fey, and she wondered if his job was nearby. It was a weekday after all, and he was probably taking a lunch break from work.

He was still on his phone when their order was ready. He grabbed his sandwich and drink and gave Fey a slight nod before he exited the cafe. Fey waved goodbye in response, took her order, and a few seconds later, she was seated at a small, empty table by a window. While sipping her coffee, she looked out the window, people-watching. Fey didn’t realize how much time had passed until someone sat down in front of her. She looked up to see that it was a middle-aged man who simply grunted something to her in German and proceeded to eat his meal. 

Fey looked around the cafe. Yes, there weren’t a lot of seats left, but how do you just sit in front of someone you don’t know and then pretend that they’re not right in front of you? It wasn’t like she wanted to start a conversation with the man, but it just seemed too intimate and was just plain awkward. After a few more minutes of sitting in awkward silence, trying not to watch the man eat his meal, Fey left the cafe. She walked around the neighborhood for another fifteen minutes before she went back to the house.

She chatted with Tutu on the phone for a few minutes, telling her about her embarrassing breakfast incident. Then she decided to watch some TV. After a while, she fell asleep and woke up sometime later to the doorbell ringing.  Startled, she jumped up from the sofa and went to see who it was. She wasn’t expecting the rest of her housemates until tomorrow, so she wondered who it could be.

She opened the door to find her best friend standing there with her luggage.

“Demi?!” Fey shrieked in surprise. “I thought you were arriving tomorrow.”

With a smirk, Demi replied, “And I thought you had gone deaf or something. Do you know how long I’ve been out here ringing the doorbell?”

“Sorry,” Fey apologized as she stepped away from the doorway so that Demi could come in. “I fell asleep while watching TV. I guess I’m still jet-lagged.”

Once Demi brought in her luggage, she said, “I wanted to surprise you; that’s why I didn’t call ahead.”

The two ladies hugged each other tightly. 

“I missed you all summer,” Demi pouted. 

“I missed you too.” Fey hugged her again and held her hand as she led her upstairs. “Come, let’s pick out your room.”

After giving Demi a tour of the house, she decided on a room. They chatted for a while and then Demi groaned, “I’m so yucky from my flight, I need a shower!” Just before Fey walked out of the room, she added, “Since you got a chance to explore the neighborhood a little during the day, how about we explore the nightlife together once I finish taking a shower?”

Fey raised a brow. “Really? You just got here, and you already want to go clubbing?”

Demi crossed her arms across her chest. “Yes, I’ll have you know that is the best way to unwind,” she said matter-of-factly. “I’m just so excited to be here!”

Fey chuckled and shook her head. “Fine, I’ll go and get ready.” When she arrived in her room, she looked through her clothes to see what she could wear. Since it was the time of the year when it starts to cool down a lot at night, Fey opted for a pair of black sequin leggings, a silver blouse, and her one-and-only leather biker jacket. Demi had given it to her as a birthday gift a few years prior because she claimed that not having a trendy leather jacket in her wardrobe was fashion sacrilege.

After getting dressed, Fey waited for another ten minutes in the living room before Demi finally made her way downstairs. She was wearing a floral baby-doll mini dress and heels.

“So, where exactly are we going? I mean, this isn’t Atlanta, and we don’t exactly speak German.”

“I’m glad you asked. There’s a bar close to campus that I want to try. I hear it’s trendy, and it has a lot of great reviews from foreigners.” She glanced at the time. “Our Uber should be here in a few minutes.”