Driftwood Love

3. Kebab, Baby!

His hand reached out to me, and I grasped it. Together, we climbed the stairs to the Iron Bridge. A multitude of tourists strolled in this splendid weather, capturing the fascinating skyline and preserving the impressive scenery in photographs. In the middle of the bridge, a street musician played on various plastic pipes, creating a cool melody. If one stood completely still, you could feel the bridge vibrating under the weight of people – a moment frozen in time, immersed in the pulsating energy of the city.

"Hey, there's a new kebab shop in Sachsenhausen. I'd love to try it. If you're interested, we could go," he said expectantly.

Kebab was my comfort food, not pizza, not pasta, not burgers – nothing else was my soul food. Kebab love!

"You're definitely hungry," he laughed, knowing me so well.

"Oh, gladly. I'm starving. I didn't even make it to the Tiramisu."

"What?" Momo looked at me surprised. "Wow, Kevin couldn't even convince you to try the Tiramisu. That's tough. I didn't expect that from him."

"Well, he's a bit conservative, a bit stiff, and I thought you could loosen him up a bit. Maybe you two would have clicked," he said, brushing his hair back shyly.

"Yeah, next time describe him in more detail, so I can decide if I want to meet him or not," I sighed and gave his shoulder a gentle tap.

"You know, in old age, many become mentally inflexible, that's been my experience." I shrugged.

"Oh, let's go to the Kebab Boat!" I suggested.

On the Sachsenhausen side of the Main, there was the famous Kebab Boat – a boat with a terrace serving kebabs. You could enjoy the tastiest kebabs right in front of the skyline. And that became our "spontaneous plan" for the evening.

This time, I had no interest in a new restaurant where crowds gathered, as was always the case with openings. People were crazy about new places, then overran them. After a few weeks, ideally a few months, these places were unfortunately deserted.

So, we crossed the Iron Bridge and reached the Main riverside, walking eastward along the Sachsenhausen side. Below us flowed the Main, above stretched the famous Museum Embankment. We strolled along the Main, with the Filmmuseum, the Museum für Kommunikation, the Städelmuseum, and numerous other museums towering above us. It was a beautiful area, where a flea market often took place on Saturdays, and the famous Museum Embankment Festival was held in late summer.

Even on this side of the Main, there was lively activity, and a long line had formed at the Kebab Boat. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait too long, and eventually, we got our juicy kebabs. We found a somewhat secluded bench and sat down. On the first bite, the sauce dripped onto my cheek, and Momo wiped it off like a caring mother.

We enjoyed sitting in silence by the Main, eating for a while. The Frankfurt skyline lay before us. Momo was, in a way, the only person in the world with whom silence was just right – we had been doing this since our childhood: sitting together and just saying nothing.

Breaking the silence, I let my thoughts flow into words, "You know what? I'm drawing a line under all this dating stuff. Summer is in full swing, and after the official summer break, I can finally go on vacation with my little one. That's what I want to focus on now."

He agreed, and his look was encouraging as he said, "You're right. Vacation is always a cool thing, and no one in this world deserves it more than you right now."