Sunrise

Chapter 12 - Reunion

My eyes fluttered open to see nothing but blue sea. I blinked, daintily pawing at my eyes to get the sleep out. Where the hell are we? What time was it? From the diamond-shaped spaces of the gate, I could only see darkness while my side was dimly lit. Ah, must be at that weird point where the sun doesn't fully set in summer. The TV in front of me indicated that we're approaching Iceland. Funnily enough, it's greener than Greenland, which has all the ice. A yawn escaped me and I'm too tired to conjure up a reason for their names. Instead, I nodded back off dreaming of natural hot springs at freezing temperatures.

The sound of moving trays and the gentle clink of silverware and china roused me from my sleep. A familiar, intoxicating scent made my stomach rumble. Do I smell waffles?

"Guten Morgen, Erika." Elsa greeted me cheerfully as she opened the gate and set my table in front of me, "We're approaching the mainland and it's time for breakfast. Would you like some tea or coffee with your waffles?" A stainless steel cloche appeared in her hands, and the smell of what was underneath the dome made my mouth water. Setting the plate down, Elsa removed its cover to reveal the deliciousness it concealed: two Belgian waffles cooked to perfection along with a side of bacon and fresh fruit. Beaming, she asked, "Do you want syrup?"

"Hell yeah I want syrup!" I exclaimed, not even bothering to wait as I started in on the bacon, which was also made to the highest standard. Not too crunchy with just the right amount of fat with the sweet, sweet taste of cherry wood. "And yes, I'll take some tea with sugar." I'll never fly another airline again. If these guys don't go there, it must not be worth the visit.

My stewardess nodded, smiling, "Right away, I'll be back."

Needless to say, breakfast was amazing. So much so that I went right back to sleep after, only to be woken again with thirty minutes left in the flight. Peeking through the window, I could see the small towns and forests of what I could only assume was Southwestern Germany. Or maybe some part of France, couldn't tell, wasn't like one could tell.

"Guten Tag Luftwaffle passengers," our pilot announced over the intercom. "We are now making our descent into Stuttgart. The temperature is about 20 Celsius, or 68 degrees Fahrenheit for our American passengers with mostly cloudy skies."

While he went on about gates, landing times, transfers and all that, my heart began to nervously race; no doubt Addie would be there, and either on time or disgustingly early if I knew anything about Germans. Even still, the feeling was still there; would he be as excited to see me as I desperately was to see him? I thought back to that day, where it all would have come to an end if it weren't for his call. He doesn't even know it. Tears threatened to fall, but I kept them at bay. Can't ruin the makeup, you know?

Joke was on me because I had to fix it anyway.

Upon landing, I quickly made some hasty adjustments to my make up. I suppose I could have just went to the bathroom, but I was anxious to see my man again. Bidding Elsa and her crew goodbye, I stepped off the plane and into the world of Deutschland. Stuttgart's like any airport: big, littered with expensive duty-free shops and restaurants clogged with dozens of travelers; the only difference is instead of English, all types of other languages filled my ears, some of them I couldn't even identify.

"Please state the purpose of your visit," the older, steely-eyed immigration officer demanded from his glass-encased booth.

"Visiting my boyfriend, sir." I answered as I handed over my passport.

He doesn't bother looking up at me, "For how long?"

"Two weeks, three weeks if he's lucky." A smile spread across my face, but the guy didn't find it amusing, and remained silent until he handed me back my passport.