"If I said or did anything last night to offend you..."
"No," Stella cuts me off. "Last night was... good. You didn't do anything wrong."
"But you'd rather not have me around?"
Her eyebrows arch. "That's not what I meant. I just..." She looks away. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."
"It's no trouble," I assure her. "In fact, I don't think it's a bad idea for us both to try and unwind before the big day tomorrow."
Stella lets out a breath. "Okay."
But she doesn't sound convinced. I guess I'll just have to convince her as we go along.
"Just give me fifteen minutes," I tell her. "You need to change, too, don't you? Unless you want to walk around in heels."
"I don't."
"Then come back here when you're ready. And bring your list. We'll try to cover as much ground as we can."
~
The first thing we do is take a cruise across the sparkling lake, which is right next to the hotel. Afterwards, we head to the Old Town. We explore it on foot, starting from the Bahnhof on Main Street. Then we take a stroll past the colorful houses on Augustinergasse, drop by the Lindenhof and stop by the Uraniastrasse Police Station to see the vibrant murals by Augusto Giacometti.
Through it all, I notice that Stella still seems wary of my company. She keeps her distance from me and doesn't speak unless spoken to. Every now and then, she slips and drops her guard, especially when something interesting catches her attention and she forgets that I'm there, but when she remembers, she's quick to put it up again.
I still don't understand why, but I don't mind. I'm still glad I decided to accompany her. It's evident she's excited to explore Zurich, even though she's trying her best to hide it, and the more she sees, the more she seems to fall in love with the city. As she takes in the sights, I take her in - her every gasp, every sigh, every furrow and arch of her eyebrows, every smile, every chuckle. I feel like a father who brought his kid to the toy store for the first time and Stella is that kid, crazy and carefree. It's another side of her I haven't seen before.
After walking through the rest of Uraniastrasse, we find ourselves at the Old Botanical Garden. It's not on Stella's list, but she decides it's worth a look around.
I follow her in, even though I'm not too keen about gardens. I do like the one back at the mansion, but I don't see why tourists would want to visit them. Maybe it's because I'm not very knowledgeable about plants - biology was one of my least favorite subjects in high school. I've seen a few gardens, I've seen them all. At least the sun has gone hiding behind the clouds so it's not too hot for a stroll.
Stella, on the other hand, seems enraptured. She takes pictures continually, and every few steps she stops to take a closer look at a plant.
"Something tells me someone is buying more plants when she gets home," I remark.
"Not really," she answers. "I'm fine with my succulents and my spider plant. Any more and they would just wilt. But I'd like to have a garden for my kid to..."
She stops abruptly as if realizing she said something she shouldn't have.
"Go on," I urge her.
Stella draws a breath. "It would be nice to have a house with a garden. My mother had a small garden. I liked to sit on the bench and write."
I look at her curiously. "Write what? Stories?"
She nods. "Believe it or not, I used to want to be a writer."
I shrug. "I don't think there's anything wrong with that. I think you'd make a good writer."
Stella narrows her eyes at me. "And how would you know that? You've never read anything I've written, have you?"
Right. She doesn't know I read her journal. She's not supposed to know.
"But I have," I tell her.
She gives me a confused look.
"You've written countless letters and reports for me in the past two years," I add.
She lets out a breath of relief, then snorts. "Those don't count. Those don't have a drop of creativity at all."
"But I can still tell you're good with words."
Her lips curve into a slight smile. "Thank you."
Then she falls silent again, as if trying to make up for the conversation she just allowed herself to have with me. We continue down the garden paths, stopping intermittently for pictures. When we reach the fountain, Stella tries to get a picture of herself with it but struggles.
"Let me," I offer.
I've been wanting to take her pictures, actually. I've been waiting for her to ask but she hasn't.
She shakes her head. "No. That's... It's enough that you're accompanying me. I don't want to make you into my photographer."
Is that all?
"First of all, taking one picture doesn't make a person a photographer," I tell her. "Second, I'm not accompanying you. I'm taking a tour of the city with you, which I'm glad of, because even though I've been to Zurich a few times before, I've never really had a chance to see the city."
Her eyes grow wide. "You're kidding."
"No, I'm not. So you see, you're the one who actually did me a favor."
Stella doesn't answer. I offer her my hand.
"Now hand me that camera."
She hesitates but places the camera on my palm.
"Do you know how to use it?" she asks.
Instead of being insulted by her lack of confidence in me, I chuckle. "I think I can manage."
I step back and look through the lens. I find myself zooming in on her face. Some strands of her hair have come loose from her braid now, but she still looks beautiful. So beautiful, in fact, that my finger presses the shutter to snap a quick picture.
"That it?" Stella asks.
"One more," I answer.
I zoom out so I can see her whole outfit - a cream-colored turtleneck and a loose-fitting pair of olive green pants. Shiny copper canvas shoes conceal her feet. It reminds me of what she was wearing when I saw her that late Friday night, except this is a chicer version.
I approve.
I zoom in so I only get the upper half of her body and the fountain.
"Ready?"
"Yes," she answers.
"Is that the best pose you've got?" I tease her.
She's just standing in front of the fountain, clutching her cap and her sunglasses.
She rolls her eyes. "Just take the picture."
I do. Afterwards, I take a look at it. It looks good.
"Well?" Stella asks.
"Let's take one more to be sure," I say.
I get ready to take another picture, but before I can, I feel a drop of water on my hand. As I look at it, another falls beside it. I lift my head and realize the dark clouds have started to melt.
I hide the camera under my sweater and quickly look around for shelter, but all I see are bushes. Where was the greenhouse again? Or that gazebo?
Then I feel a tug on my arm. I turn my head and see Stella with her umbrella and a look of concern on her face.
"If you don't mind, we can share."
Chapter Five
Stella
I shouldn't have offered to share my umbrella with Ethan.