Six months later, in August, I drive down to the south of Tenerife to pick Julia up from the airport. Over the last few months we’ve sent each other a lot of emails and spoken on the phone often. What will it be like, seeing her again? I don’t really know her at all. She’s pretty brave, flying off into the unknown like that. When we see each other again at the terminal, Julia hugs me and we kiss. There it is again, that feeling. Everything is fine.
My flat in the north impresses her. All the rooms have a glass wall with a view of the sea. The beach is right in front of us, and my terrace is three times the size of the apartment itself.
“And this is the guest room,” I say, showing Julia around.
“Then I’ll sleep here,” Julia says, and I’m not sure whether that’s a question or a statement.
“No,” I say, “you’ll sleep in my room, of course.”
The week we spend together flies by. A few tears roll down Julia’s face as we say goodbye at the airport.
“When will we see each other again?” she asks.
“No idea, I can’t say yet. At the moment I’m still a bit rudderless.”
And then Julia is already on her way. I stand by my car at Medano beach and watch her plane take off. After that I drive back to the north. As I come over the hills, the sun is setting in the west. As it does almost every day, it drops into the Atlantic, followed by a red glow in the sky. “Should I go back to New York?” I think. “Or to Moscow after all?” I can’t decide and stay put for now. I still have enough money.
At the end of September my landlord calls. “So?” he asks. “Are you extending the lease for another year?”
Off the top of my head I say: “No, I’m moving to Moscow.”
After the call I ring Victor and ask him whether I can stay at his place until I’ve found a job and somewhere to live.
“Of course!” he says. “That’s great news. We’re going to have a lot of fun.”
Then I book my flight. My things have to go to my mother’s in Bamberg first, though, because I’m travelling into the unknown. Who knows how long I’ll stay in Moscow?
At the beginning of October I leave Tenerife with 180 kilos of excess baggage. The sun is shining outside and it’s still 30 degrees. The other tourists are more than a little amazed when I check in a snowboard, among other things, on Tenerife.
