Chapter 5 - The Post
On the final night of our tour, we gathered in Zurich for a farewell dinner at a cozy, wood-paneled restaurant overlooking the glittering waters of Lake Zurich.
The tables were laden with bubbling pots of cheese fondue, crusty artisan bread, and bottles of crisp Swiss white wine. The tour group had become like a quirky, surrogate family over the past eleven days. We toasted to new beginnings, swapped email addresses, and shared stories of our favorite blunders.
At one point during dessert, Arthur excused himself to speak with the restaurant manager about the wine bill.
Sitting across from me, a retired schoolteacher named Eleanor from Boston leaned across the table with a knowing grin.
"You know, Linda," Eleanor murmured, "you look ten years younger than you did when we boarded that bus in Munich. And I think Mr. Sterling has a lot to do with that."
"We're just friends sharing a tour," I protested, though my cheeks flushed hot with a guilty pink.
"People sharing just friendship don't look at each other the way you two do," Eleanor chuckled, pulling out her smartphone. "Hold still. I'm taking a picture of this moment. You'll thank me later."
*Click.*
Before I could object, Eleanor had snapped a candid photo. I was mid-laugh, holding a glass of wine, with Arthur standing just behind my chair, his hand resting warmly on my shoulder, looking down at me with an expression of such undisguised affection that it made my breath catch.
Later that evening back at the hotel room—which was mine, though Arthur had spent the last three nights lingering in the hallway until very late talking about books and architecture—I opened Facebook for the first time in a week.
My thumb hovered over the app icon. I hesitated.
Posting anything online meant breaking the protective bubble I had built around my trip. It meant opening the floodgates to my suburban life.
*What the heck,* I thought. I survived Europe. I can survive my son's curiosity.
I uploaded Eleanor’s photo of Arthur and me at the Zurich dinner table. I didn't write a long, dramatic caption. I just added a simple line:
*Found some unexpected magic in the Alps this Christmas. Best trip of my life.*
May you like
Then I locked my phone, tossed it onto the nightstand, and went to bed with a smile.
---
