Chapter 5

Fox

Axl and I are dressed in traditional Bavarian lederhosen and are heading out to Oktoberfest. Apparently, we can take the metro from our hotel to the fairgrounds. I must say I am skeptical of our clothing when I don't see many other men wearing the same knee socks and half-trousers, but as we near the celebration's location, the number of men dressed as we are begins to outnumber the men in other clothing, and it's a relief that Lev didn't get this wrong.

As we enter the fairgrounds, there are people everywhere, and now most men are dressed as we are and most women are dressed in very pleasing dresses of different colors with white shirts under them. Most have their hair braided, which of course, I have a preference for. There are food and beer stalls and primitive dangerous rides to go on. I look up to the sky to see one that's a free fall. The sound of humans screaming out of fear as it plunges toward the ground at high speeds.

"Maybe we should go on one?" Axl suggests, always the adrenaline fanatic.

"I would rather meet my wife first." I study the selection of beer tents on offer from the map. When I read Lev's brief in full, he suggested meeting a woman at one of the larger tents where people tend to spend more time in one place. We read through the names of the tents and my eyes rest on ‘Heaven of the Bavarians.' I point to it on the map. "That's where we'll start."

"Of course you'd try to find your future wife in heaven."

"This is all in the goddesses' hands now," I reply as we begin walking there. I often see Axl with a human appearance as he's on Earth quite a bit, but he's already commented a few times that it's strange to see me as a human. I keep reminding him that it's only a difference in skin tone and hair color, but oddly, it seems to greatly affect him. And it makes me feel less like his superior with his altered behavior toward me.

"I have the human money," Axl says as we come close to the tent's entrance. Lev told us that these tents are booked out months in advance, but that if we gave the person at the door enough paper money, we would be let in. Axl spends much more time with humans than I do, so I allow him to negotiate our entry.

Within minutes we are inside the tent and being shown to the end of a table we are apparently going to share with others. The young humans at the table seem surprised that we are there, but the waitress explains that they overbooked. The humans smile then and go back to drinking beer and singing.

I discreetly look over the closest women to us. None of them are single. Lev mentioned that the women will tie their aprons on certain sides to indicate whether or not they are married, single, or widowed, which is very convenient.

After a few minutes, a waitress comes to our end of the table. "Grü? Gott," she says, and I know immediately she's the one for me. She's smiling and has blonde hair braided attractively around her head. Her blue eyes are bright and inviting, and her apron is tied on the left side, meaning she's single.

"Can I get you a beer or some food, pretzels or a bratwurst?" she repeats herself in another human language that kicks on my translator.

Axl orders us beer and food in German. If she thought we were strange for not answering her the first time, she doesn't mention it. After she's left, Axl assures me it's what's typical for Oktoberfest, assuming my hesitation in answering her was because I didn't know what to order.

I correct him by telling him, "She's the one." I meet his slender green eyes and can tell he's not convinced. "The first thing she said was ‘may the goddess greet you.'"

He tilts his head. "The man said that to us when we checked into the Holiday Inn. I think it's just what they say here. I don't think you should take it as a sign from the goddesses. I'm sure she says that to everyone."

Before I can reply, my blonde angel returns with our beers. As she puts them on the table, she says, "It's rare to see someone with such long red hair."

I smile and reply in German, "I assume this is a good thing?"

We hold eye contact. Her eyes are as memorizing as looking up at the sky on a sunny day. "Yes, it's a good thing," she says after a few seconds. Then she excuses herself and walks away.

"She's definitely the one," I say confidently to Axl. "Did you see the way she looked at me? And commented on my hair?"

"That's not your real hair color."

"I chose it. That makes it partially mine."

"You can't just decide to marry the first human woman who talks to you on Earth." Axl looks for her in the crowd. "And the goddesses probably don't have a waitress in mind for you."

"Why not? There are no classes where humans are concerned," I remind him. "We will sit here until this tent closes so I can watch her."

"Lev recommended not to study human women like this, I think…" Axl begins, but I shush him with a gesture.

"This is my time," I say. I don't dare to hope too much, but my heart is beating so fast I can't help but believe this waitress is the one for me. I have the strong feeling that everything has led up to this moment. I don't even know her name yet, but when we made eye contact, something felt very right about our meeting here and now in Heaven of the Bavarians.

It's getting close to the end of the night and our waitress has more free time, so the next time she delivers beers, I ask, "May I ask your name?"

She points to her name tag. "Helga," she says in case I can't read. That's thoughtful.

"I'm Fox, and this is my friend Axl. We're visiting."

"No kidding. You've northern accents."

"We're actually even from further way than that," I say, but she doesn't seem interested. "Are you from Munich?"

"Yes," she says, and then disappears when she's called away. I watch her go.

"I don't think she's interested," Axl says. "We've been here all day and you've hardly spoken more than a few words to her. And look, she just walked away from you now because you mean nothing to her. You're just another paying customer."

"She's working and it's busy," I defend her behavior. "We'll come back tomorrow."

Axl gives me a look that says he doesn't think coming back is a good use of my time. But just as he's going to tell me to find another woman to pursue, Helga returns.

"Sorry, it's almost time for me to clock off."

"Are you going home, or could I interest you in a beer?"

She smiles in such a sweet way, I feel justified in sitting here all day. "I'm too tired tonight. Perhaps we could chat on social media?"

I shake my head, but then Axl jumps in. "Yes, you can do that, you're on social media. Remember, you had to set it up for work ."

I look at Axl then he prompts me to press an icon on my human communication device. Apparently I am a member of this social media platform. I'm just as surprised as Helga at some of the pictures I have posted, or, rather, Lev has posted under my account.

"Do you work for the space agency?"

"Something like that," I reply.

"A military man?"

"Yes."

Helga takes another look at my human communication device, finds what she's looking for, and then says, "I've added you. DM me if you want." Then I watch her walk away and admire her figure in her navy-blue uniform.

"I will," I say even though she can no longer hear me. I meet Axl's green eyes. "We will be here all day tomorrow. I told you she's the one. The goddesses know I don't have much time and are rewarding me for all my hard work on the base."

When the tent closes, I wave goodbye to Helga and watch her go, but stealthily Axl and I make sure she and her friend get to their vehicle safely. When I'm satisfied she's safe, Axl and I return to our hotel.