Free Over the Fence by Elke Becker Page B

for her to do would be to start on the project immediately. But she still needed to collect the necessary files. Hopefully, that would happen today. Then she could start work over the weekend.
    Kati quietly knocked on the door, then poked her head in. “Oh, you’re already done.” She opened the door all the way. “How did it go?”
    “It was OK.” Eva groaned, then sat up.
    Kati inspected her and grinned. “I think it’s better if I drop off Leonie at the soccer field and you can bring her home, then you’ll have time to change, OK?”
    Eva looked down at her blouse. “I don’t care what I look like on the soccer field.”
    “Then you haven’t seen Leonie’s coach. Changing clothes would definitely be worth your while.”
    “Fine. I’ll just go home and meet Leonie on the soccer field later.” Eva stood up, unplugged her Mac, and waved good-bye to Kati.

Seven
    Eva pushed her shopping cart through the supermarket and tossed in the ingredients she’d need to prepare a colorful salad later. The lettuce would suffer somewhat in the car in the summer temperatures, but she figured Leonie would be too tired after her scrimmage to accompany her to the supermarket. She stopped in front of the wine rack. She didn’t know which varieties were offered here. The shop didn’t seem to have a Chardonnay. She pulled a bottle of white from the shelf and read the label. A Sylvaner. Eva had never heard of it. At a loss, she turned the bottle over in her hands.
    “Eva?” someone said from behind. “It can’t be! What are you doing here?”
    Eva turned and wrinkled her forehead. “Caro? Is that really you?” she asked her old classmate. “What happened to your long hair?”
    “I thought it was time to get rid of the old braids.” Caro now sported a funky short haircut. “I got rid of the long hair habit much faster than I got rid of another old habit . . . But that’s a long story.”
    “This new style is fantastic! You should have cut it years ago.” Eva put the white wine in her shopping cart. “How are you and Klaus?”
    Caro hesitated a moment. “Well, like I said, it’s a long story. Do you have time for a cup of coffee? We could get a quick drink at the café up front.”
    “I’m sorry,” Eva said. “I would love to chat with you, but I have to get to my niece’s soccer practice.”
    Caro’s eyes lit up. “Back home for hardly a moment and already you know where you need to be.”
    “What’s the big deal with the soccer field? Something special there?”
    “You know what? I’ll come with you.” Then Caro groaned slightly. “That’s not going to work. I’m on foot.”
    “I’ll take you and drive you back. Now I’m really curious to see what’s so interesting there.” Eva pushed her cart to the checkout and stood in line.
    Caro moved behind her. “It’s the coach! There’s probably not one child in the area who hasn’t been dragged to the soccer field in the last three years so his or her mom could flirt with the coach.”
    “How quaint,” Eva teased, “freaking out over a guy that way.”
    “You haven’t seen him,” Caro said. “His very presence just brightens up the day. And today, he’ll brighten up mine,” she added with a mischievous smile.
    Eva shook her head. It sounded like Caro’s marriage was on the rocks. She could understand Caro’s attitude, but the other mothers? They didn’t have anything better to do than fawn over a youth soccer coach? Ridiculous!
    After stowing their purchases in the car, Eva and Caro headed down the road to the sports field. As she slowed her speed in order to park, Eva noticed there wasn’t a soul there. “Where is everybody?”
    Caro laughed. “They built a new soccer field about six years ago. Drive down the road. It’s across from the tennis courts. They also built a little sports stadium there.”
    “Wow, some things really have changed here in this Podunk town,” Eva muttered as she stepped on the gas.
    As they approached