Elf on Earth – Elfe Auf Erden

an attractive woman would → do the trick .”
    “True!”, gab Thomas zurück. “But it is not only the looks. He is more respectful when he does business with women. Perhaps he had a wonderful mother and learnt how to listen to a woman’s advice? And you are → enchanting anyway.”
    “Am I enchanting?”, fragte Eivyn sanft. “I feel more like I’m → enchanted ”, fügte sie leise hinzu.
    “By what?”, fragte Thomas und sah verlegen in seine Espressotasse.
    “This restaurant, for example”, sagte sie hastig. “I have never eaten this much before. And I’m addicted to coffee now.”
    Sie lachten. Sie schwiegen. Irgendwann schaute Eivyn Thomas fragend an.
    “Do dreams feel like this?”
    “Nice dreams do”, sagte Thomas.
    “Elves don’t dream – it’s a human privilege.” Wieder sahen sie sich wortlos an.
    “Everything is working out fine. But the portal still hasn’t appeared.”
    “Perhaps it will really take a lifetime to solve my problems”, versuchte Thomas zu scherzen, aber es lag mehr Ernst in seinen Worten, als er beabsichtigte. Er fasste über den Tisch hinweg nach Eivyns Hand. “It’ll all work out in the end.”
    “Like in a fairytale? And they lived happily ever after?”, fragte Eivyn traurig. “I’m afraid I’ve become too human now to believe that.”
    “Just trust me.”
    “I do”, sagte Eivyn leise. “I really do.”
    Zu Hause angekommen, stürzte Thomas sofort zum Telefon. “Just in time. I must call Mrs Dougherty.”
    “Tonight?”, fragte Eivyn überrascht.
    “Yes.” Thomas schmunzelte. “She told me that when she comes home from office she enjoys the peace and quiet and drinks a cup of tea and does a bit of gardening. She has dinner at seven o’clock, and at eight o’ clock on the dot I may call her at home if I have something urgent to tell her. That’s 21.00 MET.” Er deutete auf seine Uhr. “Now.”
    “Uhm ... I’m not sure, but I think ...”, setzte Eivyn an.
    “Come on”, sagte Thomas. “Tell me!”
    “Just promise to look after her ‘baby’. You’ve always treated her with respect, so – if you promise to keep an eye on the quality of Dougherty’s , she might believe you. In fact I ...”, Eivyn zögerte, “... I hope she will.”
    Thomas nickte nachdenklich. Er tippte Mrs Doughertys Nummer ein.
    Es klingelte. Dann wurde abgehoben.
    Thomas drückte die Lautsprechertaste und erntete Eivyns strahlendstes Lächeln dafür.
    “Mr Renneberg – nice to hear from you.” Mrs Dougherty klang höflich, aber reserviert.
    “How are you?”, fragte Thomas höflich zurück.
    “Oh, I can’t complain. And how are you?”
    Thomas lachte. “I’m fine too and with good reason. Things are looking up. We have a new offer and before you say anything, I would like to apologize. You were right: Dougherty’s must stay as they are. I’ve always loved them the way they are myself and so I → stood up to my boss. Now we have looked into the matter and have come up with a far better → solution .” Er holte tief Luft. “I give you my word that they won’t change the → recipe and that I’ll always look out for the quality personally. I promise.”
    “The word of an → honourable gentleman is more → reliable than a treaty with a king”, sagte die alte Dame ruhig und es klang, als würde sie lächeln.
    Thomas atmete auf und begann, seine Vorschläge zu erläutern.
    Mrs Dougherty schien angetan, nur bei der Frage der erhöhten Produktion seufzte sie.
    “We’re a small company. I don’t think we can manage that”, sagte sie. “But if you keep an eye on things, I could perhaps let you produce Dougherty’s under licence.”
    “Thanks a lot!” Thomas legte die Hand auf die Sprechmuschel und küsste Eivyn mitten auf den Mund. Vor Freude. Sie legte ihm beide Arme um den Hals und erwiderte den Kuss.
    “So when will you come over to sign the contract?”, tönte es aus dem Lautsprecher.
    Thomas brauchte einige Augenblicke, um zu begreifen, dass Mrs Dougherty auf Antwort wartete. Eivyn schien nicht daran zu denken, ihn wieder loszulassen.
    “Sorry, I was → distracted for a second”, sagte er außer Atem. “I ... I’ll take the first flight tomorrow morning. I have a friend here. She is a bit unconventional. She helped me work out this solution. I would like to bring her with me. Is that all right with you?”
    “Of course! I love guests. I’ll look forward to it. And I’m sure she will be quite → delightful .”
    “Yes. She