Royally Lost (11 page)

“Morning. Who’s at the door?”

“It’s got to be Dylan. He probably lost his key again,” Becca said, looking back. She opened the door, and her heart nearly stopped.

Her dad glanced up from peering at his phone. “Good morning, Becca. Did I wake you?”

17

Becca
pictured half-naked Nikolai lounging in Dylan’s bed. Crap! She stepped forward and pulled the door almost closed so her dad couldn’t see in the room.

“Uh, yeah. We were up really late talking.” Which technically wasn’t a lie.

“Vicky and I wanted to get an early start as it’s our last day of the cruise. Nuremberg has a lot of World War II history, and after missing half of yesterday, we don’t want to waste a minute.”

She fought to keep calm and act normal, but wondered if Nikolai could hear, and if he was as panicked as she.

“Okay, well I guess Dylan and I will explore on our own.”

“Before we take off, Vicky suggested I check out how you’re feeling after that run-in with the biker yesterday.” He pushed the door wide open and brushed past Becca into the cabin.

Becca rushed to defuse the explosion that was about to ignite.

“Where’s Dylan?” he asked, looking at the bed Nikolai had been sleeping in moments earlier.

She frantically searched the cabin, but didn’t see any signs of him. “Um, ah, he’s in the bathroom.”

“Oh. I have a few minutes to spare.” Her dad sat on Dylan’s bed and looked around the cabin, taking in every detail.

Becca’s eyes flashed from one corner of the room to the other. Was Nikolai in the bathroom? Or was he hanging from the rail outside the room? She even glanced up to see if he was perched on the ceiling like Spider-Man.

“You don’t have to, Dad. Sometimes he’s in there a long time.”

“I’ve barely seen the two of you the last few days. You know, Vicky was really hoping that this trip would bring us all closer. I guess we’re not much for family time.”

What was Becca supposed to say? He hadn’t made an effort to be a part of his kids’ lives since her mom died. She had no interest in getting closer to Vicky. The woman was just someone her dad married to fill the void.

“Yeah, it’s been a crazy trip,” she offered, unsure what else to say. Then she realized Nikolai’s shoes lay in plain sight. Would her dad recognize that they weren’t Dylan’s?

He sighed. “That it has. So are you okay after that bike crash yesterday?”

“I’m fine. Just a couple of bruises.”

The longer her dad stayed the more Becca wondered what other evidence of Nikolai might be lying around. His Vienna hat lay on the dresser, his clothes were neatly folded on the chair, his backpack leaned against the dresser.

“You got some sun,” her dad said.

Becca touched her cheek. She’d forgotten that a day at the lake would leave evidence. “Oh, yeah. I fell asleep up on deck.”

“Well, at least you got some fresh air.”

“So, where’s Vicky?” Becca prompted, hoping this would help get him out of the cabin before he discovered Nikolai popping out of the bathroom.

“She forgot her lip balm and is meeting me in the lobby. We’re taking the early bus into the city center. Did you know Nuremberg was totally destroyed in World War II, but all the artwork was saved? It was stored belowground in the barrel room of the breweries.”

Becca stared at him dumbfounded. “Ah, no. I didn’t know that. Well, I don’t want to hold you up.”

Suddenly the cabin door opened and Dylan strolled in with rumpled clothes and bloodshot eyes.

“I thought you were in the bathroom,” her dad said.

Becca forced a smile at Dylan and tilted her head toward the bathroom.

“Ah, no. I stepped up on deck to get some early morning pictures. It’s going to be another gorgeous day,” he said brightly.

Their dad’s eyes settled on Dylan’s camera lying on the dresser next to the Vienna baseball cap. “But your camera is right here,” he said.

Dylan didn’t miss a beat. “Yeah, I know. I forgot it, so I used my phone. Would you like to see some? They turned out pretty good.” He pulled his phone from his pocket.

“No. There will be plenty of time to look at pictures when we get home. I just stopped by to let you and Becca know that Vicky and I would like you to join us at eleven for the city tour, and then we’ll catch lunch right after near the marketplace.”

“Sounds good. We’ll be there.” Dylan dropped onto his bed and leaned back against the headboard.

“I better go. Vicky’s probably waiting for me in the lobby. We’ll see you in a couple of hours.”

“Great.” Becca hustled him toward the door. “Have fun.”

The second her dad passed over the threshold, Becca shut the door. She found Nikolai cautiously peeking out from the bathroom.

“Oh. My. God,” Becca said, lightly banging her head against the wall. “I thought I was going to have an aneurysm.”

Nikolai entered the room in his underwear, went straight to the chair, and slipped into his shorts. Dylan arched an eyebrow.

“Did you really have pictures from the top deck?” Becca asked, trying to ignore the bare-chested prince.

Dylan laughed. “Hell no. The pictures are from the concert last night and of Yuri and Andre doing shots of Russian vodka.”

“So the concert was a good time?” Nikolai asked, pulling on his shirt.

“It was epic.” Dylan pulled out the cycle keys and tossed them to Nikolai. “Thanks for the wheels. I parked it in the lot next to the dock.”

“My pleasure,” Nikolai said, smiling at Becca.

“Before I do anything else, I need a shower and food.” Dylan dragged himself into the bathroom.

Nikolai stood dressed and prepared to leave, his expression bleak.

Becca’s heart ached at the thought of saying good-bye. “I can’t believe this is the last day. I don’t want this to end.”

“I can’t imagine tomorrow without you. I never knew I could fall for someone so fast.” Nikolai wrapped his arms around her.

Dylan returned from the bathroom. “I’m glad to hear that, because if you two are up for it, I have a plan that might buy you a few more days.”

Becca perked up. “Seriously? Dylan, you better not be kidding.”

“Yuri and Andre were telling me about how they’ve been touring Europe and staying in hostels. They invited me to join them in Amsterdam.”

“So how does that help me?” Becca asked.

“Because I figure the only way Dad and his ball and chain will let me go is if you come, too.”

“To Amsterdam?”

“Or wherever you feel like going. The way I see it is that if we present this as a brother and sister wanting to join other students and backpack Europe for a few days and stay in hostels, it’ll be impossible for Dad to refuse. Heck, Vicky’s been pushing the idea all trip. It’ll be hard for them to say no. Plus, do you really think they want to be stuck with us in Munich? I’m sure Dad is so over playing the daddy figure by now.”

“So if we can get Dad to agree, then you go to Amsterdam and Nikolai and I go wherever we want?” She couldn’t believe this might actually work.

Dylan nodded.

“That’s so perfect. What do you think?” she asked Nikolai, anxious to see if he was as happy about it as she was.

He grinned. “I’ve never been to Prague, and it’s only a couple of hours from here.”

“Should we go?” she asked.

“Whoa, back the truck up,” Dylan said. “First we have to convince them. What time are we supposed to meet Dad?”

“Eleven.”

“Well then. We’ve got two hours to figure this out.”

Becca laughed to herself as Dylan, who never kept to a schedule, arrived for the walking tour promptly at eleven and went straight to work.

“Hey, Dad. What do you think of Nuremberg?”

“Dylan. Nice to see you on time.” Her father nodded. “We toured the Palace of Justice. Absolutely fascinating. You know my grandfather served here in World War II.”

Dylan walked alongside him. “I knew he served, but I didn’t know it was here.”

Becca followed with Vicky, trying to act relaxed, when in reality she couldn’t wait for Dylan to get on with it and ask about their side trip.

An hour later, their verbose guide finally finished his rambling. The tour ended in an open square with a marketplace and an ancient gold fountain. The guide stood on the steps of the fountain, dwarfed by its height. A black wrought-iron fence protected the fountain from the public.

“I hope you have enjoyed Nuremberg and are able to spend more time in this beautiful city. We end our tour here at the der Schöner Brunnen. This sixty-foot-tall fountain was originally erected in the 1300s and was replaced by this replica in 1902. Notice the gold rings attached to the wrought-iron fence. Legend says if you turn a ring three times, it will bring you good luck.”

“Go ahead, Becca, give it a try,” Vicky said.

Becca normally would have passed on the good-luck symbols, but if this helped get her dad to say yes to her trip, it was worth a little superstition. She grasped the three-inch ring and turned it three times, thinking of Nikolai with each turn and wondering how his morning was and what he was doing.

They waited as Vicky tried her luck, too. “I hope it works. Now how about some lunch?” she asked, leading the way. “The ship’s concierge recommended a place not far from here. It’s known to be the world’s oldest sausage restaurant.”

“I thought the place we saw yesterday was the world’s oldest sausage restaurant,” Becca said.

“I think they say whatever will bring in more customers. I guarantee you I won’t be eating any more sausages,” her father added.

The quaint restaurant featured outdoor seating under a large tree with lights dangling like icicles. Becca didn’t even taste the food as she ate, because Dylan still hadn’t asked their dad if they could go off on their own. Everything depended on this. If he said no, this would be her last day with Nikolai. Probably forever.

“So, Dad, I met some students from your alma mater yesterday who are backpacking through Europe.” Dylan took a drink of his beer.

Finally
.

“Harvard students, you don’t say?” Her dad nodded approval.

Point for Dylan. Nice one!

Vicky lit up. “Backpacking through Europe is one of my favorite college memories. Every student should have that experience.”

“Funny you should mention that because they actually invited me to join them.”

Becca watched silently, bouncing her leg under the table.

Dylan took a bite of his pretzel and proceeded to talk with food in his mouth. “At first I told them no, I couldn’t swing it. We’re leaving for Munich tomorrow. But then I got to thinking, heck, we’re here right now. This might be the best time to try out this whole hostel thing that Vicky keeps mentioning.”

Their father stared over his glasses at Dylan and took a bite of sauerkraut. He washed it down with a swig of beer. “That’s right. We have train tickets tomorrow and reservations for the next three nights.”

“I know, but after learning more about World War II and that my great-grandfather served here, I was thinking that this would be a perfect chance for Becca and me to explore more of the area.”

Her dad glanced at her. She tried to appear interested and positive without looking desperate.

Vicky chimed in. “You want Becca to join these students you met and travel together?”

“Exactly. Becca’s going off to college soon and I’ll be doing internships next summer. We may never get another chance to travel together.”

“Becca, what do you have to say about this?” her dad asked.

She set down her fork. “Well, when we started this vacation, I really didn’t want to come, but now that I’ve spent time here, I feel like I’m getting a new understanding of Europe and what the people have gone through.”

She took a sip of soda, hoping her nerves didn’t show. “Like the tour today, about how the whole city was destroyed and the United States helped rebuild it after the war. And to think we’re related to someone who was a part of that time. It’s pretty amazing. Plus, I rarely see Dylan anymore, and it would be great to have this experience with him.”

“I’m glad you’ve improved your attitude,” her dad started, “but as I said, we have tickets to depart in the morning. It makes no sense to change our plans now just because Dylan found an offer he likes better. Knowing your brother, these students have been manufactured in his head so he can go off with another skirt.”

“No, Dad, I’m not lying, they do exist. They’re taking the train up. There are four students, and I can introduce you to them this afternoon.” He shot Becca a panicked look.

“Vicky, what do you think?” Becca asked, hoping she’d be on their side for once.

Vicky cleared her throat. “Well, I think the idea of traveling with other students is wonderful.”

“See!” Dylan said.

“However, this whole trip is about family time and we haven’t really enjoyed much togetherness. I think what your father is trying to say is that he’d like to spend more time with the two of you. In Munich, we have our own flat. It’ll just be the four of us exploring the city together.”

Vicky noticed Becca’s crestfallen face. “Don’t worry, there will be other trips. You’re young.”

Becca’s time with Nikolai circled the drain. How could she have him follow her to Munich when it would be family 24/7? This meant that all she and Nikolai had left was this afternoon and tonight. It wasn’t enough. She wasn’t ready to say good-bye.

“So what? You’re not letting us go?” Dylan asked, in disbelief.

“No, Dylan. For once in your life you can’t go,” their father said. “You get away with an awful lot. Vicky worked very hard on this trip to try to bring the family together. I think you can think about someone other than yourself just this once.”

Becca cringed. They hadn’t been a family since her mom died. When her dad married Vicky, it did more to drive them apart than bring them together.

Dylan shoved away from the table.

“Where do you think you’re going?” her dad asked.

“To tell my friends that you crapped all over our plans.” Dylan stalked away from the table.

Becca grabbed her bag and followed.

“We aren’t finished here, young lady,” her dad commanded.

“Becca, aren’t you going to join us this afternoon?” Vicky asked in a gentler voice.

“No, I think I’ll spend the day with Dylan.” She gave her dad a murderous glare.