Beate Blüggel

"So what are you having?" said the old man, sounding rather impatient.

"The orange juice sounds good, but you never know whether it's fresh or not. Are you listening to me?" His wife did not seem to listen to him at all, she was watching a man sitting at the table across the corridor.

"What a strange person, Theodore. Have you seen that? First he talked to that blonde woman and showed her something. She must have been really shocked to create such a dramatic scene. Believe it or not, now he is talking to that dark -haired woman over there. Same kind of conversation, too! Do you think he is making indecent proposals? You men just never seem to give up, do you?!"

"What?" The old man could not believe his ears. "What man? What are you talking about?" And he looked around to where his wife had been looking for - in his opinion - far too long. There was a couple sitting at the table, talking. What was unusual about that? "Elizabeth, why do you worry about those people over there? That man has already ordered, and I should say the pasta he has do not look good at all. Do you think I should take the 'Sunny Delight'?"

"Far too much sugar", mumbled his wife, absent-mindedly. "But look at them! I bet she's a private detective, on the brink of solving this hard case. I wonder where she hides her gun."

"No", said Theodore, firm and decisive at last, "now I know! I'll have the ham sandwich with lettuce, and a glass of beer with it, and don't you tell me that alcohol is not good for me at this time of day, or you can go and sit with that couple over there."