Home For Christmas

IV

"Um, Hermann?" Newt called out, unsure of how polite it was to be shouting in a stranger's house. Hermann entered the room almost immediately. "Super sorry to bother you, and thank you again so much for letting me in but um there some kind of trick to using the phone? Because it sounds like the line is dead."

"Yes, I just heard on the radio that many power lines have gone down and much of the town's power has gone-" He was interrupted by the lights shutting off. "...out."

"Uh, Hermann... I can't see anything so I'm gonna reach out and try to find you." Newt said slowly moving his arms around. He hit something solid and heard a gasp. "Sorry! Did I hit you? What am I touching right now?" He asked nervously.

"You are touching my arm Newton." Hermann said simply. "You are just very very cold. There is a flashlight in the kitchen, I'm going to get it in a moment, but first I'm going to guide you to the fire."

"Oh." Newt said quietly. Hermann hooked Newt's arm in his and held his one hand in both of his own. He moved his hands back and forth, trying to warm him up while walking him to the fire place. He sat him down and Newt watched him with sparkling eyes as he knelt with him in the dim fiery glow.

"I will return in just a moment." He said rising back up to his feet. He came back with a flashlight in hand. "I'm going to go out to my truck and see if I can radio anyone in. Just stay put." Hermann walked towards the door where he pulled on a big jacket and slipped into some boots. He opened the door and the room was filled with a cold burst of air, then he had slammed the door behind himself. Newt shuffled closer to the fire, removing his coat. He put his hands close and sniffled as he waited for Hermann to return. He had just regained feeling in all his body parts when the door swung open again.

"We're up to three feet of snow." Hermann said as he removed the scarf from around his mouth. "And all the roads are closed." He added, stepping out of his boots. "The power is out, so the heat is going to be going out soon as well." He sighed. He hung his coat up and walked over to Newt, offering his hand. "You should change into dry clothes." Newt felt his cheeks turn pink as he accepted the hand of the man who had been nothing short of an angel to him. Hermann guided him to his room where he pulled out a pair of sweatpants, a sweater and some fuzzy socks. "You may change in here I'll be bringing blankets to the fireplace. We're going to have to sleep there tonight, everywhere else in the house will be far too cold."

"Uh, right." Newt nodded, blushing as Hermann handed him a flashlight. "Thanks." Hermann just nodded as he closed the door to give him privacy. Newt peeled of his sopping wet clothes and shivered as he made the transition to the the comfortable, though ill fitting, sweats. Newt walked back into the living room where he saw Hermann tending to the fire. "Thank you, again." Newt said, breaking Hermann away from his thoughts. Hermann looked up and his eyes went wide, his mouth hung slightly open and he had to remind himself to close it and that he did, in fact, have to respond.

"O-of course." He stuttered out. "So, Mr. Geiszler, what were you doing out in that storm?" Hermann asked as Newt came to sit down next to him by the fire.

"Being an idiot." Newt laughed to himself. Hermann raised an eyebrow and Newt began to speak again. "I was driving to visit my family for the holidays, but I decided to cancel my hotel and try to drive to Berlin in one trip." Newt smiled. Hermann stared at him, mouth agape. "Because you know I wanted to surprise them by getting home early. Pretty stupid, right?" He paused to gauge Hermann's reaction then continued. "Well this wasn't even the first time my car broke down."

"Well, it sounds like you've had quite the adventure." Hermann said stoking the fire as he felt Newt scoot closer.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? I'm really cold." Newt shivered.

"Of course not." Hermann wrapped a blanket around Newt's shoulders and pulled him closer.

"Thanks." Newt couldn't tear his eyes away from Hermann's face. "So, uh, what are you doing up here? Vacation?"

"I'm going to be spending my Christmas here." He said simply. "Give me your hands." He didn't elaborate, rubbing Newt's hands in his own.

"Alone?" Newt furrowed his eyebrows.

"Alone." Hermann confirmed with a sigh.

"Aren't you gonna visit your family? It's Christmas time ma-" He was interrupted.

"No. No I don't think I will." Hermann answered abruptly. He didn't look up from Newt's hands and they sat there silently for a bit.

"Don't tell me you're a scrooge." Newt smiled, shoulder bumping Hermann as he tried to make the mood less bleak.

"Bah Humbug." Hermann replied with a small smile, blowing warm air on their hands as he rubbed. Newt laughed at that, it was a giggle that bubbled to the surface and made the air around them seem lighter.

"So Mr. Grinch," Newt smiled as he started the sentence out jokingly. "Are you really spending Christmas up here by yourself?" He frowned, he knew he should've dropped it but his curiosity got the better of him.

"I..." Hermann paused to think. "I don't have anyone to spend Christmas with." He replied quietly. They sat there silently for a bit, just looking each other in the gentle glow of the fireplace, listening to the wood as it crackled and burned. Hermann cleared his throat, breaking the silence as well as the eye contact, to speak. "We should get you something to eat." He stood up and made his way to the kitchen, leaving Newt cold and at a loss for words. "The power may be out," Hermann spoke from the kitchen. "But the stove should still be working." He said opening a can of what Newt assumed to be soup.

Newt followed him into the kitchen, still wrapped in a blanket. "So do you live up here?" He asked, trying to start a less rigid conversation.

"Sometimes." Hermann said, not looking up from the soup on the stove.

"Mysterious." Newt smiled, coming closer. "So how often do you live here?" He asked.

"Not often." Hermann was trying to keep the conversation to a minimum, but that wasn't exactly Newt's strong suit.

"I usually don't live back in Munich, but I'm working there as a professor right now." Newt leaned on the counter next to the stove, that seemed to get Hermann's attention.

"You're a professor?" He asked, sounding shocked. "What, may I ask, do you teach?"

"Uh biotech and bio-engineering." Newt was watching Hermann stir the soup on the stove and he watched as he stopped stirring, mouthed what Newt had just said back to himself, blinked, and started stirring again. "So what do you do?" Newt asked with a smile.

"I used to be a part of a sort of... partnership. I helped run a family business." Hermann said, not looking up from the soup.

"Oh cool! That sounds fun." Newt nodded, expecting him to continue. Hermann did not reply and the air hung thick between them. "I'm going home to see my dad and my uncle! I don't have any brothers or sisters or anything." He looked to Hermann who was still looking at the stove. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Newt asked, desperately trying to keep the conversation going.

"The soup is ready."