Pension Little Seagull Volume 1: The first guests arrive

By Lynda Lys and Eliza Simon

Haro Fries inherits a house on Sylt from his uncle Heiko. Shortly thereafter, he sets off with his wife Wencke and their two young children to inspect the inheritance. The house turns out to be a tranquil guesthouse with the idyllic name "Kleine Möwe" (Little Seagull) and confronts the young couple with a decision: Should they sell? Rent it out? Or even give up their good middle-class life in Flensburg and run it themselves? The decision is quickly made, but their step into an uncertain future is not immune to the small and larger worries and hardships, as well as the obstacles that an inheritance brings ...

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookRix
• Release date: Nov 13, 2023
• ISBN: 9783755414049

Book preview

Copyright

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval System, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is pubUshed and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

Names, characters, businesses, places, events and inddents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a purely fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Pension Little Seagull is © and ™ by Edition Bärenklau and Bärenklau Exklusiv, 2022

„The first guests arrive" © 2022 by Authors

The translation of this issue © by Edition Bärenklau/Bärenklau Exklusiv, 2022

TABEL OF CONTENTS

Copyright

The Book

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

The Book

Haro Fries inherits a house on Sylt from his uncle Heiko. Shortly thereafter, he sets off with his wife Wencke and their two young children to inspect the inheritance. The house turns out to be a tranquil guesthouse with the idyllic name Kleine Möwe (Little Seagull) and confronts the young couple with a decision: Should they sell? Rent it out? Or even give up their good middle-class life in Flensburg and run it themselves?

The decision is quickly made, but their step into an uncertain future is not immune to the small and larger worries and hardships, as well as the obstacles that an inheritance brings ...

***

Chapter 1

Wencke Fries sat at the dining room table and looked at the envelope she had just taken out of the mailbox with the other mail. She twisted and turned it in her hands, wondering whether she should open the letter addressed to her husband Haro.

The sender was the district court in Niebüll. She was already curious, but it would be hours before Haro got home from work. After all, it was only around noon and her husband usually never got home before seven in the evening.

Wencke sighed and looked at the clock, already half past two. In the morning she promised her children Mia and Janis that she would pick them up early from kindergarten today. She put the letter on Haro's seat and rose.

It was the middle of May and the sun, which had been shining from a cloudless sky for a few days, was again today moderately spreading its warmth over the town of Weiche, which was a district of the independent city of Flensburg.

She had lived there with her 33-year-old husband, Haro, their 5-year-old daughter, Mia, and 3-year-old son, Janis, for six years on Ox Lane. They lived there for rent in a mid-terrace house in a pretty four-room apartment. There was an itty-bitty garden out back, and it was just under three and a half kilometers to the city center.

She put on a light cardigan, combed through her wispy brown hair and put on her light-colored sports shoes. She wanted to take the children to Café Hübscher for an ice cream and then to the playground, which was just around the corner.

She opened the front door, grabbed her backpack on her way out, and strode through the small front yard. Standing by the fence, her neighbor Mrs. Paulsen waved her over.

Hello Mrs. Fries, nice to meet you, did you hear nice ...

Wencke interrupted her with a laugh and pointed her finger at her watch.

Mrs. Paulsen, unfortunately I don't have time, I have to go. Mia and Janis are waiting for me at the kindergarten, we want to go to the playground.

Mrs. Paulsen pulled the corners of her mouth down in a huff. Yes, yes, well, hurry up then. Wasn't that important either, she said and started watering her little rose bush.

Wencke was glad to escape the gossip. Mrs. Paulsen knew about everyone and everything, nothing remained hidden from her. Wencke always found it extremely unpleasant to have to listen to gossip about her neighbors. She didn't care if the couple three houses down got divorced or that the son of family so-and-so hadn't passed his school leaving exams. Mrs. Paulsen knew everything!

Wencke barely noticeably shook her head and ran off. The kindergarten was less than five hundred meters from the apartment and was a five-minute walk away.

The daycare was fenced and the colorful building was surrounded by a large garden.

Wencke pressed the PIN number on the front gate and it immediately opened with a soft buzzing sound. She closed the garden door behind her and entered the house. Inside, the lively chatter of the little ones could be heard; they were just getting dressed to go play in the large garden.

From a distance she saw Janis, who was trying hard to put on his new shoes. Again and again he put his little foot into the shoe, but somehow it didn't seem to work.

Mia, who was in a group room further on, came out and watched Janis struggling. She walked up to him, sat down next to him, and Wencke heard her little daughter's words of instruction: Janis, you have to open your shoe first, look like this, she said and tore at the Velcro fastener. With a loud rattle, she opened his shoe and gave it back to her little brother.

And then you can slip in there. Try it.

Wencke watched this scene touched and moved in the direction of her children.

Janis spotted his mother first and jumped up from the floor. With only one shoe, he ran into his mother's arms. The little tyke proudly showed her his foot and crowed, I did that all by myself.

Wencke laughed and stroked his head lovingly.

Great job on that, she praised him. And if you can do it with the second shoe, too, then we can go out for ice cream.

Janis ran back and in no time at all he put on the second shoe. Mia meanwhile took her kindergarten bag from the hook and ran towards her mother as well. Wencke opened her arms wide and caught her.

Well, my little sunshine. I saw how you helped your brother. That was really sweet of you, Wencke praised her daughter and pressed a kiss on her cheek. They said goodbye to the teacher and the three of them left the kindergarten.

*

Having arrived at Café Hübscher, Wencke looked around. The tables, which stood outside in a kind of front garden, were well attended, the guests came and went every minute. They managed to get a small table in the far corner and sat down. A stressed waitress took their order and ten minutes later each of them ate a large ice cream sundae.

Janis impatiently slid back and forth on his chair, he finally wanted to go to the playground. His chocolate mouth didn't stand still for a second and he babbled the whole time until Mia rolled her little eyes in annoyance.

Janis, shut up, she said, and Wencke thanked her inwardly for those words. She waved the waitress over, paid and a short time later they went on their way.

On the way, Wencke took a pack of wet wipes from her backpack and wiped Janis' smeared face.

You don't have to tell right away that you just ate an ice cream, Wencke smirked, giving Janis a gentle pat on the butt.

One street over was the playground. When they arrived there, it was bustling with activity. Wencke looked for a shady spot on one of the benches, put her backpack and her offspring's kindergarten bags next to her and sighed contentedly.

She was at peace with herself and her little world. She loved Haro as much as the first day they met nine years ago. Together they had two healthy children and her dream of working as an independent midwife would also come true someday.

She was currently working part-time as an employee in a birth center. She liked it there very much, the way to work was not far and with consideration for her children she did the early duty with exceptions. In the summer months, she rode her bicycle the almost four kilometers and only when it was freezing cold or raining cats and dogs, she used her small car.

After about an hour, Janis started to nag. In a whiny voice, he came running to the bench and wanted to go home. He sat down on Wencke's lap, snuggled up to her and watched Mia slide. Wencke sensed that he was getting tired and decided to