When Carla dial the number of Wilhelm, she was very tensed or excited she could not explain what she felt. Thelma and Luisa who was watching her were also excited and curious.
"Mit Wilhelm guten abend." Wilhelm answered at the other end of the telephone saying, 'With Wilhelm, good evening'.
"Good evening, Carla speaking." Carla nervously greeted Wilhelm and introduced herself.
"Carla? The Filipina dancer!" Wilhelm was glad and excited. Carla can heard it from his voice.
"Hello, Wilhelm. You know I am a dancer?" Carla was surprised, Wilhelm mentioning that she was a dancer.
"Yes, I'd seen you in Locarno with your group dancing your country's cultural dance. I was very fascinated especially to you!" Wilhelm said that he saw Carla in Locarno dancing the Philippines cultural dances.
"Wow!" Carla laughed to what Wilhelm said. She blushed. "Wilhelm, sorry if I disturbed you and your family. Maybe your wife will become angry."
"She will not become angry because I have no wife!" Carla heard that Wilhelm chuckled. "She passed away for more than five years ago!"
"Oh, sorry. I thought you have a wife! I mean she is alive and with you, sorry, I do not know what I am saying anymore." Carla was rattled but had tried her best to hide the gladness upon hearing that Wilhelm was single and of course very available.
"You do not have to say sorry, I understand. I am a widower with one daughter." Wilhelm chuckling said to Carla. "You remember the girl I'm with when we met in the restaurant in France? She was my daughter, and her name is Helga."
"You said you saw me in Locarno, are you vacationing there with your daughter?"
"Yes, by the way Carla I am glad you called me. Maybe I can visit you or you can come to Germany."
"Wilhelm, sorry but I am only using a telephone card because the house telephone in our apartment can only be use local. We cannot talk long." Carla wanted to finished talking with Wilhelm because although she liked talking to him, she doesn't know what to answer about what Wilhelm said on visiting her or she coming to Germany.
"Okay, I understand, but please can you give me the telephone number of your house telephone?"
"Moment, it was written in the sticker on the phone." and Carla gave to Wilhelm the number of the house telephone in their apartment. Then said goodbye to Wilhelm and put down the telephone to its cradle.
"What happened, why you stopped talking to Wilhelm? You did not yet finish using the value of the card?" Luisa asked Carla.
"Yes, why?" Thelma also asked Carla.
"He said he want to come here or if I like I can come to Germany." Carla told the two girls about what Wilhelm had had said to her.
"That's what you want, why suddenly stopped talking to him?" Luisa could not understand the action of Carla.
"I am nervous, I don't know what to answer to him." Carla said and heaved a sigh. She also could not understand herself why she became nervous upon hearing that Wilhelm will come or that she could visit Germany.
Then the telephone rang. Luisa answered, it was Wilhelm. Upon knowing the house telephone in the apartment of the girls, Wilhelm quickly dial it. He wanted to continue what he thought was forcedly cut off conversation with Carla. Luisa gave the telephone to Carla. Carla composed herself and talked again with Wilhelm. Wilhelm asked many things about Carla and Carla answered Wilhelm that it is better to talk in person. Wilhelm then said he will come to Antwerp and time was set when he will come.
The next day Herman came. He invited the three girls to Rotterdam. The three girls were glad. They wanted to use the one week free given to them before they start to work.
Herman toured the girls in Rotterdam. He let them see the city. Rotterdam was a modern city compared to Amsterdam. Amsterdam still displayed many Renaissance buildings of the Medieval time while Rotterdam not so, according to Herman was that it had something to do about the bombing of Rotterdam by the Germans during World War II.
If Paris have Eiffel Tower, Rotterdam have Euromast situated in the Parkhaven. Euromast was a big mast with a platform that turned around up to the Space Tower. Euromast have a height of 186 meters. On the platform there is a restaurant. At the Space Tower one can have a spectacular sight of the whole city of Rotterdam from above.
The group also take the local cruise Spido. The boat sailed on the Maas River and to different ports of big businesses that stand so mighty along the water as Herman described to the girls that Rotterdam was the Heart of The Netherlands as it also housed the biggest port in Europe.
Herman also let the girls seen the Cube Houses. Outside the Cube Houses was very eye catching as the house liked stapled above each other, tilted 45 degree on their side. These Cubes where apartments were people really occupied. There is one Cube House stayed unoccupied for tourists to see how it looked inside, and the girls were surprised because the Cube House inside was the same with normal house, it is not slanting as what suggested from outside.
It was a busy, relaxing, informative day and the girls really enjoyed it and very satisfied. When they arrived in Antwerp, Herman did not come upstairs to the apartment of the girls, he drove right away back to Rotterdam. That night, the girls slept very well.
The next day, while the three girls were sitting by the table having breakfast, the telephone rang. They thought it was Herman and the two girls let Luisa answered but it was Wilhelm.
"Really?" Carla sounded surprised when she talked to Wilhelm after Luisa handed her the telephone.
"I am now in a gasoline station, thanking gasoline for my car. About thirty minutes I will be in your address." Wilhelm using a public telephone booth at the gasoline station said to Carla.
"Oh, okay." Carla answered Wilhelm short. When she put down the telephone, she was in a hurry to dressed herself. Thelma and Luisa quickly cleared the kitchen and were in a hurry to dressed themselves too.
Just five minutes after Wilhelm arrived with a bag of different kinds of sausages from Germany as gift to the girls when Herman also arrived. Herman had a plan to invite again the girls to the Netherland and tour them to Delft, a city where the tomb of the Arch(Founder) father of The Netherlands 'Willem van Oranje' as the Dutch people articulated it on their language can be found in the basement of a church and so also members of the Monarchy that passed away thru times.
The tour plan of Herman was cancelled as he also participated in entertaining Wilhelm as a visitor. They learned that Wilhelm was an Aircraft Engineer working in Rheine Air Base. He resided in Rheine, in the district of Steinfurt, Westphalia, Germany. He was not a military but just a civilian that work inside the base.
Carla observed that Herman hanged out with Wilhelm naturally, no hatred as what Herman earlier said that the only good Germans are Germans who were seven meters below the ground, words that one could take as hatred. The getting together was very cosy. They talked about Philippines, about the place Rheine, Germany and many more.
Wilhelm invited them for lunch to a restaurant and Herman must recommend which restaurant they will dine.
After the launch, they girls wanted to stroll around the shopping area of Antwerp. They have no money and as they said to the two men, they will only doing window shopping.
Then they passed the windows that displayed jewelleries and of course diamonds which Antwerp was also known. The girls cannot take away their eyes from the glittering diamonds that like shining stars in the sky.
Wilhelm noticed that Carla cannot take her eyes from the displayed ring with diamond and gemstone emerald.
"You like the ring?" Wilhelm asked Carla.
"It's a nice ring, it has emerald my birthstone!" Carla answered Wilhelm.
"Come with me inside!" Wilhelm invited Carla to come inside the jewellery store. Herman upon hearing it, looked at Wilhelm sharply but Wilhelm ignored it. He and Carla entered the store. Luisa noticed that Herman seemed angry to Wilhelm or not comfortable about the situation. Herman indeed did not like what Wilhelm was doing, it was a matter of male ego.
"You don't like that Wilhelm will buy a ring for Carla?" Luisa asked Herman.
Herman did not answered Luisa. He also came inside the store, approached Wilhelm, and asked Wilhelm to go outside the store. The girls were surprised and just looked at both Herman and Wilhelm as they made distanced from them. The two men were talking about something that the girls could not understood.****to be continued****Remedios Dorio