07-11-2025, 09:33 PM
I board the ICE train and put my backpack on the seat next to me. Hopefully, they'll hire me. I passed my chef's exam, and my graciously extended, but still temporary, contract expires at the end of August. There's no successor in sight, so two months of something completely different would be a welcome change.
After arriving in Cologne, I take the tram to the station and meet several other applicants there. Most are between 18 and 25, so at 20, I'm well within the range. First, there's a language test, after which the first few are allowed to leave. Because good English is valued in the catering industry, even if, like me, you only work behind the scenes as a chef, that's no problem for me. Next, we get stone-placing lessons and finally, we're given a track to build under the watchful eye of Robin Weijers. At the end of the construction time, we have to knock over our work of art, and it shouldn't get stuck, but it does anyway. Whatever the case, I'm one of the chosen ones and am supposed to move to Leeuwarden, Netherlands, for two months in September.
Back in Hamburg, I cook my way through the last few weeks, and finally, it's my last day of work at the fish restaurant where I've trained and worked for the past four years. My boss hands me an envelope, and I skim through the contents on the subway. It's a job posting for Nuremberg, but I'm never going there. Inland? Not me. I was born and raised in Hamburg, speak Low German better than High German, and my horizon of happiness stretches about as far inland as one can see from the top of the dike. Accordingly, only Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and the coast of Lower Saxony are possible locations for my future career.
I board the IC and heave my suitcase into the overhead compartment. After an endless five and a half hours and several transfers, I finally arrive in Leeuwarden and am met by a driver. Two other girls arrived on the same train—no thanks. Just looking at their uninhibited giggles, I have to agree with Klaus Wowereit: "I'm gay, and that's a good thing!" Even though the women certainly regret it for a reason, but more on that later. Hopefully, there'll be a cute boy to look at in the huge group of people building the train. That he's gay, too, and that would lead to something more, is probably asking too much of Fortuna.
Arriving at the dorm, after a brief greeting from Robin, I meet my roommate, who moved in a few hours earlier: "Hello! I'm Christopher." His Hessian accent betrays his origins just as clearly as my Hamburg accent; his attempt to use mostly High German words and as little Northern German pronunciation as possible is only moderately successful. "Moin moin, Aaron. You can see it, too." A quirk of nature ensures that I look like Aaron Carter, and one of my parents ensures that I have the same first name. I only have to pass on the last name, because it's German: Baumgart. "That's right, you can really see that name. Will I have to keep my girlfriend away from you on Family Day? She's so into Aaron Carter that I'm starting to get jealous of the guy, even though he lives in America." - "Don't worry, I won't steal her away from you." If only he knew why not...
Over the next few days, there's more instruction in arranging dominoes, because it's a completely different thing to set up a row in the station's foyer than a picture. And after a week, it's time to move on to the living object. The huge hall on the one hand and 4.3 million dominoes on the other have a somewhat depressing effect. Groups of people fill up tiny spots in the hall; it's like a drop in the ocean. On top of that, a lot of things go wrong due to the lack of routine. After a week, the feeling of emptiness finally subsides, and you start to look around a little more closely. And so it hits me one morning. We work with different people on each project, and that morning I notice a boy my age, whose name, according to his team shirt, is Felix, and who comes from Switzerland. He has short brown hair, a great body, two earrings on his left hand, and a dragon tattoo on his left upper arm. Whenever the setup allows, I sneak a look at him. I don't get any further because I'm far too shy. I've also had bad experiences with coming out in the past, which might happen at some point. I'd rather have something nice to look at than have him turn away from me.
The problem of coming out is brought back to me on family day, when my sister, her boyfriend, and my best friend arrive. My parents and my brother, and my grandfather, have all but forgotten about me since the coming out. My grandmother would have loved to come along, but she didn't want to risk the trip. Felix was visited by his parents and a boy of about 16, obviously his brother. At some point, my sister whispers to me: "You have good taste." - "What?" - "Well, you could probably start dressing the Swiss boy again. Your looks are tearing his clothes off." Hendrik, my friend, murmurs to me: "Our dike sheep Aaron is falling for a mountain goat? I can't believe it!" Shocked, I ask: "Is it that obvious?" - "If you know you, definitely. But even otherwise, it probably doesn't take much imagination to guess."
It's now mid-October, and I'm back working with Felix on a team. We're talking about our normal lives at breakfast. He's also 20, a trained automotive electrician, and lives in Interlaken. He doesn't have a girlfriend, but is there a glimmer of hope?
We continue building and just before the end it happens. Felix hits a stone and it drags several thousand more with it to their doom. I slump to my elbows in despair and watch the mishap. A French woman in our group snaps at him: "Can't you be careful? Now we're back where we were this morning!" The others join in the chorus. A tear runs down Felix's cheek, then he gets up and runs towards the exit, while Robin yells across the hall: "Hey! Don't run!" I say to the group: "You start rebuilding the field, I'll try the same with Felix," before I also run out the door, but without exceeding Robin's speed limit. From the lock, I see Felix running out the main exit. Now I'm allowed to run too, and I stay right behind him. The FEC is on the outskirts of town and we run along a canal towards a railway bridge. I finally caught up with him under the bridge. He gave up and slumped down on the bank of the railway embankment. I sat down next to him. Painfully, he blurted out, "I'm sorry I ruined your day," then he started to cry. "Can I lean on your shoulder?" he asked through his tears. Of course he could... "Sure, it doesn't bother me." - "You just have to be careful when you don't know people that well. Otherwise, you'll get hasty thoughts." That hit home. My thoughts might not be what I feared, that I might think he's gay, but they were apparently still 'hasty,' and the way he used the word sounded negative. I put my arm around his shoulders anyway and comforted him.
After he's calmed down, we head back to the hall just in time for the end of the shift. Felix avoids the group and, after a brief goodbye, goes to lunch alone. After lunch, I call my sister from a quiet corner behind a partition and tell her about the incident, raving about our experience on the railway embankment. After 20 minutes, I press the button with the red receiver, step out of my semi-hiding place, and get the shock of my life. Felix walks off less than three meters further at a brisk pace and doesn't appear again for the rest of the day. What did he hear?
After a very restless night, I discover at breakfast that Felix isn't there. Feeling rather out of sorts, I start my shift, but he doesn't show up. After a few accidents, I'm assigned to build 'islands' where I can, at best, knock over my own work. Others make the connection to the overall work of art. During the shift change, Felix comes into the workshop; he's been transferred to the other shift.
With some resentment, I continue building over the next few weeks, until the Monday before the show, when the sparrow flies into the hall. After the hunter shoots down the little troublemaker, we're behind schedule, and our work of art, which I've grown closer to Felix, is in ruins. Troy was supposed to fall in keeping with history, but not before the Big Bang, but only in ancient times! During the reconstruction, we end up in the same shift again, but he avoids my gaze for two days, building as far away as possible. After dinner, I meet him alone in the hallway. "Felix? I think we need to talk." He gives me a sad, disappointed look and moves on. Naturally, I come back to my room, pretty angry, and slam the door. Christopher jolts out of his book: "Man, Aaron. Does that really have to happen?" - "Yes!" - "I don't think so. What's wrong? You've been totally different a few weeks ago, much more serious and all." - "That's none of your business!" He looks at me pityingly: "That's what I thought at first. But we share this room, and if you're spreading a bad mood, then that's my business." - "But you still don't want to know. Believe me." - "Oh yes, I do. Or you can switch to a good mood now and stay in this mode until Saturday. As soon as we're on separate trains, you can be as grumpy as you want again."
The experiment worked for exactly 24 hours. The next day, I addressed Felix questioningly by name, but he rejected me: "Leave me alone. In the end, it'll only lead to disappointment." So he heard it and is now angry with me. So I returned to the room in a correspondingly bad mood. I managed to grab the door as it swung shut at the last moment and quietly closed it, but Christopher slammed his book all the more loudly: "Okay, that's enough! What's going on? And believe me, now I really want to know!" - "You don't want to. It has to do with the fact that I'm gay." - "So what? What's wrong? I already have two gay friends. So?" - "Oh, man. I guess we'll never get rid of you?" - "Yes, on Saturday. But we had an agreement that you didn't keep." - "Okay. I've fallen in love with a boy on the team..." - "Surely the little Swiss guy with the two earrings and the tattoo on his arm? What's his name again? Felix, right?" - "Oh my goodness. You were curious about that?" - "No, not really. But the day he overturned the field and then got so heckled by the group and ran out, you were the only one who didn't join in and went after him. Afterwards, you came back together. So I just put two and two together when you said you were in love. Because without love, you'd probably be furious if someone messed up a five-and-a-half-hour job with 30 minutes to go." - "Okay. You did the math. I just comforted him that day, and we were pretty close. Afterwards, I told my sister about it on the phone from what I thought was a quiet corner. And he overheard it. He's been avoiding me ever since." - "Well, I feel sorry for you. On Saturday you're getting on the train and you'll probably never see him again. There are certainly enough good-looking guys in Hamburg. It would be ridiculous if there wasn't one for you. You'd better forget about him as soon as possible." His cell phone rings. "Yes, Christopher here?" It's a man's voice, that's all I can hear. "Okay, André. I'll be there as soon as I can. I was going to call you right away anyway. It might take a few minutes, though." He says to me: "That was someone from the team I've become friends with. He wants to talk to me. Can I leave you alone?" - "Yes, fine." When he's out, his advice is still ringing in my head: "You'd better forget about him as quickly as possible." He's a good talker; his girlfriend is at home waiting for him. Then I try to place the name André, but for the life of me, I can't. After about an hour, Christopher returns, and I think I see a grin on his face. At least someone in this room has something to laugh about.
Somehow, I make it through the last two days, and it's Friday evening. The construction crews are gathered together, Frauke Ludowig comes by and interviews a few of us Germans, and finally, to our applause, Anastacia pushes the first stone, which towers far above her. After a while, it's Troy's turn, the project where Felix, with one unfortunate move, literally triggered a chain reaction. I glance over at him, and he watches the stones fall with a mixture of sadness and jubilation; I feel the same. It won't be long now, and the spectacle we've been working hard for over the past few months will be over. Meanwhile, Christopher is discussing things with a boy who, although he has his back to me, betrays his Swiss accent: "Do you think Robin will join us?" - "I don't know, he said he'd already made his choice, but wanted to think about it. Do you have a plan B?"
The crosshairs appear, and the people are being chosen for one final construction challenge. I can't believe it; it sticks with me. The monitor displays "Aaron Baumgart, Germany." No doubt they're talking about me. The next time I see the monitor, I'm even more stunned: "Felix Jaennli, Switzerland." I look around at Christopher, who's grinning broadly at me, and suddenly not only the dominoes but also the proverbial penny drops: André is Felix's roommate. We get to our task: Felix has to hold a square piece of wood still as a bridge between the stones arranged on a track while I place the stones on top. I start, but wisely skip the first one. After the fourth or fifth, the whole thing falls over again in excitement. "You can do it, I believe in you!" Felix says to me with a sweet smile. I set up the stones again and immediately place the first one. Otherwise, time will be too short. Then I quickly continue building towards the end. There are still five or six stones missing when the first stones fall over at the end of the lane. "Careful. I have to move the board now! Otherwise we won't make it." I follow Felix's movement and place the second-to-last stone just before the first one on the board is pushed. Now the last one; it's getting tight. Quickly and carefully, I place the stone on the board, which Felix, meanwhile, moves the two centimeters toward the other end of the lane. I throw up my arms, a split second before the stone is pushed and the chain reaction continues on the other side. Felix drops the board, throws up his arms as well, and takes a step toward me. We clap our hands together, and then I stop. I hug him, which he immediately returns. We dance in a circle a few times until he whispers to me: "That was great! Oh man, I love you!" - "I love you too. And be careful, I mean it!" I reply. "I've known that for four weeks. And I mean it, by the way." In a trance, we kiss on the mouth before a second-long silence followed by sudden cheers brings us back to reality. And that reality is: 'Guys, you just came out to an audience of millions in eight countries!' Startled, I break the hug, but Felix just says, "It's about to happen. We should have thought of that a minute ago. But whatever, the evening belongs to us now." We walk back hand in hand, and on the way, Robin passes us: "Guys, I've never been so nervous. But I knew you could do it. You're my heroes. And I see you're your own heroes now, too. Thank Christopher and André." The group falls pretty quiet when we arrive. Only those two people giggle because they're clearly involved in the whole thing. They break the ice for us by welcoming us back into the group, hugging us, and then asking the reserved group, "What's wrong? Those two just saved a sixth of a million stones for us!" And so almost everyone congratulates us on our achievement. In the end, it's clear that the 4 million stones have been broken, and with them the world record. The lead over the old world record is roughly the same number of stones as were in our special stage. Felix hasn't left my side since our stage, and once again we hug each other when we get the result.
During the party, I get a call from my sister. She first congratulates me on the world record and on Felix, then tells me that I should stay well away from the rest of the family. I'd be completely outcast now. Why doesn't this surprise or bother me? Felix also talks to someone on the phone, but I don't notice anything. Judging by his expression, the call doesn't seem to be problematic. He does seem a bit worried, but it doesn't look like a catastrophe, just a difficult task.
After the party, I want to know exactly: “Christopher? What was that?” - "Well, when you confessed to me that you were gay and in love with Felix, you got a call from André. Felix had also told him that he was gay and in love with you. He already knew that you were, because he had actually overheard your conversation with your sister. But he didn't see any prospects and had recently been disappointed in love. That's why he was so dismissive; he hoped that you would avoid him too, and that by Saturday it would all be over anyway. André asked me if there might be a solution to bring you together after all. I knew you best in the team. Of course, he was preaching to the choir. Suddenly, Robin Weijers came by, and André had an idea. He briefly explained the situation and asked Robin if the two of you could do a challenge together. He said he already had someone for it, but would think about it. If you went through such an extreme situation together, we hoped that you would still find each other. And when you were the first to be called for the challenge, it was almost clear to us who the second. And as you can see, our plan worked." - "Yes, but unfortunately only until tomorrow at noon."
I board the regional train to Groningen and start crying. On the other side of the platform, Felix is boarding the IC train to Zwolle with André, Christopher, and many other members of the team. We just shared a tender goodbye kiss, and now we're going our separate ways. We agreed to stay in touch, but what good does that do? It's a nine-hour drive from Hamburg to Interlaken. I'm looking for a pack of tissues when I come across a long-forgotten letter. Life goes on, I need a job. So I'm going to call them now, even though it's Saturday. In the restaurant industry, the weekend usually takes place on other days anyway. A train noise can be clearly heard in the background as the person I'm calling answers: "Diamanthotels Niederhuber." - "Aaron Baumgart, good afternoon. I know I should have called three months ago. Mr. Friedrichsen from 'Zum Freihafen' in Hamburg recommended I apply to you at the time, and I wanted to ask if there's still a possibility." - "Hmm, that was a while ago." - "Yes, I've been doing something completely different in the meantime and helped break the world record for the domino chain reaction," I stammer. "Well, yes. I don't have anything left in Nuremberg, of course, but I do have a position in mind where I need a chef with a lot of experience with fish. And I also know that the training at 'Zum Freihafen' is excellent. I'm currently on my way to Hamburg. If you don't mind, we can meet tomorrow at 'Zum Freihafen' at 12:00 PM." Yes, in the restaurant industry, the weekend really is every day except Saturday and Sunday. "Okay, I'll come."
The conversation goes well, we arrange a second meeting the following day, even though everything is already clear to me, and I sign an employment contract at this second meeting. "Can you start before December 1st?" - "Theoretically, yes. However, I also have to organize the move." - "Of course, you can have a room at the hotel for the interim period. Theoretically, you could come down with me the day after tomorrow; I'm on my way to Geneva." - "Thanks, but that's a bit too sudden. I'll need a few more days to get everything sorted out here. Arrival next Tuesday? I'll let you know if I even need the room." - "Good, I'll inform the hotel manager and the head chef then."
I board the ICE train and try to fit my two suitcases and my backpack in. It's Tuesday morning. I'll arrive this afternoon and start tomorrow as a chef at the four-star Diamant-Seehotel Thun. Thirty kilometers away from a certain hotel in Interlaken. I'll be with him every day!
As I step off the Intercity train, Felix is already standing in front of me. A tear rolls down his cheek, and I sense that I feel the same way, as we throw our arms around each other. Then he turns around and introduces me to his family: "This is my mother Sabine, my father René, and my brother Andreas. And this is my sweetheart Aaron." I'm instantly welcomed into the family, it seems.
"You ride with me, your luggage with the others." Standing in the forecourt, I understand the point: Felix drives a Corvette convertible, which doesn't leave much room for luggage, and it has to be loaded into the Opel Signum. "I could have taken your car. But because my family wanted to come along, I took the Corvette instead. You'll get a Chevrolet Beretta if it's approved. Otherwise, you can have my new bad-weather car, which is an Astra. We'll just have to swap the license plate with the Beretta at the motor vehicle registration office (yes, in Switzerland cars are actually registered, not licensed!). The Astra has a swap license plate with the Corvette." I try to catch my breath, but Felix cuts me off: "Don't say anything. The first thing you have to learn is that my family doesn't talk about money, they have it. I've never told you that before, because I would only be sure that you love me and not my money like my ex did if you got off the train in front of me, believing I'm a boy from a completely normal background. My father is very high up at Opel Switzerland." The attitude towards money reinforces the house, which should probably be called a villa. Under a carport are a brand new Opel Astra convertible, a 125cc motorcycle, a closed, equally new Astra, and my black Beretta.
We go into the house and Felix leads me to 'our wing,' the upper floor we share with Andreas and his father's office. We have our own living room, bathroom, and bedroom. The sight of the double bed, giant sofa set, and equally giant bathtub with whirlpool function, with Felix in my arms, overwhelms me: "This must be a dream." He replies: "It is a dream. The most beautiful dream of my life. And we're only at the very beginning!"
After arriving in Cologne, I take the tram to the station and meet several other applicants there. Most are between 18 and 25, so at 20, I'm well within the range. First, there's a language test, after which the first few are allowed to leave. Because good English is valued in the catering industry, even if, like me, you only work behind the scenes as a chef, that's no problem for me. Next, we get stone-placing lessons and finally, we're given a track to build under the watchful eye of Robin Weijers. At the end of the construction time, we have to knock over our work of art, and it shouldn't get stuck, but it does anyway. Whatever the case, I'm one of the chosen ones and am supposed to move to Leeuwarden, Netherlands, for two months in September.
Back in Hamburg, I cook my way through the last few weeks, and finally, it's my last day of work at the fish restaurant where I've trained and worked for the past four years. My boss hands me an envelope, and I skim through the contents on the subway. It's a job posting for Nuremberg, but I'm never going there. Inland? Not me. I was born and raised in Hamburg, speak Low German better than High German, and my horizon of happiness stretches about as far inland as one can see from the top of the dike. Accordingly, only Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, and the coast of Lower Saxony are possible locations for my future career.
I board the IC and heave my suitcase into the overhead compartment. After an endless five and a half hours and several transfers, I finally arrive in Leeuwarden and am met by a driver. Two other girls arrived on the same train—no thanks. Just looking at their uninhibited giggles, I have to agree with Klaus Wowereit: "I'm gay, and that's a good thing!" Even though the women certainly regret it for a reason, but more on that later. Hopefully, there'll be a cute boy to look at in the huge group of people building the train. That he's gay, too, and that would lead to something more, is probably asking too much of Fortuna.
Arriving at the dorm, after a brief greeting from Robin, I meet my roommate, who moved in a few hours earlier: "Hello! I'm Christopher." His Hessian accent betrays his origins just as clearly as my Hamburg accent; his attempt to use mostly High German words and as little Northern German pronunciation as possible is only moderately successful. "Moin moin, Aaron. You can see it, too." A quirk of nature ensures that I look like Aaron Carter, and one of my parents ensures that I have the same first name. I only have to pass on the last name, because it's German: Baumgart. "That's right, you can really see that name. Will I have to keep my girlfriend away from you on Family Day? She's so into Aaron Carter that I'm starting to get jealous of the guy, even though he lives in America." - "Don't worry, I won't steal her away from you." If only he knew why not...
Over the next few days, there's more instruction in arranging dominoes, because it's a completely different thing to set up a row in the station's foyer than a picture. And after a week, it's time to move on to the living object. The huge hall on the one hand and 4.3 million dominoes on the other have a somewhat depressing effect. Groups of people fill up tiny spots in the hall; it's like a drop in the ocean. On top of that, a lot of things go wrong due to the lack of routine. After a week, the feeling of emptiness finally subsides, and you start to look around a little more closely. And so it hits me one morning. We work with different people on each project, and that morning I notice a boy my age, whose name, according to his team shirt, is Felix, and who comes from Switzerland. He has short brown hair, a great body, two earrings on his left hand, and a dragon tattoo on his left upper arm. Whenever the setup allows, I sneak a look at him. I don't get any further because I'm far too shy. I've also had bad experiences with coming out in the past, which might happen at some point. I'd rather have something nice to look at than have him turn away from me.
The problem of coming out is brought back to me on family day, when my sister, her boyfriend, and my best friend arrive. My parents and my brother, and my grandfather, have all but forgotten about me since the coming out. My grandmother would have loved to come along, but she didn't want to risk the trip. Felix was visited by his parents and a boy of about 16, obviously his brother. At some point, my sister whispers to me: "You have good taste." - "What?" - "Well, you could probably start dressing the Swiss boy again. Your looks are tearing his clothes off." Hendrik, my friend, murmurs to me: "Our dike sheep Aaron is falling for a mountain goat? I can't believe it!" Shocked, I ask: "Is it that obvious?" - "If you know you, definitely. But even otherwise, it probably doesn't take much imagination to guess."
It's now mid-October, and I'm back working with Felix on a team. We're talking about our normal lives at breakfast. He's also 20, a trained automotive electrician, and lives in Interlaken. He doesn't have a girlfriend, but is there a glimmer of hope?
We continue building and just before the end it happens. Felix hits a stone and it drags several thousand more with it to their doom. I slump to my elbows in despair and watch the mishap. A French woman in our group snaps at him: "Can't you be careful? Now we're back where we were this morning!" The others join in the chorus. A tear runs down Felix's cheek, then he gets up and runs towards the exit, while Robin yells across the hall: "Hey! Don't run!" I say to the group: "You start rebuilding the field, I'll try the same with Felix," before I also run out the door, but without exceeding Robin's speed limit. From the lock, I see Felix running out the main exit. Now I'm allowed to run too, and I stay right behind him. The FEC is on the outskirts of town and we run along a canal towards a railway bridge. I finally caught up with him under the bridge. He gave up and slumped down on the bank of the railway embankment. I sat down next to him. Painfully, he blurted out, "I'm sorry I ruined your day," then he started to cry. "Can I lean on your shoulder?" he asked through his tears. Of course he could... "Sure, it doesn't bother me." - "You just have to be careful when you don't know people that well. Otherwise, you'll get hasty thoughts." That hit home. My thoughts might not be what I feared, that I might think he's gay, but they were apparently still 'hasty,' and the way he used the word sounded negative. I put my arm around his shoulders anyway and comforted him.
After he's calmed down, we head back to the hall just in time for the end of the shift. Felix avoids the group and, after a brief goodbye, goes to lunch alone. After lunch, I call my sister from a quiet corner behind a partition and tell her about the incident, raving about our experience on the railway embankment. After 20 minutes, I press the button with the red receiver, step out of my semi-hiding place, and get the shock of my life. Felix walks off less than three meters further at a brisk pace and doesn't appear again for the rest of the day. What did he hear?
After a very restless night, I discover at breakfast that Felix isn't there. Feeling rather out of sorts, I start my shift, but he doesn't show up. After a few accidents, I'm assigned to build 'islands' where I can, at best, knock over my own work. Others make the connection to the overall work of art. During the shift change, Felix comes into the workshop; he's been transferred to the other shift.
With some resentment, I continue building over the next few weeks, until the Monday before the show, when the sparrow flies into the hall. After the hunter shoots down the little troublemaker, we're behind schedule, and our work of art, which I've grown closer to Felix, is in ruins. Troy was supposed to fall in keeping with history, but not before the Big Bang, but only in ancient times! During the reconstruction, we end up in the same shift again, but he avoids my gaze for two days, building as far away as possible. After dinner, I meet him alone in the hallway. "Felix? I think we need to talk." He gives me a sad, disappointed look and moves on. Naturally, I come back to my room, pretty angry, and slam the door. Christopher jolts out of his book: "Man, Aaron. Does that really have to happen?" - "Yes!" - "I don't think so. What's wrong? You've been totally different a few weeks ago, much more serious and all." - "That's none of your business!" He looks at me pityingly: "That's what I thought at first. But we share this room, and if you're spreading a bad mood, then that's my business." - "But you still don't want to know. Believe me." - "Oh yes, I do. Or you can switch to a good mood now and stay in this mode until Saturday. As soon as we're on separate trains, you can be as grumpy as you want again."
The experiment worked for exactly 24 hours. The next day, I addressed Felix questioningly by name, but he rejected me: "Leave me alone. In the end, it'll only lead to disappointment." So he heard it and is now angry with me. So I returned to the room in a correspondingly bad mood. I managed to grab the door as it swung shut at the last moment and quietly closed it, but Christopher slammed his book all the more loudly: "Okay, that's enough! What's going on? And believe me, now I really want to know!" - "You don't want to. It has to do with the fact that I'm gay." - "So what? What's wrong? I already have two gay friends. So?" - "Oh, man. I guess we'll never get rid of you?" - "Yes, on Saturday. But we had an agreement that you didn't keep." - "Okay. I've fallen in love with a boy on the team..." - "Surely the little Swiss guy with the two earrings and the tattoo on his arm? What's his name again? Felix, right?" - "Oh my goodness. You were curious about that?" - "No, not really. But the day he overturned the field and then got so heckled by the group and ran out, you were the only one who didn't join in and went after him. Afterwards, you came back together. So I just put two and two together when you said you were in love. Because without love, you'd probably be furious if someone messed up a five-and-a-half-hour job with 30 minutes to go." - "Okay. You did the math. I just comforted him that day, and we were pretty close. Afterwards, I told my sister about it on the phone from what I thought was a quiet corner. And he overheard it. He's been avoiding me ever since." - "Well, I feel sorry for you. On Saturday you're getting on the train and you'll probably never see him again. There are certainly enough good-looking guys in Hamburg. It would be ridiculous if there wasn't one for you. You'd better forget about him as soon as possible." His cell phone rings. "Yes, Christopher here?" It's a man's voice, that's all I can hear. "Okay, André. I'll be there as soon as I can. I was going to call you right away anyway. It might take a few minutes, though." He says to me: "That was someone from the team I've become friends with. He wants to talk to me. Can I leave you alone?" - "Yes, fine." When he's out, his advice is still ringing in my head: "You'd better forget about him as quickly as possible." He's a good talker; his girlfriend is at home waiting for him. Then I try to place the name André, but for the life of me, I can't. After about an hour, Christopher returns, and I think I see a grin on his face. At least someone in this room has something to laugh about.
Somehow, I make it through the last two days, and it's Friday evening. The construction crews are gathered together, Frauke Ludowig comes by and interviews a few of us Germans, and finally, to our applause, Anastacia pushes the first stone, which towers far above her. After a while, it's Troy's turn, the project where Felix, with one unfortunate move, literally triggered a chain reaction. I glance over at him, and he watches the stones fall with a mixture of sadness and jubilation; I feel the same. It won't be long now, and the spectacle we've been working hard for over the past few months will be over. Meanwhile, Christopher is discussing things with a boy who, although he has his back to me, betrays his Swiss accent: "Do you think Robin will join us?" - "I don't know, he said he'd already made his choice, but wanted to think about it. Do you have a plan B?"
The crosshairs appear, and the people are being chosen for one final construction challenge. I can't believe it; it sticks with me. The monitor displays "Aaron Baumgart, Germany." No doubt they're talking about me. The next time I see the monitor, I'm even more stunned: "Felix Jaennli, Switzerland." I look around at Christopher, who's grinning broadly at me, and suddenly not only the dominoes but also the proverbial penny drops: André is Felix's roommate. We get to our task: Felix has to hold a square piece of wood still as a bridge between the stones arranged on a track while I place the stones on top. I start, but wisely skip the first one. After the fourth or fifth, the whole thing falls over again in excitement. "You can do it, I believe in you!" Felix says to me with a sweet smile. I set up the stones again and immediately place the first one. Otherwise, time will be too short. Then I quickly continue building towards the end. There are still five or six stones missing when the first stones fall over at the end of the lane. "Careful. I have to move the board now! Otherwise we won't make it." I follow Felix's movement and place the second-to-last stone just before the first one on the board is pushed. Now the last one; it's getting tight. Quickly and carefully, I place the stone on the board, which Felix, meanwhile, moves the two centimeters toward the other end of the lane. I throw up my arms, a split second before the stone is pushed and the chain reaction continues on the other side. Felix drops the board, throws up his arms as well, and takes a step toward me. We clap our hands together, and then I stop. I hug him, which he immediately returns. We dance in a circle a few times until he whispers to me: "That was great! Oh man, I love you!" - "I love you too. And be careful, I mean it!" I reply. "I've known that for four weeks. And I mean it, by the way." In a trance, we kiss on the mouth before a second-long silence followed by sudden cheers brings us back to reality. And that reality is: 'Guys, you just came out to an audience of millions in eight countries!' Startled, I break the hug, but Felix just says, "It's about to happen. We should have thought of that a minute ago. But whatever, the evening belongs to us now." We walk back hand in hand, and on the way, Robin passes us: "Guys, I've never been so nervous. But I knew you could do it. You're my heroes. And I see you're your own heroes now, too. Thank Christopher and André." The group falls pretty quiet when we arrive. Only those two people giggle because they're clearly involved in the whole thing. They break the ice for us by welcoming us back into the group, hugging us, and then asking the reserved group, "What's wrong? Those two just saved a sixth of a million stones for us!" And so almost everyone congratulates us on our achievement. In the end, it's clear that the 4 million stones have been broken, and with them the world record. The lead over the old world record is roughly the same number of stones as were in our special stage. Felix hasn't left my side since our stage, and once again we hug each other when we get the result.
During the party, I get a call from my sister. She first congratulates me on the world record and on Felix, then tells me that I should stay well away from the rest of the family. I'd be completely outcast now. Why doesn't this surprise or bother me? Felix also talks to someone on the phone, but I don't notice anything. Judging by his expression, the call doesn't seem to be problematic. He does seem a bit worried, but it doesn't look like a catastrophe, just a difficult task.
After the party, I want to know exactly: “Christopher? What was that?” - "Well, when you confessed to me that you were gay and in love with Felix, you got a call from André. Felix had also told him that he was gay and in love with you. He already knew that you were, because he had actually overheard your conversation with your sister. But he didn't see any prospects and had recently been disappointed in love. That's why he was so dismissive; he hoped that you would avoid him too, and that by Saturday it would all be over anyway. André asked me if there might be a solution to bring you together after all. I knew you best in the team. Of course, he was preaching to the choir. Suddenly, Robin Weijers came by, and André had an idea. He briefly explained the situation and asked Robin if the two of you could do a challenge together. He said he already had someone for it, but would think about it. If you went through such an extreme situation together, we hoped that you would still find each other. And when you were the first to be called for the challenge, it was almost clear to us who the second. And as you can see, our plan worked." - "Yes, but unfortunately only until tomorrow at noon."
I board the regional train to Groningen and start crying. On the other side of the platform, Felix is boarding the IC train to Zwolle with André, Christopher, and many other members of the team. We just shared a tender goodbye kiss, and now we're going our separate ways. We agreed to stay in touch, but what good does that do? It's a nine-hour drive from Hamburg to Interlaken. I'm looking for a pack of tissues when I come across a long-forgotten letter. Life goes on, I need a job. So I'm going to call them now, even though it's Saturday. In the restaurant industry, the weekend usually takes place on other days anyway. A train noise can be clearly heard in the background as the person I'm calling answers: "Diamanthotels Niederhuber." - "Aaron Baumgart, good afternoon. I know I should have called three months ago. Mr. Friedrichsen from 'Zum Freihafen' in Hamburg recommended I apply to you at the time, and I wanted to ask if there's still a possibility." - "Hmm, that was a while ago." - "Yes, I've been doing something completely different in the meantime and helped break the world record for the domino chain reaction," I stammer. "Well, yes. I don't have anything left in Nuremberg, of course, but I do have a position in mind where I need a chef with a lot of experience with fish. And I also know that the training at 'Zum Freihafen' is excellent. I'm currently on my way to Hamburg. If you don't mind, we can meet tomorrow at 'Zum Freihafen' at 12:00 PM." Yes, in the restaurant industry, the weekend really is every day except Saturday and Sunday. "Okay, I'll come."
The conversation goes well, we arrange a second meeting the following day, even though everything is already clear to me, and I sign an employment contract at this second meeting. "Can you start before December 1st?" - "Theoretically, yes. However, I also have to organize the move." - "Of course, you can have a room at the hotel for the interim period. Theoretically, you could come down with me the day after tomorrow; I'm on my way to Geneva." - "Thanks, but that's a bit too sudden. I'll need a few more days to get everything sorted out here. Arrival next Tuesday? I'll let you know if I even need the room." - "Good, I'll inform the hotel manager and the head chef then."
I board the ICE train and try to fit my two suitcases and my backpack in. It's Tuesday morning. I'll arrive this afternoon and start tomorrow as a chef at the four-star Diamant-Seehotel Thun. Thirty kilometers away from a certain hotel in Interlaken. I'll be with him every day!
As I step off the Intercity train, Felix is already standing in front of me. A tear rolls down his cheek, and I sense that I feel the same way, as we throw our arms around each other. Then he turns around and introduces me to his family: "This is my mother Sabine, my father René, and my brother Andreas. And this is my sweetheart Aaron." I'm instantly welcomed into the family, it seems.
"You ride with me, your luggage with the others." Standing in the forecourt, I understand the point: Felix drives a Corvette convertible, which doesn't leave much room for luggage, and it has to be loaded into the Opel Signum. "I could have taken your car. But because my family wanted to come along, I took the Corvette instead. You'll get a Chevrolet Beretta if it's approved. Otherwise, you can have my new bad-weather car, which is an Astra. We'll just have to swap the license plate with the Beretta at the motor vehicle registration office (yes, in Switzerland cars are actually registered, not licensed!). The Astra has a swap license plate with the Corvette." I try to catch my breath, but Felix cuts me off: "Don't say anything. The first thing you have to learn is that my family doesn't talk about money, they have it. I've never told you that before, because I would only be sure that you love me and not my money like my ex did if you got off the train in front of me, believing I'm a boy from a completely normal background. My father is very high up at Opel Switzerland." The attitude towards money reinforces the house, which should probably be called a villa. Under a carport are a brand new Opel Astra convertible, a 125cc motorcycle, a closed, equally new Astra, and my black Beretta.
We go into the house and Felix leads me to 'our wing,' the upper floor we share with Andreas and his father's office. We have our own living room, bathroom, and bedroom. The sight of the double bed, giant sofa set, and equally giant bathtub with whirlpool function, with Felix in my arms, overwhelms me: "This must be a dream." He replies: "It is a dream. The most beautiful dream of my life. And we're only at the very beginning!"