A visit

A couple of weeks ago Andreas asked whether it was OK if he came up to see us for a day or two. Pleasantly surprised we of course replied positively. Our surprise, and curiosity, increased when he added if it was OK if he brought someone else along! He was not willing to tell us who, and as we were reasonably sure it would not be a serial killer, we agreed that it did not really matter who it was. We did spend sometime thinking about who it could be he was bringing. We told the people in the office about it and there the general opinion was Andreas was coming with his girlfriend to announce an engagement. Well – two things did not fit really well 1) Katherine lives in Toronto, and you do not just pop by Manchester from Toronto for a day or two and 2) We would know our son very well if an engagement really was in the air.

Well, Andreas and the mystery guest arrived Monday afternoon (3 hours late!!!) and, not so surprisingly it was Katherine coming with him. She had a week of from College, and as the students were not allowed to stay on campus, she had the choice of going to Seattle to her parents, or to Oxford, to see Andreas. They were only supposed to stay until next day, but Andreas picked up a bug and was sick all night, so they stayed on another day, which we did not mind at all.

We had a great time with them, Katherine is a really nice girl (Andreas must have inherited his Dad's good taste!) and smart as well. I had this confirmed when I was talking to her the second evening, and she told me she had spent some of the day looking at my books and added “You have some really interesting books”! Now, is that a smart move if you want to make a good impression on me?

For those holding their breath and waiting for news of an announcement: Relax, we do know our son, and this was not the reason for the visit – it was so Katherine and us would have a chance to meet once again (this was only the second time!) and get to know each other a little better. As already stated, she is a very nice girl and it just felt very natural to have her around, she fitted into the family straight away. Katherine is thinking of changing her studies, and among other places have been accepted to Manchester University – we of course think that would be great!