Intermission
Marie hurried around the house, it was almost as stressfull as when Kurt and the other veterans had come over; she needed to make dinner, clean the house a bit and decorate the table. Michael read the post as he watched her. He'd gotten a few letters from distant family, late Christmas cards, but he felt no need to respond. A letter from Kurt was one he decided to answer. He was well aware of Kurt's feelings towards Marie and this time, when he read the letter, he decided to write back that she had no interest and that he should stop trying. He watched Marie, not with the intensity and love that Hans had watched his granddaughter, but with affection. She was the spitting image of her mother; if not even more beauitful. Michael very much missed his wife. And he was sure that Marie missed her mother, even though they never talked about it.
Hans would have seen through Marie's facade. She appeared calm but her heart beat irregularlly the whole day. Sometimes it raced, sometimes it fluttered in her chest and sometimes it seemed to jump out of her breast completely. Joseph was coming over, with his wife, but he was coming over. She'd get to lay her eyes on his beautiful face again, get to stare into those blue pools of lust...She made herself focus on the task at hand, there'd be plenty of time for him to distract her later. As she prepared the fish she couldn't stop smiling. She was going to see him again!
The Lagerführer hadn't had time to call his old-time friend the night before and inform him that his wife wasn't coming to the dinner. She'd called and told him she was sick, and so was they're boy. He'd told her that he'd go directly to the dinner and then come home after. She'd agreed that it was a good idea; it would be terrible if he passed their cold onto the hosts.
Joseph had packed only a small bag of things. He turned the color of his shirt up but left the top three buttons open. He hadn't seen her in a while, he needed to make a good impression...to remind her of the feelings that used to drive her crazy for him. He'd looked at himself for a long time in the mirror that morning; still a suitable bachelor. If only he wasn't married...he'd told Rickenbach to lay off Werner that day, 'just let him wallow in his fear, maybe he'll speak after, and do the same to the polish doctor!' with those words he'd left Auschwitz. The train ride to Berlin took a while, but he'd brought a book for entertainment.
The first two hours he managed to read but after that the letters kept spelling Marie. Oh how he couldn't wait to see her again! The last time they'd seen each other had been before the start of the war, that was almost two years ago. He pictured her in his head: the golden locks, the demanding blue eyes, the feminine curves he'd always wanted to touch...he wondered if she still had her innocence or if she'd lost it...It didn't matter to him. He was sure that he could charm her into bed, he'd almost managed it before, now that she was older and probably more curious and lustful he'd surely be able to convince her to give up her virginity to him. He smiled. "Zwei Jahre gehen so schnell dahin, Rosemarie (two years pass by so quickly, rosemarie (old german war song))..." He sang to himself.
Marie was equally clumsy. She'd dropped two plates in the past minute. The fish was in the oven; the house clean and in approximatlly 15 minutes Joseph would arrive. She glanced about her and when she'd confirmed that all the important things were done she rushed upstairs to make herself look nice. She wanted to make a good impression; even if his wife was coming as well. A girl never knows...
She applied bright red lipstick and mascara, drawing a thin line with eyeliner. She changed out of her old dress and apron into a new dress that was tight on the top but loose on the bottom. It was white and looked charming; perhaps a bit risky with the salad sauce and the fish, but she still decided on wearing it. She draped the nicer of her two aprons over it. She still needed to serve the food, and she'd need the apron for that. She rushed back down to make sure her Papa had everything he needed. He was excited as well, he hadn't seen the dapper gentleman since the start of WWII either.
"Do wait near the door, Marie, I don't want you to be upstairs when he rings the bell."
"I'm not going to wait in front of the door papa." She said with an eye-roll. But inside her the giddy little girl who'd fallen for the handsome man had come back to life. All she wanted to do was wait by that door until he rang the bell, so that she could open it and greet him...
The doorbell rang and Marie flung herself down the hallway. She slipped out of the apron last minute; he should see her without it first. She opened the door with a large smile. Her surprise was only matched by her delight as she found only him outside.
"Guten Abend Marie." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. His lips curled up at the ends like a cats; just like she'd remembered. She felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him but she restrained herself.
"Abend, Joseph." She answered breathlessly. "Komm herein, es ist kalt draussen...(come in, it's cold outside).
Their love played out on the doormat. He stepped in, over the threshold, and closed the wooden door behind him. They both stood in the entry, she stared up at him and he stared down at her. Her magnificent blue eyes captured him and his lips entranced her. She got on her tip-toes and pecked him on the cheek. It could be seen as a greeting, but for the two it was so much more. He swept the coat off his shoulders and handed it to her. She hung it up on the coat hanger that stood to her right. He watched her do it. She had truely become even more beautifull. She blushed as she felt his eyes on her and when he reached out, gently touching her hip, where he gently placed his hand she shivered. Her quiver made him hungry, he pulled her up against his chest. She let out a surprised gasp but didn't strain against his hold. "Ich habe dich so vermisst, Rosemarie...(i missed you so, Rosemarie)." He whispered, his lip catching on her ear as he spoke. Michael shouting at them from the dining room interrupted their embrace. Marie pushed him off, he simultaneously let her go. "We shouldn't keep Michael waiting." Joseph said with a smile. But Marie wanted to keep her Papa waiting. She wanted to fling her arms around his neck and kiss him forever.
So as Werner froze in the cell without heating and Nikolai paced up and down his dorm unsure of where Werner was and if he was alright, Marie led the Lagerführer into her home, oblivious of the pain he had caused so many people and was currently causing Werner, the man she'd begun to love...