My German Lover, Part 26 chapter 1

*** First of all, many thanks to all of you guys for your nice reviews and for your votes! You don't know how much I appreciate them! As I've already said... (but I like to repeat it...) that's what keeps me going... So again: Many, many thanks!!!

_____________________________

The fall of 1943 was beatiful, as much as the summer of that year had been...

To Paul, life was perfect... and all you could hear on Avenue Foch were laughs... and of course, a few moans now and then.

One evening, Paul was in the drawing-room reading a book when he heard Will play a beatiful song on the piano.

"...What's that song?" he asked, looking at his lover...

"You like it?"

"...Yeah!"

"It's called "Lili Marleen...". it's a big hit, you know. It's been translated in English, French... Russian... everywhere, they sing that song...", Will explained.

"...But it's a German song, isn't it?"

"Yeah! But it speaks about love... and love, like music, knows no boundries... look at the lyrics here..."

Paul took the partition and began reading the lyrics...

"Vor der Kaserne,
Vor dem grossen tor,
Stand eine laterne,
Und steht sie noch davor,
So wolln wir da uns wiedersehn,
Bei der laterne wolln wir stehn,
Wie einst Lili Marleen...
Wie einst Lili Marleen..."

And the song went on... speaking about the love of a simple soldier for his girlfriend he couldn't be with, because of the war...

"Yes... It's beatiful", Paul said, giving the partition back to Will... "I hope this madness will stop one day... When I think of all the guys our age that are dying as we speak... fighting a war no one except Hitler wanted. Each one of them has a face... a life... They are like you and me... All they ever wanted was to live happy, to love and be loved! I wish we could run away from it all...", Paul said.

"Well... We can't!", Will answered with a sad look on his face... "And remember: I'm a soldier... I couldn't run away like that..."

Paul raised his eyes to look at Will. He hated to be reminded Will was a soldier...

"At least, you're not at the front, fighting and killing people...", he answered.

"...Let's hope it doesn't come to that...", Will slowly answered.

"Don't tell me you would fight for Hitler!", Paul shouted...

"For Hitler? Never! But to defend my country... my family... Yes! I would fight for them, Paul."

"I don't want to speak about that...", Paul finally answered, panicking at the thought of seeing Will leaving for the front...

"Hey! Don't get panicky, my love! It's not like if the Reich was threaten... And the war could end sooner then we think...", Will answered, trying to reassure his lover.

From that moment, Paul never stopped thinking about the fact that, one day, Will could very well be sent to the front should more soldiers be needed over there...

He had to think about something to make sure Will would never have to leave him...

He knew Will loved his country, his family... He could understand why his lover would sacrifice his life to defend the ones he loved. But Paul could never let him go! Never! No. "Will's name will never be added to the endless list of dead soldiers, killed for nothing", Paul said to himself. "No way! No fucking way!"

Problem was: Paul had no idea... no plan... So he kept thinking about it, and decided he would have to talk to Franz about that, since he knew his friend would never let Lutz go either! "Two heads are better than one", he said to himself.

A few days later, Paul talked to Franz about his worries, and his friend grinned before saying:

"...I'm glad to see I'm not the only one worried about that... I just can't stop thinking about that..."

"Well, let's worry together. Perhaps, if we work together on this, we will find a way out...", Paul answered.

"Yeah!", Franz answered.

A week later, on November 25, 1943, madame Louise (Paul's governess) entered the drawing-room to tell him:

"Monsieur Paul... you have a call in your study..."

"Who's calling?"

"...A man named Herr Koch... He's German, with a very strong accent..."

"Herr Koch? Are you sure?", Paul asked, in a worried voice...

"Oui monsieur..."

Paul knew perfectly well who Oberstleutnant Heinz Koch was: He was Will's superior officer...

Paul had not seen him since 1940, when he had been arrested because he didn't have his I.D. papers on him... Why was Herr Koch calling him? Had something happened to Will? Or to Lutz?

Paul ran to his study and took the phone...

"Oui... Paul de Brion speaking!"

"Monsieur de Brion? This is Oberstleutnant Koch speaking... do you remember me?"

"Of course Sir... Has something happened to Will... or to Lutz? How come you have my phone number?"

"(...) Look monsieur de Brion... I know you and Will are... very good friends, shall I say... and you know I've always loved Will as my own son..."

"(...) Yes Sir, I know..."

"Don't worry... nothing happened to Will... nor to Lutz. They are fine. They don't know I'm calling you though... I must see you... as soon as possible. It's urgent."

"Tomorrow..."

"No. Today! It's very urgent!"

"Very well Sir."

And they agreed to meet later that same day at Paul's office on the Champs Elysées...

"How are you Sir", Paul asked the German officer, as he was introduced into his office...

"Fine Fine...", Oberstleutnant Koch answered, smiling at Paul... "You haven't changed much monsieur de Brion, since the last time I saw you... You have matured... but still looking as handsome as you did three years ago..."

"Thank you Sir... Please, do sit down..."

Paul was very anxious to learn why Her Koch wanted to see him so urgently... and it showed on his face.

"(...) If I wanted to see you monsieur de Brion... It's because... I know you and Will are very... close to one another... What you two do together is none of my business... and don't worry, that's not the reason why I am here today... no. And I also know Lutz is a very good friend of yours... I understant you speak German, monsieur de Brion... would you mind if I'd switch to German?"

"Not at all", Paul answered, giving the German officer a friendly smile...

"Thank you. (...) I've received a telegram from Berlin this morning...

"Yes...", Paul answered, with a worried frown...

"(...) Perhaps you haven't heard yet... But during the night of the 22nd to the 23rd, Berlin was the main target of a massive air raid..."

"Huh?"

"Yes... Saturday night... The RAF began bombing Berlin... and according to the secret reports we've received... there is not much left of Berlin to see..."

"I'm sorry to hear that...", Paul answered, trying to guess why Oberstleutnant Koch was telling him that...

Then Herr Koch raised his eyes to look at Paul straight in his eyes. After a long moment of silence he said:

"You see monsieur de Brion... during the last bombing... much of Berlin was under clouds, so the RAF pilot's didn't know what they were bombing... and... most of the damage was to the residential areas... West of the Centre..."

Paul raised his eyes to look at herr Koch: Now, his face was as white as the wall behind him...

"I think you've been to Berlin on a few occasions... so, I guess you know the city well...", Herr Koch added...

"...Yes, I do...", Paul slowly answered.

"...As I said, the other night, most of the damage was to Tiergarten... Schöneberg... Spandau and... Charlottengurg..."

"Charlottenburg? But... that's where... where Will's family lives, as well as Lutz's!", Paul shouted...

"Yes!", Herr Koch answered, with a very sad look on his face. "Charlottenburg was severely hit..."

Paul suddenly raised from his chair and walked around his desk to Herr Koch...

"...You don't mean...", he started to say, as he was now beginning to see why Herr Koch wanted to see him...

"Yes, I'm affraid...", Herr Koch answered, with tears in his eyes...

"Are they..."

"Please monsieur de Brion... please, sit down, will you?"

Paul walked back to his chair and sat...

"...Thousands of deaths... thousands are homeless... Because of the dry weather conditions, firestorms ignited... And to make things worst, the sirens didn't go on in time to warn them. They didn't suffer, monsieur de Brion. They were all sleeping. They never realized what was happening to them. They all died instantaneously..."

"... Will's parents? (...) and Lutz's?"

"All of them... There's nothing left standing on their street..."

"But..."

"(...) When the giant demolition bombs felt, they blew away blocks of houses, making rubble of the entire district, blasting bodies out into the streets... According to our reports... in the ruins, on the streets, in the branches of trees where bombs had blown them... lay the dead. Some with their eyes wide open, staring..."

Paul was silently crying... listening to Herr Koch...

"The telegram I received this morning from Berlin was to tell me I had to announce Will and Lutz... their parents have been killed during the bombing... but I didn't have the courrage to do so...", Herr Koch said, with his eyes full of tears... "I just didn't have the courrage...", he added, covering his face with his hands...

Paul turned his head to look at a large window, and through that window he could see people walking up and down the Champs Elysées... They were smiling... Some were laughing...

For a while, he looked at them through the window...

Then, right before his eyes... he saw Will's mother... his father, his sister Karen... Then he saw Lutz's parents... They were all smiling at him... He could see them talk... their lips were moving... but he couldn't hear them...

Then he started to cry like a baby...

After a few minutes crying... Paul raised his eyes and looked at Herr Koch...

Herr Koch took an envelope from his pocket and gave it to Paul, saying:

"Here... I've obtained a leave for Will and Lutz... They must go to Berlin, to identify the bodies... or at least, what remains of them... Can I count on you?", Herr Koch asked, with tears running down his cheeks... "I've personnaly asked the authorities in Berlin not to dispose of the remains before Will and Lutz get there... and they reluctantly agreed... You know, there are so many dead... They hurry to bury them as soon as possible into mass graves... to make sure diseases are not spreading. You'll find them at the morgue..."

Paul raised to his feet and walked over to Herr Koch... then sat onto a chair next to the German officer.

He took the envelope and looked at the German officer straight in the eyes and said:

"Thank you for all you did Sir... and count on me: I'm going to take them to Berlin...(...) And what about your own family, Herr Koch?"

"Oh, my family is not in Berlin. We're from a small village in Bavaria..."

"Good for you", Paul answered, before asking: "And what about you?"

"What do you mean?", the officer asked...

Paul looked at Herr Koch, and then said:

"Herr Koch... I have no doubt you are a very intelligent man... and you're a good man... (...) You know as well as I do that sooner or later, the Reich will lose the war. It's only a question of time. You know... with Will and Lutz... we went to see Lutz's brother at the Oberwesel military hospital... He was wounded at Stalingrad... We know what happened over there..."

"(...) Oh..."

"...I... wouldn't like to see you -and I don't intent to see Will nor Lutz- sent to the Russian front! Do you understand?"

"(...) I'm too old for that...", Herr Koch answered....

"I'm happy to hear that... But look at me Sir: Will and Lutz are much younger than you are, and I'll do all I can to make sure they are not sent over there... do you understand me?"

"(...)"

"...If I need your help, Sir... Will you help me? Can I count on you Sir?"

"What are you asking me to do?", the officer asked...

"For the moment... nothing! But if I need your help in the future... will you be there for us?", Paul asked, looking at the German officer straight in the eyes...

"(...) Yes... I'll be there for you, count on me monsieur de Brion".

"Thank you Sir. Now tonight, I'm gonna talk to Will, Lutz and Ludwig... and we'll go to Berlin as soon as possible..."

"Thank you monsieur de Brion. I knew I was right to ask for your help, even if you're French..."