Chapter One Thousand Six Hundred Forty-Six
5th August 1964
Near Bad Reichenhall, Rural Upper Bavaria
Although their hosts insisted that they observe propriety, they had allowed Ben to stay for a few days. It was an offer that he was more than happy to take. Kiki had wondered why he had. The truth was that between University and what had happened last Spring, they had hardly managed to have seen each other in months. The opportunity to see her without having to contend with all the stupid Royal protocols that he knew Kiki hated interfering was always welcome. Sitting on the back porch of the Rommel’s house listening to Kiki play her guitar as the sun set certainly counted as that.
When Ben had first called to see how Kiki was doing, he had learned that there were only a handful of people who were allowed to see or speak to her while she was recovering in the mountains. He had been prepared to be disappointed, but to Ben’s surprise his name was on the list. There had been a bit of trepidation when he realized that he was on the phone with Generalfeldmarschall Rommel. It didn’t matter if he was retired of not, he was the former head of a Service Branch, nor it didn’t matter if Ben was in a different Branch. He could squash Ben like a bug if it suited him to do so. That was why it was a bit of a relief when Rommel had mostly been curious about who exactly he was and what his involvement with Kiki was. Ben had told him the truth, minus a few details that weren’t anyone else’s business. That he and Kiki had been in a relationship, he had not been able to see her as much as he liked, that he, along with everyone else had seen her collapse and that he was worried about her. What followed was a series questions about veracity of what Ben was saying. He was certain that there must have been calls to the First Foot and possibly Kiki’s father. The thought that the Emperor might get reminded that Ben was still in the picture was the sort of thing that filled him with dread. It wasn’t as if he would ever forget what happened last time.
The look of surprise on Kiki’s face when she had walked in and had seen him at the table on Sunday night had been worth the trip so far out of his way. Still, it was nice that his presence here didn’t involve a lot of sneaking around. Even if Ben didn’t need to presume that a mouse didn’t fart here without Erwin Rommel knowing about it, he had seen how destructive Kiki’s habit of doing that had been back home. The worrying part was that Kiki seemed to enjoy employing subterfuge even if it wasn’t really needed. It wasn’t a game he wanted to play anymore.
“That girl doesn’t pay much mind to that which she leaves behind” Kiki sang the first verse of the song She walks in Sunshine in accompaniment of her guitar. She had told Ben many times that her singing voice was awful. While she wasn’t classically trained like her sister Vicky, her voice was more than adequate for singing the sort of pop song that she was currently playing. She progressed through the verses until she reached the chorus. It was funny how Kiki playing the song this way changed the emphasis. When the Moondogs played it, people heard the poppy chorus as opposed to the verses.
“No wonder Zella hates this song” Ben said to Kiki who stopped when he said that.
“She made a point of ignoring the band the next time they came through Berlin, not putting the announcement of their show ahead of time in the Berliner” Kiki replied, “It made for a boring show, apparently. I wasn’t there, hardly anyone else was either.”
“Remind me not to anger her in the future” Ben said.
“Zella’s bark is worse than her bite.”
“Having her run over my foot with her motorcycle is quite a bite” Ben said.
“That was an accident and she did feel bad after that happened” Kiki replied, “She was actually worried that she might have seriously hurt you. There is a side of Zella that few others get to see.”
Ben wasn’t sure that he believed that. Kiki’s best friend seemed to revel in being the ultimate bad girl rocker. Somehow, the two of them had maintained a friendship for more than a decade though they seemed to have little in common.
The conversation was interrupted by Rauchbier barking excitedly as one of the Rommel’s grandchildren chased him around through the trees. The four-year-old boy was perfect for this. Kiki had been reluctant to let Rauchbier off his leash for the last week because of the sheep that were around. There was no end to the sort of trouble that he might get into with them. Tonight, she was able to let him play with the children in the house.
Looking up, Kiki looked at the mountains that the sun was setting behind.
“That mountain is Hoher Göll” Kiki said pointing towards one to the south-west. “When I was learning Mountaineering, it was one of climbs my cadre did. There is this subpeak where you can look down on the valley that is spread out below you like a map, it is an incredible view.”
“And what is the drop off like?” Ben asked.
“You are at the top of a cliff” Kiki replied, “About hundred and fifty, two hundred meters. I don’t know. You obviously wouldn’t want to build a house up there but it’s something you ought to see some time.”
“No thanks” Ben said.
“An Ace Pilot, afraid of heights?” Kiki bemusedly asked.
“That is completely different” Ben replied.