Part 105, Chapter 701
Chapter One Thousand Seven Hundred One
19th December 1965
Mitte, Berlin
The small studio that had been set up in the spacious penthouse apartment that her family was now spending the winter months in was being used for the annual Christmas greeting by the Emperor. Sometimes, it came as a bit of a surprise to Kiki that many who she attended University with saw him the same way that she did. He had been Emperor for their entire lives, so the fatherly countenance and the occasional silly joke were what they expected. This year there was emphasis on how Louis Ferdinand, along with the Chancellor had met with the American President and how he was encouraged in the hope that past animosities could be left behind.
Kiki watched as her father finished reading that short statement before wishing everyone watching peace and happiness over the Holidays and the new year in conclusion. The presentation was occurring on the Sunday before Christmas this year. What followed was the sort of thing that they did every year, letting the people know what they were up to. It was sort of like the form letters that some people sent out, except it was on television. Appearing with him this year were Freddy, Suga and Mirai. Like always Suga was a magnet for the cameras, in the past she had been concerned about her reception by the German public because of her Japanese background. As they had seen over the past few years, those concerns had not played out. Instead, most people saw her as this exotic Princess who had graciously adopted their nation as her own.
What followed was a short documentary that Kiki’s father had narrated about what the family had been up to played. It showed Freddy continuing with his Legal Apprenticeship, featured in was footage of his homelife with Suga as well. Michael in Bohemia watching from horseback as soldiers conducted a military exercise. Kiki in a white lab coat at University in Jena, mentioning that she was very close to becoming a Field Surgeon. Louis Junior on bridge of the SMS SK-12 “Windhund” as the Gunboat sped across a nearly black sea under a grey sky. Vicky and Rea sitting in lecture halls and what they were studying, also at University. Finally, Nella romping with Freddy’s dogs in Potsdam and sitting in a classroom. Overall, it seemed very positive and upbeat.
The trouble was that Kiki was aware that things were not so great for herself. While she had been progressing in the Medical Academy, it felt like she was barely holding things together. She had been doing everything that Doctor Holz had suggested, but there were times when her life just became completely unbearable. Into this was having to be there for Vicky, who had turned out to be a complicated mess as well.
It was becoming obvious that Ben wanted more from their relationship as opposed to seeing her for a weekend every few weeks. She didn’t have the first idea what to say to him. Would he accept that she wasn’t ready for more? Because she couldn’t abandon things now that she was so close to achieving her goals. It was getting very close to how it had been the first time they had broken up with them moving in very different directions.
There was also her promise to Nella to take her to the Alexander Marketplace this week. The last two years Kiki’s youngest sister had gorged herself on sweets until she had gotten sick at the Christmas Market. This year Nella had promised that she wouldn’t do that again, both Charlotte and Kiki were skeptical of such a promise. Nella had about as much impulse control as anyone expected of a six-year-old so Kiki figured that she ought to phone ahead and make sure that the nice Russian woman who had helped them in the past was stocked up on candied ginger root for when Nella inevitably made herself sick. Last year Kiki had needed to go hunt down her stall and wasn’t even sure if she would still be there.
Tempelhof, Berlin
Laying on the bed in Jo’s room with Jo sitting cross-legged at the other end, Suse was flipping through a catalog of women’s dresses knowing that none of them would look good on her. It seemed like all of them were made for women who were, not to put too fine a point on it, built like Jo. Suse had often joked that her friend looked like a Nordic Goddess, that didn’t seem so funny anymore. As she had gotten older Suse had realized that her short stature resulted in people treating her like a child, when she obviously wasn’t. Oddly, her mother didn’t treat her that way but for Suse there were other difficulties. Her mother simply had no edges and that had driven Suse insane since she had been an adolescent.
“Why don’t they make clothes for women like me?” Suse asked.
“Petite you mean?” Jo asked in reply.
“That almost sounds good” Suse said, “But you know what I mean.”
“You mean to say that you have a boyfriend of sorts who was attracted to you for something other than the mere physical” Jo said tartly.
It was something that Jo complained about often. It seemed that looking like Jo did caused her a lot of problems. Not the least of which was the fact that not only did no one take her seriously, they thought she was stupid and easy. Neither of which were true.
“Yes, he just loved my brain” Suse said, “So much so that he hasn’t bothered to write back.”
“He will” Jo replied, “Manny is sort of like a big lovable dog, loyal to a fault but a touch dim.”
“He’s smarter than you think” Suse said.
Jo just gave Suse a smirk in reply.
19th December 1965
Mitte, Berlin
The small studio that had been set up in the spacious penthouse apartment that her family was now spending the winter months in was being used for the annual Christmas greeting by the Emperor. Sometimes, it came as a bit of a surprise to Kiki that many who she attended University with saw him the same way that she did. He had been Emperor for their entire lives, so the fatherly countenance and the occasional silly joke were what they expected. This year there was emphasis on how Louis Ferdinand, along with the Chancellor had met with the American President and how he was encouraged in the hope that past animosities could be left behind.
Kiki watched as her father finished reading that short statement before wishing everyone watching peace and happiness over the Holidays and the new year in conclusion. The presentation was occurring on the Sunday before Christmas this year. What followed was the sort of thing that they did every year, letting the people know what they were up to. It was sort of like the form letters that some people sent out, except it was on television. Appearing with him this year were Freddy, Suga and Mirai. Like always Suga was a magnet for the cameras, in the past she had been concerned about her reception by the German public because of her Japanese background. As they had seen over the past few years, those concerns had not played out. Instead, most people saw her as this exotic Princess who had graciously adopted their nation as her own.
What followed was a short documentary that Kiki’s father had narrated about what the family had been up to played. It showed Freddy continuing with his Legal Apprenticeship, featured in was footage of his homelife with Suga as well. Michael in Bohemia watching from horseback as soldiers conducted a military exercise. Kiki in a white lab coat at University in Jena, mentioning that she was very close to becoming a Field Surgeon. Louis Junior on bridge of the SMS SK-12 “Windhund” as the Gunboat sped across a nearly black sea under a grey sky. Vicky and Rea sitting in lecture halls and what they were studying, also at University. Finally, Nella romping with Freddy’s dogs in Potsdam and sitting in a classroom. Overall, it seemed very positive and upbeat.
The trouble was that Kiki was aware that things were not so great for herself. While she had been progressing in the Medical Academy, it felt like she was barely holding things together. She had been doing everything that Doctor Holz had suggested, but there were times when her life just became completely unbearable. Into this was having to be there for Vicky, who had turned out to be a complicated mess as well.
It was becoming obvious that Ben wanted more from their relationship as opposed to seeing her for a weekend every few weeks. She didn’t have the first idea what to say to him. Would he accept that she wasn’t ready for more? Because she couldn’t abandon things now that she was so close to achieving her goals. It was getting very close to how it had been the first time they had broken up with them moving in very different directions.
There was also her promise to Nella to take her to the Alexander Marketplace this week. The last two years Kiki’s youngest sister had gorged herself on sweets until she had gotten sick at the Christmas Market. This year Nella had promised that she wouldn’t do that again, both Charlotte and Kiki were skeptical of such a promise. Nella had about as much impulse control as anyone expected of a six-year-old so Kiki figured that she ought to phone ahead and make sure that the nice Russian woman who had helped them in the past was stocked up on candied ginger root for when Nella inevitably made herself sick. Last year Kiki had needed to go hunt down her stall and wasn’t even sure if she would still be there.
Tempelhof, Berlin
Laying on the bed in Jo’s room with Jo sitting cross-legged at the other end, Suse was flipping through a catalog of women’s dresses knowing that none of them would look good on her. It seemed like all of them were made for women who were, not to put too fine a point on it, built like Jo. Suse had often joked that her friend looked like a Nordic Goddess, that didn’t seem so funny anymore. As she had gotten older Suse had realized that her short stature resulted in people treating her like a child, when she obviously wasn’t. Oddly, her mother didn’t treat her that way but for Suse there were other difficulties. Her mother simply had no edges and that had driven Suse insane since she had been an adolescent.
“Why don’t they make clothes for women like me?” Suse asked.
“Petite you mean?” Jo asked in reply.
“That almost sounds good” Suse said, “But you know what I mean.”
“You mean to say that you have a boyfriend of sorts who was attracted to you for something other than the mere physical” Jo said tartly.
It was something that Jo complained about often. It seemed that looking like Jo did caused her a lot of problems. Not the least of which was the fact that not only did no one take her seriously, they thought she was stupid and easy. Neither of which were true.
“Yes, he just loved my brain” Suse said, “So much so that he hasn’t bothered to write back.”
“He will” Jo replied, “Manny is sort of like a big lovable dog, loyal to a fault but a touch dim.”
“He’s smarter than you think” Suse said.
Jo just gave Suse a smirk in reply.
