Chapter Two Thousand Four Hundred Eleven
19th October 1975
Charlottenburg, Berlin
It was Sunday afternoon and it felt like everyone was angry at her. She had her mother and Yuri furious at her at different turns. Yuri had been upset that she had not told him weeks ago. Her mother had been all about how she was clearly not prepared for well, anything. Kiki had asked her to only call if she had an emergency with the frustration evident in her voice. And Aurora… Aurora had exploded at her. Ranting about how she had suffered a series of miscarriages, but with Zella it was an accident? Aurora told her not to talk to her unless she was prepared to explain any of this in a way that made any sense.
Looking out the window of the apartment which her mother had made a point of telling her was totally impractical, Zella was amazed by just how completely she had wrecked her life in such a short time. She had tried to explain to Kiki what had happened, how she had made the appointment but as the hour approached she had fled out of the city. There was nothing else to say. Something that she had said had really ticked Kiki off this time, as if Kristina von Preussen had never made any mistakes and was the only one on Earth allowed to ever change her mind when it came to major life decisions.
There was pounding on the door and with great reluctance, Zella got off the couch wondering what fresh new Hell awaited. Looking through the peephole, she saw that it was her Uncle Peter.
“Are you here to lecture me about how I’ve messed up my life?” Zella asked as soon as she got the door open.
“I figured that that you are doing that on your own” Peter said, “So my help is hardly required.”
Zella gave him a glare in reply as he entered her apartment.
“Actually, your father asked me to check on you” Peter said as he looked at the painting that Zella had attempted to start that afternoon before she had gotten discouraged.
“I would ask why he didn’t come himself” Zella replied, “But he has not talked to me since Oma’s funeral.”
“You are going to have to cut Emil a bit of slack” Peter said, “He blames himself for what happened.”
“What kind of bullshit that?” Zella demanded.
“He saw that you were falling apart, making poor choices, and did nothing to stop it” Peter replied, “We all did.”
Zella sat down in her place on the couch as Peter looked out the window at the roof of the department store and the park beyond. It wasn’t raining, but it was a cold, cloudy afternoon. Zella wasn’t interested in talking, so she just sat there wrapping a blanket around herself as Peter spoke to her awkwardly. About the weather, her job, painting.
“Have you eaten anything today?” Peter eventually asked.
“Nothing I’ve been able to keep down” Zella replied, with more sarcasm than she intended. She knew that Peter meant well and was trying not to patronize her, but still…
“That is normal” Peter said, “You are what? Eleven weeks along? Have you had a scan yet?”
“No” Zella replied. It was actually more like twelve. She knew that because she remembered the exact date, but she felt that it was none of Peter’s business.
“Since you are now planning on keeping it, you need to start thinking about these things” Peter said falling easily into the role of Doctor, which was clearly what he was comfortable with.
“I don’t need a Doctor” Zella said, “I know perfectly well what is going on.”
“Yes” Peter replied, “I see.”
Zella didn’t think that he did. She wanted Peter to talk to her like he did when she came to visit him in Jena, when he had interesting house guests, and she was a part of the conversation that was going on around the table. Instead, he was here to check on her, whatever that meant, and that was making things uncomfortable.
“No matter” Peter said, “Do you want to get out of here for a spell as opposed to marinating in self-pity? You must be hungry.”
Zella looked at herself, she was hardly presentable. She was wearing a paint covered smock and a pair of blue jeans. The idea of going out like this did not appeal to her.
“I’m not interested going out” Zella said.
Peter gave her a look. “You cannot hide in this apartment for the next several months” He said.
“Watch me” Zella replied. That sounded childish to her own ears, she could only imagine what sounded like to Peter.
“Or we could order something” Peter said, “Eat it here.”
“It’s Sunday” Zella said, “No one is going to deliver here.”
“Who said anything about delivery? We can just pick it up ourselves. And do I need to remind you that the Korean and Vietnamese residents of Berlin do things a bit differently?” Peter Asked, “Do you have a phonebook? Everyone knows you have a phone.”
Zella was bit annoyed by that last comment.
“It’s holding up one end of the couch” Zella replied.
“Good” Peter said, “If you could just get it out from under there.”
As Zella looked at the phonebook wedged under the corner of the couch. She remembered months earlier that she had needed Yuri’s help to get it under there. There was simply no way that she would be able to do it herself.
“That isn’t happening” Zella said.
“Then I guess we are going out after all” Peter replied. He didn’t need to seem so happy about it.