Opposite Sides (28 page)

“
Well I
did.”

“
Then you saw
the way she behaved.”

“
You think
she does that because she hates you? I think you are wrong, Mr Hans
Resmel.” Caroline laughed. “I think Jan likes you. A
lot.”

Hans’ voice went up
several octaves. His hands grabbed at the air each side of his
head. The idea was preposterous.

“
What! Are
you crazy? All she does is argue with me or give me the silent
look. She is always watching me. ”

“
Well, it
proves you are no good at reading us women. You should have seen
the dismay and disappointment on her face when she saw me. You
didn’t, of course, because by then you weren’t facing
her.”

“
I think
you’re completely wrong, Caroline. I boarded with her and her aunt
for over a year and all Jan did was demonstrate that she really
didn’t want me there.”

“
That was
jealousy. Like sibling rivalry.”

“
It didn’t
come over that way to me.”

“
I know her.
Remember, I’ve known her longer than you.” Caroline handed him
another sandwich. “And we are both female.”

“Yes, you are. All woman
to me.” He tried to kiss her but she ducked her head and laughed
teasingly.

“
Cheeky!”

“
Yes my
sweet. And you win.” And before she could stop him this time, he
pecked a swift kiss on the tip of her nose. “Come, let’s not spoil
our day. What have we got in here?”

He began unwrapping the
two slices of cake that had been put in the basket and when they
had finished eating, Hans edged closer towards Caroline. He was
feeling a tingle of excitement because he wanted to hold her close
to himself but at the same time, he did not want to frighten her
away. He was having great difficulty finding the words he wanted to
say to her.

“
Schatzchen
.”

“
Hans, I
don’t understand.” She looked at him in puzzlement. “You’re not
making sense.”

“
What I’m
trying to say, Caroline, is . . .” He swallowed the remains of his
last sandwich and took a deep breath. “Your my ‘little treasure.’
You must have guessed. I am crazy about you!”

“
You
are?”

“
Don’t tease
me. You know I am. I’d do anything for you.”

He leaned forward to kiss
her but she turned her face away.

“
Give me
time,” she breathed as she returned to face him. “I can’t make up
my mind that quick. I’d like time to think things over before we
get serious. That’s not to say I don’t like you. I do. An awful
lot.”

“
I don’t just
like you, I adore you.”

“
Whew!” she
gasped. “That’s strong.”

Caroline was embarrassed
by his sudden attention. A little shift away from him indicated she
was beginning to be a little unsure of her feelings towards him at
this moment.

“
Why should
it be?” He sounded deflated.

“
Because we
haven’t known each other for that long, Hans. I mean, you don’t
know anything about me.”

“
I don’t need
to! I love you. Isn’t that enough?”

“
I suppose
so.” Her voice had hesitancy in it. As his expression changed to
one of disappointment, she changed what she was about to say. “If
you’re really thinking of courting me, you should speak to my
father first.”

“
You think
he’d allow it?”

Caroline arched her back
like a gymnast and flicked away a strand of hair that had been
blowing across her face.

“
I don’t see
why not,” she answered. “I am sure he’d speak with you, if he was
in the right frame of mind.”

Hans found the situation
awkward. He bit on the end of his little finger, something he had
not done for some time. Finally, he said,

“
What do you
mean? What frame of mind?”

“
When it is
not church day, for then he thinks only of the good book and of our
morals. And it cannot be on Tuesdays or Fridays as those are his
tea delivery days. But between those . . .”

“
Do you think
he would give his permission for us to see each other?”

Caroline
laughed.

“
He might.
But then he might not. He is like that, my dad.” She turned over
and raised herself on to her knees. It was plain to Hans that
Caroline did not want to talk about her father. “What if you should
decide to return to Germany?” she asked.

“
Wouldn’t you
be willing to come, too?” He began to help Caroline pack up the
picnic basket.

“
It’s not
England,” she said hesitantly. She stopped what she was doing and
looked him in an earnest manner. “I’ve never been that far
before.”

“
But you’d be
with me. I’d look after you.”

He laid his hand over her
wrist. It was such a dainty one, warm and feminine. His open hand
slid down over her smooth skin until his hand covered
hers.

She did not look
up.

“
Well, I
suppose so. It might be all right.”

The hesitation in her
voice made Hans a little apprehensive. He wondered whether Caroline
really would be prepared to leave her family and country and start
a new life with him abroad. He thought of his grandmother. She had
followed his grandfather and, as far as Hans knew, she did not see
her family again. What if their two countries should ever go to war
again? The idea was too awful to think about. It was just as well
their countries were friends again and that the League had been
created to keep Europe stable.

His contour brightened
and he leaned forward and smiled at her.

“
That’s a
start. Let’s say we’re pledged to each other at least.”

He had heard that saying
first from Anne when she told him about her relationship with
Gerald.

“
Like
boyfriend and girlfriend?” she asked.

“
More than
that.”

“
Like being
engaged?”

“
Yes. But
without the ring. And then, in a few months, say three or four, we
can make it more formal. That’s after I’ve asked your father, of
course”

Caroline nodded and her
expression became lighter.

“
That sounds
good. I’d like that, very much.”

She laughed teasingly.
Hans made a grab at her. The picnic basket fell off the branch but
nobody minded or heeded its falling. Only the declaration of their
feelings for each other seemed important now.

Hans could no longer
contain his love for her. He began kissing her most passionately;
her arms, her neck, her cheeks, until he found her soft moist lips.
She yielded but then returned his embrace with a passion equal to
his. With that encouragement, he found he could not stop himself
until his breath finally ran out and he was forced in gasping
ecstasy to pull his lips away from hers. His body felt as if a fire
had been lit in his belly. His nostrils flared like a prancing
stallion as his breathing became more rapid. He laughed out loud
from sheer happiness. Caroline’s response had told him everything.
She did love him.

“
I do love
you, Caroline Grace. And, I will marry you, you’ll see.”

Hans leapt in the air in
jubilation. He was young, his muscles tingled with pleasure and
excitement. He clenched his fist and thrust his arm triumphantly
into the air and let out a cry of triumph for all to
hear.

“
She loves
me! See, she loves me! Hey, you English hills! Caroline loves me!
There! What did you think of that?”

“
Worth
watching.”

“
I’ll start
saving up for a ring.”

“
You’d better
find yourself a job first.”

“
I will. Give
me time. I’ll find the best job in the whole of England. Then your
father cannot refuse me.”

They laughed together.
They shared another magical moment cuddled tightly in each other’s
arms, kissing and loving every moment as their excited emotions
spurred them on and on.

Suddenly Caroline broke
free and pushed Hans away from her.

“
Steady on,”
she gasped, gently removing his hand from inside her unbuttoned
dress. “That was getting a bit strong. You’ll be thinking I’m a
loose girl.”

“
Never. I’d
never think that!”He re-buttoned the bodice like a mother dressing
her child. Suddenly, Caroline noticed the upturned picnic basket.
Its contents lay scattered in an untidy array on the
grass.

“
The basket!”
she exclaimed. “Oh, no!” She began picking things up. “We’d better
be getting back.”

As they stashed the items
back into the picnic basket they teased and touched each other,
delighting over the discovery of their attraction.

The Sunday sky was blue.
The chattering birds mirrored their feelings. It was a wonderful
walk to the bus station and they constantly chatted about all the
wonderful things they would do together and counted all the
wonderful children they would have in their wonderful family home.
Happy, in love, they meandered hand in hand along part of the
riverside, Hans carrying Caroline’s small suitcase in his right
hand. After fifteen minutes, they made a left hand turn which took
them back into town. Hans waited with Caroline until her bus turned
up. She climbed the stairs to the open top with her scarf holding
on her Sunday hat and stood bent over the side waving and waving
with her black gloved hand until he lost sight of her as the bus
turned off the main street and disappeared out of view.

CHAPTER
11

Confrontation

The 1926 weather mirrored
the mood of the people. Even by Easter, it was bleak and
depressing. Rain clouds hung low and menacing, and as each dull day
followed the next, people began to wonder if this winter would ever
depart. Lately, it had been much harder to buy coal. The need was
still there yet the amounts had dwindled. Then, towards the end of
April, supplies stopped altogether. Coal deliveries ground to a
halt. When Hans complained of being continually cold because of a
lack of coal, he was told that it was due to employment problems
with the miners. There were enough men to work the mines but now
not enough mines open to supply the coal.

Wages had
suddenly been slashed. That was blamed on the re-organisation of
the German mines in the Ruhr for as more overseas mines were
re-opened, they had first caused a flood of coal on the market
which in turn had decreased the profitability of the industry.
English miners would have to produce more if English coal was to
survive. Now there was the cry: ‘
not a
penny of the pay; not a minute off the
day
.’ The country was poised on the
blade of a knife. Anything could happen.

It was in this economic
climate, that Hans had been fortunate to find himself a junior
position with a London business firm that had become involved with
one of the rising German industries. Someone was needed to
translate correspondence and any documents that were sent through
to the London office. The pay was not high but sufficient. The
allowance which he received from his uncle, together with his
earnings gave him enough to to put a few shillings away each week
towards the day when he and Caroline could marry.

He had found himself a
small two roomed apartment in Norwich Street, just north of Fleet
Street, where he could be within walking distance of the office. Mr
Scrover, his employer, had been very helpful and had allowed Hans
some time away from the office to look for some furniture. He had
managed to scrape together a few plain pieces, just sufficient for
a bachelor to live by: a table and three chairs, a setee, a desk,
small rug and a bed. The large house had been converted not long
after 1910 but the plumbing and lighting system had not been
updated which meant the occupants still had to share the single
toilet outside the back door and rely on oil lamps for evening
lightening. But that did not worry Hans. It was a place of his own
where he could do whatever he wanted and when he wanted.

Every three of four
weeks, he tipped out the pennies he had accumulated in the jam jar
which sttod on the narrow mantelpiece over the fireplace. It was
just enough to purchase a train ticket that took him back to the
town where he and Caroline could meet for a few hours before he had
to return to London. These travelling days were the highlight of
the month and on the wall calendar he would cross the days off
until he reached the Sunday marked in red.

The first day in May,
which should have been Springlike, began overcast and cool and
before the day had really got going, the clouds descended further
and rain wet the streets. It was a long weekend and he didn’t have
to be back in London until Tuesday, Hans decided that whatever the
weather, he would take the Sunday train and surprise Caroline with
a visit. She had already written and said that she would be at
Anne’s that weekend. His body tingled with anticipation and
excitement at the thought of seeing her again and being able to
take her into his arms and smother her with more kisses.