Chapter 6:

(Present day)

Hogan took a sip of his warm milk and honey and let the beverage soothe his body, while Klink sat across from him occasionally taking a drink of his tea. Hogan set his mug in his blanket covered lap and made his attention back to the kommandant. He shook his head. "You certainly have a lot more strength than I do, Kommandant; I couldn't handle fighting in those trenches or do what all of those army men are forced to face every day."

"Which is exactly why I got out when I did," Klink answered, setting his cup of tea on the table beside the sofa. "I knew that if I got any further in my army training that it would be too late to get myself out. So Lieutenant Colonel Böhmer took me under his wing, and I quickly got promoted to captain after training with the air force."

"So I know what happened after that for several years, but what did you do after Germany surrendered? Did you go back to school and finish your math degree?"

"Oh yes," Klink said. "I was very determined to finish at the university and get my degree. Unfortunately, I had to drop my music performance major due to my injury in the Great War. I could still play piano, but it was the violin I wanted to play so badly. So I finished school and graduated with a 3.7."

Hogan's eyes widened, his jaw dropping almost to the floor. "You graduated with a 3.7 GPA, yet you were in the 95th place?"

"The university I went to was very prestigious for its high grades and graduation rates. Most of my graduating class had a 4.0 or, surprisingly, even higher than that. If you went under a 3.8, you were deemed as average or a failure. My graduate level accounting class is what got me so bad my last year. I was breezing through all my math classes like it was nothing, and I wanted to give myself a challenge my senior year...except maybe I challenged myself a little too much with that one."

Hogan took another sip of his milk before he continued. "You would've made Cum Laude honors had you gone to a college back in Cleveland. My best friend back in London graduated from West Point with a 3.7, so I would be pretty proud of yourself despite your university's messed up system."

A small smile came to Klink's face as he looked back on his university graduation day. "I was," he answered. "I walked off that stage with my diploma in hand, and I didn't care what the others thought of me. I graduated with mostly As and a degree that I enjoyed working for...even if I never got to wear those fancy cords they give you."

Hogan smirked. "Trust me; they're more of a nuisance than a decoration. I kept fidgeting with mine during the ceremony because one kept rising up near my shoulder." He fell quiet for a moment before speaking again. "Where did you get a job after graduating from school? I remember you saying once you left the military as soon as you were promoted to colonel, so where did you go from there? Did you stay in Munich and work?"

"No, Rudi and I decided to pack up our things and moved here to Hammelburg, actually. He stayed with his military career, but I just couldn't. I couldn't fight for a political system and leader that I despised so much. So, while Rudi got married, had his son, and continued his work with the air force, I searched the city for a bookkeeping job." Klink smiled again as he remembered his old job. "It was at an old toy store just like I had hoped for...seemed like fate to me that day."

(Hammelburg, Germany - October 1922)

Klink walked through the bustling streets of Hammelburg with a newspaper in hand flipped open to the jobs wanted section. He had walked into 20 establishments already for a bookkeeping job, and either he did not enjoy the business or the employer laughed him off. He was growing both tired and discouraged, ready to just throw in the towel and go back to Dusseldorf to live with his parents. Then he would have to listen to his brother brag and boast about his successful business job at a pharmaceutical company, which apparently was 'flourishing' in sales recently. He immediately shook the idea away and continued persisting with his search.

He continued wandering the streets for any 'Job Wanted' posters in business windows, occasionally smiling at people passing by and giving them a friendly 'hello'. Some waved back, some continued walking without acknowledging him. He let out a sad sigh eventually and continued sulking down the sidewalk. Besides Schneider and his wife, Klink had come to feel like a total nobody in Hammelburg. He had no job, was living off of government money he got for his service in the Great War, and he had no friends other than Schneider. But Schneider was now married and had a new baby boy in his life. And as much as Klink loved his godson like a nephew he never had, life in Hammelburg was getting extremely lonely. One friend. That's all he wanted. One friend and a job to pay his bills and possibly go out to eat once and a while.

Klink kept walking, lost in his depressed mind, when he stopped in front of a little toy store on Main Street. He backed up a bit and looked into the window. He first smiled at the little kids having fun inside, then spotted a sign in the window, and his smile widened. A sign reading 'Bookkeeper Wanted' in big red ink. Something then lit up inside him. A new bookkeeper wanted in a toy store. The exact thing he had wanted to do so much since leaving gymnasium. This had to be a sign of fate. It had to be. How lucky was any college graduate in finding their dream job on the first shot?

His smile faded, and anxiety began to bubble in his stomach. He still had to apply and be interviewed before getting carried away with excitement. And if he continued to have the same bad luck he had been having all day, this was just another dead end for him. Klink closed his eyes, let out a deep breath to ease his raging nerves, then stepped inside the little store and immediately looked at all the toys surrounding him. Stuffed animals, dolls, toy trains, yoyos, blocks, soldier figures that marched and played music when wound up; it was a child's paradise and every parent's worse nightmare.

Klink spotted a little boy and girl, probably twins, marching with a little soldier playing the 'Tölzer Schützenmarsch' and could not help but smile again. His heart warmed at the two of them having so much fun and made him that much more excited to have children of his own someday. He brightened even more as the twins looked up and waved at him while grinning from ear to ear. Klink waved back at them and continued watching in silence as they enjoyed their fun.

"Can I help you, Sir?" A man's voice asked from behind, taking Klink out of his thoughts. He turned around to find a young man, no more than 19 years old, standing behind him and wearing a cashier's uniform. He had brownish-red hair, green eyes, and appeared more curious than annoyed with Klink.

Klink cleared his throat, then proceeded. "Ja, I saw your sign outside for a bookkeeping job, and I was wondering if I could apply for it. I just graduated from the university in Munich with a degree in mathematics, and I have customer service experience by working part-time in my father's old shop back in Dusseldorf. Of course, it was just a summer job, but I learned all the ins and outs of working in a store from him."

The cashier seemed to be in awe of how perfect Klink sounded for the job, but shook his head and returned to reality. "Well Sir, I'd hire you right now based on how good you sound, but it's not up to me. That's my boss' job, the owner of the store. Would you like me to get him for you and see what he thinks? I'll put in a good word for you," he said sincerely and eagerly.

Klink felt a touched smile come to his face and nodded. "Yes, that would be very kind of you. Danke, uh...uh…" He began to trail off as he realized he had no idea what the young man's name was.

"Horst, Sir," the cashier answered, catching on quickly. "I work the day shifts here on the weekends and attend school the rest of the week. If you get hired, maybe you'll get to see me on some days."

"I would like that, Horst. You seem like a very nice young man."

Horst blushed with slight embarrassment and nodded. "I'll go get Herr Bertram for you uh...uh...what did you say your name was?"

Klink chuckled. "Wilhelm," he said. "Wilhelm Klink."

"Got it," Horst answered, giving Klink two thumbs up. He hurried into the back room of the store, leaving the retired colonel again to himself. The anxiety soon returned to his stomach, and Klink began to feel nauseous.

Please God, let him like me enough to hire me, he prayed silently. Klink started to wander around the store aimlessly, gazing at all the new toys he did not have growing up. Tambourines, doctor kits, dinosaur figurines, crayons and markers ranging from a vast variety of shades and colors. He remembered when he was a child. All he and his brother had to play with were musical instruments or their imaginations. Usually Wolfgang's led the two of them into trouble, but he remembered several times when he was younger dressing up in black and pretending to be a spy working undercover for the Kaiser. Times had been so much simpler back then. Much less complicated and much less stress on his shoulders.

Klink continued walking around the store and eventually sat down in a chair next to the toy train set. He watched as the little locomotive circled around the large track, whistling with joy every now and again, when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to his right and frowned when he saw a little girl, no more than four years old with blonde hair, hugging a big fuzzy teddy bear and crying softly. On instinct, Klink got to his feet and made his way towards the little girl, got down to her level, and looked at her with sympathy.

"Was ist los, Kleiner?" He asked softly, hoping he could make her smile. (1)

The little girl sniffled. "Mama said I could buy whatever toy I wanted if it was under a mark. I want my teddy bear, but he's two." She whimpered.

As Klink gave the little girl his full attention, the store's owner, Bertram Johnen, came out from the back room and spotted Klink interacting with the child. He paused in his step and watched silently from afar, slightly intrigued to see where this would go.

"Two marks short, huh?" Klink replied. "He looks like a very nice friend to have."

The little girl buried her face into the bear briefly, then sniffled again. "He needs somebody to love him," she said, meek.

"Yes, he does," Klink answered, with a nod. "And I think that someone should be you." He dug into his pants pocket, pulled out his wallet, and handed the little girl two marks.

The little girl's mouth dropped in surprise as she took the money in her shaky hands. She looked back up at Klink. "Really?" She asked, hopeful. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Now he just needs a good name, and he's got everything he needs."

The little girl smiled with glee, her tiny blue eyes lighting up with joy as she ran towards Klink and wrapped her arms around his neck. Klink hugged her back, then watched her as she hugged her new teddy bear by the neck and looked up at him once more.

"Danke, nice man," she said sincerely, and ran off to find her mother.

Klink grinned as he got to his feet and found another kid approaching him, this time a little boy about seven or eight. He had a military officer figure dressed in an air force uniform in his hands and kept inspecting him thoroughly. The little boy finally looked up at him curiously. "Do you know a good name for an air force officer?" He asked.

Klink pursed his lips as he thought long and hard on it. Eventually a name came to mind, and he said it out-loud for final approval. "Jürgen?"

The boy's eyes lit up like stars as he nodded. "Oh yeah, I like that very much." He looked at his soldier again, then looked back up at Klink. "Can I promote him to general?"

"General," Klink remarked, with amusement. "You're certainly skipping a lot of ranks there for him just being a captain. Why don't you start with major and work your way up to general? Ease him into having more responsibility."

"Yes, Sir. That seems fair," the boy said, smiling up at Klink.

Klink was about to socialize a bit more with the boy, when he heard another young voice scream, "Watch out!" He turned his eyes upwards and flinched back a bit as he saw an orange spherical object flying at him. He stuck out his hands quickly and caught the basketball before it could smash his face or monocle. Once firm in his grasp, Klink looked back up to see two little boys around the age of ten staring at him with embarrassment. One of them, a boy with blonde hair, buried his neck into his shoulders and looked sheepishly at the retired colonel.

"Sorry, Sir," he said, his voice filled with shame.

Klink fought back a smirk fighting to make its way on his face, spun the ball a bit in his hands, then spotted a basket made for the ball and made a shot. The basketball went in the hoop flawlessly, the satisfying 'woosh' sound shortly following afterwards. He watched with amusement as the two boys stood there with their jaws hanging ajar, eyes wide as saucers. Once they came out of their shock, they grinned with amazement at Klink.

"Whoa," the second boy, who had dark brown hair, gasped.

"Do that again!" The blonde boy cheered.

"Albert! Jakob! Quit throwing things around, and get over here before you break something!" The boys' mother could be heard shouting from another part of the store. The two boys let out a sad sigh and hung their heads.

"Yes, Mama," they both said in unison, and wandered off to find their mother, leaving Klink to again fight off another smirk. He simply shook his head while wearing a smile, then turned around to go back to his original spot, when he spotted Bertram standing in the back doorway watching him, a wide grin to his scruffy face.

"Oh," Klink said, surprised. "You must be Herr Bertram. I uh, I hope you don't mind. I was talking to some of the kids in your store. I just, I've always loved children. I'd love some of my own one day, but until then I'm looking for work where I can have some sort of interaction with…" He paused halfway as he realized he was beginning to ramble and felt his cheeks turning red. He always rambled when he was nervous, and he cleared his throat to try and regain some composure. "You probably don't care about that, though...I meant to say that I saw…" He never got the chance to finish.

"You must be the Wilhelm fellow Horst was telling me about," Bertram answered. He was a tall man with a gray mustache matching his salt and pepper hair. He looked to be about in his late 40s' to early 50s' and wore black pants with a green checkered shirt that had the sleeves rolled about halfway up his hairy arms. "Interested in the bookkeeping position, huh?"

"Jawohl, Herr Bertram," Klink answered, with a short nod. "I just finished school with a mathematics degree and moved here about a month ago with my best friend to find work. I saw your sign and thought, 'Since I always wanted to work in a toy store as a bookkeeper, I'd come in and see if I would be a good fit for you'."

Bertram crossed his arms, but his eyes seemed to show that he was more impressed with the man than annoyed. "Well, I'll be honest with you, Herr Klink," he began. "You've got a mighty impressive background from what Horst told me. Graduated from the university in Munich, have great experience with customer service, and you don't look like a drug addict, either."

"No, Sir. I try to avoid getting involved with those people. I don't drink much, either. Oh, I'll have a drink or two at a wedding or a birthday party or something, but I…" Klink began to turn red again. "I'm rambling again, aren't I."

To his surprise, Bertram began to chuckle a bit. "At ease, Wilhelm," he said. "No need to try and persuade me. You seem to be a fine fit to work in my store. And from what I just saw, I think the children like you, too."

A bright smile returned to Klink's face as he looked to his right and watched the little kids play and giggle. "I like them, too. They seem like very good kids to me."

Bertram let out a heavy sigh. "Most of them are," he replied. "Every once and a while I'll get a few that come in here and touch everything, breaking stuff...then I have to clean the whole mess up and deal with a bunch of angry parents." He made his gaze back to Klink. "How soon can you start?"

Klink took a double-take at the abrupt question and stared at the older man blankly for several moments. "You, you're hiring me on the spot?" He gasped. "I haven't even had an interview yet, though."

Bertram raised an eyebrow at him. "Do you want an interview first?"

Klink frowned. "Not unless you want to hear me start rambling again," he said timidly.

He got another laugh in response. "No rambling needed, Wilhelm. The job's yours. Can you start tomorrow morning at 8:00?"

"Yes, yes, tomorrow morning is just fine. Oh Danke, Herr Bertram. You have no idea how much this means to me," Klink answered, with a grin, his blue eyes sparkling like stars.

"Call me Bertram," the store owner said, and stuck out his hand for a shake. "Pleasure to have you join us here, Wilhelm."

Klink opened his mouth to say something, when he felt a gentle tug on his pants. He looked down to find the little girl he had given money to staring up at him, her new teddy bear still hugged by the neck in her arms. "What's your name?" She asked curiously.

"Wilhelm," Klink answered kindly.

The little girl smiled widely. "I'm naming my teddy bear after you." She squealed.

"You are? Oh, that's very kind of you."

The girl then frowned. "Can you come back and visit someday? I like you."

Klink gave her a grin. "I don't think that'll be necessary. You're going to see a lot more of me now. I start my new job here tomorrow, so you can come and see me whenever you want to." He told her, again getting down at her level.

"You are?!" The little girl cried, her blue eyes twinkling with glee.

"I am."

"Yay!" She cheered, then wrapped her tiny arms around Klink, making him smile more and gently hug her back.

"Wait a minute," the little boy with the air force doll said. "He's gonna stay here?" A little girl beside him with deep dark brown hair turned to face Klink with the same look of excitement on her face.

Bertram grinned. "Yes, my boy; Wilhelm is staying."

The little boy and girl cheered with glee, then hurried to Klink and hugged him, too. Soon the two boys with the basketball were by his side and giving Klink hugs as well. At first, he gave a soft 'oof' as he was attacked by the kids, but then smiled again and let them hug him, trying his best to give each of them the same amount of attention. He closed his eyes with content, feeling a sense of belonging he had not felt in ages. A sense that made his heart feel warm and full, sending a radiation of joy throughout his entire body. He was going to like it here. He was going to like Hammelburg.

(1) Was ist los, Kleiner - What is it, little one?