Watch the Trains Go By: Lover's Lane

"We should forgive our enemies, but not before they are hanged."

― Heinrich Heine

The next day Gertrude began going through Albert's papers, putting them in the right order. Getting some ready for dispatch and others ready for filing. She noted he was becoming more careful about the information that was crossing her desk. If he thought that would deter her, he had another thing coming to him. It just presented her with a challenge she was more than willing to overcome. Looking at her watch, she noted it was almost 3:30 in the afternoon. She had invited Klink to tea because she felt a rather bad about her treatment of him last night at dinner and thought a little confession was good for the soul.

She put the paperwork away and went to the small kitchen her VIP quarters contained. With some bread she had obtained from the mess hall she made toast points and a small bowl of vegetable pate' made from chickpeas, mushrooms and some herbs she had brought with her from home. Setting the items on the coffee table, she went back into the kitchen a brewed a pot of tea. Checking her watch again, she saw it was ten minutes after four. She went to the door and asked the guard standing watch outside if he would have Schultz come to her quarters. Within a few minutes of her request, Schultz was standing in front of her smiling like an oversized little boy.

"How can I help you Gnädige Frau?" he asked good-naturedly as he towered over her.

"Would you please let the Kommandant know tea is ready, Schultz?"

"I would be my pleasure…..ba-by." Schultz said giving her a teasing wink and a wide grin.

Gertrude could not help but to smile and chuckle at the Sergeant of the Guard. The merriment evident in his twinkling blue eyes lifted her spirits. She found that she was genuinely fond of the man so many thought of as a buffoon. He had been through two wars and yet, somehow, he had not lost any of his innocence. He had a certain warmth and peace about him she found comforting. Gertrude could easily imagine him with wings and a halo, sent by the Creator to watch over all of them and keep them their sanity in an insane time.

Gertrude the next time she saw him her smile turned to a frown. With stumbling words and numerous apologies, he told her the Kommandant was too busy to have tea with her. She had never seen Klink this busy in all her previous visits and could easily deduce his strategy. Instead of becoming angry, she smiled at the gentle man and thanked him for his time. As he turned to leave, Gertrude remembered the tea she had prepared for the Kommandant. Not wanting to waste the food, she invited Schultz to join her, which he did with great gusto. She sat back, sipped her tea and watched him eat. It brought her great pleasure to watch a man with a hearty appetite enjoying one of her repasts once again.

She expected Klink at dinner but once again, he was absent. Thought out the meal she pondered how to ask Albert about him without putting any silly ideas or expectations in her brother's head. She still had not come up with anything by time Schultz had served the dessert. Frustrated with herself, she lapsed into a quiet reflection. Something her brother did not notice as he was too busy wolfing down large mouthfuls of the egg custard that had been placed in front of him.

"Very good dinner, Oberfeldwebel," Albert said between bites.

"Thank-you General," Schultz replied pouring the General another cup of coffee.

The door to the VIP quarters opened and Klink hurried in and began looking for something in the side table near the door. Without bothering glance their way, he threw out a "Good evening, good evening," over his shoulder as he continued to plunder the tiny drawer.

"Good evening, Wilhelm," Gertrude said in an effort to engage his attention. She sat stewing in frustration as her greeting failed to elicit any response from the Kommandant. The thought of why it should bother her so popped into her mind but she quickly pushed it away. She had never been afraid to examine her emotions or motivation but somehow this man put her in a whirlwind of confusion and self-doubt.

"Kommandant, your coat?" Schultz asked Klink, returning her thoughts back to the dinner.

"No thank-you, Schultz. I must go right out again." Turning from his task, he looked at the General. "Uh, a little surprise visit to our troops," he said in way of an explanation.

Gertrude did not believe it for one minute. By the tone in her brother's voice, neither did he.

"It's a surprise to me too."

"You have not had your dinner," Gertrude said peevishly, stung by his lack of attention.

"Oh I apologize, please forgive me. I can stay just long enough to have some coffee. Schultz," Klink said as if he had just realized she was in the room. He sat down at the table without removing his coat sending a clear message he would not be staying long.

"I never realized you were so dedicated to your job Klink."

"I guess that's why I don't have much of a social life, Klink replied with a shrug. "In a way I am married to the war."

"I think I understand Klink," Gertrude said as she started to guide Klink in the direction she wanted him to go. It was so easy to manipulate the Kommandant and a decent woman would be ashamed. Gertrude knew she should not take such pleasure in baiting Klink but could not help herself. She wondered when and if this paper tiger would turn and bite her.

"You know Frau Linkmeyer, I have been neglecting you shamelessly but that's the way I am."

"Yes I can see that and I admire you for it."

"Er... admire?" Klink said, looking as if he had swallowed something particularly nasty.

"Yes, I like a man who puts his job first. Women must learn to take second place. You have gone up in my estimation, Wilhelm."

"Schultz, take this away, get me a Schnapps. Make it a double," replied a pale and shaken Klink.

Really, Gertrude thought to herself, I need to stop toying with the man or I am going to turn him into a drunkard. She watched as he picked up his glass to drink the clear liquid. His hand trembled to the point she thought he would spill it. As he raised the glass to his lips, he paused and glanced her way then quickly downed the full glass. Morosely, he placed the glass back on the table. With hunched shoulders, he sat staring at the empty glass while Albert prattled on about some nonsense occurring in Berlin.

Gertrude felt bad. She just wanted to punish him a little for his inattention. She vowed immediately to stop the stupid game she was playing. He was not an evil man; in fact, she saw a lot of promise in him. Besides, between Albert, the General Staff and Papa Bear, he already was batted around like a shufflecock, she did not need to add to his misery. She resolved to be nicer to him, even if it earned her more grief from Albert.

She was surprised the next day when she received an invitation from him to go for an evening drive. Gertrude attempted to gain more information from Obergefreiter Dietrich. Since he had nothing additional to give her outside his orders, she had no choice but to accept the offer. After dinner, Klink had Schultz drive the car around to her quarters. He escorted her to the waiting staff car and gallantly helped her inside. Once settled, she thought she felt the car rock a bit, as if someone else had gotten inside. She looked up and saw Schultz was already behind the wheel. He had turned over the engine and was putting the vehicle into first gear. She knew Klink had climbed in behind her so the motion could not have come from him. She mulled the puzzle over in her mind while setting back into the seat in anticipation of a nice evening drive.

They rode in silence for two miles, until they stopped in a small clearing in the woods. She looked up at the bright stars in the sky and smiled to herself. When she was alone with Klink, he was decent and kind to her. She resolved to work on being nicer to him. After all, he was an innocent in other people's plots and schemes. The thought of spending an hour or two talking to him without the pressures of romance appealed to her.

The three of them had sat for several minutes in silence before Klink finally spoke. "Schultz, we won't need you for a while, uh, take a walk in the woods."

"Alone?" asked the nervous guard.

"I'm sorry we didn't bring a girlfriend for you. Get out!"

"There's a nice moon out tonight, Herr Kommandant."

She could hear Klink grind his teeth in frustration. "Thank you Schultz. GET OUT!"

"Yes sir, Herr Kommandant," Schultz said as he reluctantly exited the car and began walking away.

Gertrude thought she detected a small squeak behind her. Once again, the car rocked a bit and then stilled. Confused and attempting to figure out exactly what was going on. She was startled from her thoughts when Klink began speaking.

"Well, here we are," Klink replied nervously.

"Yes, alone again Wilhelm," Gertrude said. She felt skittish and shy. Almost like when she was first dating Otto. However, she had been in love with Otto from the first time she had laid eyes on him. Klink was not Otto, so she could not understand why she felt this way. She found herself blurting out the first thing that came to her mind. "It is very romantic, I approve."

"I'm glad you approve…and I approve of your approval."

He is babbling again. "What is it Wilhelm?

"Gertrude…Frau Linkmeyer…I realize that you are strongly attracted to me. It's one of those things, you can't help yourself. The moth to the flame?"

She knew him to be egotistical. Still, Gertrude hoped when he was alone with her he would drop those silly defenses and just be himself.

"I admire you very much. You're strong and forceful."

"Yeah," she said warming to his complement.

" And uh, forceful and strong."

"Thank you Wilhelm."

"But for a wife I want someone weak and stupid."

"What?"

"Someone I can talk to."

"SCHULTZ!" Was this payback for the teasing she had given him? Not only was she homely in his eyes, she was not even good enough to talk to. She felt her breath catch in her throat and fought back the pain. She rather french Hochstetter than give him the satisfaction of knowing how deeply his words had hurt her. It was her own fault, she reasoned. She had let her guard down, let herself believe they could be friends. Gertrude cursed her stupid pride. She turned to tell Klink exactly what she thought of his intellectual abilities when she saw movement in the back of the car. She felt the car move as a flash of brown crawled into the trunk.

Hogan, she thought. Hochstetter was right. Hogan has been behind all of this. He is Papa Bear. All of this is his fault. She felt herself seething with rage at him using her so shabbily. They were on the same side, even if he did not know it.

She could hear Klink trying to explain, to apologize. Gertrude ignored him. Well Papa Bear, two can play this game and I now have the advantage. She could hear Klink following behind her as she stormed up the steps the VIP quarters. Giving him no mind, she slammed the door in his face. Inside she felt herself smile. Now she was the cat and Hogan was the mouse. She looked down at her hands. And my claws are very sharp.

Next: Resistance

A/n:

Obergefreiter Dietrich is from "Look at the Pretty Snowflakes."

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (December 13, 1797 – February 17, 1856) was a journalist, an essayist, and one of the most significant German romantic poets.