Page 17 of The German Mother

‘Who is this?’ asked Hannah.

‘It’s Minki. Happy New Year.’

‘And to you,’ said Hannah coolly. ‘I’m afraid Leila’s not here. She started her new job at thePosttoday.’

‘Oh, of course she did. I forgot. Thanks…I’ll pop over there and see her.’

‘Oh, I shouldn’t…’ Hannah began, but Minki had already put the phone down and was heading for the door.

She arrived at thePost’s offices to find the gates locked, with a uniformed guard standing watch.

Minki smiled charmingly. ‘I’m here for a meeting with Leila Hoffman.’

‘Is she expecting you?’

‘Of course.’

The guard unlocked the gates, and Minki crossed the courtyard and ran up the stairs into the newsroom. She spotted Leila immediately, her head buried in her work. Passing by the other journalists’ desks, Minki attracted a lot of attention.

‘Morning, darling,’ she said, perching on the edge of Leila’s desk, and lighting a cigarette.

‘Minki! What are you doing here… and how did you get in? Look, you really ought to go, I’m supposed to be working.’

‘But it’s nearly lunchtime,’ Minki replied, picking up Leila’s notebook and scanning its contents. ‘I thought we could go out somewhere.’

‘It’s far too early for lunch – it’s not even mid-day yet.’ Leila snatched back her notebook and closed it firmly. ‘Besides, I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes.’

‘Well, I only dropped by to give you the good news.’

‘What good news?’

‘I’ve got an interview this week – for a new paper calledDer Stürmer.’

‘Oh, thatisgood news. But don’t you already have a job?’

‘Oh, that…it’s only part-time and pays virtually nothing. But this job has a proper salary. The only problem is that it’s based in Nuremberg.’

‘Nuremberg! But that’s so far away…I’ll never see you.’

‘It’s not that far. We can meet up at weekends. Anyway, I may not even get it. I’m off there on Tuesday – they’re putting me up in a hotel. I’ll let you know how it goes.’ She bent down to kiss her friend’s cheek.

‘Minki, darling…is that schnapps I can smell? Isn’t it rather early?’

‘Oh don’t be a bore,’ said Minki. ‘I’m celebrating!’

It was early evening when Minki stepped off the train in Nuremberg station. Taking a taxi into the centre of the city, she found herself enchanted by the beautiful medieval architecture. Winding its way down a narrow street, the taxi finally drew up in front of Hotel Elch – a traditional half-timbered building with a high tiled roof.

Her room was up in the eaves. Once she’d unpacked her small valise, she went down to the dining room for dinner. As the only woman eating alone, she attracted a lot of attention. Other women looked on disapprovingly, while their husbands found themselves fascinated by the beautiful blonde drinking copious quantities of white wine.

After dinner, she wandered through to the bar and sat at the long counter on a tall stool. She lit a cigarette and looked around. A fair-haired man – young and rather handsome – was sitting in a booth to one side and caught her eye. Within a few moments, he was coming towards her. ‘Hello,’ he said, leaning an elbow on the bar next to her.

‘Good evening,’ she replied.

‘I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.’

‘That’s because I’ve not been here before.’

‘Can I buy you a drink? My name is Friedrich, by the way.’