Page 4 of The German Mother

‘Noisy,’ replied Franziska. ‘But it’s free – so I put up with it.’

‘Free? How did you manage that?’

‘The patron and I have “an understanding”.’ Franziska winked. ‘He gives me room and board, and I give him what he wants. He calls me “The Queen of Schwabing” – in fact that’s what they all call me round here.’

‘I’mlooking for somewhere new to live,’ said Minki. ‘Are there any other rooms for rent above the café?’

‘Oh, no darling, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Gerhard, the owner, would think he’d died and gone to heaven if you moved in. No, we’ll find you somewhere more suitable. Wait here…’

Franziska walked out into the street, and returned ten minutes later, carrying a key. She slammed it down on the marble-topped table. ‘There you are. I’ve arranged for you to live in the attic above the tailor’s shop three doors down. He’s a nice man, a widower – but respectable. His son’s a bit odd, but he won’t be any trouble. I negotiated a good price too.’

‘Thank you – I’m so grateful…’

‘There’s a bathroom of sorts on the landing, and a tiny kitchen. But if you like, you can eat your meals here with me.’

Minki picked up the key and put it in her handbag. ‘Why are you being so kind to me?’

The woman studied Minki for a few minutes. ‘Perhaps I see myself in you. Even I was young and innocent once.’ She smiled, but her face took on a wistfulness that Minki had not noticed before. ‘I’ve not always lived this way, you know. I come from a good family, but sometimes things don’t work out quite as one imagines.’

The following weekend, Minki moved into her new lodgings. The room was small but comfortable, and Franziska helped to make it more homely. She lent Minki a couple of her feather boas and a spare counterpane for the bed. Although old enough to be Minki’s mother, ‘The Queen of Schwabing’ behaved more like an elder sister. Over the coming weeks, she taught her new protégée how to dress, how to drink, how to flirt and, most importantly, how to laugh. Minki had never enjoyed herself as much as when she was in the company of ‘The Queen’. Soon the café and its inhabitants became a sort of home from home. It was here that Minki enjoyed her first sexual encounter – with a tall, shy young man she had met only a few hours before. Both participants were drunk and the act itself was a fumbling affair that took place standing up in the dark corridor at the back of the café. When it was over, Minki was not entirely sure what had happened. She and the young man soon drifted apart, but the experience, though not romantic, had given Minki the taste for sex. And wanting sex made her one of the crowd – most of the girls who frequented the café and the surrounding area were sexually active. It also filled a void in her life – for affection.

At the start of the new term, Minki invited Leila to her new lodgings. ‘It’s not exactly grand, and the furnishings are appalling, but at least I can come and go when I please. Living with the professor and his awful housekeeper was like being in jail…’

Light and laughter spilled out into the dusk from Café Stephanie as the two girls turned in to Minki’s road. ‘Are you hungry?’ she asked Leila.

‘A little.’

‘Why don’t we eat here first, and then go and chat in my room.’

As the two girls entered the café, the clientele called out. ‘Hi, Minki…sit over here, Minki…Is that your girlfriend, Minki?’

Minki had a cheerful word for all her admirers – laughing, kissing the men on the cheek and hugging the girls. While she stood at the bar, ordering their drinks, Leila sat nervously at a table in the corner. The café was unlike anywhere she had ever been. At one table, two women were kissing one another. Elsewhere, half-dressed women draped themselves over men before disappearing upstairs; even Leila understood they must be prostitutes. Meanwhile, groups of men and women were engaged in heated discussions about philosophy and politics. It was a different world from the staid, cosy environment in which she had been brought up.

Minki returned with the drinks, putting two glasses of schnapps down on the table. ‘Prost!’

‘Prost,’ Leila replied nervously. She had never tasted schnapps before. Her only experience of alcohol had been the occasional glass of sweet wine. Her nose wrinkled with disgust as she took the first sip.

‘Oh, don’t you like schnapps? I’m sorry,’ said Minki.

‘It’s fine…I’ll get used to it.’ Leila blushed, feeling foolish. ‘What…an interesting place.’

‘Well, it’s not a respectable restaurant like Café Luitpold, that’s for sure. It’s much more fun. You’re not shocked, are you?’

‘No…not at all.’ Leila was anxious not to appear too innocent.

Minki reached over and took her hand. ‘These people are my friends, Leila – just as you are. What I love about them is that they don’t judge – either themselves or me. But they are all interesting and great fun.’

Leila smiled uncertainly.

‘I know…’ Minki went on, ‘why don’t we find you a boyfriend. I’m sure there are heaps of men here who’d love to go to bed with you.’

‘I don’t want a boyfriend,’ Leila protested.

‘Why ever not? You don’t want to leave university still a virgin.’

Leila blushed again. ‘What’s wrong with being a virgin?’

‘Everything!’ declared Minki.