Heidelberg Requiem by Burger Wolfgang & Burger Wolfgang

Author:Burger, Wolfgang & Burger, Wolfgang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bonnier Publishing Fiction
Published: 2016-08-18T00:00:00+00:00

16

My daughters reappeared around five thirty and told me that this Heidelberg place really sucked. There were cool shops, OK, and also cute boys here and there. But the castle, for example, was a ruin. No comparison to the castle in Karlsruhe. And this ridiculous Neckar River – a joke, more like a stream when compared to the Rhine! And finally – a complete disaster – the dialect spoken here, even by some of the teachers! They didn’t even want to start on the school. And furthermore, believe it or not, they had found only one single McDonald’s so far in this pathetic city.

Ultimately, they demanded that I cancel the sale of our old house and reregister them in their old school. When I told them that this was not possible, not even with the best will in the world, they started crying. Really crying this time.

Lost in thought and in a bad mood for different reasons, we drove to Karlsruhe shortly afterwards. The girls refused to eat anything and immediately disappeared into their room. Defiantly, I packed a few more boxes and drove them to Heidelberg.

We would be moving in two weeks’ time. My secretary, who knew her stuff, had organised a removal company. This meant we would be leaving the past behind us for good – me my marriage, the twins their childhood. That was difficult for them, I understood that, but they would adjust, I was sure of it.

Of course I knew that my efforts were completely futile. But I had to do something, something with my hands, to have something to show for it. Something that gave me the feeling of being of some use, of making some progress, of not just having gone round in circles on this disastrous day. The pile of stuff in the cellar that was going on the rubbish dump had grown almost to the ceiling.

I double-parked the Peugeot in the Kleinschmidtstrasse, switched on the hazard lights and started to carry my boxes down into the cellar. Why hurry? Two grumpy teenagers in a desolate house were all that was waiting for me. I didn’t feel like listening to music. I didn’t want to drink any wine today. I know how it would end if I opened a bottle in my current state of mind. But all these arguments were just a front. In reality, I just wanted to pass the time – in the hope of meeting someone.

She arrived about the same time as last time. Suddenly she was there. In the same skirt as last week, with the same big handbag over her shoulder, with the same smile on her face. I wanted to hug her but was not sure I was allowed to. I wanted to kiss her, and was sure that she didn’t want to do that in public. So I shook her hand and talked rubbish.

‘Hello,’ she said quietly. ‘A very nice house.’

‘Yes, that’s true,’ I stammered.

‘Do you have a little time?’

‘Of course. Absolutely. Just need to park the car .

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