Battle of the Rhine

Charlotte Quincy, nicknamed "Charlie," was like a cute little gray bird—a gray dress with a neatly cut large skirt reminded Michael, inappropriately, of Mary's comments about European women.The little gray bird wandered around the living room, and finally stopped in front of the pile of wine bottle fragments.In fact, she frowned slightly as soon as she entered the door, "Oh, Carl, I'm sorry...but, have you started drinking again?"

Quincy pulled back his chair. "No."

"It's my wine," Michael said. "Yesterday I...passed by a grocery store and the owner told me there was a discount for buying two bottles."

"I see." Xia Li nodded, her beautiful blond hair shaking fluffy, "Sir, I don't know your name yet! I am—"

"He's Fiennes," said Quincy before Michael introduced himself. "I want to rent out part of the house, and he's the tenant."

"For rent?" Charlie looked at Michael with some confusion, "The second floor for rent?"

"is it not OK?"

"Of course, of course, I just didn't expect it." Charlie looked at Michael again, God, those eyes were exactly the same as her brother's, "Hello, Mr. Fiennes."

"You can just call me Mike." Michael held Charlie's soft little hand and let it go in two seconds. "Yes, I want to rent a house, so—"

"Are you a foreigner?"

My accent is so obvious?Michael cursed his German teacher inwardly.He obviously spent so much money! "I'm an American," I have recited my self-introduction thousands of times, "I'm from Arizona. I work in Germany..."

"American." Xia Li's originally friendly expression froze for a few seconds, then smiled randomly, "Your German is very good."

This is complete bullshit.Every German can tell within half a minute that Michael is anything but native.But Michael thought that if a Frenchman spoke English to him, he would compliment the other person's English in an amiable manner, even if the English had a strong uvula. "Thank you," he replied, "thank you, ma'am."

"Please call me Charlie." Charlie regained her cautious joy, "Let me see..." She briskly walked into the kitchen, and the tall boy sat primly on the chair diagonally opposite Quincy. "You have nothing in your house." A few minutes later, the gray bird flew out, "Flour, butter, coffee..."

Quincy clenched his hands and looked gloomy.Charlie smiled at the boy, "Foley, I'm going out to do some shopping." Then she said to Michael, "Mr. Mike, can you come with me?"

"Let Franz go with you," said Quincy.

"No, Foley wants to ask you something about work." Charlie said, "He just came to work, so you have to help him."

The freezing rain stopped, and the sun showed half of its face behind the cloud. The bleak sunshine and the dusty gravel road were very similar to the scenes in some famous European paintings.Michael was carrying an umbrella, and the cold wind poured into his neck, and he couldn't help shrinking his shoulders.

"Are you cold?" Charlie noticed. "We'll be at the store soon, and you can warm up there for a while."

Had to buy a coat there, otherwise the shops would be closed on Sundays and there wouldn't be any clothes to buy on the street in the freezing cold.Michael shrank his neck and followed behind Charlie. The gray bird was wearing beautiful black leather shoes, and the heels tapped on the stones.

"Actually, Foley is quite afraid of my brother," Charlie said suddenly.

Franz is a typical German name, like Hans.This is the fifth Franz he has known in the short time Michael has been in Germany. "Haha," he laughed dryly, "um...well."

"Are you my brother's friend?" Charlie stopped, her gray skirt unfurled a small flower on her calf, "Very good friend, isn't it? Otherwise he wouldn't have lent you his clothes. "

This was stolen, and Michael pulled off the sweater, "So-so." He lied once, and there must be a second, third... countless more.

"Carl said that he plans to rent out the second floor. I'm really surprised." Charlie continued to walk forward. "The bedroom on the second floor belongs to Emma. I thought he was going to seal up that room forever."

A stone protruded from the ground and Michael tripped. "Emma is my sister-in-law, Karl must have told you?" said the girl. "She died, and my brother was heartbroken. He was not long after he came back from the prison camp. People say that it is God's grace to let them see him." But what's the use? Carl's grief is unspeakable, he has changed since then, before he was just quiet, but very friendly, very gentle. Franz is not afraid of him, he often comes to his brother to ask math Question. After Emma left..."

"I know Emma." Michael touched his chest. "I've heard of her. She also has blond hair."

"Did my brother tell you?" Charlie smiled. "It seems that you are really his good friend. Emma is a blonde girl. Before my brother went to serve, she said that when he came home, she would give him a baby." Kid. It's gonna be a blond kid, we all think so. But—"

"She's sick?" Michael clutched at the military badge, and the metal seemed to cool, psychologically, he thought, because of Emma and her death, and the blond baby that never existed.

"Emma was originally very weak." Charlie turned a corner, and the only store nearby was in front of her. "He often fell ill. My brother loved her very much. He took Emma to the lake to recuperate, hoping that she would recover. Later... Emma was particularly worried when her elder brother went to serve in the army. She was afraid that her elder brother would be sent to the east... Later, there was no news about her elder brother, and his troops were captured by the American army——Mike, have you ever experienced war?"

Mike couldn't answer, what should he say?Yes, that's right, I participated, that is, I captured your brother, and I took the opportunity to rape him-he suddenly felt deeply ashamed.He also used Emma... If it wasn't for this girl, Quincy might have committed suicide under his insult.It's not that he hasn't done it before, his head was smashed, half of his face was stained red with blood...

"In the last six months of the war, there were plane bombs every day. Emma was living in her house, and a bomb fell on her house, and half of a maid's head was blown off. Emma never recovered from that shock. She became more and more Weak, and the only thing that sustains her is the belief that Carl will come back alive."

"My brother came back alive. Although the situation is very bad, at least he is back." Xia Li took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes. "Emma survived for a few days and went to heaven. It was chaotic at that time, and she didn't get a decent job." The elder brother was probably greatly irritated, he was silent and quit the church. He started drinking... he only drank a little at Christmas before he went to serve."

"He stopped drinking more than a year ago, and the priest said it was a sign of improvement, God bless." The blond girl took Mike's cold hand, "So, if it's okay... can you stop drinking in the house after you move here ?At least don't let my brother see it. After the war ruined his family, I don't want alcohol to ruin him again."