Battle of the Rhine

The next day was fine weather.Michael was woken by Quincy early in the morning, fed, given his medication, and then driven back to bed.When he woke up at noon, a big black dog was squatting in front of the window, tilting its head curiously.

"Arden." Michael smiled and stretched out his hand, "Hello."

Arden stood up, wagging his tail, walked over to sniff Michael's palm, and licked it vigorously.

Michael and Quincy spent Christmas 1956 together.They went to the Christmas market and bought a lot of things, including a pair of small fake antlers for Arden to wear as reindeer.Arden is a very intelligent German Shepherd with a small house.Quincy made a nest for Arden out of Michael's old sweaters, hats, and scarves, which, he said, was all that was left of the tattered wool.

It snowed on Christmas Eve, a beautiful white Christmas.Instead of going to church, Quincy kept the radio and TV on and the oven busy.He let Michael sit on the sofa and chat with him.Arden can't go to bed, but has a cushion on the sofa that belongs to him.While stroking Arden's head, Michael looked at Quincy's tall and thin back.This scene is familiar, he may have seen it in a dream.

"Charlie's coming tomorrow," said Quincy, "with little Cal."

Carl Jr. is Charlie's son, whose name is exactly the same as his uncle's.Charlie was going to adopt the child to her brother, because it was obvious that Quincy wasn't going to walk into church and marry a lady. "He's a very smart kid," Quincy said, holding out a plate of sausages, "he's very sensitive to numbers."

"Good." Michael praised slowly, "Great."

Little Carl is very similar to the young Quincy in the photo, with blond hair, blue eyes, and rosy lips, like an angel.He was the most beautiful kid Michael had ever seen, just kind of unhappy, always pouted and pulling Michael's hair and scratching his face and hands. "No!" cried the pretty little thing, "No!"

"He likes to say this word." Xia Li stopped her son with a smile, "I guess this is a certain step in growing up."

Charlie didn't bring up the conversation in the kitchen again.What does it matter?Quincy was in such a good mood that Michael could even hear him humming a Christmas carol.The college student who claimed to quit the church began to pray every night. It has to be said that his prayers were much more formal than Michael’s. He also proposed that after Michael recovered, he could teach Michael Latin and read the Latin version of the Bible.

"Thanks," said Michael, "but teach me German first..."

Christmas passed quickly, and then came New Years and Three Kings' Day.After the holidays, Michael had to go back to work.Quincy wanted him to resign, and Michael refused. "I'm a foreigner after all," he took Quincy's hand, "I have to have a job, otherwise what about the visa?"

In this way, during 1957, Michael lived a life of running around for almost a year.He lived in the dormitory in Ingolstadt on weekdays, took the train back to Munich after get off work on Friday, and took the earliest train back on Monday morning.Quincy was going to quit his job and go to Ingolstadt to find a job, so that Michael wouldn't be overworked.But Michael didn't think that was necessary. First of all, Quincy's development in the company was very good, and it was a critical period for promotion; secondly, he liked Quincy's house, a place he could call home...it was very close to Charlie , Quincy can see his sister from time to time; moreover, the neighbors nearby are not surprised by Michael, especially the Mueller family. Although they are always not very friendly to this unexpected visitor from the United States, these people will never go to the police. Bureau—this was one of Michael's biggest concerns.

It was not until much later that Michael understood the origin of the close relationship between the Mueller family and the Quincy.That's what Hannah told him. "We have no place to live...my mother has a big belly," she said. "That's a little brother, if he survives—my father never got to see his son, and when he was released, the brother would have been Buried in the grave. It was Mr. von Quinnessy who helped us, gave us a place to live, and saved our family. My dad used to say, 'Karl must be God's messenger, just look at his face.'”

Quincy never mentioned his help to the Muellers.Michael came back, he regained his calm, went to work and life step by step, waited for Michael at the station on Friday, and went to church on Sunday.He got promoted. In 1958, Michael resigned and joined the same company, in a different department.He sometimes heard people talking about Quincy, the handsome, intelligent gentleman who always attracted attention.Some of the female staff thought that Quincy had been married long ago, but she kept a low profile and didn't want to mention it.Their regret and sympathy make many men jealous.One day, Michael was returning home after get off work. On the way, he mentioned the gossip he had heard in the cafeteria at noon.

"They said there was something wrong with you." Michael gestured, "Well...you understand?"

"There's something wrong with me." Quincy changed the car, and the space was much more spacious. "I often think about it, and I feel that something is really wrong with me. For example——" He glanced at Michael, and the meaning was self-evident.

"I'm pretty handsome," Michael touched his chin, "I think I look like Marlon Brando."

"Sorry, I don't see any similarities between you and him, except that you are both Americans."

"Look in my eyes—"

Michael writes to Mary, every month.He wrote it in Quincy's presence, and read it, "I'm with Karna."

"We're not together, and I can throw you out anytime, cowboy."

"Well," Michael raised his eyebrows, "I'm living very comfortably now... Karna and I went to watch football matches, not rugby, but football. Karna likes Bayern Munich, I wonder if you've heard of it? Karna Think it's the strongest team..."

Mary wrote back and Michael read it to Quincy. "Dear Mike...I'm so glad to hear you and Karna are back together...are you married? I bought her a dress in red. I'm sure blonde hair would go well with red..."

Quincy was not angry. He sat at the table, repairing a radio, with Arden sprawled at his feet, his head resting pitifully on his feet. "She's fine," he said, "but it's a pity you'll have to deceive her forever."

"Who knows for sure?" Michael finished writing the letter and drew the flashcards for Quincy.Carl Jr. comes here almost every week. He's really smart, Quinnessy said, and it won't be long before he can teach him elementary school.

"Are you going back this year?" Quincy squeezed out a tiny screw, "I mean...you haven't been back to America for two or three years, have you?"

"Are you going back with me?"

"Do not."

"Then I won't go back."

Quincy's bright blue eyes looked over. "Haven't you regretted it, Mike?"

He grew a few white hairs, and he was sad for several days just because of this little thing. "Why should you regret it?" Michael described those words without raising his head, "Where are you, I will be there, unless the German government deports me one day...then you go to England, I will take you, we Let's go to America together."

One thing, though, lingered on Michael's mind.To get married, he carefully filled in the color of a letter A, he had to think... can he find a way?