Page 280 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

Karolin looked thoughtful. "Perhaps you're right," she said. "I can't spend my life being a victim. I've had bad luck, but I mustn't let that define me. The Stasi think I'm just the girl whose boyfriend killed a border guard, but I don't have to accept what they say."

"Exactly!" Lili was pleased.

"I'm going to write to Walli and tell him all about it. But I'll go with you."

"Then let's get changed."

Lili went to her own room and put on a short skirt--not quite a miniskirt, as worn by girls on the Western television shows watched by everyone in East Germany, but above the knee. Now that Karolin had agreed, Lili asked herself whether this was the right course. Karolin certainly needed a life of her own: she had been dead right in what she said about not letting the Stasi define her. But what would Walli think, when he found out? Would he worry that Karolin was forgetting him? Lili had not seen her brother for almost two years. He was nineteen now, and a pop star. She did not know what he might think.

Karolin borrowed Lili's blue jeans, then they made up their faces together. Lili's older sister, Rebecca, had sent them black eyeliner and blue eye shadow from Hamburg, and by a miracle the Stasi had not stolen it.

They went to the kitchen to take their leave. Carla was feeding Alice, who waved good-bye to her mother so cheerfully that Karolin was a little put out.

They walked to a Protestant church a few streets away. Only Grandmother Maud was a regular churchgoer, but Lili had been twice previously to the youth club held in the crypt. It was run by a new young pastor called Odo Vossler who wore his hair like the Beatles. He was dishy, though he was too old for Lili, at least twenty-five.

For music Odo had a piano, two guitars, and a record player. They started with a folk dance, something the government could not possibly disapprove of. Lili was paired with Berthold, a boy of about her own age, sixteen. He was nice but not sexy. Lili had her eye on Thorsten, who was a bit older and looked like Paul McCartney.

The dance steps were energetic, with much clapping and twirling. Lili was pleased to see Karolin entering into the spirit of the dance, smiling and laughing. She already looked better.

But the folk dancing was only a token, something to talk about in response to hostile inquiries. Someone put on "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles, and they all started to do the Twist.

After an hour they paused for a rest and a glass of Vita Cola, the East German Coke. To Lili's great satisfaction, Karolin looked flushed and happy. Odo went around talking to each person. His message was that if anyone had any problems, including issues about personal relationships and sex, he was there to listen and give advice. Karolin said to him: "My problem is that the father of my child is in the West," and they got into a deep discussion until the dancing started again.

At ten, when the record player was switched off, Karolin surprised Lili by picking up one of the guitars. She gestured to Lili to take the other. The two had been playing and singing together at home, but Lili had never imagined doing it in public. Now Karolin started an Everly Brothers number, "Wake Up, Little Susie." The two guitars sounded good together, and Karolin and Lili sang in harmony. Before they got to the end, everyone in the crypt was jiving. At the end of the song, the dancers called for more.

They played "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "If I Had a Hammer," then for a slow dance they did "Love Is It." The kids did not want them to stop, but Odo asked them to play one more number, then go home before the police came and arrested him. He said it with a smile, but he meant it.

For a finale they played "Back in the USA."

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Early in 1965, as Jasper Murray prepared for his final university exams, he wrote to every broadcasting organization in the USA whose address he could find.

They all got the same letter. He sent them his article about Evie dating Hank, his piece on Martin Luther King, and the assassination special edition of The Real Thing. And he asked for a job. Any job, as long as it was in American television.

He had never wanted anything this much. Television news was better than print--faster, more engaging, more vivid--and American television was better than British. And he knew he would be good at it. All he needed was a start. He wanted it so much it hurt.

When he had mailed the letters--at considerable expense--he let his sister, Anna, buy him lunch. They went to the Gay Hussar, a Hungarian restaurant favored by left-wing writers and politicians. "What will you do if you don't get a job in the States?" Anna asked him after they had ordered.

The prospect depressed him. "I really don't know. In this country, you're expected to work for provincial newspapers first, covering cat shows and the funerals of long-serving aldermen, but I don't think I can face that."

Anna got the restaurant's signature cold cherry soup. Jasper had fried mushrooms with tartar sauce. Anna said: "Listen, I owe you an apology."

"Yes," said Jasper. "You damn well do."

"Look, Hank and Evie weren't even engaged, let alone married."

"But you knew perfectly well that they were a couple."

"Yes, and I was wrong to go to bed with him."

"You were."

"There's no need for you to be so bloody sanctimonious. It's uncharacteristic for me, but it's just the kind of thing you'd do."

He did not argue with that because it was true. He had on occasion gone to bed with women who were married or engaged. Instead he said: "Does Mother know?"

"Yes, and she's furious. Daisy Williams has been her best friend for thirty years, and has also been extraordinarily kind to you, letting you live there rent-free--and now I've done this to her daughter. What did Daisy say to you?"

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