Page 308 of Edge of Eternity (The Century 3)

"Yes, like mad!" said Lili.

"Come into the kitchen and have a cup of coffee, both of you."

As soon as they had told their story, Lili's father left, intending to do what he could to ensure that Karolin did not spend the night in jail. Carla then pointed out that Thorsten probably ought to go home in case his parents had heard of the raid and were worrying about him. Lili saw him to the door and he kissed her on the lips, briefly but delightfully, before walking away.

Then the three women were alone in the kitchen: Lili, Carla, and Grandmother Maud. Alice, now three years old, was asleep upstairs.

Carla said to Lili: "Don't be too hard on Karolin."

"Why not?" said Lili. "She's betrayed Walli!"

"It's been four years--"

"Grandmother waited four years for Grandfather Walter," Lili said. "And she didn't even have a baby!"

"That's true," said Maud. "Although I thought about Gus Dewar."

"Woody's father?" said Carla, surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Walter was tempted, too," Maud went on, with the cheerful indiscretion characteristic of people too old to be embarrassed. "By Monika von der Helbard. But nothing happened."

The way she made light of this annoyed Lili. "It's easy for you, Grandmother," she said. "Everything is so far in the past."

Carla said: "I'm sad about this, Lili, but I don't see how we can be angry. Walli may never come home, and Karolin may never leave East Germany. Can we really expect her to spend her life waiting for someone she may never see again?"

"I thought that was what she was going to do. I thought she was committed." Though Lili realized she could not remember Karolin actually saying it.

"I think she's already waited a long time."

"Is four years a long time?"

"It's long enough for a young woman to start asking herself whether she wants to sacrifice her life to a memory."

Both Carla and Maud sympathized with Karolin, Lili realized with dismay.

They discussed the matter until midnight, when Werner came home, accompanied by Karolin--and Odo.

Werner said: "Two of the boys managed to get into fights with police officers, but other than them nobody went to jail, I'm happy to say. However, the youth club is closed."

Everyone sat at the kitchen table. Odo sat beside Karolin. To Lili's horror, he held Karolin's hand in front of everybody. He said: "Lili, I'm sorry you found out by accident just when we were getting ready to tell you."

"Tell me what?" she said aggressively, though she thought grimly that she could guess.

"We love each other," Odo said. "I expect this is hard for you to accept, and we're sorry about that. But we have thought and prayed about it."

"Prayed?" Lili said incredulously. "I've never known Karolin to pray for anything!"

"People change."

Weak women change to please men, Lili thought. But before she could say it her mother spoke up. "This is hard for us all, Odo. Walli loves Karolin and the baby he's never seen. We know that from his letters. And we could guess it from Plum Nellie's songs: so many of them are about separation and loss."

Karolin said: "If you wish, I will leave this house tonight."

Carla shook her head. "It's hard for us, but it's harder for you, Karolin. I can't ask a normal young woman to dedicate her life to someone she may never see again--even though that person is our beloved son. Werner and I have talked about this. We knew it was coming sooner or later."

Lili was shocked. Her parents had foreseen this! They had said nothing to her. How could they be so heartless?

Or were they just more sensible? She did not want to believe that.

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