Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow upon snow,
In that bleak midwinter, long, long time ago...
~ In the Bleak Midwinter, tr. Catherine Winkworth
...six months since the funeral...
"…und führen Sie uns nicht in Versuchung, aber liefern Sie uns vom Übel. Für Ihr ist das Königreich und die Energie und der Ruhm, von Alter zu Alter. Amen."
The Düsseldorf Quartet and their Mensch-Maschinen had all held hands and prayed the Lord's Prayer before the graves of Rebekah and Anneke's parents. Earlier upon arriving at the cemetery they said proper prayers for the parents that brought Elizabeth and Johannes to the world. In all their humility and respect the men kept their silence until the prayers were said and they had all left the cemetery.
Andelina and Gregorio moved back to Düsseldorf, so to start a new life with their son Alessandro. Every now and then the boy would get a visit from their deceased daughter Rinalee, and they would have funny conversations, which in turn amused their parents whenever the boy spoke of them. For Andelina, however, it was even more special to her, that her new son would speak with his guardian sister and find many a topic to talk about. Like Mother's homemade spaghetti...
Andelina's friends Faith and Ingo also moved to to that same town to help out their fellow Clandestinian family out in making the most out of life. Together the two women started a late-night cafe, while Ingo and Gregorio would help out in civil affairs throughout the city, and in keeping the peace.
Professor Henning and Conductor Fritz continued to oversee the Spacelab, and received many a visit from the Quartet, Mensch-Maschinen and friends. Henning himself had received a few visitations from Rinalee, who felt it was best to stick around for more than an hour to talk about life and all its humors. Fritz however thought that, perhaps, ghosts could fall for the living, and would joke with his friend the Professor after Rinalee left for Heaven.
Rebekah finished making Matzo-ball Soup, using Mother's recipe, and placed the pot on potwarmers in the center of the dining room table. Afterwards she grabbed two bowls and two spoons. She was about to sit down when Wolfgang entered the kitchen.
"Reki, can I see you a second?" he asked.
"And I thought you were coming to sit down for lunch, hun" she answered as she stood up and walked to him. "What is it?"
He sighed for a moment. "Remember back at the Spacelab when I swore that I'd marry you?"
"Yes, I remember quite well. I know I was in a bit of shock too. Why?"
He handed her a small, blue box. "Well... remember when Mother left you her jewelry to wear from time to time?"
She nodded. "Yes. There was that one small ring I loved that she wore."
"And it had a star on it, correct?"
"Ja, it did."
Wolfgang sighed again. "Well..."
Rebekah raised a brow at him and opened the box, and there it was--the special ring that Mother wore, a simple silver ring that was adorned with a small star-shaped cubic zirconia. The nurse blinked back tears--she hadn't seen the ring since before she was deported to Lisbon. Then she looked up at him.
"Wolfgang... you..." she whispered, but words failed her as he got on one knee and took her left hand in his.
"Rebekah" he said, with adoring eyes fixed upon hers, "before we sit down to lunch and Matzo-ball Soup, will you marry me?"
But she, at a loss for words, could but only hug him close to her heart for a moment and, taking his face in her hands, kiss his lips. He held her tightly to him, to drown in the kiss for that moment, and then he smiled at her.
"I'd marry you this very moment if we but just grab the Minister and the gang" she answered.
"And deny the girls the honor of fitting you out for a bride!?" he laughed as he placed the ring on her finger. "I'd rather a proper ceremony instead of a shortened eloping, hun.
"That and, the soup is getting cold."
Anneke glanced up at the bright blue, white and purple menorah for Hanukkah, which was a Jewish holiday that the Quartet celebrated. Not that the Quartet was Jewish--they weren't, they were Anglican, but they felt proper to celebrate a holiday so rich in roots and tradition. In a couple of nights they would begin the festivities with a party at Rebekah's, and with the traditional exchanging of presents. A few weeks later it would be Christmas, complete with Anneke's favorite service--Weihnachtsmitternacht, or Christmas Midnight.
But for now, she smiled at the Hanukyah, and returned upstairs from the family room to her bedroom, just as Karl arrived home from grocery-shopping. She could hear his "Hallo Anya, I'm home!!" and she giggled as she sat down at the side of her bed, just taking in everything that she'd been through up to now. After Karl finished putting the groceries away he went upstairs to the bedroom and smiled when he saw her. "Anya, stop thinking so darn much" he laughed a bit, but she looked up at him and smiled.
"I can't stop thinking how I've come a long way up to now in over three years' time" she spoke, the smile not leaving her face. "Have I ever told you just how happy I am to have you in my life, Karlos?"
He shook his head. "Nein, not that I know of." He then walked over to her. "Why?"
"Because, I really am happy to have you in my life" she answered as he stood before her. The smile never left her face, which caused him to raise a brow in curiosity.
"...okay Anya, what is up?" he asked finally, giving up the thinking process of just what could possibly be up with her.
But she simply grabbed his hands and, in one quick swoop, she got him on the bed and happily took the tie off of him. Karl, stunned at the quick move, was speechless as she took his wrists and tied them with his tie in the same manner he'd once tied her hands with a ribbon back in Venice.
"Dear God, Anya--" he laughed, but she put her finger to his lips and smiled.
"Tonight, it's Mistress to you" she answered.
Karl looked at her, wide-eyed, still smiling. "You can't be serious."
"Remember that night in Venice, when you had me all tied up and at your mercy?" she asked. He nodded hesitantly.
"Well" she said, "this is going to be the best case of payback I've ever attempted on anybody. And you wanna know the best part?"
He simply blinked, smiling nervously.
Anneke licked his lips for a moment, then smiled again. "I think we're going to like every moment of this."
Karl rested his head back on the bed, his eyes rolling back with a sigh as she fought with his shirt buttons, the smile not leaving his face--this form of payback was going to be such good torture...
Elizabeth and Florian sat in her parents' library in the basement, cross-legged, facing each other. It was, for the first time since their moment in Athens, another staring contest, and the same rule applied that, they could smile, they just couldn't laugh.
The ante was upped again when Florian began to make funny faces, and Elizabeth would follow suit. He'd smirk, she'd smirk. He'd pout, she'd pout.
Best part was, they'd been at it for a couple of hours now...
Johannes and Ralf were upstairs in her room, taking a much-needed nap from the whims of the day. Wrapped in her favorite blanket that Elizabeth gave her younger sister, the couple had to keep warm from the snowy chill outside, and fell asleep to her music box playing Funkeln, Funkeln, wenig Stern [Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star].
A moment later Johannes blinked her eyes open, a smile crossing her face as she looked at her beloved's sleeping face. He then opened his eyes and smiled--their quiet moment slightly interrupted by the sound of laughter coming from downstairs. The young lady giggled.
"Sounds like Elizabeth and Florian have found an end to their staring contest, Ralf" she whispered.
"Ja, sure sounds like it" he replied softly, still smiling.
Johannes closed her eyes for a moment, remembering how she felt this wasn't meant to happen to people like her. And then came the blessed Trans-Europa, with the sweeter company of Ralf and his friends.
"Ralf" she whispered, raising a brow softly.
"Yes, Johanna?" he said.
"Ever heard the phrase... home is where the heart is?"
He nodded. "Why?"
She smiled adoringly. "Because whenever I'm with you, my heart feels like it's at home. I'm sure that... Elizabeth, Rebekah and Anneke would agree with me... about the ones that they themselves truly love and adore."
Ralf smiled back at Johannes--no words were needed as he took her face in his hands and kissed her lips. She was right--the girls had found something sweeter than just being at home in beloved Düsseldorf, they'd found a home in the hearts of the men they loved, just as they found in the young women that went out of line for the sake of Eastern Europe's freedom. With the Mensch-Maschinen in their lives, in their hearts, there was no telling what was possible for the Quartet of the Düsseldorf Chapter of the Clandestine Rebellion...
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