ALL THINGS COME....... TO HE WHO WAITS
October
I sat back in my chair and sipped my third glass of wine. I had fallen into the habit of eating out two or three times a week, just to avoid the stifling atmosphere of the dining room and Frau Kurtz' presence. As the weeks passed I had felt sorrier and sorrier for the kids. Karl had some friends, burnouts like him, trapped in the military style school that was judged suitable for boys of his type, but Ulrika had no-one. She was close to her brother, possibly closer than she should be, I thought, but essentially she was a profoundly lonely girl. When we were in class I could sometimes catch hints of despair that shouldn't have been part of a nineteen year old's make up. When she got out into the big bad world she was going to be a sitting duck.
The pretty young waitress brought me my bill. Apart from avoiding Frau Kurtz, my main reason for coming to this little bistro was about to come and collect my money. We were on first name terms by now, and I always tipped generously. One should always have a fallback position. She came back with the change and I gestured to her to keep it.
'See you soon, Olga', I said affectionately, and left. I thought she looked after me with a mixture of curiosity and fondness, and hoped I was right.
The bistro was only ten minute's walk from the Fischer's house, and it wasn't quite half past ten when I opened the front door. Vienna is a capital city but it's not a patch on Amsterdam or Madrid for nightlife. The house was quiet. Karl and Ulrika were doing homework, I hoped, and Frau Kurtz had her own sitting room where she watched endless soap operas. I went silently up the stairs to the third floor and opened the door of my room.
As I was fumbling for the switch I noticed a thread of light under the door to the adjoining room. Odd, I thought. Unless Frau Kurtz had had a sudden urge to improve her English grammar there shouldn't have been anyone there. I stepped quietly to the door and opened it.
Sitting at the table was Frau Fischer, Karl and Ulrika's mother. I'd only met her once before, for a formal inspection, and had been left with an impression of sophisticated and well maintained beauty, a casual attitude to wealth, and a complete disregard for her children, their teacher, and anything else that interrupted the business of being one of the leading lights of Vienna society. It was obvious that the children had inherited her looks. When she was nineteen she must have looked just like Ulrika. She had to be at least forty, but looked ten years younger, and I guessed Herr Fischer had paid some hefty cosmetic surgery bills in his time. Her suite was in the other wing of the house and I hardly ever heard her, let alone spoke. As far as I could see she only paid attention to her children when she remembered about them. As I opened the door she looked up.
'Herr Lancer, I'm glad you're back. Frau Kurtz says you go out quite regularly.' 'Please call me Luke, Frau Fischer,' I said. 'Frau Kurtz is quite right. Your cook's a marvel, but the atmosphere in the dining room is often a little too strained for my taste. I'm a more relaxed type of guy.' She laughed, and I noticed a large glass of what looked like Scotch and ice on the table next to her.
'Frau Kurtz is not a relaxed person. Did you know that she regularly suggests that your contract be terminated?' I shrugged.
'I'm not surprised. We have different attitudes to the world. Have you accepted her recommendation?' She laughed again.
'Certainly not. I received Karl and Ulrika's half term reports yesterday. When I'd looked at them I called my husband and read them to him. He asked me to talk to you. The party I was attending tonight has been cancelled, so here I am.' She took a healthy swig of her Scotch and smiled at me.
'And the reports?' I asked. She spread her hands.
'I couldn't believe them. For the first time in ages they speak positively about the children. Ulrika's form teacher writes that her attitude has improved enormously and her grades are significantly better than last term. The comments about Karl are very similar. Herr Fischer has asked me to express our thanks to you.' I shrugged again.
'You're going to pay me a very handsome sum of money when they pass their exams,' I said. 'Children like Karl and Ulrika are my job, and I take my job seriously.' She took in another mouthful of Scotch and nodded.
'Would you like a drink? I must say, you're not at all like the tutors I had as a girl.' Without waiting for a reply she picked up her glass and started out of the room. I followed her, admiring the way her ass rolled as she walked.
She led me across the hall and up the other staircase.
'You've never been in this part of the house, have you? Herr Fischer and I have adjoining suites.' She laughed again. 'He's here so little that he needs a map to find his own room, let alone mine.' She opened a door and entered, leaving me to close it. The room was feminine and overfurnished. She gestured to a sideboard.
Drinks are in there. Help yourself.' She looked down at herself. 'I feel ridiculously formal, but I was dressed for the party. I think I'll change.' I fixed myself a glass of wine and sat down, wondering what to do. One never refuses a lady, but on the other hand knobbing your employer's wife is considered bad form in most circles and I didn't want my income stream to dry up. Executive Europe is a gossip mill and Herr Fischer could put the verbal boot right in if he got upset.
I had expected her to come back in something expensive and revealing, ready to seduce the hired help, but to my surprise she was wearing a pair of sweats and some old slippers. Now I felt overdressed. On the other hand, judging from the way things were moving around she was going commando, at least upstairs.
'Herr Lancer...'
'Luke.' I reminded her. 'Only Frau Kurtz calls me Herr Lancer anymore. Even your cook and that nice little maid have learned my name.'
'Then you must call me Angela. Luke, I'm not the best mother in the world, but the change in the children since you arrived is astonishing. I was serious when I said that Herr Fischer and I are surprised and grateful.'
'When they pass their exams you can recommend me to your friends. It's how I find work. I don't think I've actually applied for a job for eight or nine years. This is good wine.' I was thinking while we talked and looking at her as casually as I could. She looked back and shivered slightly.
'You're very intense, Luke. Why are you examining me like that? You look as if you're trying to see into my soul.' So much for casual. She was projecting sexual tension and I decided that I'd put my balls on the table. She didn't seem devious. Shallow maybe, but shallow is often fine. Maybe I could trim her sails. Temptation is a terrible thing.