#
As they were finally driving to Carmen's parents' place in Nikolassee, Ulrike became increasingly nervous at the prospect of meeting Carmen's family. She still didn't fancy meeting José, and she hadn't yet met Carmen's father either. She had seen pictures of both, and Helmut Bauer looked like a kind enough fellow with his almost white hair and the laugh lines around his eyes. The laugh lines seemed to run in the family, as Carmen and her mother had them as well. It was a feature Ulrike found exceedingly attractive. Nonetheless, she wondered how the family would react to her as Carmen's partner, and she started to worry if buying the acrylic paint tubes in the wooden box had been such a great idea after all. Perhaps Carmen was right and she was being too practical. Perhaps Carmen's mother would indeed rather like something pretty. The few times she had seen Maria Bauer, she had looked quite fashionable. Well, she had bought the little porcelain box as well, so perhaps she shouldn't worry too much. To distract herself from her growing anxiety, she asked Carmen, "Are you looking forward to going back to work on Monday?"
Carmen sighed, and turning towards Ulrike, she said, "It's a pity that I had to spend most of the holidays in a cast, but yes, I'm looking forward to seeing my pupils again and to meeting the new ones." Carmen was truly glad for the distraction, as her apprehension of presenting her partner to her family was growing to rather uncomfortable proportions. It was the first time she was taking a female partner to visit her parents, and even though they had come to terms with her being a lesbian, she just wasn't sure how they would react.
"How many new classes will you be teaching?" asked Ulrike while she changed into the fast lane to overtake a car that attempted to park.
"Just one French class," said Carmen, "The two Spanish classes from last year are continuing."
"French? Didn't you have an English class?"
"Yes, but I won't teach English this year. They needed someone for French."
"I didn't know you taught French as well," said Ulrike with an admiring glance at her partner.
Smiling, Carmen said, "I haven't for the last three years. It's going to take some effort teaching it again, but it's a nice challenge, and it's only a junior class. I've taught English for over 20 years now, it's okay to take a break from it and take a French class for a change."
"I could never be a teacher," said Ulrike, "Too much work and no thanks for all your efforts; instead you have to cope with a bunch of annoying pubescent teenagers."
Carmen laughed. "At least I don't have to clean my car of vomit," she countered, referring to an incident Ulrike had told her about only a few days earlier.
Screwing up her face, Ulrike said, "It was the first time someone puked in my taxi in over 20 years! Up until then I had been truly lucky … well, except for the two times I had to clean it from blood stains and the occasional chocolate or ice cream stains … and the occasional chewing gum." Glancing at Carmen she concluded deadpan, "Needless to say, I hate driving kids!"
Laughing, Carmen said, "No, you're not a kids' person that much is obvious."
Ulrike smiled, and placing her right hand on Carmen's hand, she said, "But I'm glad that you are."
Changing lanes again, Ulrike slowed down in order to turn into the lane leading to their destination. It was a very green area, with lush gardens and trees lining the streets; and it was also one of the most expensive areas of Berlin. The street on which Carmen's parents lived was an old street, and, while they slowly rattled over the cobblestones, Ulrike thought that it was also a very beautiful street, with all the old mansions, the big gardens and the huge old trees.
"It's over there," said Carmen, pointing at a mansion on the left. "You can park behind…"
"José's car, I suppose," said Ulrike, the tone of her voice as well as her face clearly showing what she thought of José's new acquisition.
"Probably," said Carmen, while Ulrike manoeuvred her taxi behind the yellow sports car. "He didn't tell me that he was going to buy a Lamborghini Diablo, but I must say I find it even sexier than the Testarossa. Don't you think it looks gorgeous?"
Rolling her eyes at Carmen, Ulrike stated, "The design maybe pretty, but it should be prohibited to drive a car like that on public roads."
"My you are a grouch!" said Carmen as they got out of the car. And joining Ulrike at the boot, Carmen put a hand on her partner's arm and said, "Please, behave in front of my family, will you?"
Heaving a sigh, Ulrike said, "I'll do my best. Now, these are yours," and she handed Carmen the two bags that contained her birthday presents. Then, taking her own two bags, she closed the boot and followed Carmen to the front gate, a tad irritated as she had to keep her keys in her hands because the damn pockets of the new slacks weren't big enough. At least her wallet fitted into the back pocket after she had emptied it of the change.
The buzzer sounded, signalling that the gate had been unlocked. While Carmen opened the gate, her mother opened the front door and waved. "Kommt rein, kommt rein, wir warten schon auf euch," she asked them to come in, telling them that they were already waiting for them.
"But we are right on time," said Carmen, and embraced her mother, congratulating her, "¡Feliz cumpleaños, Mamá!"
As Carmen stepped back, Ulrike took her keys into her left hand with which she also held the bag and congratulated, "Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Frau Bauer," and she held out her hand for Frau Bauer to shake. Frau Bauer, however, pulled her into a hug instead and said, "Thank you." And as she let go of Ulrike, she said smiling, "But you must call me Maria. You are family now, no?"
Surprised, Ulrike cast a helpless glance at Carmen, taken aback for being offered the familiar 'Du' so soon.
"Yes, you are," said Carmen grinning. She understood Ulrike's confusion, but from that moment on she knew that her mother was going out of her way to prove that she was now accepting the fact that her daughter was a lesbian. And perhaps her attitude was also fuelled by guilt because she had not always been that accepting.
When Carmen finally came out to her parents several years ago, all her fears had been confirmed. Her parents, and especially her mother, had not been able to understand. However, Carmen had by then been confident enough to tell them that if they couldn’t accept her as she was, she didn’t want to have anything to do with them anymore. Funnily enough, her brother José as well as her grandmother Hertha had accepted her revelation without any problem, and in the following months they did their best to mediate between Carmen and her parents. By the time her parents finally decided that losing their daughter was far worse than her being a lesbian, Carmen’s relationship was over, and thus her parents had not really had a chance to prove their change of mind. The subject simply had not come up for years – though, granted, her mother had also stopped nagging Carmen about marriage and having kids, which was a great relief.
"Danke, Frau … äh … Maria," stammered Ulrike, still not quite comfortable with being on first name basis.
"Now, come in, the men are waiting on the terrace," said Maria and ushered them through the house and into the large living room with its huge double glass doors that led onto the terrace at the back of the house.
Today, Maria wore her long dark brown hair, streaked with grey, in a low braided bun that looked awfully complicated to Ulrike, but nonetheless very pretty. It reminded her of tango dancers she had seen on TV, and she wondered if Maria could dance. Carmen could, and she had tried to persuade Ulrike to take lessons, but so far Ulrike had refused. Her opinion was that it was pointless, since they couldn't really go dancing together anywhere anyway; except for maybe at a disco, but for that you didn't need dancing lessons. But she could very well imagine Maria dancing the tango with her husband, as despite her age, it was clearly visible that she was a very passionate woman, just like her daughter. Perhaps, thought Ulrike, perhaps she might ask Carmen to teach her once she was fully recovered. Yes, now that she thought about it, dancing with Carmen in the privacy of her flat - now, that could be rather romantic. However, the romantic feel
ing left her when she spotted the others on the terrace.
Herr Bauer and José were standing near the grill, talking, and Ulrike immediately noted that they were both wearing shorts very similar to those that Carmen had objected to. And as Maria announced that she'd get the cake from the fridge, Ulrike grasped Carmen's arm and whispered, "How come they're allowed to wear shorts?"
"They are guys," stated Carmen and stepped outside, announcing their arrival and introducing her partner, so that Ulrike had to bite back her retort. She would have a word with Carmen later, she thought. She was already sweating in her newly acquired clothes, and since her partner hadn't even agreed to her buying a pair of shorts in the women's department, she somehow got the feeling that Carmen didn't want her to wear shorts only because she herself would never wear any, and not because her family thought shorts to be improper. And although Maria wore a rather pretty summer dress that looked quite fetching on her well-rounded figure, there was clearly no special dress code expected here.
While Carmen hugged José, telling him how she loved his new car, her father came forward, holding out his hand, and as Ulrike took it, he said, "Welcome to the family."
"Thank you," said Ulrike smiling, relieved as she met his open, smiling gaze.
"I'm Helmut, and this is my son, José," he pointed at the handsome man beside him who now offered his hand as well. Only slightly shorter than his father, José was about Ulrike's height, and with his dark brown eyes, his almost black hair slicked back with gel, his charismatic smile and his dark skin, he looked very much like an exotic gigolo - just as Ulrike had seen him on the photo at Carmen's place.
Despite her effort to remain polite, Ulrike's smile vanished, and when she took José's hand, she couldn't help herself and squeezed it rather forcibly.
"Wow, you're quite strong," said José grinning as Ulrike let go. "Do you work out?"
"Yes, she does," said Carmen grinning nervously, before Ulrike could react. And to get her partner away from her brother, she grasped her arm with, "Come on, let's sit down and give Mamá her gifts."
Glad to get away from José, Ulrike took the gifts from the bags and handed them to Maria who was sitting at the head of the table. Then she sat down next to Carmen, and watched Maria unwrapping her birthday presents while Carmen poured the coffee and Helmut passed around slices of cake.
"Oh, what a lovely scarf," exclaimed Maria as she freed Carmen's gift from the wrapping paper. The confectionery dish followed, and thanking her daughter for the lovely gifts, Maria started to unwrap Ulrike's porcelain box. "Ah, I see my daughter has told you about my yellow rose collection," she said, smiling. "Now, what do we have here?" she said as she picked up the wrapped artists' box. Curiously, she unwrapped the wooden box and opened it; and as she saw what it contained, her eyes lit up and, excitedly clasping her hands together, she exclaimed, "How marvellous! What a wonderful surprise, Ulrike! Thank you!"
Slightly blushing, Ulrike looked nervously down at her Black Forest cake and said, "I wasn’t sure if you use acrylics or oil…"
"I use both," said Maria, "But mostly acrylics. Oh, what a wonderful gift!"
"I'm glad you like it," said Ulrike, smiling, glad that she had insisted on buying a gift of her choice as well.
"I love it!" exclaimed Maria.
"I'd have thought you have everything for your painting," said Carmen, visibly surprised that her mother was so delighted with such a mundane gift.
"I do," agreed Maria. "But you can never have enough paint, and it's so nice that Ulrike thought of giving me something for my hobby."
Ulrike grinned, now extremely pleased with herself. "I really like your paintings. And I myself prefer practical over pretty, so I thought I'd get you something useful as well."
"And I thought you'd rather like something pretty," said Carmen a tad miffed. She was very glad that her mother seemed to have no problem with accepting Ulrike, but that she seemed to truly prefer Ulrike's presents over hers was rather a lot to take.
"Oh, Carmen, I do love your gifts as well," said Maria reassuringly. "But look, your father only ever buys me jewellery; he can't seem to help himself," she winked at him, and gently touching his arm, she quickly continued, "Not that I mind - I love jewellery. I love pretty things in general. But it's the first time that someone has appreciated the artist in me. It's not just because it's practical … José always buys me something 'practical'," she glanced at her son with an exasperated look, "Finally I managed to convince him that I neither need nor want any kitchen utensils as presents, and what did he give me this time - an electric blanket." Shaking her head, she put the artists' box on a side table next to the other gifts.
"You always complain about the cold," José defended himself.
"In winter, José, and outside - definitely not in the house," said Maria, "We've got central heating. And I've certainly never complained about being cold in bed."
Ulrike laughed at José's grimace; seeing Mr I-own-the-road be uncomfortable did give her a wickedly good feeling; and that he had failed to give his mother a present she appreciated enhanced her pleasure even more. Herr Bauer seemed to be amused as well, while Carmen groaned, "Too much information, Mamá!"
“Oh, come on, Carmen,” said Maria, “Don’t be a prude just because your girlfriend is present. What would you do if Oma Hertha was here?”
Carmen let out an even louder groan. She was indeed glad that her grandmother was not coming today.
Seeing Ulrike cast a curious glance at Carmen, Maria explained, “My mother in law is not exactly known for her diplomatic approach.”
“That’s the understatement of the year!” said José.
"You'll meet her soon enough," said Carmen, already dreading that encounter. As much as she loved her grandmother, she didn't fancy Ulrike experiencing Hertha's sometimes rather blunt behaviour.
Her curiosity piqued, Ulrike swallowed a piece of cake and asked, "Why is she not here today? I hope she isn't ill."
"Oh, no, she's doing fabulously," said Carmen, "She's just been invited to her neighbours' diamond wedding anniversary today."
"Wow," said Ulrike, "That's a rare celebration. I've never known anyone who celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary."
"Well, we're getting closer to it," said Helmut with a loving glance at his wife. "It'll be our 45th anniversary next year."
"How remarkable!" said Ulrike and took a sip of coffee. "Did you meet here or in Argentina, if I may ask?"
"We met in Buenos Aires," said Helmut, and happily launched into telling Ulrike how he had finished his degree in architecture in 1947 and received an offer to go to Argentina. He became friends with the architectural draughtsman of the firm and when he met his beautiful daughter it was love on first sight. 11 years later he returned to Berlin with his wife and two children and founded his own company.
"Admirable!" said Ulrike once Helmut had finished, "It must be hard to live in a foreign country. I can't imagine ever migrating to another country, even if it was an English speaking one, which is the only other language I could manage at all apart from my rudimentary French."
"Well, things are different today," said Helmut, a sad smile on his face, "I never considered it to be a challenge. To me it was a gift from Heaven. Back then everything would have been easier than living in bombed out Berlin after the war."
Wincing in sympathy, Ulrike said, "Uh, I suppose that's right. I hadn't thought about it like that."
"It's all right. Be glad that you didn't have to experience it. It's not a nice time to remember."
Before her husband could launch into a lengthy discussion about the time of the war and especially the time afterwards, Maria started to recount her own experiences about living in a foreign country.
It hadn't been hard for her language-wise, as she grew up bilingual, and the culture shock wasn't so great either, as with her father being half German they kept many German traditions in her family. She only missed the surrounding natural beauty at first, but since
they had moved to Nikolassee where they had the large garden with the forest and the lake close by, she rarely felt homesick.