The Art of... Dating?

The Art of... Dating?

October 27^th, 2007

Zurich

That morning, Konrad von Lintorff was on edge.

'It’s a date. Yes, that's what it is.'

'With two toddlers included in the “romantic” outing,' his own inner voice clearly reminded him. 'The hippo enclosure’s perfume is so delightful, too!'

“He only offered to accompany me to the zoo,” the Duke mumbled as he laced his shoes with more energy than the action required. 'After he invited me to go to the parent-teacher meeting, on top.'

He rose from the unmade bed and circled his bedroom several times before walking into his dresser.

More nervous than ever, he distractedly took a bow tie out of its rack and began to tie it with precise movements around his neck over his sport shirt. 'Two weeks ago he would have poisoned me without any kind of remorse, and now he invites me to go with him to see that old, dry bone of a headmistress.

'Is it possible that Guntram may have started to forgive me?' His hand just grabbed the first light brown jacket he saw, and he put it on.

'Yes, that must be it. He never held a grudge for a long time. He's too generous to do it, and maybe, now that he's not so stressed over university work, he has started to think on us and realised that I had nothing to do with his father's death.'

Konrad checked himself in the mirror to see if his attire was correct and noticed how ridiculous the black bow tie looked with the casual attire he was wearing.

“Damn!” he mumbled as he almost strangled himself with it as he furiously pulled from one of its ends. Still cursing his own lack of attention, he opened the first two buttons of his shirt and took a scarf from one of the shelves.

'It is of no consequence,' he reminded himself once more. 'We are only taking the boys out.

'Just like before, when we were a family.'

Konrad crossed the room and sat on his bed, already exhausted from a day that had not even begun. 'Let's look at the hard facts. He came to me and asked me to go with him to the school meeting, not I. He could have gone and borne the teachers all by himself. He doesn't need me at all.

'On Friday, he was having breakfast with Armin, and I said that I was taking the boys to the zoo, no second intentions at all, and he offered to come with me. Normally, Saturdays are a “tutor’s” free day, right? He always disappears in the afternoons with Antonov or Goran.

'In short, he asked me out twice.

'Perhaps his own stubbornness is taking its toll on him. He knows I hold no grudge against him. It's all in his hands. Dr. van Horn has told me several times that his heart condition is not improving and that all this stress is very bad for him. He's almost dead on his feet at nights, even if university is over.

'I'm sure he feels lonely because he goes nowhere or sees no one but Antonov and Goran. He only corresponds with two of his former schoolmates and occasionally talks with his one single friend from university. Before all this, he was always coming to me to speak with or just to be in my company. He hates to be alone.'

'Just like you,' once more his inner voice chirped.

'I'm used to it, and honestly, I prefer it that way.

'This is not a date, just taking the boys out. Let’s hope we survive the day,' Konrad told to himself firmly, before leaving his bedroom with long strides.

* * *

'Why do I always fall into these traps? I can't say it is because I want to help people. All of them are old enough as to fend for themselves. Heck, I wouldn't like to be caught in a fight with Ferdinand, Michael or Goran,' thought Guntram as he took his place at the table in the family dinning room, next to a still sleepy Armin. 'Of all people in the world, if there’s someone who doesn’t need anybody it’s the bastard. He could be the last human being upon earth and be happy about it.

'Ferdinand, Michael and Goran screwed me over! That's right! And I bought their crocodile tears once more! I have to be a nice boy to a monster so he doesn't feel the need to fire innocent people? As if he would give a damn about them! Bad figures and they're out!'

Guntram sliced a piece of butter with some energy before he began to spread the portion over his rye bun as if it were a new kind of plaster.

“Hey, I also want some!” Guntram heard Armin protest before snatching the silver butter dish from his hands. “This butter has done no harm to you.”

“My apologies,” mumbled Guntram curtly as he looked the other way to escape the inquisitive stare he received from his friend. 'Will the bastard have breakfast here or at his cave?'

“You're quite tense, you know.”

'That's the understatement of the year, Armin,' Guntram smirked inwardly. “No, not really. I'm just tired,” he lied.

“Why? You didn’t even go out! Unlike me,” the younger man easily dismissed his lie with a yawn. “We went out to this new place. You should have come with us. The girls were incredible.”

“I had to work,” Guntram mumbled. 'Girls and me? Alone in a disco? Is he blind or stupid? The bastard would drag me out of the place in one of his jealousy fits.'

“What for?”

“That's a secret that will be revealed to you on the day you present your thesis,” Guntram answered acidly, and Armin looked at him hurt.

“Gee, we’re having one of those mornings today,” he mumbled and concentrated on his own breakfast, preferring to leave Guntram alone.

“I have to go the zoo with the boys,” Guntram said, partly ashamed of his outburst. “I'm always afraid that something might go wrong.”

“Has the insurance been paid?” Armin asked with a smirk.

“I guess so. Belongs to your family.”

“Then it’s all settled. Once you're back, why don't we go to the movies and have dinner somewhere? I'm free.”

“I don't think it is a good idea,” Guntram answered slowly. “Don't you have to study?”

“Yes, maybe I should, but I'm the family's black sheep. I can't let people down,” he snorted. “Anyway, do you have any idea on derivatives?”

“Some,” Guntram answered curtly. “You’d better start to study, or Dr. Dähler will skin you alive. Do you even have a topic for your thesis?”

“Hey! I'm one year younger than you and don't have your brains at all!”

“Why don't you study a little more?” Guntram asked him, frustrated with his friend's lack of compromise towards his career. 'Does he still think this is a game?' “I believe your father and your uncle are losing their patience with you,” Guntram exclaimed but the rest of his tirade was cut short when he saw Dieter, one of the butlers, dash into the room to settle another breakfast set.

'The bastard is out of his cave,' Guntram thought bitterly as he gloomily contemplated the man checking that every piece of china and silverware was perfectly aligned and centred. 'At least he could have granted me the grace of just showing up for the zoo.'

“Running away, Guntram?” Armin asked, determined to return the earlier blow to his pride, and his interlocutor made a face as he rose from his chair.

“Sit down, de Lisle,” Konrad said in a casual tone as he walked proudly to his place at the head of the table. A raised eyebrow was all Armin needed to stand up like a well-oiled spring and murmur, “Good morning, my Duke.”

Trapped, and cursing his own bad luck, Guntram sat again and fixed his eyes on the black liquid that Dieter was pouring out of the coffee pot into Konrad's cup. 'Black, no sugar,' he thought with a touch of melancholia. 'Cherry jam if he is in a good mood.'

“Are the children ready?” Konrad asked Guntram, and the Duke immediately chastised himself for showing his eagerness.

“Lisette is taking care of them, sir,” Guntram answered quietly, focusing on the second cup of tea that had miraculously materialized in front of him, cornering him even more. 'It's the least she can do. She's been out to visit her new boyfriend the whole week; probably I won't see her tonight either.' “They will be ready at ten, as you asked, sir.”

Konrad looked at Guntram and pondered if that last phrase meant that he was not accompanying them. 'Second thoughts and trying to hide?' He cleared his throat before saying a bit harsher than he had intended, “Klaus Maria mentioned me yesterday night that he was expecting to get an elephant and Karl said something about a bear. Do you know what they meant, de Lisle?”

“Oh, they must be referring to my promise to draw an elephant and a bear for them after we have seen them today. They want the pictures to be in a large size,” Guntram answered and noticed how Konrad's hand travelled from the dish of sausages to the glass of cherry jam.

“So you are coming? With us, that is,” Konrad said without looking at him.

“Yes, it's for the best. They can run away very fast,” Guntram mumbled and wondered why Dieter, without being asked to, had placed another bun on his dish. 'No way I can escape now. Have to empty the dish or Friederich will tell me off at night. This is worse than a totalitarian regime.'

'Always the same dance. They should shout at each other all they need, go to bed and be done with this nonsense. What a pair of cuckoos!' thought Armin as he contemplated the scene of the two men carefully avoiding to cross eyes. 'At least they're not pestering me.'

* * *

Guntram suffocated a gasp of horror when the children's music blared over the car's stereo. He quickly bent his body to turn the CD player off and inadvertently brushed Konrad's sleeve. Blushing like a tomato, he excused himself, and Konrad fixed his eyes on his.

'The first touch in more than a year.' “I see now why Mihailovic wants a rise,” Konrad joked, hoping to dissipate the tension already showing in the young man's rigid position.

“It will not happen again, sir,” Guntram answered embarrassed to no end, and Konrad was taken aback by his reaction. Not knowing what else to do, Konrad preferred to focus on the driving, glad that his sons were very quiet that morning.

* * *

The large line in front of the ticket office almost made Konrad loose his courage as he watched the families, the many baby wagons, the balloons and the children running around all over the place. Hiding his discomfort, he firmly clasped Klaus' hand between his, as he was the most mischievous of his sons, and walked in the direction of the large queue.

“This way, sir,” Guntram caught him by the sleeve, but quickly withdrew his hand when Konrad's eyes focused again on his. “I bought the tickets in advance,” he added, feeling once more embarrassed as never before. 'Using the internet is not a sin! Get your act together, Guntram!'

“Oh,” was Konrad's answer as he followed Guntram to the no-queue entrance where the youth showed a printed sheet of paper to the guard. 'He planned things in advance. Maybe, just maybe, I'm on the right track.'

Much more confident of his own value, Konrad slightly pushed Klaus ahead, encouraging him to run in front of them so he would be left alone with Guntram, if only for a brief moment, but Karl Maria clung to Guntram's hand, already suspecting his father's clear intentions of stealing Guntram.

“Would you like to see the large animals first?” Konrad asked Guntram and felt disappointed when the youth ignored the question, specifically addressed to him, and repeated it to the boys.

'No romantic date is possible at the zoo with two three-year-old boys around,' he thought. 'I'm seeing ghosts.'

“I want to see an ant bear!” Karl shouted, his face brimming with happiness.

“I'm not sure if there are ant bears in this zoo,” answered Konrad. 'Great, big tantrum ahead as we don't have them!'

“But there are lions, and maybe they have cubs!” Guntram said with a big smile to the child, already starting to pout. Konrad felt a pang of loneliness as both boys jumped in excitement, when he realised that the smile was not meant for him. “And I read in the newspaper that the hippopotamus had a baby!” Both children jumped on their feet, excited, and took Guntram's hands to unceremoniously pull him along, forcing Konrad to walk at a brisk pace to catch up with them.

Feeling ignored once more, the Duke just followed his family, noticing that other fathers were experiencing his same problem: while their partners concentrated on the children, the men were left to their own devices.

Almost out of breath, Konrad reached the large railing that separated the people from the hippopotamus' habitat. As predicted, it stank, but nobody (except for him) seemed to realise it, or much less care. For some incomprehensible reason, the people were making faces at the baby hippo.

'Those are animals. Don't these people realise they couldn't care less what we do?' Konrad thought as he approached Guntram and his boys, already pulling from the young man's jacket to convince him to lift them up. 'Klaus already weights fifteen kilos, and the doctor has told him many, many times that he shouldn't carry weights over five kilos.'

“Allow me,” Konrad said in a tone that didn't leave much room for discussion and took the eldest child from Guntram's arms, invading his personal space.

“Yes, of course,” he replied a bit shocked and caressed the child's head, now in his father's arms, to hide his discomfort at having Konrad's body so close to his.

“Now, it's your brother's turn,” Konrad said and wondered why Guntram had not jumped five meters away as it was his wont to do any time he would get near him. Glad to be picked up, Karl nestled in his father's arms as he watched the animals.

At noon, Konrad noticed the boys had stopped bombarding Guntram with hundreds of questions and their inquisitive nature had changed to another more demanding and short tempered. 'They must be hungry.'

Ignoring his toddlers’ disappointed faces when he simply refused to eat at the colourfully painted cafeteria, Konrad went inside the restaurant, where nobody was carrying his own tray as the children had secretly hoped they would be allowed to do.

Guntram, tired but feeling strangely at peace, as the morning had not been as horrible as he had dreaded, ordered what he knew the boys would eat without complaints. After Guntram cut their meat into small pieces, both boys started to eat, minding only their food and forgetting about their parents and their odd silence.

Konrad felt overwhelmed by the silence. 'Yelling at each other is better,' he thought as he began to slice his own chateaubriand.

“Sire, I wanted to apologise for the way I informed you about my graduation. It was very impolite and rude, especially after all the trouble you took to put me in school,” Guntram broke the silence and drank from his glass of water when he felt Konrad's astonished stare fix upon him.

“For old time's sake, I was expecting a different behaviour from you, de Lisle,” Konrad replied in an emotionless voice, doing his best to hide his pain at the fact that Guntram had excluded him from one of the most important moments in his life. 'Like a beggar, I had to ask Felder for a copy of his thesis.'

“I understand, sire. Please accept my apologies. I would like to give you a copy of my thesis; Dr. Dähler says it is good.”

“If he says so, it must be worth reading. Send it to Monika,” Konrad ordered him, regretting his dry tone, but unable to control his voice due to his nerves. 'It was an excellent work, and Michael is certainly right. My kitten has always been very intelligent.'

“Yes, sir,” Guntram mumbled to hide his embarrassment and discomfort.

'He's opening to me. Maybe it's time I ask about that other issue. After all, he could get now his “dreamed job” as an accountant and be done with me.'

“Do you have any work offers? Normally, someone with over a 5 points grade and an excellent thesis gets them,” he inquired casually, hoping to mask his desperation behind a simple, harmless, useless and usual question, addressed to every new graduate.

“I have several. Two for working in London, one in Frankfurt and another here, at Dr. Felder's hedge fund,” Guntram answered and took his time before he made up his mind. “I've refused them all as I would have to leave the small ones. The best was Dr. Felder's, but it was a full-time position, from nine to eight. At the moment, I will look for a part-time job and work on portraits. I have several pending offers. I should make enough as to support myself till the next book is finished and published.”

'That black beast of Repin could have used any of his front companies to offer him a job and take him away from me. But he has refused them all to stay with our sons and me.' He felt that a rock was lifted from his shoulders.

“Why did you refuse Volcker's offer?” Konrad asked softly, as this was the opportunity to see if the other suitor was also out of the scene.

“We didn't agree on the money. He wants too much. I still have to share with Meister Ostermann, and financially it wouldn't make any sense for me, even if I sell everything. I prefer to wait, become more known, and then renegotiate with him, or not,” Guntram lied, hoping to get Andreas Volcker away from the collision course Konrad had envisioned for the marchand, just as Ferdinand, Michael and Goran had told him. 'The bastard would ruin Andreas' life just to teach me a lesson.'

“I see,” Konrad replied quietly, studying Guntram's face more intensively than before.

* * *

The sun had disappeared behind some dense clouds, and Konrad preferred to keep the boys indoors as the autumn weather was always treacherous. “Let's see the frogs,” he suggested, and the boys were very happy with his idea. The Amphibian House was wet and suffocating, but Klaus and Karl didn't mind at all, running to the first window glass they saw.

“Where are the frogs?” Klaus asked disappointed as he couldn't see any of them.

“Hiding,” Konrad answered with a smile, remembering his own encounters with the toads at the castle’s pond. 'Funny, the boys have never shown any interest in hunting them.'

“Hiding?” asked Karl with a frown.

“You have to be very quiet and still, and they will come to you. If you jump or make noise, frogs go away. You have to respect their timing,” Konrad said as a matter of fact.

'“You have to respect their timing”?' wondered Guntram, bewildered at the phrase. 'Does he even know the concept?'

“If you stay quiet and wait, the frogs will come to see you. They're very inquisitive,” Konrad continued to explain to his sons. “At our pond, they come out at night if everything is quiet.”

'Does he really go to the pond? I thought that was his “children-safe” explanation for disappearing on some nights,' thought Guntram.

“Can you see them?” Klaus asked his father.

“Not now, in springtime or summer. Now it's too cold for them. They dig holes and spend the winter inside them.”

“Do we have frogs?” Karl asked puzzled.

“Of course we do!” Konrad answered, shocked that his children had never seen them. “They have lived there since I was your age. I used to bring them bread, and they would come out of their hiding places to eat it. I used to speak with them too, especially after your uncle Karl Maria passed away. They were good friends.”

The picture of a very young Konrad feeding the animals by the pond unnerved Guntram; his well-organized composition of the monster standing in front of him starting to fall to pieces. For a fleeting instant, he saw the pain going through Konrad's eyes at the memory of his dead brother, and the image merged with another he had seen many times before, when Konrad would only stand at the door and watch him play with the boys.

Unable to cope with the idea that Konrad was human after all, Guntram turned his head, and his eyes quickly located a shinning blue and black Brazilian frog. “There!” he said and pointed to the animal, and the boys looked at it in awe.

“Miss Barbara told us a story. If you see one, you ask a wish, and if they jump, they grant it,” Karl said with a smile as his brother vigorously nodded.

“I think frogs turn into princes,” Guntram corrected them with a smile.

“No, they don't. That's silly! Frogs are frogs,” Klaus snorted in a way that reminded the young man of his father.

“They do grant wishes. We read the story, not you,” Karl said defiantly.

“Maybe they do,” Konrad said out of the blue as he saw two more frogs become visible. “After all, they hardly jump if you are there. They remain very still, blending with the pond's vegetation to fool you. They can see you, but you cannot.”

Guntram looked at Konrad and sighed. 'Well, the boys can still believe in magic, but he's certainly too old for that.'

“How about asking them for something?” Klaus asked.

“This is hardly...”

“Why not?” Konrad interrupted Guntram's tirade. “But ask for something useful as you shouldn't disturb them much.”

'What the hell is he telling?' Guntram thought but put on his best face. 'Konrad von Lintorff has just said not to disturb the frogs with needless requests? I've been transported to another dimension.'

The twins turned expectant eyes to Guntram. The youth, feeling miserable at the thought that he had been forced to participate in the semi-pagan ceremony of asking the Frog God for a grant, added, “Like on birthdays, you shouldn't tell your wish out loud.”

Both boys looked at each other, and once more Konrad wondered if there was some truth behind the myth that twins could communicate silently between them. On their own accord, both children simultaneously placed their hands on the crystal and looked at the blue frog.

'I wish Guntram would forgive me and we were a family again,' thought Konrad and looked the other way, unable to stand the quizzical look dangling in Guntram's eyes. He saw another yellow, black-spotted frog inside a bromeliad, and the animal suddenly leaped towards him. 'I wish that story were true,' he thought sourly.

“Come on, Guntram!” Klaus said. “It's your turn.”

“It's pointless,” Guntram refused. “These frogs don't want to jump at all. They are night-time creatures.”

“Maybe they didn't like what we asked for,” Karl said. “I wanted a horse.”

“There you see, dear,” Guntram said. “Frogs don't like horses,” he added as he took the child by the hand to show him the next cage as he had had enough.

Konrad watched his eldest son as the boy intensively looked at the blue frog. “It jumped, papa!” he shouted joyously. “I'll get my wish!”

“I just hope it wasn't an elephant,” Konrad joked, strangely moved by his child's enthusiasm. 'Did I ever believe in frogs or fairies?'

“No, I want Guntram to be your friend again,” the child answered.

* * *

Once more Konrad felt the turn of the tide as his children became whimsical and whiny at around four in the afternoon. “I think we should have coffee now,” he announced, and Guntram nodded, doing his best to keep Klaus down as the boy tried to climb up into his arms, grabbing his trousers. “Sprüngli?” asked the Duke. “I know nothing else near the office.”

Suppressing his desire to hit Konrad in the head for planning to pass by the bank, Guntram only nodded dryly. 'So that was the phone call he got.' At the mention of their father’s office, the boys immediately began pleading to go there and see it. 'Typical, he's never guilty of anything,' thought Guntram. 'They ask, and he gets to do whatever he needs to do, and in the end, he didn't stand up his boys at all.'

“Yes, you can stay at my office, but you shouldn't touch my papers or computer,” Konrad said affably, and the boys choired his decision.

Guntram had not set a foot inside the bank since he had finished his classes. He had preferred to study at home, when the children were away at the day care centre, or borrow the books he needed from the library and use them at Meister Ostermann's studio. He remained silent during the trip, partly distracted by the boys babbling between them in the back seat, till Konrad casually parked in front of the bank, on an empty street.

As he was unbuckling the boys from their seats, Guntram saw one of the security guards approach them and halt for a second when he saw him, to regain his poise in less than a second. 'Great, I'm giving them a free show.'

Taking the quiet boys by the hand, he followed Konrad through the corridor to his own private lift. He was relieved when he saw that there were no secretaries at the top floor, and Konrad entered his grand office followed by the boys, who ran to his desk.

“I was first!” Klaus mocked his brother, trying to oust him from the large chair.

“You have to share!” Karl complained. “Guntram!”

Sighing, the young man approached the brothers and began to explain them that the chair was big enough for the two of them and that they should share it.

“Neither of you can sit there. It's mine. Wait twenty years at least to start fighting over it,” Konrad said from a distance and waved his hand to get Klaus Maria away from it. “Thank you,” he said as he sat in the vacated spot and turned on his computer, ignoring the frowns and pouts his boys dedicated him.

'Does not relinquish his power even for a second,' thought Guntram bitterly as he took several steps away from the desk while his gaze travelled over the well-known large office.

As expected, his painting of Torcello was nowhere to be seen, but in its place there was a large pencil drawing of the boys, when they were two-years-old, playing on the beach at Sylt. 'Our last summer of happiness,' he remembered and returned his attention to Konrad, softly explaining to the boys the contents of his drawers.

Feeling displaced and strangely awkward to be back in that place, he walked towards the sofa next to the large windows and peered through them, but the daylight was dying fast and he couldn't see the lake waters in the distance any longer.

The door opened, and Ferdinand and Michael entered the office. 'Getting older. Took them over ten minutes to come and check what I'm doing,' Guntram thought as he walked towards the men and greeted them with some coldness. 'After all, today's mess is their fault.'

Konrad excused himself and left the room with a serious warning to his boys to leave his papers alone, and Guntram, deciding to play safe, removed the Duke’s fountain pen from Klaus' hands and offered to tell the boys a story.

* * *

“Guntram is here,” Ferdinand said in his office, unable to contain his curiosity any longer.

“Yes, he offered to accompany me to the zoo with the boys,” Konrad answered coldly. “What is so important that it can't wait till Monday?”

“Some trash from the Americans,” Michael answered laconically. “We already said no.”

“Then why did you call me?” Konrad barked, but both men were unimpressed.

“There are a few things we wanted to show you,” Michael said sounding very innocent.

“Good.”

“At the traders' floor,” Dähler replied.

“You go first, Michael,” Ferdinand intervened, and the other man dashed out, glad that Guntram had certainly kept his part of the deal. 'Miss Barberini is going to be unemployed again very soon,' the German thought joyously.

“Is Guntram all right?” Ferdinand asked once he was alone with Konrad.

“I assume so,” Konrad answered, a bit irked that his friend was once more interfering with his private life.

“He looks fine,” Ferdinand said. “Were you at the zoo?”

“Yes, we did the whole tour. All animals were checked. Something else, Ferdinand?”

“Well, it's good that he's here. Isn't it?”

“Speak up, Ferdinand.”

“I mean, you and he were together today,” Ferdinand said as he sat on top of his desk, doing his best to look informal, “and there’s no blood running,” he added with a nervous chuckle.

“Guntram asked to come with us.”

“And?”

“So far, no casualties. The boys are happy.”

“Those are good news indeed,” Ferdinand said trying to contain a smile. 'The bitch is out. Good for the lad.'

“Is there something else you would like to ask, Ferdinand?” Konrad asked acidly. 'Snooping as usual! All of them! They're worse than midwives!'

“No, I think Michael must have the cattle rounded up by now,” Ferdinand said in a casual tone.

“About time,” Konrad growled and turned around to leave the office, but Ferdinand jumped off his desk and cut his path with an agility he had not credited him for.

“About Rome, are you still planning to fly there next week?” he asked nonchalantly.

“It depends on tonight's weather,” Konrad answered.

“It looks very good from my point of view,” he said seriously.

“Still cloudy but it could be sunny in the near future,” Konrad answered after a long pause. “The larger storm clouds seem to be dissipating.”

“That's very good to hear.”

“It was his idea. I'm open to negotiate the terms,” Konrad said slowly, and Ferdinand sighed.

“I tell you this as your friend. Try to behave as a normal human being. No recriminations, and humiliate yourself a little. The final results will be highly beneficial for you.”

“I'll keep your suggestion in mind.”

* * *

'Could it be possible? That Guntram wants to forgive me and start again?' Konrad thought as he stood motionless at the entrance of his own office, watching his children sitting on top of the young man's lap, carefully listening to the story he was telling them, oblivious to the Duke's presence.

'Maybe I should extend my hand once more. In Rome, it was too soon to try anything, and he was still too upset by the news. My mother should burn in Hell for what she did to us.

'She had no right to ruin his life.

'Perhaps he was getting jealous of Marcello after all. He was always jealous of anybody that came near me, as if I would have looked! He's even jealous of his dead uncle, I'm sure of it. He hates me because I was with him first, and he thinks he's nothing more than second best for me.

'Of all his recriminations, the one that stood out most was “I'm nothing but your doll, a substitute”, no mention of his family or his fortune's fate. He does not really care about those. And why should he? Even his beloved father parked him with a nanny some fifteen thousand kilometres away.'

Decided to try once more, he said out loud, “Are you ready?” surprising Guntram, who looked at Konrad and blushed for no reason. 'Yes, he knows I'm watching him and blushes, just like when we met.'

“I want to eat now!” Karl whined, immediately followed by his brother in his protests.

“Time to take these two gentlemen to Sprüngli. We go now, de Lisle. Get them in their jackets,” Konrad said nonchalantly, still not willing to let his game to be known.

* * *

His boys' speed for devouring cake was a real surprise for Konrad. 'Either they were very hungry, or they eat like lions.' He watched with a mixture of tenderness and longing how Guntram quickly cleaned their mouths, even before they would have finished swallowing their food, and remembered how stern Friederich used to be regarding his own neatness.

Without saying a thing, Klaus climbed on top of Guntram and nested his head on his shoulder to quickly fall asleep. Karl, on the other hand, laid his head over his crossed arms on top of the table and watched his parents through sleepy eyes.

Knowing that he had been cornered once more, Guntram readjusted the child's position atop him and took his cappuccino cup to take a sip from it. The silence between the former lovers was eerie and nerve-breaking for the youth as Konrad seemed to be waiting for something, 'like a predator before the kill'.

“Was everything all right, my Duke?” Guntram asked softly, unable to cope with the tension any longer.

'Is he calling me “my Duke” as in mine or as his superior? Anyway, the possessive article denotes a certain degree of attachment,' Konrad thought, and replied, “Oh, yes, just some business. Nothing out of the ordinary” testing the ambiance. 'First time in years he asks me about something.'

“I believe I saw Petersen around,” Guntram commented.

“Still on board. There's no one like him for cheering for doomsday,” Konrad answered and noticed the tiny, repressed chuckle in Guntram's lips.

“I thought he had retired two years ago.”

“He did, but returned to contemplate the fall of capitalism as we know it from the first row,” Konrad answered. “He suffers with every market rally, but after the latest crash, he has rejuvenated ten years.”

“Is everything all right?” Guntram couldn't help to ask and cast his eyes down when Konrad fixed his stare on him.

“Yes, nothing beyond the expected casualties, Guntram,” Konrad answered softly. 'Did he ask me about the business or about me? He never showed much interest in the bank so it must be about me.'

“This seems to be more than the ordinary cyclic crisis in the markets, sire,” Guntram said slowly. 'And you looked like death warmed up when you returned from New York last week. Perhaps the boys are right, and I should back off a little.'

“It's deeper and larger than most people believe, yes. It's here to stay for a decade or so.”

“I…” started Guntram but he didn't know what to say. “I hope it's not too much for you… sir.”

“It might be,” Konrad admitted and fixed his eyes on Guntram limpid ones. “This is a great responsibility.”

“I know, and I truly wish the best outcome for you,” Guntram said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “I don't want things to be bad for you,” he added.

Konrad felt his hopes revive but could only say, “The children are practically asleep.”

“Yes, they are,” Guntram whispered as he watched fascinated how easily Konrad removed his wallet and paid the bill, without waking any of the boys up. 'Not a single move wasted.'

“Let me carry, Klaus,” Konrad offered as he stood up. “He's too heavy for you.”

“No, he could wake up,” Guntram refused.

“I'll get the car in front of here. Wait for me,” he said and slightly shook Karl Maria awake to finally take him in his arms and leave the café.

Konrad walked the three blocks back to the bank with his mind in turmoil. He hardly noticed the guard who gave him the car keys and offered to accommodate the now asleep boy in his car seat.

For the first time in his life, Konrad almost missed a give way sign. He descended from the car to help Guntram put the soundly asleep Klaus in his seat, and watched with a torn heart how lovingly the youth placed a wool blanket over the boys. 'We have to be a family again,' he thought desperately.

The ignition had never sounded so loud to his ears, and he almost cursed out loud. 'Should I take my chances or not?' he repeatedly asked himself as the car drove along the highway, but Guntram's blank face gave him no answer.

“Would you like to dine with me tonight, Guntram?” he asked expectantly.

“I don't think that would be wise, sir,” Guntram refused softly.

“For a minute, I thought you wanted to ease off the tensions,” Konrad snorted loudly. 'Just like that whore of Roger! Always playing with me!'

“We can't be friends, but at least we could establish some sort of détente,” Guntram replied embarrassed. 'What's wrong with me? Did I lower my guard for two minutes and gave him the impression that I wanted to have a romantic dinner? I'm a shameless whore. My father has every right to kill me. First, his only son turns out gay, and then he fucks with his uncle's lover.'

“The boys are not happy with this situation, Guntram.” Konrad tried once more, swallowing his pride, hurt at the unexpected rejection. 'He was so nice to me the whole day! He never tricked me before!'

“This silent war is leading us nowhere, sir,” Guntram blurted out, not knowing what else to say. 'I'm a whore, that's what I am. He plays nice for two hours, and I start to drool over him.'

“It's leading you nowhere. I'm perfectly fine with it. I will keep up my game till I get real results, not a second rate deal from you. I always play to win. Your position is very weak, as you have realised by now, de Lisle,” Konrad rebuked him furiously.

Once more, he had been betrayed and abandoned.