Konrad and Alexandra (pdf) - Rolf Gross

news."
She suggested a student café on Liteini Prospect a few blocks further, where they would
not encounter any acquaintances.
"You asked about Niko. On Konrad’s suggestion he changed to physics and for the last
three years has studied in München. He seems happy there and in any case he is safe. He has
persuaded Konrad to spend a year in München too. The Academy will pay for us. Konrad is
already in München looking for a place to live, and I will follow him in a month."
She disengaged her arm and turned to face him. "But the greatest news is that I finished
my medical degree with honors a month ago! Do you remember how mercilessly you teased
me when I started this education, pregnant as I was?"
She laughed her father’s laugh. "I did very well and finished faster than anybody in the
department. How do you like my new title, Doctor Dadiani-Rost?"
Vladimir with a perfect bow produced another, albeit formal kiss on the hand she
offered.
"My congratulations, Doctor Alexandra! Teasing or not, I never doubted that you would
finish most brilliantly what you had set your singular mind on."
She laughed shamelessly straight into his eyes.
Shaking his head, he had been sure that Tatiana, his love, would protect him from all
new infatuations, he held the door of the café open for her.
As she passed him she asked with a mischievous smile. "How is sensuous Rebekka?"
Vladimir frowned. He found a table for them. The place was filled with groups of noisy
students of all persuasions. "I lost Rebekka years ago. She got married to a rich merchant, an
older man and friend of her parents. I was not invited to her wedding. It is a pity, because my
education in the visual arts has come to an abrupt end with her departure."
He laughed briefly. "But you were very interested in modern painting, have you done
anything yourself?"
"How could I? In addition to my studies I had to take care of a husband and a child. For
four years we have not done any socializing, have not been to any concerts or in the opera.
Our last extended vacation was our honeymoon. I am really looking forward to an occasional
escape from München south across the mountains."
A group of Tolstoyans in white peasant shirts and long hair sat at the next table listening
to a serious looking, young woman reading a political manifesto.
"Do you still frequent the revolutionary circles?"
He hesitated. "No, I cannot afford to be seen with some of my oldest friends. But let us
talk about this subject elsewhere, at another time. Am I going to see you again?"
A small, taunting smile played around her full mouth. "Do you like to ride? We have two
horses stabled in Lakhta, on the coast, north of here. To ride by myself is not very entertaining,
would you accompany me for a day out there? The area is beautiful, especially along the shore
of the Finnish Gulf."
For a split second his sense of danger returned, and then he heard himself say, "Why
not, it would be my pleasure."
She suggested a date and a time. To avoid attention, they agreed to meeting on the
train seemingly by accident. In parting Alexandra gave him a fleeting kiss and left him to walk
home pensively.
The agreed-upon time had long passed, Vladimir had not appeared. Unobtrusively
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