Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

leave. Niko had not returned, and considering her rapidly beating heart, she was glad he had not witnessed this incident.She did not tell Konrad.The ball became a great, albeit controversial, success. Even the older faculty members risked a leg to the modern dancemusic, and the younger people loved it. The belly dancer, who appeared late at night, became a scandal earning Konrada reprimand by his superior. The matter eventually died down, when it became known that the majority of the sedateprofessors frequented the Armenian nightclubs regularly.Vladimir 1899Alexandra became the talk of the faculty. Only much later would she find out that long before her arrival, she had alreadybeen the object of titillating rumors. The academic community attributed the novelties of the ball to her influence—laGéorgienne fatale! Alexandra was delighted.16.Alexandra decides to study medicine1899After a general examination and an interview, the medical faculty admitted Alexandra. Full of energy, she threw herselfinto her course work, the delivery would steal the spring semester.She had hoped to persuade Konrad to hire a wet nurse. But when she asked him, Konrad had, for the first time, becomeseriously annoyed. He glowered at her. "A wet nurse? You are not in such a hurry to get finished that you could not feedthe child yourself."She had never seen him loose his equanimity, which she depended on in her spontaneity. Was it the stress of his work,the drawn-out, embarrassing departmental dispute about the ball? Wet nurses were a common institution in their circles.Clad in white uniforms and wearing conspicuous headgear, a small army of them offered their services to the betterfamilies. But she saw that he was serious, and gave in to his demand.Now she was trying to beat her course load by working overtime.A few weeks into the semester the faculty notified her that they would allow her a full semester credit for two courses shehad taken in Tiflis, chemistry and biology, which Konrad had taught.Konrad laughed with a trace of envious admiration. She had been lucky again!She grew larger, the baby could no longer be hidden. Her pregnant presence at the university raised many eyebrows, buther radiant beauty protected her and her reserved poise simply forbade any unwarranted comments.Her professors began addressing her with a deferential ‘Princess Dadiani-Rost’. She was amused to have inadvertentlyacquired this impressive double name. However, her final vindication was that, whatever course she took, shesucceeded with the highest grades, and after a few months her teachers' skepticism and condescension changed intorespect. She became a heroine not only for her co-students but for the entire faculty.Her intellectual success gave her immense satisfaction and reawakened her old, cocky self-assurance.Konrad had to restrain himself at times and mobilize all his humor to put up with her. Not that she neglected him in anyarguable way. He continued to punctually find his breakfast and dinner every day, her kitchen was spotless, but shejumped out of bed before he could properly wake up—he had always been slow in the morning—and on many nights shewould not retire until midnight. Their spontaneous love-making, most often initiated by her in the past, had become lessfrequent.Konrad concluded that he was jealous. He felt pushed from his singular position in her life by the child, by her ambitiousstudy program and her intellectual success—all problems that were of his own making, which he could only indirectlyblame on her. Look at yourself, he thought, after all it turns out that it is not as easy as you had imagined to live with aworking woman!Alexandra kept up a faithful correspondence with her father. At least once a week they exchanged letters.Konrad scrupulously adhered to two principles during their married life, he never read Alexandra’s personalcorrespondence, and he never concerned himself with their finances.He was not interested in controlling either. Alexandra had turned out to be so shrewd in money matters that he could notcompete with her. He simply gave her his monthly salary from the institute and the fees from teaching at the university,and she administered it, paid the rent, bought the things they needed for daily life, and paid for the furniture they boughttogether, one carefully selected piece after another. If Konrad needed money for himself, she would simply give him aliberal amount. They never had an argument over money, but neither of them squandered it. He had few external56