Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

A solicitous maid in servant uniform opened, but before she could announce them, Claudia came running. "Come in,come in, we have been waiting for you. Greetings, and this is Otto."Alexandra unwrapped the bouquet of flowers she had brought following Niko’s example, a few red roses amid dark-bluedelphiniums. The maid took the wrapping paper out of her hand. "Oh, how beautiful," said Claudia, "give them to Mother,she will love them."Otto allowed Claudia to take him by the hand and lead him into the living room.As forbidding as the outside of the house had been, its inside was dazzling. The light! Simple, blond oak floors coveredby scattered oriental rugs, a few modern paintings on the plain white walls, a spare selection of antique furniture, a mirrorin a gilded baroque frame in the entry hall—contrasted by a black grand-piano, three contemporary easy chairs, and acouch, and all was flooded from three sides by the light from the curtainless windows.Speechless, Alexandra had never seen a room like this. She felt as if floating on light in its uncluttered space.Claudia hugged her smiling. "I am so happy you came. Konrad told me that you liked beautifully simple things. A fewyears ago father had this house built especially for my mother by a young Viennese architect. Our neighbors were up inarms because of its stark outside, but now that the architect received several awards for his designs they haveacquiesced."Claudia’s mother entered, a tall, slender woman with an even, lovable face, copious graying, once chestnut-brown hair,and laughing brown eyes. She must have been a captivating beauty when young.A little awkward—she had never brought flowers before—Alexandra presented her bouquet."They are wonderful, thank you, Alexandra," Claudia’s mother said, combining the formal Sie with her first name. "Let’sgo to the kitchen and find a vase for them," she added disarmingly.While Mrs. Dahl carefully trimmed each of the flowers and one after the other arranged them in a glass vase, she askedAlexandra about her trip, her visit to Berlin, the apartment, and with a motherly smile, whether she did not feel homesick."After having met your charming brother, I am no longer surprised by your excellent German. But Niko, all by himself,was quite homesick in the beginning." Mrs. Dahl smiled. "Together, Claudia and I took him in and tried to make him feelloved and at home.""Yes," Alexandra returned her knowing smile, "he seems as much attached to you as to Claudia. Thank you for your careof and devotion to him. It was I who sent him into exile. Under your tutelage he has become a different person."Claudia had disappeared upstairs and a few minutes later returned with a large box of children’s toys, a train, a doll, ateddy bear. Otto, who had not seen any toys besides the few they had brought, was soon playing happily in the livingroom. Mrs. Dahl placed the flowers on a small table near the window. "Look, Alexandra, how they glow in the afternoonlight!" And indeed, it was as if they had been the missing touch of color in the room.Over tea the three women had an easy, completely relaxed conversation. Alexandra was asked to describe her parentshouse and life in Tiflis, St. Petersburg, and her medical studies.Slowly Mrs. Dahl brought the conversation to Alexandra’s social engagement. "I hear from Claudia that you bring astrong social commitment to your medicine. I truly applaud that decision, we need good doctors who are willing to helpthe underprivileged more than our fashionable specialists."Alexandra blushed. "The health conditions among the Russian workers in St. Petersburg are so depressing that you canhardly imagine them here."Mrs. Dahl smiled. "In Berlin and in the Rhineland exist similar industrial slums. However, Claudia says that your mainconcern is to help women control the number of their children. This is an area that is hardly restricted to the destitute, buthow are you proposing to do that? Here we know only of abortions and those have to be performed secretly becausethey are illegal."From previous discussions Alexandra knew that even her medically trained, female colleagues could get highly irrationalabout this subject. It was dangerous territory, and she had to choose her words carefully. "I consider abortion justifiedonly in cases where the mother is in grave danger, but there are pharmacological methods to prevent conception or aborta pregnancy about which modern medicine knows and says nothing.""Our village midwives," added Claudia, "also know all kinds of herbal abortifacients and contraceptive brews. But howcan you test the efficacy of such herbal medicines and study their side effects?"Seeing that she had a surprisingly receptive audience, Alexandra lowered her guard. "I tried some of them, like the one Igave to Anna, on myself."Mrs. Dahl raised her eyebrows. "I find it extraordinarily dedicated and courageous of you to experiment with yourself tohelp your patients."Alexandra smiled. "I was not quite as heroic as you imagine." She described her agreement with Konrad not to haveanother child until she had finished medical school."Another method is to observe the days during which a woman is fertile. Again little is know in medicine of when thesedays are. From my experience it seems to be just before and after my period. It requires intelligence, long observationsof oneself, and a cooperative husband. This method is useless with people who cannot read and write."Mrs. Dahl nodded. "Still these methods seem preferable compared to illegal abortions under unhygienic conditions."82