The next morning, Krista knocked. “Eva! A letter!”
Eva was awake, drinking coffee.
“Ich komme,” she said, letting the girl in.
“It’s a letter from Maggie. Shall I read it for you?” Krista asked, sitting down next to Eva.
“Gerne. Danke.” Eva stood to get her letter opener. And then Krista read:
Dear Tante Eva,
How are you? I am sorry I haven’t called you on the hall phone. For some reason, I prefer to write you. I am not much of a phone person. I did call Elena, though, and spoke with her. I am due to arrive in two weeks! Isn’t that exciting? The week after Christmas, Tom and I fly to Berlin. Elena has agreed to let us stay there and we will pay her rent. This is temporary, until we find our own place. I really want to find a place near you, in the old East Berlin. I hear there are some wonderful, exciting neighborhoods now in the East. How is your neighborhood? Elena says it’s not safe and that she tries to convince you to move. Can that be true? I have read that the crime rate has gone up a bit. I am sure it is temporary. I am sure that when things straighten out—when Berlin gets used to being unified again, or rather, when all of Germany gets used to being unified, that Berlin’s crime rate will drop again.
I can’t wait for you to meet Tom. He is a Communist, but not a Stalinist. Maybe you would think of him as a Socialist. He has spent time in Cuba and loves it there. He is the type of man who would have been fighting against Franco in Spain. I am so in love, Tante Eva. I think we will get married and have children.
I’ve saved up tons of money from my job. I was so good! There were days when I wanted to shop—buy clothes, makeup, go out to eat. But I really learned how to control those materialistic thoughts. Americans are such consumers. But Tom and I together should have enough to last us until we find work. I know we don’t have work visas or anything, but Elena thinks we could get some cash work in a bar, and Tom has some ideas, too. I also heard it’s not hard to find work teaching English and that you can get a visa issued once you have a job pretty easily. And that some institutes pay cash. We’ll see. It’ll be an adventure, but I also have faith that we can make it work out. With Tom by my side, I feel I can take on the world. I am bringing you some records, too. The Nina Simone you asked for and some others.
I will call you from Elena’s—there is no need to meet me at the airport. We will talk and talk, just like we did when I was there in, what was it, ’86? I can’t wait!
Viele Busserl,
Maggie