The Cuckoo Bird: Say The War Had Never Happened...

Chapter Four

'So, that's Mathias?'

Anna looked at her mother and noted her cocked eyebrow and tight mouth. 'Yes, that's him.'

'Hmm.' Rachel simply continued walking beside her daughter, a strange silence passing over the two women.

'What did you think?'

Rachel sighed. 'Does it matter what I think?'

'That means you don't like him.'

'No it doesn't.'

'If you liked him, you'd have said what you thought already.' Anna's tone was irritable. She didn't want it to be, but she couldn't help it.

'I'll admit that he's not what I expected. For you at least.'

'What does that mean?'

'He seems so...' Rachel searched for the right words. 'Ordinary.'

Anna laughed. 'That's definitely not the word I would use.' Though, to describe to her mother her exact feelings for him would be a step too far. Anna was, after all, primarily interested in the physical affect Mathias had on her.

'I see that he's very handsome, my liebling. But I didn't think that mattered to you.'

They began their journey up the stairs to the first floor. 'So, what, you were expecting me to come home with some kind of mythical creature? Mathias is close enough to Greek God....'

'What high praise,' cut in Rachel, her tone sharp.

Definitely disapproving.

'A mythical creature would have been less surprising than a beautiful trust fund baby,' Rachel continued. 'Your entire life has been about marching to the beat of your own drum, and yet that man is as close to the ideal as I've ever seen.'

Anna's cheeks flooded pink. 'I'm not so shallow to only be taken in by his looks.'

Her mother turned to her. 'Oh my darling, forgive me.' She cupped Anna's face in her hands and kissed her nose. 'I was only teasing.'

'Were you?'

Rachel smoothed her thumbs over Anna's cheeks. 'I just don't see you get like this about men. And I want the man you end up with to be worthy of you.'

'I think this would be a case of me measuring up to him.'

Her mother scoffed. 'You worked for what you have, and he was just handed it. Trust me, if he's smart, he'll snap you up straight away.'

Clearing her throat, Anna shook her mother off and carried on towards Professor Krause's office. There was no sense getting into a debate with her mother about something so silly. She hadn't even decided for herself how far she might venture with Mathias, or in what capacity.

Krause was already waiting outside his office, his arms folded as he stared out of the opposing window. He was an interesting, eccentric man. His perfectly pruned beard and moustache looked as though they belonged in the 1800's, his greying hair quaffed perfectly in place. The obligatory tweed suit was relatively modern, complete with the leather elbow patches most professor wore, and was nearly always covered in ash stains. He appeared smart, but as though he hadn't changed his clothes in several days, which was likely; Krause lived to work.

He turned as Anna approached. 'Here I was thinking you were going to be escorted right into the building by your new admirer.' His tone was laced with mocking and an edge of something that Anna couldn't quite place.

Blushing again, Anna held her nerve. 'Certainly not, Professor Krause. This is between you and me.'

'Perfect,' he smiled. 'Good to see you, Rachel.'