Early the next morning, Kurt followed Uncle Ralph into his office as he closed the door behind them and told Kurt to sit down.
Kurt did as he was told and watched Uncle Ralph slowly walk over to his desk and take a seat, himself.
"That was a stupid thing you did." Uncle Ralph hissed.
Kurt could feel his heart begin to pound as he asked,
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Why did you waste our resources to travel out of the city and go to my cousin's house yesterday?"
Kurt was very confused by what Uncle Ralph meant until he remembered that he had used the car to travel to Amelia's parents' house so he could warn them. Kurt tried to come across as calm as possible as he said,
"To be completely honest sir, I went to their house so I could meet Amelia's parents and ask for their permission to marry her."
That was a complete lie, especially since marriage had never come across his mind, but he had to cover his tracks.
Uncle Ralph's eyes widened as he said,
"Marry?"
Kurt nodded and said,
"Yes sir. I really love her."
Uncle Ralph slowly nodded as he thought deeply and finally said,
"Well Lieutenant, since Amelia is in my care now I think it's best if I help make the decision of whom is best fit for her. So give me a few days and we'll talk about this again."
Kurt nodded as he said,
"Yes sir." and left the room.
Later that afternoon, Kurt was helping Amelia hang laundry in the garden as he told her about his conversation with Uncle Ralph.
"I can't believe you told him you wanted to propose to me." Amelia laughed.
Kurt smiled and said,
"What? You don't want to marry me?"
Amelia cut her eyes at him and grinned as she said,
"We're not exactly alike."
"Opposites attract." Kurt said as he gave Amelia a wink.
Amelia laughed as her uncle approached them both and said,
"Kurt, may I have a word with you in my office?"
Kurt nodded and followed Uncle Ralph back to his office.
Once they were both settled in, Uncle Ralph said,
"Now Kurt, you mentioned that you were wanting to propose to Amelia, correct?"
Kurt agreed as Uncle Ralph continued on to say,
"Well I think it'd be best to do it by tonight so we can begin planning the wedding. The Fuhrer is coming soon and it'd be a tremendous honor for our family to have him attend the ceremony."
Kurt's eyes got big as he said,
"You mean the Fuhrer would actually consider coming to my wedding?"
Uncle Ralph nodded and said,
"With the right motivation.. Such as the possibility of you and Amelia bringing future soldiers into the world to serve in our army."
"But, Commander, I don't even have a ring or know where to buy one anymore since most all of the jewelry stores were owned by Jews."
Uncle Ralph leaned over his desk and said in a hushed tone,
"Go by Camp Sachsenhausen. I told them to set aside the most extravagant ring they could find."
Kurt thanked Uncle Ralph as he immediately headed out the door and drove to the camp. He walked inside the tent that they kept all of the confiscated items and successfully obtained the ring. He didn't think anything about it until he started driving home. He couldn't believe he was about to propose to a Jew with a stolen engagement ring. So many of his morals, old and new, were being questioned, but he knew if he didn't follow Uncle Ralph's lead then he would come across as being very suspicious.
Kurt had gotten home just in time for dinner and sat down at the formal dinning room table with the family and a couple of high ranking officers. Once he sat down, Uncle Ralph got everyone's attention and said,
"I have something to tell you all and it's honestly a secret I've been keeping for a few weeks now."
Everyone looked at him in confusion until he finally confessed,
"The Fuhrer and I have been conversing on the phone recently and he's coming over here tonight for dinner."
Everything finally made sense to Amelia. Now she understood why there were so many prisoners at their house everyday doing everyone's chores and polishing the silver. Her heart began to pound in her chest as she faked a smile and thought about what all could go wrong.
Uncle Ralph stood up from his chair as he said,
"Come Lieutenant Goldschmidt, help me pick out the wine for dinner."
Kurt followed behind Uncle Ralph and once they reached the cellar Uncle Ralph started scanning the wine bottles with his eyes as he said,
"You got the ring, right?"
Kurt nodded and said,
"Yes sir, it's in my pocket... When do you think would be a good time to propose?"
Uncle Ralph lifted a bottle of wine as he inspected the label and said,
"Whenever you feel the time is right. Whether it be tonight, tomorrow, next week... I don't care. How about this one?"
Kurt looked at the bottle and said,
"Looks appropriate to me, Commander."
Uncle Ralph looked at him and said,
"I knew you would make the right choice." before giving him a wink.
Kurt knew Uncle Ralph was signaling him to propose that night.
A couple of awkward hours later, the Fuhrer had joined the family in an extravagant dinner while drinking Uncle Ralph's most expensive wine.
Once everyone had finished their meals and were waiting on desert, Uncle Ralph gave Kurt a certain, subtle look that translated as,
"Do it now."
Kurt excused himself as he went into the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face and collect his thoughts. After a few minutes had gone by, he took a deep breath and walked into the dining room, returning Uncle Ralph's stare.
Kurt stopped behind Amelia's chair and said,
"May I have everyone's attention please?"
Just like that, everyone quieted down to where Kurt's voice was the only sound in the room.
Kurt took one more deep breath and said,
"I won't be long, I promise, but I have something that I need to say... Amelia.."
Amelia turned around in her seat so she could see him better and her jaw dropped as she watched him take her hand in his and get down on one knee as he said,
"It's almost been two years since I first saw you and I can't imagine spending two more without having the pleasure to wake up every morning next to my best friend and the love of my life..."
Just then, Kurt pulled the ring out of his pocket and continued on to say,
"Amelia Gottschalk, will you marry me?"
Amelia was frozen. She couldn't believe he actually went through with it, but she knew her family and the most dangerous man in the world were watching her so she didn't hesitate to say yes.
She smiled wide as she cried, pretending to be overflowing with joy rather than fear, as she thought,
"What in the hell have I gotten myself into?"
Hitler stood up from his chair smiling and clapping as he made his way around the table to shake Kurt's hand and kiss Amelia's cheek and congratulate them on their engagement.
As Kurt shook Hitler's hand he confessed what a tremendous honor it would be to have the Fuhrer at the wedding. Hitler gladly agreed to attend the wedding and even offered to pay for the reception and honeymoon.
Kurt looked at Hitler in surprise and said,
"But Fuhrer.. We're training for war. Are you sure a honeymoon is a good idea?"
Hitler put his hand on Kurt's shoulder and said,
"I greatly admire your devotion and concern for the Fatherland, but you deserve a little time to spend with your lovely, new wife."
Later that night when the guest of honor and his entourage had left, Kurt walked into Amelia's room and started to say,
"Look, I-"
Amelia cut him off and said,
"Don't. Just don't.."
"Amel-"
"Stop..!" Amelia quietly protested in obvious aggravation as she looked up at Kurt. Her cheeks were tear stained and her eyes blood shot.
Kurt walked up to her and sat on the edge of her bed as he said,
"I'm really sorry darling, but your uncle knew I went to see your parents the other day so I had to quickly make something up."
He smiled comfortingly as he held her hand and added,
"We can do this, but only if you trust me. Okay?"
Amelia slowly looked up at him and nodded as she said,
"Okay.. What do you need me to do?"