A Twist in My Story

The train ride to Germany was uneventful. Joe had sat back and tried to relax to the bumps of the rails while Luciana sketched apparently unaffected by the bumpy ride. Once the train stopped in Mannheim right across the border from France, Luciana had wanted to get off and essentially hitchhike to Berlin. Even though they both paid in cash for their train tickets she still felt paranoid about being followed. Neither one had said much to the each other beyond the necessary talking since the kiss and her reminder afterwards. If Joe could admit it, he’d tell her he was hurt by that. He knew the conditions going in to this and now he’d have to stick with them, sealing off all his emotions towards Luciana.

And that is how he persuaded her to stay on the train to Berlin. He played hardball stating he only had so long to see Europe before his money ran out and he went home so she could walk the rest of the way by herself if she wanted but he was taking the train. He’d left her to contemplate her choices, boarding the train again, and at the last minute she plopped next to him with a displeased expression. She’d made a little comment about his stubbornness then fell silent for the whole ride, sleeping intermittently. Now standing in the middle of Berlin they looked at their new hostel lodging.

“Circus Hostel,” Luciana read off the building. “It looks…like a regular building.”

“Exactly. It doesn’t stand out,” Joe responded logically.

“It’s in the city,” she continued using the same bland, disbelief voice. “I told you it’s safer outside the city, Joe. They will expect me here.”

He held up a silencing hand. “I’ve seen enough TV drama shows to know that they think that you will think they will look for you here so they think you’ll do the ‘smart’ thing and lodge outside the city which is where they will look first. And they won’t find you because you’re staying exactly where they think you won’t,” he said succinctly.

She stared at him with a blank stare. “That makes no sense at all.”

“Yes it does, you just don’t have my mastermind,” he smiled charmingly and slipped his hand behind her back, gently pushing her towards the hostel’s front doors.

“You have a messed-up mind,” she retorted pulling away. “I insist we lodge elsewhere, Joe.”

He hardened his stance and looked annoyed. “Look, princess, you may want the fancy hotels but they don’t take cash transactions easily. Plus I don’t have that kind of money, as we’ve already discussed. So we bunk here while in Berlin. This hostel has one of the highest safety ratings in the city. And I got us a private room.”

She bit back her hurt pride because he was right. Hotels were more dangerous and risky. She reminded herself that she needed to keep him in mind too because his life was at stake now as well thanks to her. She had no doubt her brother had seen Joe. But at the moment all she wanted was to get him out of her mind. She couldn’t stop seeing his tense back when she reminded him about their deal or how soft and hard his lips felt pressed against hers. The last few travel days had been awful but she didn’t know how to make it better except to tell him everything…and she refused to do that.

“Fine. Okay. We can stay here. Let’s go check in. I’m tired,” she said pushing past him holding her head up high even as her eyes desperately wanted to scan the area.

Joe followed behind her with a resigned sigh. He hated bullying her but she was too stubborn for her own good. He took care of check-in arranging for them to pay separately then hunted down their third story room. He dropped his bag at the bottom of the bed closest to the door (their usual arrangement) before going to the bathroom. When he stepped out just minutes later Luciana was sound asleep, stretched across her bed. Walking to the window, he closed the curtains then lay on his bed for a quick nap as well.

Luciana rolled over in darkness. She knew she was awake but the room was pitch-black and she felt a brief flutter of panic. Blinking awake she noticed the curtains were pulled shut, no light stuck in underneath though. She turned her head to read the digital clock between the beds. 23:37. Stretching, she realized she’d slept for about six hours…and so had Joe. He sprawled across his bed on his stomach, snoring lightly. Smiling to herself at his serene composure she felt the call of nature and tiptoed to the bathroom. Her foot hit a squeaky wood plank, emitting a high-pitched squeal. Joe immediately bolted awake and grabbed the clock as a weapon.

“Joe! It’s just me. Luciana,” she held up her hands.

He blinked as he hit the light switch, blinking against the light. “Luce? What’re you doing? Time’s it?”

“I need to use the restroom. And if you turned the clock in your hands around you’d see it’s just a little before midnight. Excuse me,” she rushed into the bathroom.

“Oh,” he said belatedly, carefully setting his makeshift weapon down. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“Sorry. Do you need new sheets?” she quipped back through the thin door, trying to keep her voice hard.

“Ha-Ha. Wow, we slept for a long time,” he stretched. “Want some health bars for dinner?”

“Sure. Oh, merda,” she cursed in Italian.

“What? Luce, are you okay?” he jumped off the bed, but withheld barging in on her, stopping right against the door.

“I’m fine. Um, Joe, could you…Could you get me my bag please?” she asked hesitantly.

“Um, sure,” he responded confused. Why would she need her bag? He knocked on the door, squeezed the bag through the opening, then had it shut in his face. “Is anything wrong?”

“No. Thank you.” There was no way she would tell him Mother Nature decided to come visit her right now. She came out five minutes later to see him sitting on his bed with a map of Germany and a health bar, wearing a worried expression as he looked at her. “I’m fine. Is that dinner? Yum,” she joked and joined him. She kept a reasonable distance between them.

“Are you sure you’re okay? If you hurt yourself, we could see if there’s a hospital around…”

“No. I’m fine. Relax,” she patted his forearm twice then removed it awkwardly. “Have we decided on a game plan for tomorrow?”

He waited a minute, assessing her, before he answered. “Well I was thinking – and feel free to disagree – but I was thinking the concentration camps are a huge part of German history so I thought we could hit a few. Auschwitz-Birkenau is in Poland so not that one, but there’s an all women’s labor camp, Ravensbrück, about 30 minutes from the city. There’s also Bergen-Belsen, the camp where Anne Frank stayed for some time and died in, near Hannover. Maybe an hour or two from here. Both give tours. Could be interesting, right?”

“Yes they could. Depressing as well. But if you want to see one we can. Perhaps also the Berlin Wall?”

“Of course. That’s on the to-do list. I researched some castles too, but I think tomorrow we’ll only be able to fit in a tour of one of the camps. Thoughts? Opinions?”

“Sounds good to me. I think I’ll take a bath now though. I want to wash off the travel dust and such. Go back to sleep if you want. I’ll try to be quiet,” she raised herself off his bed.

“Luciana,” he grabbed her hand. She froze and reluctantly met his eyes. “If you don’t like the places I choose then please say so. We’re a democratic duo; everyone has a voice. Okay?”

“All right.” She took back her hand from him and went into the bathroom with her pajamas where she once again cursed herself for getting Joe tangled in her mess and pushed down the warm fuzzies stirring in her stomach.

The next morning they both got up early to get a jumpstart on their day. First stop they made was at a tiny café for some breakfast in the form of eggs, sausage, biscuits, and coffee/tea. They made finalizing details over their food, both making an unspoken agreement to put all thoughts of the kiss and its consequences out of their minds. After paying for breakfast (back to 50/50) they trekked to the nearest car rental place. Joe insisted they rent a car for their time in Germany instead of relying on public transportation; Luciana firmly protested this. She didn’t want a paper trail for anyone to find and he couldn’t drive over here without an international driver’s license. After much debate (and with the helpful, unwanted opinion of the rental agent) they ended up using Joe’s credit card to pay for the rental (he arranged for a daily rental fee and her family didn’t know his name) and Luciana would drive since she did have an international driver’s license. Finally they were on their way.

They arrived at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, the one they decided would be more interesting as well as get them far from the city for the day, around midmorning. They milled around the lobby area at the visitor’s center with other tourists until the tour started. Luciana kept an avid eye out for any familiar face until Joe nudged her, indicating she was making some of the other tourists nervous. She tried to relax but couldn’t quite manage it completely. The 4-hour tour conducted by their bilingual tour guide took them from the railway used to deliver prisoners through the processing location where prisoners had been crudely examined, given numbers, and sorted. Some were sorted within Bergen-Belsen depending on their nationality and gender while others were sorted to another camp. They were shown the prisoner-of-war facility which if it was said that it contained the bare essentials was being too liberal. The group got to look in the doorway of typical prisoner barracks – wooden plank bunk beds and dirt floor as far the eye could see in the dim-lighted building. The medical facility was better lighted but the instruments looked almost medieval. It was towards the end of the tour at the mass execution site that some of the tourists started to feel ill. Luciana had long since forgotten about being alert as she listened to the guide detail the execution methods. Standing by one of the massive graves, devoid of bodies, she turned away unable to bear it any longer. Joe followed her and grabbed her hand, keeping silent. They walked toward the exit where a large memorial stone was erected to all those who had died here.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered when she could talk without feeling the urge to choke.

“Don’t be. This is tough stuff to comprehend. Even I was losing it back there. Maybe this wasn’t the best place to visit,” he responded gently. One look at his face and she could tell he spoke the truth.

“I keep seeing that little girl’s, Anne Frank’s, picture in my head. She was so happy in her school picture and to think she was sent here to live in these conditions like…like she was garbage…worthless. How could they even justify that in their souls?” she ranted, really upset and shaken up.

They stopped at the stone and Joe just stared at it, lost in thought. “I don’t know, Luce, maybe it makes them feel better to be in control of people’s lives. I feel like I live in a prison at home,” he admitted. “My dad…he likes things his way. He’s very opinionated and controlling. He practically runs my life for me based on what he wants. There’s always standards based on pleasing him. Kevin, my older brother, played sports; I played sports. Kevin was an A student; I was an A student. Kevin went to NYU; I went to NYU. I grew a backbone there and majored in what I wanted to instead of my dad’s desired major. He was pissed at me for that. I never live that one down. So I graduate two years after my brother and my dad gets me a job working at my brother’s dream company. I didn’t even ask him for that, but that’s what he wants me to do – no questions or protesting allowed. I don’t freaking want to work there! He doesn’t get it. I’m not him and I’m not my brother, but my dad only wants what he wants. He doesn’t care. Every decision I make on my own pissed him off because I’m an imbecile and fuck it up all the time. I can’t breathe in my house. It feels like I’m in a prison counting down days to when I’ll be free and I don’t even know if that’ll happen. It’s like I’m here. He’s killing me and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t even fucking care!” He was breathing hard, his hands fisted at his sides. He hadn’t even realized how much he’d kept pent up until now as he laid it all out for Luciana.

His distant, tortured tone scared her. Luciana framed his face with her hands and turned his head toward her, pulling his gaze away from the gray stone. “Joe, look at me. Joe. Calm down. You’re all right. You made it out,” she assured him in a soothing voice. His brown eyes searched her face as he came back to reality. “Your father sounds like a tyrant, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fight back. You are. You’re here with me which is proof you did.”

“Yeah…” he responded dully. Her touch centered him. He couldn’t help the subconscious tilt into her hand.

“What about your mother? Does she know about all this?”

“My mom? She’s…She’s the best mom in the world. She loves all her boys in their own way and plays mediator between me and my dad. I love her and she’s probably one of the only reasons I’d go home.”

She smiled. “Good. Hold on to those thoughts when the others get too heavy and loud. You’re a good man, Joe. Don’t forget it.” Feeling suddenly embarrassed awkward she removed her hands from his face and looked away.

Joe continued to stare at this woman he shouldn’t have feelings for and smiled. He needed her has much as she needs him. “Thank you, Luce. I appreciate the advice and the listening,” he hugged her gently, placing a light kiss on her cheek. “What do you say we leave now?”

She sighed in relief, stepping back from him. “Yes, please. I can’t take any more depressing places.”

“Me either. From now on, happy places only,” he smiled, back to his old self. “So…can I drive?”

“No. You have no license.”

“But driving is a man’s job. Please?” he pouted, fluttering his lashes.

She burst out laughing and pushed his face away. “No. Don’t even give me that ‘man’s job’ nonsense.”

They left the sad memorial to a tragic loss of life behind as they headed back to their small rental car with laughter chiming around them.

*****

While Joe and Luciana finished their sightseeing in Berlin and headed south toward the festivities of Oktoberfest, Luka Gambino drove the streets of Köln, Germany several hours away, desperately searching for Luciana and her American. He’d been on the move for nearly a week now ever since he’d been given the order to scourge Germany for Luciana. He was tired, hungry, and just plain irritable by now, which explained his anger towards his older brothers.

“Non lei ho visto o l'americano dal mettere piede qui. Mi colpisce tutte le grandi città, ma ci sono molti e io sono solo un uomo, Tony. (I haven’t seen her or the American since stepping foot here. I’m hitting all the major cities, but there are a lot and I am only one man, Tony),” Luka growled with annoyance. “Forse non hanno neanche venire qui. Forse hanno soggiornato a Parigi. La logica de nascondere nello stesso punto. (Maybe they didn’t even come here. Maybe they stayed in Paris. Hide in the same spot logic.)”

“No, perché Gio e io abbiamo cercato ovunque qui. Sono passati, Luka. (No, because Gio and I have looked everywhere here. They’ve moved on, Luka),” Tony refuted with heat back. Everyone’s patience was running thin these days.

“Svizzera poi. Vai in un paese con alta montagna. Molti posti dove ci nascondiglio. (Switzerland then. Go to a country with high mountains. Lots of places to hideout there.)”

“No. L'americano è un turista. Perché venire fin qui solo a nascondersi in montagna? No, sono in una delle città della Germania. Sto scommettendo su questo. Se avete a cuore a tutti per la nostra sorellina si smettere di fare scuse e trovarla. Non dimenticare-(No. The American is a tourist. Why come all the way here only to hide out in the mountains? No, they are in one of Germany’s cities. I’m betting on that. If you care at all for our baby sister you’ll stop making excuses and find her. Don’t forget-)”

“Lo so, Antonio. Non è necessario per ricordarmi quanto sia importante che la troviamo (I know, Antonio. You don’t have to remind me how important it is that we find her),” Luka interrupted with grim resolve. “Io non sono il check-in. Puoi dare il resoconto. Sto andando a Berlino, poi andrò sud. (I’m not checking in. You can give the report. I’m heading to Berlin then going south.)”

“Belle. Buona fortuna, Luka, per il bene di tutti. Parliamo più tardi. (Fine. Good luck, Luka, for everyone’s sake. Talk to you later.)”

Luka sighed with an aggravated groan as he snapped his phone shut. No sooner had it closed though before he flipped it back open and speed-dialed his number two contact.

“Ciao Luka,” Emilia DeConti, his girlfriend of nearly two years and Luciana’s best friend since toddler days, answered. “L'hai trovato? (Have you found her?)”

“No, Em, non l’ho trovato. Sono stanco e arrabbiato e mi manca tanto. Voglio tornare a casa (No, Em, I haven’t. I’m tired and angry and I miss you so much. I want to come home),” he confessed, showing emotion that his father would frown upon.

“So che è difficile, Luka, ma devi andare avanti. Mi manchi moltissimo pure, ma so che è necessario portare Luciana a casa e sarò aspettando ti. State facendo la cosa giusta e quando arrivi a casa sarò proprio lì al tuo fianco. (I know it’s difficult, Luka, but you must keep going. I miss you very much as well, but I know you must bring Luciana home and I’ll be waiting for you. You are doing the right thing and when you get home I’ll be right there by your side),” she promised. “Non so perché Luciana andrebbe via come questa, ma è necessario portarla a casa in sicurezza, Luka ... prima che qualcun altro lo fa. (I don’t know why Luciana would run off like this, but you need to bring her home safely, Luka…before someone else does.)”

“Lo so e lo farò. E tu sai perché dovrebbe, Em, sei la sua migliore amica. Lei ti dice tutto. Ma non vi pressione. Tutto quello che voglio è la promessa che quando torno a casa mi arriva a stringerti e baciarti fino a che non svenire. Ti voglio per sempre, l'Emilia. (I know and I will. And you do know why she would, Em; you’re her best friend. She tells you everything. But I won’t pressure you. All I want is your promise that when I get home I get to hold you and kiss you until you swoon. I want you forever, Emilia),” he said lovingly.

“Se avete intenzione di proporre il matrimonio a me, Luka Gambino, lo farà di persona nel modo giusto, con la mia migliore amica a casa in modo sicuro. (If you are going to propose marriage to me, Luka Gambino, you will do it in person the right way, with my best friend home safely),” she said firmly, but he could see her smile in his mind.

He laughed freely with her. “Si può contare su questo, il mio amore. Devo riprendere la ricerca. Grazie per stabilizzare la mia testa con la tua voce angelica. Ti amo, Emilia. (You can count on that, my love. I must resume the search. Thank you for steadying my head with your angelic voice. I love you, Emilia.)”

“E ti amo troppo, Luka. Riportarla a casa. Tuo padre si fa più teso e arrabbiato ogni giorno. Tua madre sta preoccupata per lui. Migliorarla. Addio. (And I love you too, Luka. Bring her home. Your father gets more tense and angry every day. Your mother is worried about him. Make this better. Goodbye),” she said then disconnected.

With his purpose refreshed he redirected his car towards Germany’s capital and one of the largest cities in the world. He was going to find his sister.

****

“Auf der linken Seite sehen sie die genaue Art von Ludwig II…(On the left side, you see the beautiful art of Luwig II…)” their tour guide droned with fake enthusiasm to the group. Several people listened to headphones with translations in their native languages or just idly listened to the tour guide while taking in the castle itself. Seeing Schloss Neuschwanstein was a little out of their way, but it was something both had wanted to see. Plus it got them out of a major city for the day. Set up on a hilltop overlooking the Alps, the scene was breathtaking as much as the castle was. When they had first arrived Luciana felt the immediate need to draw the scene, but unfortunately she neither had her pad nor the time. Instead Joe snapped a picture to capture the beauty so they could join the tour. For the last few days they seemed to be back to their selves, pre-Paris.

Entering the castle they saw the arms of Ludwig etched in stone above the door. This made sense as the castle belonged to him as a retreat. The inside was just as spectacular as the outside. Portraits of the king in various settings and poses hung on the walls, rooms were furnished with elaborate pieces of furniture, and golden chandeliers hung in every room. Lots of red and vibrant colors assaulted their eyes while pleasing them as well.

“Did you know they fashioned the Sleeping Beauty castle from this castle?” Joe asked lightly as he took in the lush room. They idled in the middle of the group where Luciana felt the most safe.

“Really? That is pretty cool,” Luciana answered emphasizing the American word with heavy Italian accent.

“Cool, huh? Look at you expanding your vocabulary,” he gave her a friendly nudge, making her smirk and blush lightly. “I’m rubbing off on you.”

“Whatever,” she scoffed, copying him. He burst out laughing.

“Entschuldigen Sie. Beruhigt euch bitte (Excuse me. Please by quiet),” the tour guide shot them an annoyed glare. They nodded stifling their chuckles behind their tightly pressed lips.

“Es tut mir leid, Frau (I’m sorry, ma’am),” Joe managed to choke out in a sincere voice.

“Ja, ich auch (Yes, me too),” Luciana seconded with a straight face. As soon as the tour guide nodded her acceptance and turned, smiles broke out on both their faces. “You are a bad influence on me,” she whispered.

“You know you like the rush it gives you,” he whispered back, teasing her. “Luce, I can see you fitting in nicely here.”

“Here? In Germany?” she looked up at him as they walked.

“No, well maybe, but I meant…by my side…with me.” He made the leap throwing away his decision to forget about his feelings for her, promise be damned. He needed her and she needed him. What’s so wrong about them being together?

Luciana’s heart actually skipped a few beats as she stopped mid-step. He could not mean that. “Wh-What?” she sputtered.

“I’m just saying we work well together and understand each other-”

“You know nothing about me!” she verbally slapped at him. “I…You…You can’t-”

“If you’d open up to me – trust me – I would know you better. Come on, Luce, you know exactly what I’m saying,” he cajoled as they became more separated from the group. His heart was literally racing in his chest as he sensed her reluctance.

Her shock turned over to anger and for the first time with him she felt betrayed. “You promised, Joe. You promised you wouldn’t. That kiss in Paris was a cover. I didn’t want my brother to see me. I told you that.”

“Yeah, I did promise, but some things you just can’t – even you don’t believe it. The way you can’t meet my eyes right now confirms it,” he pressed.

She forced herself to meet his direct gaze and hardened her voice, keeping the tears out of her eyes. “I do not feel a thing for you.”

He met her gaze, saw her determination, and backstepped two steps away from her. His heart literally felt heavy. “Fine. Whatever you say, princess,” he lifted his hands in surrender then let them fall, turning to catch up with the group.

“Don’t call me that! I hate it! I want you to stop it now!” she yelled hearing her voice echo in the large room.

Joe stopped and turned back around slowly. “It’s only a pet name, Luciana. It fits your temperament some days.”

“I’m not and never will be a princess, so stop. Please,” she requested, her anger dying on the last word. “Being the only daughter in my family I’ve been called and treated as such all my life. I don’t like it. That’s not me. So please do not call me that word.”

He stared at her, considering, then shrugged. “Sure. All you had to do was ask.”

“Thank you.”

“Mhm. Meet you out front at the car.” Then he turned and left her alone in the massive throne room with Ludwig II staring at her from all sides. With him gone, she broke down and let a tear escape. She hated arguing with him but it was for his own good that he stay as far away from her situation as possible…even if pushing him away hurt her beyond belief.

That night Joe spent the night on the town in Munich taking in the festivities and enjoyment of Oktoberfest. Luciana chose to stay in their hostel room. Accepting a huge pint from a traditionally dressed barmaid he drank the good German lager and tried not to think of the days ahead with Luciana. A few more weeks and he’d be flying home with a new life plan and leaving his European crush far behind as only a fond memory.