When the moon rises over Berlin

      Entering the apartment, the first thing Adler smelt is the scent of scandal, which was about to fall on his head. He sighed heavily and remembered Ingrid for a moment or two. It had been different with her. She did not require a lot of attention and love. It was enough for her that he came once every two weeks to give her jewellery and that was it.       Gertrude, his wife, never listened to the stories he wrote and the poems he sometimes dedicated to her while sitting at work during breaks. She was a homebody. No romance. He did not need it. Adler knew that his wife was not a romantic person at all. She needed to be given a new frying pan instead of diamonds. Gertrude considered perfumes and jewellery were nothing important, which made Adler sad.       Another thing was Ingrid, who took them with pleasure. Adler had been at work all day, and the date of his wedding anniversary with Gertrude had slipped his mind. He walked into the kitchen, where a pot of stew was sizzling, it put him in a stupor. Maybe he was mistaken and the anniversary was not today. But his doubts were dispelled when Gertrude came out of the next room, all dressed up and wearing the shoes which she married him in.       “You look great,” Adler sat down at the table, looking at his wife’s back and feeling her sadness.       “I know that. But that’s not exactly what I wanted to hear. You forgot, didn’t you?”, she laughed bitterly. Adler clenched his right hand into a fist.       “No, I didn’t forget about the anniversary,” he inhaled and slowly relaxed, suppressing his fit of indignation.       “Adler, tell me, why have you been missing for the last six months? These days you don’t get out of work at all,” the woman raised her voice.       “Gertrude, I told you that I was nominated for a new case, two more people from other departments are working with me, we need to solve it as soon as possible.”        “Sometimes it seems that you love the victims you’ve found more than you love me,” Gertrude snapped at him. Adler was offended by these words. She was not like this before, besides, she had everything she needed and even more.       “Honey, let’s close the subject. I bought you some jewellery. Let’s open an expensive bottle of wine and have a wonderful evening,” Adler tried to smooth things over, realizing that if Gertrude was not stopped, this scene, which she would perform, could last for a long time. Adler took out a box and walked over to his wife, who was standing by the stove.       — You’re trying to shut me up with gifts. Adler, you and I got married five years ago when you had nothing. I married a completely different man who had nothing but love for me.… Tell me, am I anything more to you than just a housekeeper?”, Adler understood what she was talking about in and rudely interrupted her:       “Yes, you’re more than that, Gertrude, please don’t piss me off, you have everything now. Gertrude, please, understand me. If you suddenly think that my job is above our marriage, then the answer is no. It’s not more important — my job is for our marriage. I promised myself that if you married me, you would never need anything, and it turned out so: look, your wardrobe is full of dresses and outfits, your jewellery box is full of jewellery, cupboards are full of posh jackets and fur coats, our refrigerator is full of food. Tell me, do you really want things to be different?”       “Adler, I want us to start sleeping in the same bed as we used to! Not like you come in well after midnight and lie down on the couch if you don’t fall asleep in your office, then I wake you up in the morning. I don’t feel like I’m your wife. I’m a housekeeper, a maid, a sister, anyone, but a wife!”, Gertrude shouted, blowing off steam.       “Gertrude, do you want me to quit my job?”, Adler burst out, unable to stand it.       “Yes, I do! Maybe you won’t have any money then, but you will be yourself.”       “I won’t quit my job, that’s for sure. If you want, I’ll take you to your stepmother’s, you’ve been planning to go there to chat for a long time. I can buy tickets to Italy for you two,” Gertrude stood for a moment, looked into his eyes, put a frying pan with food in the sink and turned on the faucet.       “Gertrude, what are you doing?”, Adler burst out and turned off the faucet. His wife had already left the room.       Adler was forced to admit that the gift failed to assuage his guilt and that by virtue of his work he was already different. Their marriage was tearing at the seams. Maybe he should not have got married so early in the first place. His wife was a completely home-type and domestic girl. Looking around, he suddenly remembered how it all had started, how she furnished this house and how they chose an apartment together in this prestigious area of the city. Yeah, those days were gone.       Adler took cheese and sausage from the refrigerator, cut bread and, having made himself a sandwich, went to his office to sort things out. He did not want to see Gertrude. Nor was there any point. Ingrid was completely different in this regard — you could laugh with her without asking “Why?” or “What’s the reason?”. Next to her, he didn’t want to be taller or stronger. Adler wanted to be himself. Ingrid wanted to take everything materially possible on this planet. She wanted all the jewellery to belong to her. “When a man spends money on you, it feels good,” she said, never ceasing to repeat it to Adler. ***       Wieland was sitting at the kitchen table and looking out the window at the birds hopping on the branches, he slowly watched his wife, who was cooking dinner in the kitchen. Their relationship with Gretel had been developing for a long time, as it was convenient for Wieland, she usually stayed at home and went out into high society only when called upon, which rarely happened. Wieland often skipped evenings, leaving his wife alone and running off on Tuesdays and Thursdays to Ingrid’s. It was impossible to talk about anything with his wife, she was wonderful as a hostess, but not as an interlocutor, and this was exactly what Wieland lacked.       “Gretel, tell me, what do you think about going to the exhibition this weekend? I can get tickets,” his wife did not pay any attention.       “Wieland, I understand that you have a lot of work to do, so let’s just stay at home this weekend and listen to a radio program. Anyway, if we were to go out, I would like to visit my mother, I haven’t visited her for a long time,” Wieland rolled his eyes. His wife’s whole world was limited to a country house in her mother’s village. The old lady was sincere, but also very strict. Wieland hated their meetings and did not want to go there. He wanted to pull his wife out at least somewhere, but she was so bull-headed.       “Gretel, I don’t want my wife to get too tired, besides, we haven’t spent time together for ages,” Gertrude turned off the stove. While she was putting food on, she whispered something to herself.       “Wieland, I know that your job is more important than me, so why don’t you just take me to my mom’s and go to your exhibition. I’m so tired that I just want to lie down.”       “If you’re exhausted, let’s hire a housekeeper, you’ll have more time.”       “No way, it’s a waste of money. Wieland, let’s end this conversation.”       “I don’t understand you’re against it!”, Wieland raised his voice a little.       “Because we look more like roommates than people who are married and live together. Wieland, don’t lie to yourself.”       “What are you talking about?”, the man asked his wife with obvious bewilderment, leaning towards her.        “You regret marrying me, don’t you?”, she said with a bitter smile. — No, I’ve never regretted it. But the question is, did you regret it? — Wieland looked at the plate, and taking it, went to his study. His wife’s company had become unbearable to him. When had she changed from a cheerful woman into a tortured creature? And was he to blame? Not hungry, Wieland opened the file and sat down to work quietly. Ingrid would hardly worry about such trifles, and in principle she was something easy for him, something that never felt heavy. She was something not serious, but for one evening with her he was ready to give a lot. Next to her he could forget many things, and laugh at many things. They went together to exhibitions and excursions to parks, Ingrid wanted to explore the world while she was alive, and to take everything from this life.       “No, I’ve never regretted it. But the question is: “Did you regret it?”, Wieland looked at the plate, and, taking it, went to his office. The company of his wife became unbearable to him. When did she manage to turn from a cheerful woman into a tortured creature? Is it all his fault? Not hungry, Wieland opened the file folder with the case and sat down to work quietly. Ingrid would hardly worry about such small things. She was someone easy for him in principle, someone who never felt like something heavy. She was something frivolous, but after one evening with her he was ready to give her the whole world. Next to her, you could forget about a lot of things and laugh at everything. They went to exhibitions and parks excursions together. Ingrid wanted to explore this world while she was alive and to take absolutely everything from this life. ***       Ehrman was basking in a bathtub with aromatic oils and herbs with his fiancée Grenzel. The girl was especially beautiful that day. Their evenings always delighted him, reminding him of the way his father used to woo his mother by bringing her chocolates from the factory where he worked.       Ehrman and Grenzel’s relationship was going well, they were about to get married, but what Ehrman lacked in his fiancée was seriousness. She was constantly pulling him somewhere, to a show or just to walk around the city. She pulled him to films that were not interesting to him. At such moments he remembered Ingrid, a Woman in every sense. She never made him want something he did not want. She let him do almost everything. Unlike his fiancée, who was very obsessed with cleanliness. You put the plate in the wrong place — you would definitely be scolded for it. You put your socks in the wrong place, you would be grumbled at. Ehrman had enough of being nagged at work, he did not want iron discipline at home.       “Grenzel, listen, let’s stay at home this weekend and listen to some concert on the radio, or I’ll cook something delicious,” Ehrman carefully watched the girl’s reaction. She always frowned when she did not like something.        “No. Well, Ehrman, I have already agreed that this weekend we will go to my cousin’s for a birthday party. Besides, it forecasts good weather this weekend. So, why should we stay at home?”, Ehrman rolled his eyes. It was useless to argue.       “All right, let’s go. But we’re not taking the wine. Your relatives may not like it again.”       “Okay, then I’ll call them and tell them we’ll get snacks,” Grenzel got out of the tub and Ehrman leaned his head against the cold porcelain. It did not feel right in his soul, Ingrid was missing and not physically, but simply in understanding who she was. Maybe he did not need her presence in real life, but he just needed to understand that she was somewhere nearby. That if he called her, he would always hear her voice and understand that she remembered about him. It flattered him and was solid ground for his self-esteem. For women like Ingrid, he was nothing more than an affair, but she was a worthwhile affair.