An irish Lovestory - the summer of Life

Love is terrible

As soon as they reach the courtyard of the estate, Benedikt Kaminski struts out of the house, closely followed by Pippa and June Warren. In a bad mood, he glares at his daughter and gives the servants a few instructions on where to put the bags. But Carlotta, feeling very much at ease right now, says, "No, they go in the main house, period!" Turning to her father, she adds grimly, "They deserve better than the stables! You've raised taxes so high that they have nothing left, you've turned off the water and you don't even realise that your citizens are doing like shit! When were you last there? Did you see the conditions they have to live in there?" She turns around and helps the family out of the carriage. Gratefully, the father smiles at her and the girls also show their gratitude. Only the mother is still sitting there and can hardly move. Carlotta helps her too and immediately takes her to one of the rooms closest to her.
The family follows them. Johanna and Helen have also woken up in the meantime and take the children into the kitchen so that Carlotta can look after the woman with the help of a doctor.
The doctor gives Carlotta some instructions so that she can treat the father's wound and he can look after the woman himself. So she quickly cleans the wound and bandages it. "What about my wife?" the man asks Carlotta. "She'll be fine, count on it. How about you go check on your daughters and have something to eat?" she reassures the man. He nods and thanks her. After he leaves the small side room, Carlotta immediately goes to the woman and asks the doctor what is wrong with her. "There's nothing wrong, she's just very undernourished and that, although she should be eating for two." The woman nods dejectedly. If she already doesn't have enough money for herself and the rest of the family, how can it be when you still have a small baby to feed. Carlotta congratulates her and says that she will get something to eat first and then the woman can rest.
But she sits down and tries to get up. "Please, may I go myself, you have done enough already. And then I'd like to take a shower again." Carlotta nods and lets her pass. The doctor keeps her in the room for a short chat.
"Without your help, the child would not have had long to live. Thank you for that." She waves it off, it was a point of honour. "Wait a minute, please. You still don't seem very happy and a little sickly too." Carlotta knew something like this was coming. "Firstly, my name is Carlotta and I just want to keep being called by my first name, secondly, I'm fine. I just broke up with my boyfriend last and I'm actually in relatively good shape for that!" The doctor dismisses Carlotta with a nod.
Later that day, she is lying on her bed looking at photos from her last year at school. There are some with the horses and her best friends, but even more with Luke together. Whether in the summer at/in the lake or just together in class. Smiling sadly, she looks at more pictures and finds another detail in some of the photos. The amulet he gave her for Christmas. She packed it in a small box before her trip to Spain and hasn't held it in her hand since.
So she reaches into the drawer next to her bed and pulls out the small wooden box. Carlotta opens the amulet and a note falls out.

I love you. Whatever happens, your soul and mine are connected.
-Luke

After a little thought, she decides not to call Luke so that the break-up won't be too bad for her. But she doesn't even have to call him, because suddenly her mobile starts vibrating. Giesma's home is on the display. She thinks about it for a moment, but then silently accepts the call.
Luke answers cautiously. "Carlotta, I've arrived home now. My mum gave me quite a telling off and asked where you were. When I told her you were at home, she started screaming for you all over the house. Now she's completely devastated because you're not here anymore and they didn't take better care of you! I can't persuade you to come back here, and I certainly can't ask you to forgive me for having... you know what... with Vera. ...with Vera. I can only ask you to talk to me again sometime and maybe we'll see each other again sometime. I just want you to know that no matter what's going on between us, I love you more than anything and that's not going to change anytime soon!" He pauses for a moment to see if Carlotta says anything. But she remains silent. So he continues. "You're the only one for me and you know as well as I do that I'm a different person when I'm drunk. Vera has also been out of place, but she had quite a lot of work getting me to do it in the first place. You, on the other hand, bring me to erection with just a single touch, sometimes with just a glance. On the way back I realised that I miss you after only a few hours! And that I want you back. What do I have to do to make you forgive me?" Carlotta thinks for a moment whether she should say anything, because tears are coming again. She swallows the lump in her throat and hisses, "This is unforgivable! You cheated on me, yes, you were heavily intoxicated, but that is no reason to get into bed with Vera! I'm staying here with my family and getting to know my parents. Maybe I'll come over for a visit, but otherwise there's nothing keeping me in Germany at the moment!" That's not quite true, but he cheated on her, so she might as well start fibbing. Without saying another word, she hangs up. As soon as the connection is interrupted, she starts to cry.

So she just lies on her bed for a few hours, ignoring all her duties. Helen and Johanna are the only ones to hear about the call, but even they know that Carlotta simply needs her rest now. At some point in the afternoon, they send the cook upstairs with a large packet of lemon sorbet and later the doctor also drops by. But Carlotta sticks to her guns and doesn't let anyone tell her anything, not even her aunt or her best friends.
Night falls and Carlotta even leaves the lemon sorbet. In the meantime, it has also melted and been put away by a servant. They leave the "wildcat" alone in her isolation, because at least June Warren has already noticed how quickly Carlotta becomes aggressive.
As dawn slowly breaks, Carlotta lies awake on her bed, eyes red with tears, yawning. On silent soles she runs into the stable to Arriba and Manadis, just to have her two angels around her. But instead of just snuggling down in the straw, she mounts the Icelandic mare and rides off towards the sunrise.