The Secret Life of Haans Gerhardt

Untitled Part 12

Chapter 13

Early one morning, about two weeks after the Hillside Robbery, Haans Gerhardt got an anonymous phone call. 

"Hallo?" he answered the phone. "Who is this?" he asked when no one said anything back. 

Then came the most unexpected reply.

 "I am the one who will bring you down," said the caller, and then the line went dead. 

Haans turned white as a hospital sheet as he slowly returned the phone to its base.

"Is everything ok, Dear?" asked Susan as she into the kitchen to prepare his breakfast. 

Haans looked at his wife, a calming presence in his crazy life, and reached out to stroke her long, soft hair, not yet put up for her day at the office. 

"Everything is good, meine frau." he said as he leaned over the back of her shoulder and kissed her cheek. 

She set down the cup of coffee she had poured for him and turned around to face him. Standing on her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her tiny waist in his hands. They kissed, a passionate, romantic kiss. 

As they parted, she asked him, "Are you sure you don't want to talk about something?"

"Everything is fine!" he snapped. 

Susan jumped back, surprised at his harsh tone toward her. In their twelve years of marriage, he had never spoken harshly to her. 

"Alright." she sighed, trying not to let the hurt be heard in her voice, or seen in her expression. 

She felt as though he had physically slapped her, though he hadn't touched her at all. She quietly served his breakfast and newspaper, then took her own plate to the dining room, where she allowed herself to break down into silent sobs, out of Haans' sight.

In the other room, Haans sat, staring at his coffee, watching the steam roll off the top thoughtfully. He felt terrible about the way he had just treated Susan. He decided that he should apologize. So, he took his coffee to the dining room and pulled out the chair beside her. As he sat down, he noticed her drying her eyes with her sweater sleeve.

"Oh, meine schatzie..." he whispered, ashamed of himself for causing his beloved to cry. "I am truly sorry," he said gently as he reached for her hand. 

Susan pulled her hand away. 

"Twelve years, Haans," she said. "Twelve years we've been married, and never once have you spoken harshly to me." she told him. "What is going on?" she demanded to know, trying desperately to keep herself collected.

"I am sorry, love." he replied. "It's just some trouble at work," he lied. "Nothing to worry about, and certainly no excuse for the way I spoke to you." he told her. 

He looked at her as he spoke, then down at the table. She stood up, paced around the dining room for a minute, then sat back down. 

She laid her hand on his arm and said, "Haans, dear, it's alright. We all get stressed out from work. But you have got to stop holding it in. It only makes things worse on you. I love you." she said. 

She leaned over and kissed his cheek. And with that, all was forgiven, and Haans left for work.

During his commute, Haans mentally kicked himself over and over again. You stupid oaf! he thought to himself. You almost blew it. he told himself. He continued to beat himself up all the way to the office. How could he be so careless? What would have happened if Susan had answered that phone all instead of Haans? He decided that he had to tell Susan the truth. He decided that after work, he would take her out for a nice dinner, just the two of them. He would tell her everything as they ate, hoping against all hope that she wouldn't take the boys and run away from him for it. Pushing the troubling thoughts to the back of his mind, Haans stepped out of his car and walked into his office building.