The Secret Life of Haans Gerhardt

Untitled Part 14

Chapter 15

Haans Gerhardt sat at his desk in his office, staring out the window at the street below. His thoughts were not on work, but on his wife and their boys. Knowing that he must tell Susan the truth about himself, he sighed, then pressed the button on his phone marked, "secretary". "Yes, sir?" answered a female voice. Haans cleared his throat. "Emily, make reservations for me and Susan tonight at Chez Monet, please." he told her. "Yes, sir." replied Emily, a middle-aged, red-head. Her green eyes twinkled as she called Chez Monet.

She remembered fondly that her husband had taken her there for their anniversary. She smiled warmly as she remembered how he had rung their doorbell that evening. She opened the door to Shawn, her husband, in his dress uniform. He was in the Army. At dinner that night, he told her that he had been ordered to leave the next morning for Camp Shelby, to train for another tour in Iraq. She had cried, but she understood.

As she hung up the phone, she looked at the picture of Shawn that she kept on her desk. She wiped away a tear as it slid down her face. She would never forget the day she got the news of Shawn's death. He had been killed a month into his tour. His last selfless act was to throw himself in front of a fellow soldier, saving him from being shot. Emily was presented with his American flag, his purple heart, and his bronze star. Shawn earned a place in Arlington.

Emily pushed the memory to the back of her mind and picked up the phone. After two rings, a man with a French accent answered.

"Bonjour. Merci for calling Chez Monet. This is Philippe. How may I assist you?" said the man.

"I would like to make a reservation for two tonight, please." replied Emily.

"Of course, Madame." said Philippe. "What is the name that you wish to have on the reservation?" he asked.

"Gerhardt" Emily told him.

"Reservations for Gerhardt have been made for tonight at 7 pm, Madame. Merci." said Philippe.

"And thank you, Philippe." replied Emily as she hung up the phone.

She then took a note and slipped it under Haans' office door. He picked it up and read it.

Sir,

Reservations have been made for tonight at 7:00pm

Emily

Haans smiled nervously. He loved romantic dates with his wife, but he feared this one would not end well.

Chapter 16

After lunch, Haans called Susan. "Ask your sister if she can watch the boys this evening." he told her. When she asked why, he told her that he wanted to take her out, just the two of them. "Alright." Susan finally said.

As it was Susan's day off, she had been cleaning the house. She went through the house, room by room, sweeping, mopping, dusting, and straightening. All was going well until she reached the room that Haans had turned into his home office. This room was off limits to Susan and the boys, but Susan wanted to help her husband by tidying up his office for him. She had just about finished organizing his paperwork for him when she came across something strange.

This strange document Susan found contained a photo of Haans, but a different name. The name on the document was Harold Fitzgerald, and the man was from Austria. Susan was shocked to the core. How was this possible? She tried to push the idea that her husband was leading a double life out of her mind, but she couldn't. As she finished straightening Haans' desk, she carefully tucked the document into the top center desk drawer and went to their bedroom to get ready for their date.

Susan looked at herself in the mirror of the master bathroom. She looked her reflection right in the eyes and asked out loud, "Who is that man?" She felt she didn't truly know Haans. She didn't even know if Haans Gerhardt was his real name.

As Susan got into the shower, she tried to clear her head. She had to be rational in the way she handled this. She had been with Haans for the last twelve years. How could she not have sensed this about him? As she finished her shower and got dressed, she put on her best smile and pushed all her anger to the back of her mind. She would confront him at dinner. Until then, she would calmly pack a bag for her and the boys and drop them off at her sister, Heidi's, house. She was determined to leave him, as she couldn't stay with a man she didn't even know. She couldn't help but wonder what else Haans could be hiding, so she walked down the staircase and back into his office to look around some more. What she found next shocked her even more than finding out that he had an alias. Behind a folder in his file cabinet, Susan found notes and details on a string of robberies, including Hillside Coffee Shoppe. Just as she put the notes back where she had found them, she heard the back door open and close. Haans was home.

Chapter 17

Once he returned home from the hunting cabin, Steven called Julia. "Would you and Scott like to come over for dinner?" he asked. He needed a female presence in the house, if only for a little while. And, though he was still faithful to the memory of Helen, he found Julia quite attractive. He wasn't ready to move on yet, but he wanted a friend. Someone to talk to. Truthfully, he missed Helen dearly, and he doubted he would ever love again.

"I'd love to, Steven." replied Julia over the phone. "I'll bring the boys back around six." she said. Steven looked at the clock. Three hours was plenty of time to cook some deer burgers and homemade French fries. "Sounds great." said Steven. He smiled as he hung up the phone.

As Steven cookes, he couldn't stop thinking about seeing Sabrina and Joe at the bait shop. Sabrina never went away unless someone was looking after her grandmother, and her brother, Sabrina had said, was out of town indefinitely. Then, something clicked in Steven's mind. Sabrina bore a striking resemblance to the dead suspect at the coffee shoppe. He hated to think it, but he began to think Sabrina may be somehow involved in the robbery, beyond just being a victim. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, Steven finished grilling the burgers and started cutting the potatoes for the fries. Julia and the boys would be there soon, and he wanted everything to be ready.