A visit

Paul’s mother, Sarah, and her fiancé, Phillip Martin, came over in early June, with gifts for her son and his beloved Solange. Now they are sitting on the wide balcony under Paul’s artistic canopy, in the late afternoon sunshine. Sarah and Phillip have just announced that they will get married in September. Solange and Paul stand up, all smiles, to congratulate them: Paul shakes hands with Phillip, and gives his mum a bear hug. Sarah says they would marry in France, in a small church they both know: the basilique of L’Épine, near Châlons. This news sends Paul into deep thoughts. Of course he and Sarah drove past the basilique on their way to Rheims, not that long ago. Phillip is, like Solange’s mother, a Champenois, born and bred.

Residents

Outside, the Tegelsee crowd has graduated to the summer look, short skirts, shorts and T-shirts. Children run around with ice cream cornets, watched over by cheeky seagulls. Paul goes to the kitchen and come back with glasses and an ice-cold bottle of Champagne. The four of them toast to Sarah’s and Phillip’s happiness. Paul is happy for his mother, and so is Solange. Sarah asks Paul if he’s willing to walk her to the church. Paul refills their glass, thinking that he would rather do it than anyone else. They kiss. They talk about the friends the couple, Sarah and Phillip, wish to invite. There is a UK group headed by Jane and Sarah’s close collaborators. The French side consists of Phillip’s university colleagues, most of them known to Solange. Then there is a list of Berlin residents, which Sarah says she wants to discuss with Paul, as it consists of contacts he, Paul, and herself have known over the years. Sarah gives her son a list she’s put in an old guide of Châlons.

A relaxed evening

In Paul’s mind dance pictures of Notre Dame de l’Épine, of the cathedral in Châlons, and of Gendarmenmarkt. The conversation now moves to a holiday they want to take, in Russia. Phillip is keen to visit St Petersburg and Moscow, Sarah’s more ambitious and wants to travel as far as the East coast. Paul has booked a table at the fish restaurant on the waterfront, a few steps from the apartment.

The ladies retire to change and dress for dinner. Phillip and Paul carry on chatting for a while and then get busy with their attire for the evening. Phillip gives Paul a provisional list of invitees for the wedding, then they finish the champagne waiting for the ladies. The restaurant is busy at the front, and their table is one of the place’s secrets, on the first floor, in a smaller room with only four tables. Paul reflects that their ladies are beautiful, his lover, Solange, of course, a French beauty in the immemorial sense, blond and sculptural, and Sarah, now, he reflects, at the summit of her beauty and attractiveness. Phillip has only eyes for her, as the four talk about travel plans, and never mention Julian. A waiter brings a bottle of ice-cold Sekt, and they order a promising fish dish of North Sea fare. They toast again, Sarah and Solange kiss, Solange speaks about how easy for her it was to settle in Berlin, and that she loves Tegel. Sarah asks what is happening with the park development in the location of what was Tegel airport. Solange says that it looks promising, and that she would like to talk about real estate with her, Sarah, as there may be opportunities there, now that the senate has ruled over property and rental prices with decisiveness. They drink the Sekt, joke about how their studies have led them in this lovely spot. Their fish arrives, and they continue enjoying the meal.

Later Paul would recall how happy he’d felt at this point. The conversation went back to the wedding. Paul picked up Phillip’s list from his pocket, and notices there is only a headline under “Berlin”. So, he would have to read Sarah’s own list of Berlin guests to complete the picture. Paul says he would like to invite Magda, his mentor at Humboldt’s… 

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