Chapter V
Johann stepped outside and turned his face up to the sun, glad to be outside again. It was Sunday and that had meant church services. Johann took his faith seriously and did not view going to church as a burden as some did, but that did not mean that he wasn't sometimes very happy when services finally ended. He was especially not sorry to see them end on days when the temperature outside turned the atmosphere inside the church with it's crush of bodies into something just this side of unbearable. And there was, of course, the fact that the end of church meant the beginning of an afternoon of peace and quiet on the riverbank. When the world narrowed down to just him, the river, and his fishing pole.
He looked around through the crowd milling about until he spotted Artur and began moving toward him. As he walked over to where his friend stood he cast a look over his shoulder to where Alise walked behind him. For the first time he noticed the way she smoothed her dress and patted at her hair to make sure it was just right as she followed in his wake. The smile that had been on Johann's face since escaping the church slipped and was replaced by a thoughtful frown. Last week's conversation with Alise had been running through his mind again and again. Whenever he had found himself a free moment on the farm, which was not very often, he had gone back to it. Try as he might, though, he couldn't decide exactly how he felt about the whole thing.
He had hoped that today he would get some relief from it all. The one and only thing that he knew of that could completely clear a man's mind was fishing. However, the problem was coming along with him today. In a way it would have been already with Artur being there and all, but what was really making the whole damn thing come to the forefront was the fact that his sister was coming along too. She had asked him last night before the two of them had gone to bed if he would mind her coming along to the river with them, and had even offered to make a picnic lunch to sweeten the deal. He had thought hard about saying no, but had granted her request in the end and a picnic basket now sat next to his fishing pole in the wagon that had brought them into town. He wasn't sure yet if he approved of the idea of her and Artur, but who was he to tell her where she could and couldn't go? Suddenly his frown deepened as a disturbing thought slipped into his mind: Did the fact that he had allowed Alise to come along mean that he did approve of her and Artur in some way? He shook his head as if to clear it of the thought. He was almost to where Artur was standing now and he forced a smile back onto his face. If his smile wasn't quite so bright as it usually was... then so what?
Artur, for his part, was grinning from ear to ear as he reached out to shake Johann's hand. He was wearing a new suit, one that had obviously been tailor made for him. Artur always wore something different to church on Sundays in contrast to Johann and Alise who always wore the same outfits. Their "Sunday bests" they called them. Johann took the offered hand and nodded a greeting to Artur. Alise came to stand alongside him and said, "Hello, Artur."
Artur's grin somehow managed to widen as he turned in her direction and offered her a slight bow before replying, "Hello, Alise. You look lovely today."
Alise looked away so that Artur wouldn't see her blush and Johann's mouth twisted into in a grimace. He usually ignored it when Artur said things like that because he knew that Artur was just being nice. Knowing now what kind of effect those comments had on his sister, he wished that Artur would just say hello and leave the compliments out. He was about to broach the subject of Alise coming along on their fishing excursion when none other than Elsa Huber suddenly appeared at Artur's side, coming to stand as close to him as propriety would allow. She was wearing a blue dress which Johann noted was similar in color to her eyes and that looked impossibly expensive. He was sure that it probably came from some fancy shop in Vienna. It was complimented by a like colored hat perched atop her head. From under it long, golden hair cascaded down her neck. Johann had to admit one thing: Artur wasn't wrong about thinking her to be beautiful.
Artur, who seemed to have gained some color in his cheeks all of a sudden, gestured to them and said, "Elsa, these are my friends Johann and Alise Bauer."
Elsa smiled and extended her hand, palm down. Johann reached out and took it briefly before letting it drop. Elsa's smile slipped for a moment when he did so, but was soon back at full strength. Johann ignored that. If she had expected him to kiss her hand, then she was as stupid as she was pretty. Elsa then turned to his sister who said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Elsa." Johann was impressed that she actually sounded like she meant it too.
The four stood looking at one another awkwardly after that. Seeking to break the silence, Alise pointed to Elsa's ensemble and said, "Your dress is very pretty."
Elsa preened for a moment and replied, "Thank you. It's from Vienna." She then eyed Alise's old and much used dress and said, "Your dress is very umm... nice. Very..." She trailed off then as if unable or unwilling to come up with some way of complimenting Alise and Johann suddenly found himself beginning to rather dislike this young woman. He decided to move things along by asking, "Artur, shall we make for the river?" Alise is..."
Artur interrupted him there by saying, "Actually, we're going to have to skip fishing this week, Johann."
"What? Why?"
Artur rubbed a hand at the back of his neck as if not sure how best to explain. Elsa gave him a strange look and then answered for him, "Artur and I are going for a walk and then having a picnic. I thought that it would be nice for us to spend the afternoon together."
Johann looked at Artur incredulously as Alise made an undecipherable sound next to him. He took his eyes from Artur and turned to his sister who had a look on her face as if she had been punched in the stomach. Her eyes seemed to begin to glisten and in a tight voice she said, "Excuse me, I believe I hear my mother calling me."
Johann watched her go for a moment before turning back to Artur and saying, "But we go fishing every Sunday. We have for years."
Elsa laughed at him then and said, "Really, Johann. It's not as if the river won't be there next week." She then tugged at Artur's elbow and said, "Come on, Artur. It's time to go."
Artur gave him an apologetic wave goodbye before turning to follow Elsa. He watched their retreating forms for awhile before turning and walking over to the wagon. Alise was leaning against it with her head down and her hands tightly gripping the sides of her dress. He moved next to her and leaned back against the side of the wagon. She didn't look up at him which made him assume that she was either crying, or working hard to make sure that she didn't. He said, "Forget about her. She's just a rich brat. Artur's a smart guy and he'll realize that before long."
She raised her head enough for him to see her face and gave him a weak smile. Johann was happy to see that she wasn't crying. He gestured toward the inside of the wagon and said, "Come on, let's the two of us go down to the river instead. We'll fish a little and enjoy that lunch you made."
She smiled again to show that she appreciated him trying to cheer her up but said, "You go ahead without me."
Johann shook his head and replied, "But that's too much food for me to eat by myself."
"Who are you kidding?", asked Alise. "I've seen you eat." Johann laughed and she went on, "Besides, you only have one pole and I don't know how to fish."
"So you learn how and we take turns.", offered Johann.
Still, Alise shook her head. Johann walked to the back of the wagon and grabbed the basket and his pole. Walking back over to Alise he held out the basket and said, "You know, Artur might like a girl who knows how to fish."
Alise bit her lower lip and thought that over a moment before reaching out to take the basket from her brother's outstretched hand. Johann reached back into the wagon and pulled out a small container filled with bait and the two set off for the river together.