“An event like this calls for something stronger than coffee, eh?” Wolfgang said in English, but with a heavy German accent that Shaw had a little difficulty following. Wolfgang poured out the drinks, sat down, and stared expectantly up at Shaw, who leaned nervously against a rough-hewn wooden mantel.
“Anna has told us much about you,” Wolfgang began in a helpful tone.
Natascha came back in with the coffee and some cakes on a tray. She looked disapprovingly at the glass of cognac in her husband’s hand.
“It is not yet four o’clock,” she said in a scolding tone.
Her husband grinned. “Shaw here was just about to say something.”
Natascha sat and poured out the coffee, but she shot anxious glances at their visitor.
Shaw felt the perspiration staining his armpits. He almost never broke a sweat from nerves, even when people were shooting at him. He felt like a schoolboy on his first date. His mouth was dry; his legs seemed unable to support his weight.
“I came here to ask you something,” he finally said, sitting down opposite them.
I might as well just say it. He looked directly at Dad. “Would you have a problem with me marrying your daughter?”
Wolfgang glanced at his wife, his lips curling into a smile. Natascha dabbed her eyes with a tea napkin.
Wolfgang lurched up, pulled Shaw to his feet, and gave him a bear hug that made Shaw’s ribs ache. Laughing, he boomed, “Does that answer your question?”
Natascha nimbly got to her feet, took Shaw’s hand in a firm grip, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said in a quiet voice, “You have made Anna so happy. Never has she talked of anyone as she does you. Never. Has she, Wolfie?”
He shook his head. “And she makes you happy, yes, I am sure?”
“Happier than I’ve ever been.”
“When will the wedding be?” asked Natascha. “It will be here, of course, where her family is?”
Wolfgang looked at her crossly. “Well, what of Shaw’s family? Maybe they do not like to come to a small village like this.” He slapped Shaw on the arm, unfortunately on the spot where he’d been winged by the bullet in Scotland. It was all Shaw could do not to cry out in pain.
“Here will be fine,” he said. “I, uh, I have no family.” The Fischers looked at him curiously. “I was an orphan.”
Natascha’s bottom lip trembled. “Anna did not tell us this. I am sorry.”
Wolfgang said, “But now you have family. Lots of family. In Wisbach alone there are ten Fischers. If you include Karlsruhe and Stuttgart, it is many more. In Germany, thousands, is that not right, Tasha?”
“But not all will be coming to the wedding,” Natascha said hastily.
“Grandchildren,” Wolfgang said, staring at Shaw, a broad smile on his face. “Finally, I will have grandchildren. You and Anna will have a big family of course.”
“Wolfgang,” Natascha said sternly, “that is none of our business. And Anna is not that young anymore. She has a career, a very important career. And it is in the hands of God. We wanted many children but only had Anna.”
“Well, not a huge family then,” Wolfgang amended. “No more than four or five.”
“We’ll do the best we can,” Shaw replied uneasily.
“Anna said you were a consultant,” Wolfgang continued. “What is it that you consult in?”
Shaw wondered if the daughter had suggested this line of questioning to force him to tell her parents what he’d already confided in her.
“International relations,” he answered.
“Is there much work in this international relations?” Wolfgang asked.
“More than you can possibly imagine.” Then he added, “Well, actually it’s a bit more than that.” As they looked on expectantly, he leaned against the wall. The stout wood seemed to stiffen his resolve. “I work with an agency that helps make the world safer.”
They exchanged glances. Wolfgang said, “You are like a policeman? A policeman of the world?”