My German lover : Part 7

When Hitler went down the railway car, after his conditions had been dictated to the French officers, and as he walked not too far from where Will and Lutz were standing, they could see how triumphant the Fuhrer looked. They stood at attention, while the "Deutschland Über Alles " and the "Horst Wessel Lied" were played by an army band... Then, they saw him leave...

"Shit", Will later said... "I knew it would be big... but not that big..."

"I know... Now, let's go, cause the French officers and their own translators may need our help...", Lutz replied.

Not knowing what was going at Rethondes, Paul was busy taking a call from the Swiss Embassy, where his presence was requested because, it seemed, they had an important message for him there...

Later that day, monsieur Pierre drove Paul to the Embassy, where he was greeted by the Ambassador himself...

The Ambassador explained that they had received a very long message from the Swiss Embassy in Lisbon. Because the message was coded, it took some time before the text had been established, the Ambassador explained. The message was from monsieur le Ministre De Brion, Paul's father...

Pas was stunned... Why Lisbon, of all places?

"Because Portugal is not at war with Germany...", the Ambassador explained...

Then, the Ambassador introduced Paul to a young guy who was part of the Ambassador's staff. His name was Franz, and Paul should have complete confidence in him, the Ambassador explained. Franz would assist Paul writing his reply to his father, since the reply had to be coded before it was sent... But first, Paul could take all his time, reading his father's message, as they would be at his disposal when need be... The Ambassador gave Paul the dispatch, and showed him to a private room.

Paul started reading it, as his hands were shaking. He was glad he was alone...

In the long message, Paul's father explained that all the family had fled to Lisbon, where they intended to leave for America. As a member of the French Cabinet, Paul's father had refused to be associated with the most recent decisions made by the Government, and had prefered to give his resignation! Paul's father didn't intend to come back to Paris... and he would not come back until the Germans had left...

His father had heard his own mother had died, and he wanted Paul to join them in Lisbon so, as soon as possible, they could all leave for America. All would be arranged by the Swiss Embassy, and Paul didn't have to worry about a thing, the message said. A quick reply from Paul was expected.

Paul took his time, reading the message twice.

Then he informed the Ambassador he was ready to reply...

"You don't have to worry, young man, there will be no danger for you to travel to Lisbon... You will travel there in an official car from the Embassy, with Swiss papers...", the Ambassador kindly said to Paul.

"Thank you very much, Sir, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right here, in Paris... and I have my own plans...", Paul replied.

"Oh but...", the Ambassador replied...

"Yes, Sir... I'm ready to write my reply to my father..."

"Of course..., Please follow me..."

They went to Franz's office, where Paul sat. Franz smiled to him, and Paul found he was a very good-looking guy... In fact, Franz looked a lot like Paul... same hair colour, same green eyes... except he was a bit smaller than Paul... about 5'10, Paul would say...

"Now my young friend, I leave you with Franz here... He will help you in anyway he can with your reply... And should you need my assistance, please, just ask for me... Your father and I are good friends, and we will help you the best we can..." the Ambassador explained, with a very kind smile on his face.

"Thank you very much, monsieur l'Ambassadeur..." Paul replied.

After the Ambassador had left, Franz looked at Paul and said:

"Now, Sir, what is your reply?"

"Call me Paul, please... no "Sir" with me, please..."

"Okay Paul... you can call me Franz... it's gonna be easier..."

"Yeah!", Paul answered... "Now, let's work on that reply..."

So Paul explained to his father he was glad they were all safe in Lisbon, that he understood his father's motivations, not wanting to come back to Paris, but that for his part, he didn't want to leave Paris. He went on explaining that everything was all right, here in Paris... and that he was alright. He further explained all about his plans... that he could managed the family business, here in Paris, with the help of Maître Lanlois, their Attorney, and that his father could supervise the whole thing from New-York... Paul added he had already gone through all the important papers, and that he knew what he was doing.

He also added: "I'm growing up, dad... and I've grown a lot since you have left. Let me live my life... I'll make you proud!"

Paul also said that he was very resolute with his decisions, and that he would not go to Lisbon. The reply ended with Paul saying he loved them all... He missed them... and that in the future, they could communicate through the Swiss Embassy, or even through the American Embassy here, in Paris...

Franz was stunned by the reply...

"Are you sure you want me to send that reply?, he asked Paul...

"Yep! That's it. I had time to think, you know... over the last few days... I know what I'm doing! And I'm gonna do it!", Paul replied.

"Okay then...", Franz answered, grinning... Now, I'm gonna type your message on that machine over there... The machine will code it, then we can send it to our Embassy in Lisbon... Don't worry, the Germans can't decipher our code... and we change it quite often...

"Take your time... I'm in no hurry..." Paul replied, smiling at Franz.

After a while, the whole message was coded and sent to Lisbon.

"Now, I'm sure that, later, we'll receive a reply from your father", Franz said...

"That's to be expected, I guess... But in the meantime, why don't we go out and have something to eat... I'm starving... Are you free for lunch? You're my guest..." Paul asked Franz...

"Thanks... There's no obligation, you know..."

"I insist...", Paul replied, smiling at Franz...

"Give me five minutes... I'll check with the Ambassador, to make sure he doesn't need me..."

"Sure..."

Later on, Franz was back with a big smile on his face, saying he was free to go, but didn't know where they would find something open, not too far from the Embassy...

"Will find something...", Paul replied... "Come on..."

So they walked for a while and, true enough, they found a small place opened for business, where they could order a decent meal.

While they were eating, Paul could sense Franz was checking him out... Taking glances at Paul, when he thought Paul was not looking... It was obvious to Paul that Franz felt attracted to him... "He must be gay...", Paul thought. Although he's very attractive, Paul thought, he's in for a big disappointment...

After their lunch, they walked back to the Embassy, and Paul had no doubt by now that Franz was indeed checking him, all over...

They went back to Franz's office, and waited for a reply to come in... making small talk in the meantime...

"Eighteen. I'll be nineteen next August... And you?"

"Twenty", Franz answered.

"Same age as my friend Will..."

"Oh... and who is Will, may I ask?"

"Look, Franz... I won't play cat and mouse with you... I'm gay, and Will is my boyfriend. And I'm maddly in love with him. That's the reason why I want to stay in Paris. I'm not leaving him..."

"WOW! You're a direct and honest guy, Paul", Franz answered....

"Well I feel that to you, I can tell the thruth..."

"Why?"

"Because I saw how you were checking me out, earlier... and, unless I'm mistaken, I think you're gay too, Franz... And if so, I want you to know I'm already taken... you know..."

Now Franz was blushing scarlet red, hearing Paul say that...

"Is it so obvious?", Franz asked, looking at the carpet...

"No. No... That's not what I mean Franz... You don't look like a fag at all... You're very masculin... Very good-looking... and I swear if I was not so much in love with Will, I could fall for a guy like you...", Paul answered.

"Thanks Paul... You see... it's not easy to find a nice decent guy... And as you know, I can't go around, saying I'm gay and that I'm looking for someone to love... If they new I'm gay, here at the Embassy, I would loose my job..."

"I understand", Paul replied... "But I'm sure you'll find someone... Somewhere, there's a nice guy waiting for you... You'll find him. Don't worry..."

"I hope so... When I saw you earlier... I thought you were that guy... you know... I even experienced shortness of breath, seeing you... You're so..."

"Gorgeous?", Paul said, laughing...

"Yeah!... That's what..."

"I know... Will says that all the time to me... But then, that's what I say to him too... cause he's really gorgeous..."

"You're so lucky, Paul..."

"So Franz, I sure can't be your boyfriend... but we could be friends... you know... if you're okay with that, that is..."

"I would love to be friend with you Paul... Sure... (...) Hey: Something is comming in... look..."

Indeed, a reply from the Swiss Embassy in Lisbon was comming in... Franz took a pen and started to write it down... Paul looked, but the message didn't make sense to him... He kept silent, as Franz kept writing it down, pages after pages...

Then, Franz stop writing.

Franz took all the pages and began typing the text on the machine. As Paul watched, he could see that, on the other side of the special machine, a new text was appearing...

"How does it work?", Paul asked...

"Oh, it's very simple... as simple as ABC... the coded message is sent over the air waves...

"But then, anybody can hear it?", Paul said...

"Yeah... but what they would hear would mean nothing to them... You've got to have this machine here to decipher the message... No machine... no message... And do I need to tell you those machines are highly secret... and closely kept... You've seen the guards outside, at the door?"

"Yes..."

"Well, they would shoot anyone trying to get in here without proper clearance... Now Paul, take the message and read it. Do you want to go to a more private place to read it?"

"No need Franz... you're my friend and I can trust you, as the Ambassador said...", Paul answered, smiling.

Paul read the message.

His father understood. He was glad Paul was growing up, and he was proud of him. His mother was not too happy with the whole idea... but would respect Paul's decision: She had to, because there was no way they could force Paul to come to Lisbon... Yes, Paul was requested to make contact with Maître Langlois, who would be very helpful... Through the Swiss Embassy, Paul's father would make all the necessary arrangements so that Paul could take charge, not only of their business in Paris, but also in Switzerland... And from New-York, Paul's father would take charge of their business in America. Once a week they would communicate through the Swiss Embassy... Paul's father would tell the Ambassador how to proceed... Paul didn't need to worry about that, since the Ambassador was a good friend of his, and the Swiss knew that the De Brion had large investments in Switzerland: That would help a lot... A few other details were also examined by Paul's father, then the message ended with a short note from his mother... telling him how much she loved him... How much they all loved him..."

"YEAH!!!" Paul shouted, jumping to his feet!

Franz stared at him, not knowing what to say or do...

"YEAH!!!, I'm staying in Paris... and I'm in charge! YEAH!!! Now, I guess I must speak to the Ambassador...", Paul said.

"Yes... Maybe we could call his office and see if he's available...", Franz answered with a smile...

A moment later, Paul and Franz were sitting with the Ambassador, in his office... and Paul was showing him the message they had just received from Lisbon... The Ambassador read it, then said:

"Well, I think your father is right, being proud of you young man... And I'll always be there for you... to help you and assist you... You can count on me as well an the Embassy's staff...", The Ambassador said, looking at Paul, then at Franz...

"Absolutely...", Franz answered, smiling at Paul.

"Thank you, Sir... And thank you Franz for your help...", Paul replied.

As Paul was leaving the Embassy, he looked at Franz and said to him:

"Hey, give me your phone number... you already have mine, don't you? So, we can call each other... you know..."

"My pleasure", Franz replied with a very big smile, as he gave Paul his phone number.

Paul left the Swiss Embassy and went back home, where he held a small meeting with madame Louise and her husband, to let them know about his father, and tell them he was now in charge... Everything went smooth, and Paul was very satisfied with their reactions...

On Friday, Paul finally got in thouch with Maître Langlois, who was back and had already received a long message from Paul's father, through the Swiss Embassy...

On that day, Paul met with the Attorney and they agreed that on Monday, June 24th, they would call a meeting of all the company's employees present, and that, first, Maître Langlois would explain the situation to them and then, Paul would make a small speech. He would tell the employees that, from now on, he was the boss here in Paris, and that they were all expected to fulfil their duties with the same efficiency as they had in the past, under his father's management. To those who could resent his new management, due to his young age, Paul would make it very clear he was expecting their resignation, and that a severance pay would be paid to them. But anyone who would decide to stay now, and later challenge his leadership would then be fired on the spot, without pay!

Further more, Paul gave Maître Langlois a list of things he would need and, among them were direct phone lines to Geneva, New-York and... Berlin!

"Berlin?", the Attorney asked... "But you don't do business in Germany, as far as I know..."