Annaliese & Gunther

Despite everything that had happened so far, Günther was determined that he and Annaliese stay in New York City. Two years after they left Germany so they could start their new life together in the U.S., he was more than determined to keep up his end of his vows, “haben und halten” (to have and to hold), “für Reiche und Arme” (for richer or poorer), “im Guten wie im Schlechten” (for better or worse), “in Krankheit und Gesundheit” (in sickness and health)... “bis dass der Tod uns scheidet” (till death do us part).

One of those vows included “in Krankheit und Gesundheit” (in sickness and health). It was his responsibility to care for her, after her serious injury she’d sustained last week during their skiing trip. She’d suffered from severe head trauma that led to post-traumatic amnesia, and doctors had anticipated that she’d regain her memory by the end of the following week or so.

No matter what, Günther was still determined to serve as her primary caretaker. He did not want to risk putting Annaliese’s life in the care of strangers, not in New York City, a large city often filled with crowded strangers from left, right, and center. He vowed to be her everything, and that’s what he intended to do until his final day on Earth.

Due to her condition, Annaliese was mostly homebound, spending most of the day either lying in bed or on the living room couch. If she didn’t watch television, she’d read a book or occupy herself with the use of her cellular phone, trying to stay connected with friends and family back home on social media. Other times, she simply sat on the couch staring at the ceiling, as if she was spacing out. It felt nothing but boring to her, being “trapped” in the house and unable to find a way to regain her memory after the accident.

Günther was patient and loving, knowing full well this was what he had agreed to when he said those vows two years ago. For the past week, he’d done everything for her, such as bathing her, feeding her—or if they were short of food or other supplies in their apartment—he’d gone out to buy all that they needed so she could be fed. During all those times when he’d step out of the house to buy their necessities, he fully trusted her to be on her own and get her much-needed rest. He had no reason to worry about her while he was out of the house, and so far, she’d given him no reason not to trust her.

On that Saturday morning, she was still lying in bed, facing her right side. He came over to her side, glanced down at her large hazel eyes and smiled. “What would you like for breakfast, Mein Liebling (my darling)?”

“What is there to eat?” she murmured as she gradually sat up in bed.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to check and see if we have anything we can make; otherwise, I’ll go to the store to buy some food.”

“Want me to come check with you?” She smiled.

“No, it’s fine, Anna,” he said softly as he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You just stay here in bed and don’t move around too much. I’ll go check for you.”

“Okay.” She nodded in understanding, then she took out her book to read while Günther went to the kitchen to see what they had that he could make for them this morning. They appeared to have everything they needed for the moment: margarine, milk, cheese, fruit juices, bread… Except for eggs. There’s nothing Annaliese loved more than eggs, along with a side of liverwurst. As a child, she loved helping her mother cook and liverwurst was her favorite meal to prepare. But now that she couldn’t do such a simple thing she loved to do, she counted on her loving, patient husband to do it for her.

He returned to the room to inform her of what they had and didn’t have. “We need more eggs and tea. How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t mind.” She smiled. “Are those the only things you’ll get?”

“That would be all, Anna. I promise you. I’ll be back in an hour at the latest.” He had never gone out for more than an hour, but every 15 minutes or so that he’d been out of the house, he’d reach out to Annaliese by calling her or messaging her, asking how she was doing each minute. It made her understand that he was still looking out for her, even from afar. He knew it was a part of his duty to check up on her every so often. He knew she appreciated it, but he also knew that she’d laugh and tell him to stop “worrying so much” about her. Though he couldn’t help but worry a little bit about her while he was gone. She was his wife, after all… His companion for life. They were on this journey together. A journey that started back in Berlin and continued in New York City.

“Come here.” She grinned, and he came up to her, gave her a nice warm hug, and they shared a brief kiss on the lips. “I love you so much, mein geliebter Ehemann (my darling husband). Nothing can ever change that.”

“I feel the same way, Annaliese,” he said softly. “You’ll be okay by yourself for a while, will you not?”

“Yes, indeed. You know me by now, don’t you?”

“Of course I do, Meine Liebe (My love).” He nodded. “I trust that you feel free to reach me at any time.” He put his cellular phone in his pocket, and she blew a kiss out to him as he left.

_______

As Günther made his way inside the subway heading to 766 6th Ave to the Fairway Market of Chelsea, he took his seat and got out his phone to send Annaliese a brief message on his current whereabouts: Jetzt in der U-Bahn. Bis bald, meine Liebe (On the subway now. See you soon, my love). She immediately replied with three heart emojis, her way of telling him that she loved him.

Each minute, the subway was filled with others leaving for their stop and entering for their ride to wherever they needed to be. It was louder when people were on than it was when they were leaving, so Günther had learned to familiarize himself with the loud passengers and quiet ones, most of whom were a combination of friendly and not-so-friendly. He made conversation with the quiet, friendly ones—a rare combination of passengers—and in the past two years that he and Annaliese were U.S. citizens, not once had they ever been victims of any random violent assaults from strangers, on the subways or off. This city was their safe haven away from home, more than a thousand miles from halfway around the world.

Soon, it was his stop, and he and five other female passengers got off the subway at the same time. He glanced at his watch: 9:15. Berlin time was six hours ahead of U.S. time—specifically the New York EST zone—so in Berlin, it was 15 after three in the afternoon. The whole morning had flown by in the blink of an eye for their families and relatives back home, but here in New York City, the day was just getting started. He had plenty of time in the world, so he knew he had nothing to worry about by keeping Annaliese waiting. She knew him very well, and she would be fully refreshed from her night’s rest and ready for breakfast by the time he returned from the grocery store.

He had never been to the Fairway Market—well, at least not in this area of the city—so when he entered the store, he asked the manager to direct him to the sections for beverages and dairy, for tea and eggs, respectively. “Thank you.” He smiled politely at her after she led him to the aisle of beverages that not only included tea but also coffee, juice, soda, water and others.

Annaliese didn’t have a preference for tea; she loved all kinds just the same. She was not a huge fan of coffee, but Günther was, so he decided to buy one pack of the Bowl & Basket light roast cinnamon vanilla coffee K-12, of which there were 12 in a pack. This was only for himself, not for Annaliese. For her, he decided to get two packs of Bigelow green tea: one which was the regular green tea with lemon; the other which was an Earl Gray green tea that contained 20 tea bags. He knew she’d love it very much. Her throat had been a little sore since yesterday morning, so she needed something warm to make her throat feel somewhat better.

Then he made his way to the dairy section to find fresh eggs. He got one pack of Eggland’s Best large brown eggs, of which there were 12, and Bowl & Basket cage-free white eggs, also containing 12 eggs. Perfect. He’d just gotten everything he needed for their special morning breakfast.

After paying for his purchases and taking the second subway back, he had returned home in an hour, just as he’d promised Annaliese. He rang the doorbell, and Annaliese opened the door for him, greeting him with a hug. “How are you back so soon?” She smiled as she helped him carry one of the grocery bags, and he shut the door.

She was more energetic now than she’d previously been an hour ago. Her long, dark chestnut-colored hair was a little neater now, flowing loosely behind her as it always had, as opposed to when she first woke up and it was a bit of a mess. She’d changed out of her pajamas and was now wearing a pink floral dress, looking as radiant as ever with the youthful glow of her cheeks when she smiled.

Günther couldn’t help but notice the beauty of his wife in this beautiful dress, and for a brief moment, he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Why are you smiling?” Annaliese chuckled. “Do I have something in my eye?”

“No, Meine Liebe. You just look so beautiful, that’s all. I know I haven’t been telling you that a lot these days, due to your accident. But to me, you are beautiful inside and out. Always and forever, Annaliese.” He said her name softly. “Never forget that.”

“Günther…” She came closer to him, and they became wrapped up in a warm embrace. “Thank you for saying that. I haven’t felt beautiful in a long time since the accident.”

“I mean it, Love. I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t really mean it. I want to do everything I can to help you feel better, so whatever you want me to make for breakfast, I’ll go do it now.”

“Don’t worry about breakfast just yet.” She smiled, and he followed her to the other living room in which there was a piano. She sat on the piano chair and began playing a gentle melody. “Just stay here and watch me play. I’ve been playing for the past few days when you step out of the house. I believe it helps me to regain some of my memories.”

“Why didn’t you ever let me know?” he asked. He knew that Annaliese had loved playing the piano as a little girl, but he didn’t know that she’d been using it as a form of therapy to help her de-stress, cope with the pain from the accident, and to gain back her memory.

“I wasn’t initially certain if it would help me at first,” she said, “but now, I am positive.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Günther smiled. “Play something for me.”

Annaliese began playing her favorite hymn she’d learned from childhood: Amazing Grace. As she played the melody, Günther couldn’t help but be enthralled by his wife’s hidden talent. He’d only ever seen her play the piano once, while back in Berlin, during a family gathering for both of their families. After that, he’d never seen her near the piano again… Until now. She was talented and it sounded just perfect, a sweet melody to his ears.

After Annaliese finished playing the note, she asked, “Well, what do you think?”

For a moment, Günther was at a loss for words until he jokingly said, “I think you should play it again, and after that, you should play Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”

“Very funny.” Annaliese chuckled. “Maybe later, I promise.”

“You promise, Anna?”

“Yes, Günther, Ich verspreche es dir (I promise you).”

He came over to give her a small kiss on the forehead. “In that case, shall I get your breakfast ready?”

“Yes, you may. I’d like to help, too.”

He shook his head. “Anna, I can’t let you do too much while you’re recovering from the accident.”

She held his hand. “Please trust me, honey. It’ll help me to be more productive around the house instead of just lazing around.”

He knew there was no use talking her out of this, so he decided to let her help him make breakfast. “Follow me. Also, I’d like to know if playing the piano helped you get your memory back. Do you feel like you remember what happened before the accident?”

She nodded. “As a matter of fact, I do. Bits and pieces are coming back to me.” She took a small breath before spilling out the truth. “I remember feeling someone shove me from behind, and I… I immediately lost my balance, and from there…” She glanced at him straight in the blue eyes. “I lost consciousness. And the next time I opened my eyes, it was at the hospital. You were there with me, every step of the way.”

“That’s right, I’d always be there for you.” Günther nodded in agreement. “That’s exactly how it happened. I was really afraid that I’d lose you, Anna. I’m your husband; I’m supposed to protect you from all kinds of danger. I’d never want you to be in harm’s way while you’re with me here in the States. Your family was initially opposed to the idea of us settling here, and I…” He sighed in dismay. “I hate that I’d given them reason to worry about your safety. Thank God they don’t know about any of this.”

It’s true; neither of their families were aware of the accident. Günther had done a great job of keeping up appearances for their families on social media, showing them how well he and Annaliese had been getting along for the past two years. The last thing her family would ever want to find out was about their precious daughter and beloved sister’s accident. Günther had everything under control, and he’d given them no reason to doubt him.

“Thank God, indeed. My mother is rather overprotective of me, so I can only imagine her reaction if she ever found out about this. Also, I blame myself, thinking that skiing was such a great idea to begin with. I’m not that experienced.” She sighed as a tear ran down her face, and he gently wiped it off for her. “Thanks. I suppose the reason I wanted us to go skiing is because I saw all the other Americans doing it, and I wanted us to be just like them. I wanted us to do everything they’re doing, even if we aren’t the best at it.”

“Anna, look at me.” She glanced straight into his blue eyes again. “Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing, okay? What matters is, you and I are together. It matters what we do with each other. You’re important to me, and I’m sure that I’m important to you, too. Let’s make an agreement that if we see something we’d like to do together, we’ll promise that it’ll be safe enough for us, so we’d never get hurt or have our families worry about us. Can you keep this deal with me, Love?”

Annaliese didn’t even have to think twice. “Yes, Günther. This is a good deal. Our safety comes first, and we’ll do everything we can to make it a priority in our life together.”

For a moment, they forgot about making breakfast and began making love with each other in the kitchen. This was a way to show that they’d never lose each other in an unexpected manner, and they had the perfect chance to make the rest of their lives count with each other.