Bloodline Read Online Free Page B

standing in the doorway, home from the office, and Anna would realize that somehow the whole day had slipped by.
    “Come and join us,” she would say. “We’re playing a game.”
    “Have you fixed dinner yet?” Walther would ask, and she would suddenly feel guilty. She would resolve to pay more attention to Walther, and less to the children, but the next day the same thing would happen. The twins were like an irresistible magnet that drew her to them. Anna still loved Walther very much, and she tried to assuage her guilt by telling herself that the children were a part of him. Every night, as soon as Walther was asleep, Anna would slip out of bed and creep into the nursery, and sit and stare at the children until dawn started filtering into the room. Then she would turn and hurry back to bed before Walther awoke.
    Once, in the middle of the night, Walther walked into the nursery and caught her. “What in God’s name do you think you’re doing?” he said.
    “Nothing, darling. I was just—”
    “Go back to bed!”
    He had never spoken to her like that before.
    At breakfast Walther said, “I think we shouldtake a vacation. It will be good for us to get away.” “But, Walther, the children are too young to travel.”
    “I’m talking about the two of us.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t leave them.” He took her hand and said, “I want you to forget about the children.”
    “Forget about the children?” There was shock in her voice.
    He looked into her eyes and said, “Anna, remember how wonderful it was between us before you were pregnant? What good times we had? How much joy it was to be together, just the two of us, with no one else around to interfere?”
    It was then that she understood. Walther was jealous of the children.
    The weeks and months passed swiftly. Walther never went near the children now. On their birthdays Anna bought them lovely presents. Walther always managed to be out of town on business. Anna could not go on deceiving herself forever. The truth was that Walther had no interest in the children at all. Anna felt that perhaps it was her fault, because she was too interested in them. Obsessed was the word Walther had used. He had asked her to consult a doctor about it, and she had gone only to please Walther. But the doctor was a fool. The moment he had started talking to her, Anna had shut him out, letting her mind drift, until she heard him say, “Our time is up, Mrs. Gassner. Will I see you next week?”
    “Of course.”
    She never returned.
    Anna felt that the problem was as much Walther’sas hers. If her fault lay in loving the children too much, then his fault lay in not loving them enough.
    Anna learned not to mention the children in Walther’s presence, but she could hardly wait for him to leave for the office, so she could hurry into the nursery to be with her babies. Except that they were no longer babies. They had had their third birthday, and already Anna could see what they would look like as adults. Peter was tall for his age and his body was strong and athletic, like his father’s. Anna would hold him on her lap and croon, “Ah, Peter, what are you going to do to the poor fräuleins? Be gentle with them, my darling son. They won’t have a chance.”
    And Peter would smile shyly and hug her.
    Then Anna would turn to Birgitta. Birgitta grew prettier each day. She looked like neither Anna or Walther. She had spun-golden hair and skin as delicate as porcelain. Peter had his father’s fiery temper and sometimes it would be necessary for Anna to spank him gently, but Birgitta had the disposition of an angel. When Walther was not around, Anna played records or read to them. Their favorite book was 101 Märchens. They would insist that Anna read them the tales of ogres and goblins and witches over and over again, and at night, Anna would put them to bed, singing them a lullaby:
    Schlaf, Kindlein, schlaf, Der Voter hür’t die Schaf…
    Anna had prayed that time would