Battle of the Rhine

As if to add an even more disgusting footnote to one of the darkest days in October, Michael was attacked in the evening - Johann von Seidlitz ambushed in the garden and pinned him down unexpectedly.Michael hit his head hard on the steps, pain, dizziness, ringing in his ears, and when he finally got a breath from the rain of fists, he realized that most of the ringing in his ears was caused by the screams of the neighbors - Mrs. Muller continued to shout "Help", high-pitched and sharp as if someone stepped on the neck.When the police arrived, Seidlitz was still beating Michael, cursing while beating, "...you trash... American dog! Kill you, kill you! Go to hell!"

Police arrested Seidlitz and found two daggers and a pistol on him.The deranged jazz was still snarling as he was dragged away, "He's a fag! They're both—him and—"

"Don't listen to his nonsense!" cried Mr. Muller. "Mr. von Quinnessy is the most decent young man I have ever met! How could he be—"

A word that Michael doesn't understand is probably not a good word.Michael sat on the steps covering his face, and soon, two policemen sent him to the clinic to be bandaged.Flesh wounds, fortunately there was no bullet in Seidlitz's pistol, and he didn't have time to take out the dagger, otherwise Michael would not be able to bear it.He froze on the bench in the clinic for quite a while, until a gray-haired police officer came over with a serious face holding a notebook: "Mr. Fiennes, are you gay?"

"Of course not," Michael raised his face, his eye sockets were swollen, and he could only look at the world through a gap, "What's wrong?"

"It is accused that you and Mr. Karl von Quinnessy—"

"Someone? Is it Seidlitz? He's a lunatic." After being beaten for a while, Michael was able to calmly answer this stupid question, "I rented the second floor of Mr. Von Quinnessy's house, and he's mine. Landlord—what, it’s illegal to rent a house in Germany?”

"It's not illegal to rent a house," said the policeman.

"That's a crime against homosexuality?" Michael said angrily.The policeman’s answer was beyond his expectation. Homosexuality is indeed illegal in Germany. He froze for a few seconds, and then said quickly, “I’m not gay. I’ve been married. My landlord was also married. His wife died in the war.” --Is this okay?"

The policeman left after jotting down a few notes in a notebook.Michael covered his head and drank a glass of cold water handed over by the nurse.He had a headache, nausea, and doctors suspected he had a concussion.It would take a long time to wait for the test results, Michael dozed off for a while leaning against the hard back of the chair.He had a dream in which Quincy stood in the courtroom of the Nuremberg trial, and Justice Jackson solemnly announced that Quincy would be hanged immediately without appeal.

"Why?" Michael shouted anxiously, "It's not fair! He's innocent! He's not a war criminal!"

"He is not a war criminal, but he is gay," Jackson said. "Homosexuals, like war criminals, are subject to the death penalty."

Michael woke up suddenly, and the coat he was wearing slipped off.He saw Quincy sitting beside him, looking down and twiddling his fingers. "Awake?" said Quincy, dressed in the same clothes he'd left in the morning. "You're fine, you just need to rest... go back."

"Why are you here?" Michael asked, the torn corner of his mouth made him take a breath every time he said a word, "What time is it?"

"It's almost nine o'clock." Quincy picked up his coat and hesitated for a moment, "I drove your car... Your key was left at the door, and Mr. Muller handed it to me. I heard that you were injured, and I was a little anxious ,then--"

He seemed to have not driven a car for many years, and his posture of holding the steering wheel was stiff and stiff.In the late autumn night, almost no one was walking outside.The street lamp cast a small piece of yellow light, and Michael remembered the song, Lily Marlene standing under the lamp waiting for her lover to come back.

"I'm sorry, Cedric," said Quincy, softly, "I wrote to his mother. I'm sorry, Mike, I didn't expect him to be... so crazy..."

"He likes you," Michael said, "Yeah, you know that."

"No, John is an extremist," said Quincy hurriedly. "He's been brainwashed by the Nazis into thinking that Germans should give everything for their country. He was stimulated in the war—"

"He likes you," Michael said, staring at a streetlight. "It's nothing to admit. Have you ever been together?"

"No!" Quincy slammed on the brake, "Mike, listen to me. John is my classmate and sometimes comes to my house as a guest. I never had any behavior with him that went beyond the scope of friendship. I— —" He was very anxious, holding the steering wheel tightly, "he was married a long time ago, and already has two children. John is definitely not gay, he is the one who pursued Ursula on his own initiative! She is a very gentle girl, Xia Li getting to know her..."

"He's married, and you're married. He's not gay, and neither are you." Michael felt the bloody taste in his mouth go straight to his nostrils, "That's good, I see."

"No, I'm gay." Quincy looked down. "I'm not like John."

"But you're married," said Michael, irritated by the pain. "You love Emma, ​​I can fucking tell."

"Yes, I love her."

"You say you're gay and yet you love a woman - that's bullshit, Carl, I've read your smart man's science book, and I know what fucking gay means!"

Quincy looked at Michael, his eyes in the dim light showed a trace of fear, "I can't tell you... tell you why," he fiddled with the car, trying to restart it, "I can't say it, Mike, this It's a shame..."

"Then do you know that homosexuality is illegal in Germany?" Michael couldn't control his emotions, "Breaking the law!"

"I know," Quincy's eyes glistened, "I've known for a long time. According to Article 175 of the German Criminal Code, sexual behavior between homosexual men is a criminal offense. Specifically—"

"Enough." Michael waved his hand, "Stop talking."

Michael lay in pain all night.He asked to be "quiet and quiet" alone, and Quincy had to go back to the third floor.Early the next morning, Quincy came to visit Michael, left a breakfast, and hurried off to work.Michael lay in bed until after nine o'clock, ate up the fried eggs, bread and red sausage, then stared at the dim sky outside the window, finally got up, and staggered out the door.