Late Saturday afternoon, Maria was busy in her room, preparing for the dinner party. She leaned in closer to the mirror on her vanity and carefully applied a wine-red lipstick. She wore a cream-coloured dress, falling just below her knees, as was the latest style. Its off-the-shoulder sleeves made it clear that this was exclusively evening wear. Maria did not dress quite so daringly most of the time, but she felt she might as well at a party. Besides, it helped to calm talk about her "wallflower" leanings.

Fluffing her hair one last time, Maria closed her bedroom door behind her and walked downstairs to the parlour. Rudi was already there, flipping through a magazine. He was for once dressed in clothes other than his uniform, which relieved Maria, who was frankly annoyed at the way he usually strutted around in it from dawn to dusk. He noticed her enter the room but didn’t look up from his reading.

"Mutti’s been planning this dinner for weeks," he said to the magazine.

"I know."

"So don’t embarrass us." He leaned away from the pillow flying at him from Maria’s direction. "Like that."

"Arschloch," Maria huffed to herself as the doorbell rang. Her mother appeared from somewhere at the other end of the house and pattered through the front hall to answer the door. Instinctively, Maria and Rudi dropped their feuding and, in the way they had done since childhood, prepared to greet and socialise.

Soon, the parlour was full of guests, laughing and talking. So many people arrived, in fact, that Maria eventually lost track of several. Once the doorbell seemed to have stopped ringing, she took a glass of wine from the table and sat in the corner of the couch. She was already beginning to feel bored.

"So, you are the rebellious scholar."

Maria looked up, startled, in the direction the smooth voice had come from. Standing there, smiling coolly, was a man whose appearance Maria could only describe as aristocratic. He was about the same height as she, and a little thin. He had black hair and dark eyes, focused on her from behind a pair of glasses. His nose was rather long, but somehow it suited him. He sensed Maria’s curiosity and extended a hand.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself. Maximillien von Reichter, Ph.D." They shook hands and he sat down next to her. "You are Maria, is that right?"

Maria nodded. She was used to men striking up conversations with her, and had learned to tolerate it as best she could.

"My mother tells me you’ve just graduated, Herr Doktor." They loved to try to impress her with titles. And then...

"Please, call me Max." They would suddenly become modest. She smiled and he continued. Yes, I now have my doctorate in biology. What is it that you’ve been studying?"

Maria was astonished. She didn’t quite know what to say. Had he really asked her?

Max laughed as she stared at him, her eyes the size of dinner plates.

"Didn’t expect me to ask you that, did you?" he grinned. "Not something many men have discussed with you, I take it."

"No - no, hardly ever," Maria stammered, turning a little pink. Without thinking she added, "and if they do ask, I don’t think they really care." She put a hand to her mouth. "Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean -"

"It’s perfectly all right, don’t apologise," he said, taking a sip of his wine. He had a very small mouth. "I would like to learn what you think about many more things."

Maria, by now completely bewildered, was about to respond when dinner was announced. She and Max rose, and he wordlessly offered her his arm to escort her to the dining room. Shyly, she took it, hoping no one would be able to tell how nervous she was.

The conversation at dinner was the same as usual. Politics, the military, other people’s lives - Maria followed them easily and tried to immerse herself in what was going on so that she could push her nervousness deep down inside, where no one would detect it. It was difficult. Max was sitting on the opposite side of the table and kept looking at her. She found herself doing the same.

Frau Schweitzer, not able to stand it anymore, took advantage of a brief lapse in the conversation and turned the table’s attention to the doctor sitting across from her daughter.

"Doctor, your mother tells me you’re quite brilliant," she gave him a smile.

He gave her one back and responded cleverly, "well, she is my mother." There was a good-natured chuckle from the other diners.

"Yes, but she says you received your degree much earlier than most." Intelligent and charming. Frau Schweitzer was liking the young man more and more.

"That’s true. I did."

"Well, I’ll be interested in watching the career of such a man as yourself take off. Won’t you, Maria?"

All eyes fixed on Maria in fascination as she turned pink again and silently wished she could sink into the floor. How embarrassing!

"Uh, yes - I - yes, I would." She didn’t know where to look and ended up staring right at Max, which only made her blush more.

After what seemed like several years, the evening finally came to an end. The Schweitzers thanked their guests and waved at the cars pulling out into the dark street. Maria was waving when she felt a hand on her arm. She turned to see that the hand belonged to Max, who was taking her aside.

"It was wonderful to finally meet you," he said quietly. "I’ve never met any woman like you before. You’re one of a kind."

Maria felt reluctant to accept his compliment. "Max, I..."

"I hope you won’t think me too forward," he cut in, "but I wonder if you’d like to go with me to the opening night of Tristan and Isolde?"

Maria’s eyes lit up. She had been hoping to see it for weeks.

I’d love to," she beamed, hardly believing what she was hearing herself say.

He took her hand in his, dark eyes piercing, even through his glasses.

"Until then," he purred. And with a polite bow to his hosts, the doctor strolled into the night air.

Maria felt eyes boring into the back of her head as she stood at the window by the door. She turned and rubbed at her eye. "I think I’ll go get ready for bed now." She kissed each parent on the cheek. "Good night."

Her father had an amused look on his face, shared by his wife and son. "What did you think of that Dr. von Reichter?" he called after her.

Maria laughed as she climbed the staircase. "I honestly don’t know," she confessed.

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