“Go home, go to bed, and get up early. I’ll wait for you outside the school. Joe won’t surface before midday. By the time he realizes his van is missing, we’ll be strolling in the Tiergarten.”

Karolin kissed him. “I’m scared, but I love you,” she said.

Walli heard the band playing “Avalon,” the closing number of the first set, and he realized they had been talking a long time. “We’re on in five minutes,” he said. “Let’s go.”

The band left the stage and the dance floor emptied. It took Walli less than a minute to set up the microphones and the small guitar amplifier. The audience returned to their drinks and their conversations. Then the Bobbsey Twins came on. Some customers took no notice; others looked on with interest: Walli and Karolin made an attractive couple, and that was always a good start.

As usual they began with “Noch Einen Tanz,” which got people’s attention and made them laugh. They sang some folk songs, two Everly Brothers numbers, and “Hey Paula,” a hit for an American duo very like themselves called Paul and Paula. Walli had a high voice, and sang harmonies over Karolin’s tune. He had developed a fingerpicking guitar style that was rhythmic as well as melodic.

They finished with “If I Had a Hammer.” Most of the audience loved it, clapping along with the beat, though there were a few stern faces at the words justice and freedom in the refrain.

They came off to loud applause. Walli’s head swam with the euphoria of knowing he had enchanted an audience. It was better than being drunk. He was flying.

Passing them in the wings, Joe said: “If you ever sing that song again, you’re fired.”

Walli’s elation was punctured. He felt as if he had been slapped. Furious, he said to Karolin: “That settles it. I’m leaving tonight.”

They returned to the van. Often they made love a second time, but tonight both were too tense. Walli was boiling with rage. “What’s the earliest you could meet me in the morning?” he said to Karolin.

She thought for a minute. “I’ll go home now and tell them I need an early night, because I have to get up early in the morning . . . for a rehearsal of my college’s May Day parade.”

“Good,” he said.

“I could be with you by seven without arousing suspicion.”

“That’s perfect. There won’t be much traffic through the checkpoint at that hour on a Sunday morning.”

“Kiss me again, then.”

They kissed long and hard. Walli touched her breasts, then pulled away. “Next time we make love, we’ll be free,” he said.

They got out of the van. “Seven o’clock,” Walli repeated.

Karolin waved and disappeared into the night.

Walli got through the rest of the evening on a wave of hope mingled with rage. He was constantly tempted to show his scorn for Joe, but also fearful that for some reason he would not be able to steal the van. However, if he showed his feelings Joe did not notice, and by one o’clock Walli was parked in the street outside his school. He was out of sight of the checkpoint, around two corners, which was good: he did not want the guards to see him and get suspicious.