He felt panic rise: surely his purpose could not be so easily frustrated, now at the last moment, after all he had been through? Then the two friends turned left and waved good-bye, and Karolin crossed the street on her own.

As she came near, Walli took off his sunglasses and said: “Hello, baby.”

She looked, recognized him, and gave a squeal of shock, stopping in her tracks. He saw astonishment and fear on her face, and something else—could it be guilt? Then she ran to him, dropped her briefcase, and threw herself into his arms. They hugged and kissed, and Walli was swamped by relief and happiness. His first question was answered: she still loved him.

After a minute he realized passersby were staring—some smiling, others looking with disapproval. He put his sunglasses back on. “Let’s go,” he said. “I don’t want people to recognize me.” He picked up her dropped briefcase.

They walked away from the college, holding hands. “How did you get back?” she said. “Is it safe? What are you going to do? Does anyone know you’re here?”

“We’ve got so much to talk about,” he said. “We need a place to sit down and be private.” Across the street he spotted a church. Perhaps it would be open for people seeking spiritual calm.

He led Karolin to the door. “You’re limping,” she said.

“That border guard shot me in the leg.”

“Does it hurt?”

“You bet it does.”

The church door was unlocked, and they went in.

It was a plain Protestant hall, dimly lit, with rows of hard benches. At the far end a woman in a head scarf was dusting the lectern. Walli and Karolin sat in the back row and spoke in low voices.

“I love you,” Walli said.

“I love you, too.”

“What happened on Sunday morning? You were supposed to meet me.”

“I got scared,” she said.

This was not the answer he had been expecting, and he found it hard to understand. “I was scared, too,” he said. “But we made each other a promise.”

“I know.”

He could see that she was in an agony of remorse; but there was something else. He did not want to torture her, but he had to know the truth. “I took a terrible risk,” he said. “You shouldn’t have backed out without a word.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I wouldn’t have done it to you,” he said. Then he added accusingly: “I love you too much.”

She flinched as if he had struck her. But her answer was spirited. “I’m not a coward,” she said.

“If you love me, how could you have let me down?”

“I’d give my life for you.”

“If that was true, you would have come with me. How can you say it, now?”

“Because it’s not just my life at risk.”

“It’s mine, too.”

“And someone else’s.”

Walli was baffled. “Whose, for God’s sake?”

“I’m talking about the life of our child.”

“What?”

“We’re going to have a baby. I’m pregnant, Walli.”