There was a new sense of purpose in the Steinmann-Maienbaum house as well: Johanna sent off gold-edged letters to all their customers, inviting them to a show of the new collection in the spring. Wanda was impressed all over again by her aunt’s flair for business.
But nothing could compare to how Wanda felt about the new mood in her father’s house. Karl-Heinz Brauninger had begun to contract with the Heimer workshop. He had already bought a whole series of artistic pieces, and he had told them he was interested in more.
By curious chance, the seeds for these new and promising developments had been sown back at carnival time when Wanda and Richard hadn’t missed a single dance or party or costume parade. Wanda had never seen anything like the weird and wonderful costumes and colorful grotesque masks people wore for Mardi Gras in the Thuringian Forest. She loved every minute of it and got swept up in the locals’ good cheer. And then it was all over on Ash Wednesday. How fine it would be if there were only some way to bottle some of this festive spirit for the rest of the year, she had thought, her head buzzing. Bottle . . . Wasn’t Lauscha a glassblowing village? She got the idea for a series of glass pieces called Carnival on the spot. As Wanda had expected, her father was deeply skeptical about her suggestion, arguing that the kind of detail she was describing took far too much time to create. Eventually, however, he gave in, and the result was a series of bowls and drinking glasses in various sizes. There was also a centerpiece and a set of glass napkin rings, which were Wanda’s idea. The whole series was blown from transparent glass and then decorated with thousands upon thousands of bright colorful flecks like confetti. In the end even Thomas had to admit that it had been worth the effort: every piece sparkled with good cheer, awakening visions of elegant banquet tables, tinkling glasses, and merry diners drinking to one another’s health. Karl-Heinz Brauninger was also delighted with the result and offered a higher price than Wanda had been planning to ask. They’d gotten off to a good start—now she had to keep the ball rolling!
“Please, Aunt Johanna, let’s not call New York until next week! If you like we can go to the post office in Sonneberg first thing on Monday, but not today,” Wanda pleaded urgently, glancing nervously at Johanna across the kitchen table.
Everybody else was already toiling away in the workshop, and Wanda would usually be on her way up the hill to the Heimer house by this time, but she had asked Johanna to talk with her for a moment.
Johanna shook her head. “I really don’t see what you hope to gain by that. There are only four weeks until you’re supposed to leave. You know that you’re very welcome here, despite . . . despite everything. But if you really do intend to stay in Lauscha for longer than planned, you have to at least ask your parents’ permission! Or don’t you think they have any say in the matter?” Johanna frowned angrily. “Quite apart from which, you’re making things very difficult for me too.” She sighed. “Every time your mother writes or calls, she asks me to take better care of you, instead of letting you run off to your father every day.”
“But I’ve written to her to explain why I—”
Johanna waved the interruption away. “And then there’s the question of your affections . . . I really ought not to let you see Richard every day. Even if you do swear your most solemn oath that the two of you are behaving appropriately.”
“Oh, Aunt Johanna!” Wanda felt a pang of guilt. “I know that I’m not making things easy for you. But Richard is such an honorable soul that you really needn’t worry about my . . . about my innocence. And as for my father . . .” She threw up her hands helplessly. “Please try to see things my way. For the first time in my life I feel that I’m doing something really useful! I know that Mother only wants what’s best for me, but can I help it that I’m just not the sort of girl who enjoys a life of cocktail receptions and tennis games? I do so much like to see how things can really get better when you put your mind to it! I’m sure that you understand that. You and Mother and Marie—you never let anything change your mind. You each followed your own path!”
Even as she uttered the words, Wanda realized that it had been a mistake to mention Marie.
And indeed Johanna’s face darkened.
“Don’t even mention Marie! I’ve got a bone to pick with her, never mind that she’s pregnant!” she snorted. “Heaven knows I’m not expecting her to write at any great length, but is it too much to ask that she drops us a line every now and again just to let us know that she’s well?”