Calgary, April 2024
Henry was an exceptionally handsome man. He was not only handsome, but he was also intelligent and well-educated, with a degree in political science from Berlin University. The year was 1970, the Vietnam War was raging, the Cold War was in full swing, and both camps were searching for the other side’s secrets. Henry was part of that search. He was a spy with a mission to seduce lonely women who had access to secret documents.
One of those lonely women was Anna. Her marriage had failed and translating documents for the American Embassy in Bonn was boring. She wasn’t that young anymore and thinking about the future depressed her. She wanted to be a reporter writing for an important newspaper, but it didn’t happen, and translating endless streams of documents for the US Embassy wasn’t exactly exciting. “Is this all there is to life?” she kept asking herself. To relieve the boredom, after work, she occasionally went to the local restaurant to have coffee or a glass of wine and, perhaps, to meet somebody interesting.
That somebody interesting appeared when Anna was having one of those bad days. There were problems at work and relaxing in the noisy restaurant was difficult. The place was full. She went to the bar and ordered a glass of wine, but then somebody hit the stool she was sitting on, the glass dropped from her hand and the wine spilled. “Just the luck I have today,” she thought and was about to say something nasty, but the man who caused it turned to her and was very apologetic. “Sorry, it was my fault, I was careless, I will get you another glass.”
"Don't worry, it's OK," she said but he insisted. "No, I will get you another glass," and he called the barman. She looked at him and noticed how handsome he was. Perhaps the day wasn’t all that bad after all.
“You want to sit here? The place is full,” she asked, and he gladly accepted.
"I apologize once more for spilling your wine, but, as they say, spilling wine brings luck.” His smile was charming, and Anna started to think that today might be her lucky day.
“I hope you are right. I could use some luck today.”
“You had a bad day at work?”
“Yes,” and Anna told him briefly about her job.
“This is interesting. I work for the government doing economic analysis for the European Economic Community. Perhaps you have been translating some of my articles. By the way, my name is Luis Wagner.”
“Anna Becker. I envy you. I always wanted to be a reporter and write about something interesting.”
“Perhaps you will. You are still young.”
Anna started to like this man. He was not only handsome but also pleasant and he certainly knew what to say to please a woman. But undoubtedly, he had countless female admirers, and she would be at the end of the line. Still, it was nice to enjoy the moment.
“Where are you from?” she asked. “I notice a slight accent.”
“I am from Munich. And yes, we do have an accent.”
“Your family lives in Munich?”
"No. I don't have a family. I was the only child and my parents already died. But what about you? Where are you from?”
“I am from here, born and raised in Bonn. I studied languages, and with all those embassies here it was easy to find a job.”
"Well, I moved to Bonn for the same reason. The government offered me a job."
The conversation was flowing smoothly, the evening was pleasant, and they agreed to meet again. Other dates followed, and Anna was surprised he didn’t have a string of girlfriends. He was just as lonely as she was and their relationship progressed predictably: Dinners together, then nights in his apartment, and finally Anna moving in with him. Life was good, and Anna was happy. She introduced him to her family, and they gave him a friendly reception. Everybody was glad to see Anna happy, only her brother Carl felt a bit uneasy. He was a policeman, and his police instinct made him suspicious: Why did Luis, who obviously could have had any woman he wanted, choose Anna? But it was just a flick of doubt which crossed his mind, and then he forgot about it.
For Luis and Anna, the life was great. They were deeply in love and couldn’t get enough of each other. It was also the time when Luis initiated a conversation which he had been planning for a long time.
“Anna, I have an interesting assignment at work. They want me to write an analysis of the American economic initiatives here in Germany. You are translating those kinds of documents, and information like that would help me to write this analysis. Do you think you could show me something which would be relevant?”
“All the documents I translate are confidential. I cannot show them to anybody.”
“Yes, I know, but my article is for the European Economic Community, not for KGB. If I can include some interesting information, my boss would be pleased. It would be good for my job.”
This created a dilemma for Anna. She didn't want to break the embassy’s rule of secrecy, but she trusted Luis and wanted to help him.
“OK, I will see if I can find something.”
She did find something relevant, Luis included it in his analysis and his boss was pleased. With time, Luis made more requests like that, his prestige at work grew, and he was promoted to the head of the department.
By now Luis and Anna lived together for almost three years. The initial excitement of the new relationship was replaced by the pleasure of shared life, of enjoying each other’s company. Anna was marvelling about her lucky encounter at that restaurant. Without the spilled wine everything would be different. Perhaps spilling wine indeed brings luck. However, there was one unanswered question: When will we get married? Luis didn’t want to do it, he didn't see any need for it, but Anna was insisting. “My parents and my friends at work are asking the same question: When will we do it?” Luis tried to come up with some excuses, but finally, he reluctantly agreed.
The wedding was a mistake. About half a year after the celebration, one evening there was a ring at their apartment. When Luis opened the door, there was Anna’s brother Carl and he looked furious. “Hello Luis or whatever your name is. Do you know that you are already 24 years dead?"
“I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Yes, you do. Can I come in?” He didn’t wait for permission, entered, and looked at Anna. “You better sit down and listen,” he told her. “The reason why Luis didn’t want to get married is that there are extensive background checks on all spouses of people with access to secret documents. The name he is using, Luis Wagner, is the name of a child who died in 1946. I also know that East German spy agencies use the identity of dead people for their spies. Luis, are you a spy?”
“If I am a spy, why are you telling her all that? Why don’t you wait for the police to arrest me?”
“Because you are married to my sister, and I want to protect her.”
Anna broke into the conversation.
“So, Luis, our meeting at that restaurant wasn’t a chance?”
Luis didn’t say anything, and Anna continued:
“And you live with me only to have access to secret documents? Is that all? You never actually loved me?”
“This is not true!” he yelled. “I always loved you. I agreed to marry you because I love you, even though I knew there was a risk.”
Carl interrupted them. “Luis, you must leave now. The police will be here soon.”
Luis got the car keys, looked at Anna and asked:
“Are you coming with me?”
She didn’t say anything, she only got up and came to him. He took her arm, and they both walked out of the door.