Since coming back to the German Reich form his ti spent in the Russian Empire, Heinrich had been busy, both with work, and with his ho life. Prior, he seldom spent his ti in his own ho, rather entertaining the many single ladies of the world, and so of those who were already married.
But upon finding himself suddenly forced to adopt a teenage Russian girl, Heinrich was ultimately forced to clean up his act. Trying his best to create an environnt for the girl that was far less painful than the life she had left behind in Russia.
Ultimately, his days as a playboy, truly deserving of the term "Rake" which had incidentally been applied to Bruno, rather than Heinrich, the man had suddenly found himself completely and utterly free from any dalliances with the less respectful won of the world.
Instead, he would co straight ho after work to ensure that his newly adopted daughter was properly fed, their ho was properly cleaned, and that the girl had finished with her studies for the evening.
At first Alya had a hard ti adapting to her new life. But after spending a few weeks with Heidi and the tyranny which the woman imposed upon her, Alya soon found the habits ford in Bruno's ho had stuck.
Heinrich no longer ca ho to an empty and dark house, but one that was well lit, and with a al prepared for him by his young, adopted daughter. Though the girl had a long way to go before she could match Heidi's level of skill when it ca to performing chores.
At the very least, the house was clean; the laundry was freshly done, and there was food on the table the mont Heinrich ca ho from his day at the base. Coincidentally enough, today Heinrich ca ho with a subtle change to his uniform, but one which Alya instantly recognized when the man entered through their door.
Heinrich was wearing the shoulder tabs of Lieutenant Colonel, or in the German Army would be known as the Oberst Leutnant. He had been promoted today to the position and was now in charge of his own battalion.
This was a major cause for celebration, and because of this, Alya instantly expressed her shock.
"You were promoted? Why didn't you call ho in advance? I would have prepared sothing for dessert!"
Heinrich, who was already thoroughly exhausted by the day's affairs, was quick to sigh as he collapsed onto his sofa, loosening the collar around his neck, and freeing it so that he could breathe properly. After doing so, he comnted on the whole thing as if it were less than what he desired.
"Thanks, Alya, but I have had my hands full all day with managing an entire battalion of n. I an, it's one thing to assist a Lieutenant Colonel with managing his unit, but to manage 1,000 n and everything else that cos with it. It's a lot more work than I was expecting. I just need a mont to relax, and then I'll join you for dinner..."
Alya wasn't exactly mad at Heinrich for his exhaustion. The man had cut back completely on the two things that had helped him cope with the monuntal amount of stress that ca with being a high-ranking officer in the Military.
Heinrich had always destressed by drinking copious quantities of alcohol and enjoying the company of loose won. But now that he had to take care of Alya, he had either completely cut himself off from activity or had restricted himself to doing so in moderation.
Because of this, Alya instantly rembered sothing Heidi had told her while she was under that woman's oppression.
"Whenever my husband cos ho, he likes to wind down with a beer and a cigarette. Because of that, I always have a liter of beer in my hand when I greet him at the door. It's a small gesture, but one that is more welcod than you realize."
After thinking about this, Alya instantly ran off to the kitchen and fetched so beer for her adopted father, handing it off to him as he wiped the sweat from his brow while turning on the radio to listen to the day's news.
The radio was invented in 1901 and was still not exactly commonplace in most households five years later. But Heinrich not only ca from a wealthy family of rchants, but he also gained a considerable paycheck from being a high-ranking officer in the Army. Because of this, he could easily afford such a luxury.
When he saw the girl holding a beer to his face with an embarrassed expression, the man was perplexed for a second. Before grabbing hold of it and drinking its contents. At first Alya thought the man wasn't even going to say thank you for her gesture, but he surprised her with a pat on the head, followed by an appropriate amount of gratitude.
"I'm not sure why you suddenly thought I could use a beer, but you were absolutely right. Thanks kiddo, now go eat up. I'm sure you're hungry after all the work you have been doing around here as of late."
Alya sure felt a little famished, but the reality was that she would not eat until Heinrich joined her, as she had many mories of eating alone at the orphanage, and she much preferred to share a al with her new family than she did alone.
Because of this, she patiently sat down on the rocking chair in the living room of their ho and waited patiently for Heinrich to beco ready to eat.
"I'll wait, I'm not as hungry as you think..."
Heinrich thought the girl was being honest at first, that is until he heard her stomach grumble no more than a minute later. And because of this, he sighed and stood up, heading to the dining room of their ho, where he decided not to make her wait any longer.
Though Alya was embarrassed by forcing the man to eat with her earlier than he wanted to, she was also happy that he did not ignore her stomach's obvious signs of hunger. As a result, they shared a al together, talking about what they had done during the day prior to eting up at their ho later in the evening.
Ultimately, after several months together, the two were starting to beco like a real father and daughter.
Bruno wasn't the only one in his family who maintained his health via regular exercise. In fact, Heidi often worked out at ho with the basic calisthenics that Bruno had taught her throughout the day. Just enough to maintain her health. After all, he wanted to live a long and happy life with his wife. And it would have been best if they both did their best to stay in shape because of this.
Sure, Bruno had so bad habits that affected his health in the long term. Like smoking and drinking. But quite honestly, it was a tradeoff, because as a soldier, especially one who was in the early stages of PTSD, there were certain things he needed to take the edge off. Especially in a ti of peace, which Bruno had a hard ti adjusting to. Moreso than many of the n beneath his command who were more than happy to flee the battlefield and live a peaceful life at ho when they got the opportunity to do so.
After working up a sweat for the day shortly after her husband went off to work, Heidi began to perform her daily chores, which also required a degree of exercise. She had a complete and utter disdain for filth, and did a damn good job maintaining a squeaky-clean environnt in
her ho.
Aside from cleaning the ho, and exercising, Heidi would routinely mother her small children, keeping an eye on them throughout the day, before finally preparing a al for when her husband ca ho. By now she had mastered the art of finishing the al just in ti for Bruno to get ho, so that he could enjoy a brief beer while it cooled down just enough to be the perfect temperature to eat.
And like always, this is exactly what happened when Bruno ca ho for the night. However, the words which the man spoke over dinner to his wife and children have instantly shattered Heidi's routine. She realized things would be changing for her and her beloved
family in the coming months.
"So... I finally found the perfect plot of land to begin building our estate upon just outside
Berlin. As for the one in Russia, I have yet to choose a city which I would prefer to construct it. But I'm thinking near Tsaritsyn, I am after all rather beloved in the area for the rcy which I showed there, and the Volga Region has a high concentration of German settlers, so when we vacation there, it won't be too alien of an environnt. What do you think?"
Though Bruno asked for Heidi's opinion, she really didn't have one, and even if she did, she wouldn't argue with Bruno over it. She simply accepted his decision, as he had clearly thought
it out far more than she had.
After all, she was much too busy managing their ho to be involved thoroughly in such affairs. Thus, she wore a charming smile on her pretty face as she agreed to her husband's
question without hesitation.
"You know , whatever it is you decide, I will support you with my everything, dear!"
Bruno was happy that Heidi didn't disagree with his choice of location for their Russian Estate. However, though neither of them knew it, they both sighed in a silent lant for their relatively peaceful and humble city life in this old manor which they had called ho for
many years now.
It was the death of a routine, and the birth of a new era for their family
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