Free An Uncommon Family by Christa Polkinhorn Page A

playing an instrument. Kids are all enthusiastic at first and after a while they get bored or tired of practicing. But at least for a few months or years, they do something meaningful. It beats sitting in front of the TV all day.
    “There are always a few exceptions, of course,” Jonas continued. “And I think Karla might be one. She’s still very young and she might lose interest later on when puberty hits. You never know. But I feel she may pursue it in a serious way. She not only has the talent but the passion for it.”
    Karla came into the room, carrying a few drawings and paintings. Jonas took them out of her hands and spread them on the table. He pointed to one of them, a picture of a bird—a hawk most likely—flying in the sky. It was a fascinating drawing.
    “Other children, even talented ones, might have drawn this bird from the side, either flying or sitting on a branch. Karla picked this very unusual pose. She drew the bird as seen from underneath, as it is flying by. Look at the legs and claws and the beak from below. Quite amazing, and she drew it from imagination.” Jonas patted Karla’s back.
    Anna hugged her. “This is great.” She was delighted to see the normally serious child so excited.
    “We’ll be cleaning up soon,” Jonas said. “Would you like another cup of coffee? I could go for some more myself.”
    “Thanks, that would be nice.”
    “Let’s get some coffee and something for you,” Jonas said to Karla, and the two disappeared into the kitchen. Karla came back with a mug of hot chocolate and Jonas carried a tray with two cups of coffee and a plate with pains de chocolat, chocolate-filled croissants.
    “From my neighbor,” he said. “She’s afraid I’ll starve to death. She obviously hasn’t seen me stand on the scale lately.” Jonas patted his small pooch.
    “Is she still trying to fix you up with someone?” Jonas had made a remark once about Mrs. Schatz’s matchmaking attempts.
    “Not lately. She must feel I’m hopeless.” He laughed and went back into the studio.
    Anna put the book aside and took a sip of coffee. She looked around the living room. It struck her once again how many photos of Jonas’s wife there were. Eva was looking down from the walls, the bookshelves, and the buffet. He never got over her.
    She took a deep breath and gazed out the window. A thin layer of haze grazed the mountains in the distance. Sirens blared nearby. “The New York City waltz”Anna used to call it back in New York, where the sirens seemed to have been a constant background sound. Her memories of her life in New York were tightly knit with memories of Nicolas.
    Did I ever get over him? Anna wondered, thinking of her former husband.
     
     
    Chapter 17
     
    It was during the seventies, over fifteen years before, when Nico and Anna got married in New York City. They had been dating for two years. Anna was working as an assistant librarian at a public library on Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street. Nico had finished his degree in architecture and received a job offer from a company in New York, which had subsidiaries in Mexico.
    The wedding ceremony at New York City Hall was anything but romantic. Couples were standing in line in the gloomy hallway of an old government building, waiting their turn to tie the knot. Some of the young men and women were smiling nervously, others were joking around. One young African American couple was ahead of Anna and Nico. The skinny young man in his dark suit pretended to sneak away. The bride, a beautiful, tall woman, kept grabbing him and pulling him back.
    Finally, it was Anna and Nico’s turn. Anna was wearing a simple green silk dress and Nico a suit and tie. Anna was proud of her fiancé. He looked stunning in his black suit and aqua-blue shirt, which matched his shiny black hair and emphasized the color of his eyes. His lips curled into his charming, slightly lopsided smile.
    Their close friends, Susan and George, were the witnesses. Anna’s hand