Counterparts, Summer 2004, Chad Woodworth
From MemoryArchive
Who: Chad Woodworth What: Nonverbal Communication When: Summer 2004 Where: Hohenems, Austria
Counterparts
Tobias smirked once again as he swept the cards away from me. This was starting to become frustrating. That scrawny bean stock on the card had taken more than just cards from me; it had stolen my dignity. I hated the Weli, I hated that game, and I hated Tobias, I was a wreck.
I had only met him the night before, but it was late when we got off of the train, and Libby put Tobias and Lisa-Maria to bed soon after. Christian bombarded dad with questions about the American economy. “This is how Austria will be in ten years, I guarantee.” Libby had to calm her husband down, he was very excited, but dad and I were very tired. Just that morning we had been in Milan, the morning before that in Barcelona, and before that Bilbao. It seemed that we were chasing something, and with each train ride we were getting closer.
Hohenems didn’t seem like the end to our wild goose chase, but it was. Libby was my sisters’ Au Pair in 1986, she and dad talked about people I didn’t know, houses I had never lived in, it seemed like a far away and better time.
I hadn’t slept in the last two days courtesy to terrible accommodations on the overnight trains. I woke up after my best nights sleep ever,even if it was on the floor, to a simple breakfast of the best breads, cheeses and preserves Libby could provide. Outside, as we ate our brunch the most beautiful scenery surrounded us. The humid summer air smelled familiar in such a distant place, but the view was something spectacular and extraordinary. Libby pointed out to me the site of the original castle that was the first structure in Hohenems. Up on the hill it was still imposing after these hundreds of years.
After breakfast the reminiscing continued. Dad was polite, and listened to what Christian had to say. He was an entrepreneur, he started his own natural as company, and he was obsessed with his business. Dad had told me how when he was younger and he had his own business that he was consumed with it too. “All young men are like that, they are so busy preparing for the future that they forget about the present.” I vowed to myself that I would not do that when I was as old as Christian.
But currently Tobias was beating me silly in this game. That stupid bean stock was killing me time and time again. “Weli, Weli, Weli” Tobias said with glee. I was down to my last few cards; he had me cornered, and all he had to do was unleash the Weli one more time and I would be finished. Earlier that morning I had had Tobias cornered. I snuck behind him, motioning to Lisa-Maria to keep silent by means of the language all children know: mischief. I pressed my finger firmly against my lips. They low lying branches of the willow tree made a perfect weapon. I grabbed the branch with my hand, the thin leaves felt sharp against it. I pulled down and felt each individual leaf being stripped from the branch like grapes off the vine. I gathered a handful silently. I made a short but loud hissing sound to get his attention. Tobias whipped around to see what had caused the noise. And I released. The leaves flew all around his face, exploding like fireworks at the beach on the fourth of July. He was disoriented long enough for me to make my escape.
Lisa-Maria soon betrayed me, and it was two versus one. The game continued, I was bigger than them, and the battle was one sided. Tobias and Lisa-Maria yelled to each other in German, trying to coordinate. Their language was a guttural gibberish to me, like in the old war movies, men yelling harsh sounding words with no meaning. It sounded like a drunken mumble, but their childish voices, screams and various inflections gave it life and made it sound all the less barbaric. I spoke only to taunt them, knowing that they could not understand me.
Now Tobias was taunting me, just like I had with him that morning. Once again he took the cards from me, and he did a little dance in his seat. Viewed out of context, it may have looked like he was throwing a fit. He was very content, and happy with himself. That smile had not yet left his face and I was becoming irritable. I could taste defeat coming, it was like after being sick. Except that I could not brush this taste out of my mouth. The only one who could end my pain was Tobias, and now he was toying with me, and gloating with sounds that know no language. Our excursion in the backyard was cut short while Libby called to Tobias. We called a temporary truce. Tobias was seven years old, he could only speak German, I was seventeen and I could only speak English. I felt like we should be able to communicate, that I should understand German. My hisses and whistles worked well at getting Tobias’ attention, but we could not actually talk, and because of that I felt inadequate. Whenever he tried to talk to me, I felt like I had not yet done my homework, like I was behind or just stupid. I was obliged to understand him, but the language gap turned out to be the best thing about our adventures.
Meanwhile Christian had taken dad to work, to show him his up and coming gas company, and Libby and Lisa-Maria were going to the supermarket. There was something about Libby that made her seem familiar. She was young, but she had that maternal instinct, that could make you feel good, or entirely terrible in a single moment. My own mother had perfected the same look, it hits hard and fast, without remorse. The face of disappointment, not anger, is the deadliest weapon in any mother’s arsenal. I had only met Libby the night before, but I already trusted, respected and feared her.
Her English was perfect, and though Libby she had not used it in years, it just came back to her. Christian’s story was even more amazing. He had never taken a class in English before. He and his brother went to England to work when they were twenty. He learned through brutal immersion, like Gulliver during his travels. I could tell that dad was proud. He was glad that Libby had found a man like Christian, that she had settled down, had two beautiful children and a great life. Most of all I could tell that he was happy to be back in Austria. He seemed to breathe easier there.
Tobias and I rode our bikes to the old farmer’s house down the road. We bought half a pound of cheese, some sausage and eggs for the morning. Tobias put the money in the old tin can and closed the icebox. It was simpler, easier and better this way. Fresh food and good prices for buying from a local farmer. We rode back with our booty, peddling like fiends, outdoing one another. I think it was because the weather was always nice, and that I wasn’t in school and that I felt safe that made the time fly by so fast and be so much fun, but I also know that Austria and its people had something else to do with it.
I put my card on the table, it wasn’t my last but I didn’t have many left. He didn’t even look at my cards anymore. But I was sure that in a real fight, my two with a fat pig on it would kick that bean stock’s ass. After his early celebration dance Tobias realized what had happened. He pushed the cards to me. “Weli,” I said and I motioned the cards back to him. He persisted, and the cards were mine. My logic was right, that pig ate that bean stock entirely. I had beaten the Weli, and suddenly the game was that much better.
The girls came back; we called the game in Tobias’ favor, and helped them pack the cupboards. Libby was very excited; you could tell she was remembering more about her time in America. “Look, I have peanut butter,” Libby said she came back to Austria absolutely addicted to peanut butter. Tobias tried it for the same time and he loved it, but Lisa Maria was harder to convince. I showed them all the American tricks with peanut butter. Crackers, cereal, apples, it was like a new invention to them, and I was glad to share it.
Christian took us to the river Rhein after dinner for a swim. We crossed the borders like insurgents, swimming silently and stealthily. The coarse sand and sharp rocks cut our feet like clothing on thorns. Here Christian made his move. He rose out of the water and began to climb the nearest tree hanging over the water’s edge. He climbed without his legs, just his arms. The rest of his body dangling there gave him the eerie appearance of a hanged man, swaying in the breeze. He squatted on the branch Indian style, and said proudly, “I’m going to do a flikkety-flak,”
He sat there, knees bent and in his face, as if doing his best monkey impression. Smiling as he repeated his words, “I’m going to do a flikkety-flak,” And so he let go, at first he just stayed there, then he fell back and back, until his head was the lowest of all of his body, and his feet were still on the branch. He tumbled through the air and hit the water as limp as a rag doll. We just looked at each other and then the water, waiting to see if he would come up. He did and proudly pronounced that that was a proper flikkety-flak. Indeed it was.
Christian was not the man consumed by money I thought that he was, he just wanted what was best for his wonderful family. Libby was a stern but caring person with all the strength and love in the world. Tobias and Lisa-Maria were there to test her resolve, and push her. Libby pushed back just the right amount. Dad and I spent two weeks with them in Austria, and though an ocean may separate our families and countries, we are still very much alike.
