Mrs. Martin & Mr. Blohm — Episode 20: Since we cannot lengthen life, we must deepen it.

Dinner at Mr. Blohm’s apartment has now reached the main course.

The red wine — a 1997 Brunello di Montalcino from Podere — has been decanted and placed on the table. From the kitchen Regina hears the pasta water boiling. Mr. Blohm returns to prepare the king prawns with homemade tomato sauce and linguine. When Regina offers to help, he waves kindly and says:

“Please make yourself comfortable. Enjoy a glass of this excellent red wine.”

He pours the Brunello into beautifully large red wine glasses.

Regina sits down, but her thoughts drift.

It is time, she decides, to finally state her own life goals — because the answers she received from Mr. Blohm so far do not match hers in any way.

He seems perfectly happy not being in a relationship. His marriage, as she now knows, ended badly. He loves Hamburg, enjoys his role as CEO of a Swedish uniform company, and feels completely at home in his current life.

Regina, by contrast, couldn’t feel more differently. Hamburg feels cold, windy, and sunless to her — and her job at La Perla doesn’t fulfill her either. Her heart is dreaming of a different life.

Mr. Blohm returns carrying two large white plates.

The dish looks stunning — linguine tossed with king prawns and homemade tomato sauce.

He places one plate in front of Regina, one in front of himself, and sits down, visibly proud.

“Mrs. Martin, I wish you a wonderful appetite. I can already smell how perfect this main course turned out,” he says, taking his first bite with great pleasure.

The Big Speech

Regina, meanwhile, has lost almost all her appetite because she had hoped that she and Mr. Blohm shared something in common.

Before taking even a single bite, she puts down her fork and says:

“Mr. Blohm, I want to be open and honest with you.

If everything you’ve done tonight — all this effort, this wonderful homemade dinner — is meant to end in a one-night stand, then I can tell you right now: that won’t happen. I’m not interested in an affair.

I want to be transparent with you, Mr. Blohm. I’m looking for a man who wants to get married — not someday, but as soon as he feels he has met the woman of his life, regardless of whatever past he may have.

He also needs to be willing to live with me in Miami and build a business with me. I don’t know yet what that company will be, but I know one thing for sure: I don’t want to be an employee anymore. And I want one child.

And if that man happens to be German… well, to be honest, I would actually prefer to marry an Italian man — but at the very least, he must agree to get married in Italy. I will not get married in Germany, because I don’t see my future there.

And one more thing, Mr. Blohm: I already have my wedding dress. I bought it five years ago. It’s packed away in a white cake box under a bed in Munich — waiting to finally be seen.”

With that, Regina twirls one linguine around her fork, leaves the king prawn untouched, and takes a large sip of red wine.

Wow, she thinks. That was quite a speech.

Even she is surprised by her own directness.

By the time she finishes her speech, Mr. Blohm has already eaten almost his entire plate. He looks straight at Regina.

The silence grows heavy.

Regina senses she may have overwhelmed him and tries to bridge the quiet — not even Luis Miguel playing softly in the background can save the moment.

“This tastes very good, Mr. Blohm,” she says gently.

“Mrs. Martin, you haven’t touched the prawns yet,” he replies calmly.

Unexpected Silence

Regina feels surprisingly awake, despite barely having slept the night before. She waits for Mr. Blohm’s reaction to everything she has just revealed.

Instead, Mr. Blohm simply asks whether she would like another glass of red wine and whether she enjoys it as much as he does.

Regina finally tastes the prawn tail — and it is delicious, soft, and full of flavor, just like all the previous courses.

She agrees to another glass, especially after everything she has just said.

As Mr. Blohm refills her empty glass, she thinks:

He’s just trying to get me drunk. He thinks that will make it easier to get me into bed.

But good luck, Mr. Blohm, she adds silently. I can handle my wine — after all the dinners and parties I’ve been to, it takes a lot more than this to knock me out.

Mr. Blohm smiles proudly and says. I’m glad the red thread carried through all the courses I cooked this evening — including this wonderful Brunello from 1997. And after this comes my specialty: the strawberry parfait. With it, we’ll enjoy some lovely rosé bubbles, if you’d like.”

Regina stares at Mr. Blohm and thinks.

He is completely ignoring everything she just said about her life goals — the whole speech she delivered with so much confidence.

What is this? she wonders. Avoidance? A distraction tactic?

He refuses to show his cards, Regina thinks.

And that is something she absolutely cannot stand.

She tries again.

“Tell me, Mr. Blohm — do you know the book The Rules of Happiness in Love?”

“No,” he says. “Who is the author?”

It’s by Pierre Franckh,” Regina explains. “He writes about his own experiences — he was divorced too, just like you. He explains why relationships fail: because people don’t share their goals from the beginning and are often not honest with each other. Everyone tries to show only their best side, but you can’t keep that up for years.

It’s better to be honest right away — that’s exactly what I did today. I shared my plans and goals openly.

And you Mr. Blohm haven’t said a single word about where you Mr. Blohm stand on them.

She takes another bite.

Mr. Blohm answers:

“I would like to read the book. Could you lend it to me Mrs. Martin ?”

What? Regina thinks. He wants to read the entire book before giving me an answer about my life goals?

Her book is full of color-coded highlights — yellow for small notes, green for values, blue for essentials, and pink for negotiables. It practically looks like a rainbow.

But fine, she thinks.

Maybe the book will help him — if not for her, then for whichever woman crosses Mr. Blohm’s path next.

Cigars & Cigarettes

She finally finishes the prawn tail.

As Regina takes her last bite, Mr. Blohm stands up, walks over to his display cabinet, and pulls out a humidor.

“Tonight I’ll treat myself to a cigar,” he says.

Regina feels instant relief — now she doesn’t feel guilty lighting another cigarette.

He gives her a light, then lights his cigar.

Regina takes her first drag and wonders:

Is he just talking… or does he truly care about what Pierre Franckh wrote?

“Yes,” she says, “I can put the book in your mailbox tomorrow.”

She adds one more thing:

You’ll see, Mr. Blohm — when you read it, you’ll realize it wasn’t your ex-wife who was a bad person, and not you either. You probably just had completely different values. Sharing the same values is essential for a relationship to work in the long run. And maybe the two of you never really talked about your life goals.”

Mr. Blohm smokes quietly and doesn’t say a single word.

Very unusual for him — Regina has only ever known him to be extremely talkative.

Still, she feels relieved.

She’s glad she spoke openly about her life goals, just as Pierre Franckh suggests in his book.

It feels good.

She continues, trying to soften the atmosphere, explaining how important it is for her to marry only once — how a promise is a promise, and if it isn’t kept, then it was never truly a promise at all. She talks about the difficult phases every relationship goes through, and that she wants one child — because at 35, her clock is ticking.

Regina explains to Mr. Blohm that the next man in her life must share her values and goals.

Anything else would be a waste of time — and that is exactly why she doesn’t want an affair.

The Bathroom Interlude

Regina finishes her cigarette and goes to the bathroom.

It is very tasteful — dimmed lighting with a candle, white towels everywhere, perfectly clean, and even the toilet lid is down, just the way she prefers it. She even notices a radio (and yes, dear readers, in 2005 people still had radios in their bathrooms).

It makes her smile — apparently, Mr. Blohm also listens to music while showering, just like she does.

When Regina returns from the bathroom, the strawberry parfait dessert is already served, and a chilled half-bottle of Ruinart Rosé stands on the table.

She is so surprised she has to laugh to herself. She came expecting “one hour and a plate of Penne Arrabbiata,” and now she’s already three hours in — with one course better than the next, and she can hardly wait to taste the dessert — and on top of it, Mr. Blohm is offering a half bottle of Ruinart Rosé.

Unbelievable.

This Mr. Blohm is really giving everything, Regina thinks.

“I hope you love Ruinart Rosé as much as I do, Mrs. Martin,” Mr. Blohm says. “I bought only a 375 ml bottle so you don’t think I’m trying to get you drunk.”

Regina is impressed.

Very elegant — and very considerate. If he had offered a full 750 ml bottle, she would have definitely refused. But a 375 ml bottle for two people? That is very thoughtful.

She agrees, and Mr. Blohm opens the Ruinart, pours it into two beautiful champagne glasses, and they toast.

She notices that Mr. Blohm is still unusually quiet.

Regina enjoys the strawberry parfait — while Mr. Blohm barely touches his.

They hardly speak while eating.

After finishing, Regina says,

“I’ll go home now, Mr. Blohm. Thankfully it’s only a few steps downstairs,” she adds with a soft smile. “I had very little sleep last night — I only returned from Munich this morning.

“Yes, it’s late,” Mr Blohm says. And nothing more.

Regina stands up.

He walks her to the door.

They shake hands.

“I’ll put the book in your mailbox tomorrow,” Regina says. “It might be very good for you, Mr. Blohm.”

“That would be nice,” Mr Blohm answers calmly.

A Rainbow of Lessons

She leaves through a slightly smoky atmosphere — and it’s not only from her cigarette.

On the way downstairs Regina wonders:

Why was he suddenly so quiet?

Why didn’t he say a single word about my life goals?

Why didn’t he ask any questions?

Why didn’t he respond at all?

Why was he like a silent fish, completely unlike the man Regina met before?

For Regina it becomes clear:

Even though he is a wonderful host, a great cook, has great taste in music, décor, Prosecco, and Champagne — and even though her tiredness vanished in his presence —

Why was he so silent?

Was it because he wanted none of what she proposed — marriage, a child, a move to Miami, starting a business?

Was he only interested in a one-night stand?

That would explain the silence.

And now, Dear readers

Do you want to know how it continues?

Because you will never guess why Mr. Blohm was so silent.

As they say:

One should never jump to conclusions.

Thoughts come and go — but SYLTBAR stays.

So let’s toast with a glass of Mr SYLTBAR while we write Episode 21.

Just so you know — this was only the first half.

Good things in life take time.

That’s exactly why our Premium Prosecco tastes so exceptional.