Utopiensammlerin

A Novel by Mira Steffan Elated, Charlotte locked the front door to the gallery. She had been working with Lara Sass for six months now. She had never enjoyed a job so much. Lara was …

A Novel by Mira Steffan „You’re giving up? You were just doing really well on the career track. Why are you throwing it all away again?” With raised eyebrows, Susanne looked at Charlotte across the …

A Novel by Mira Steffan So Dorothea dared to take the leap into something new, dared to do what she didn’t think she could do. What about her inner fulfillment? Justus had already made it …

A Novel by Mira Steffan “I have to tell you something.” Dorothea began a conversation, which was to evolve into very interesting one for Charlotte. Together they went for a walk during their lunch break. …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Emma was beaming. Because Charlotte and Justus and Karl joined forces to sing the song by Rolf Zuckowski: “Wie schön, dass Du geboren bist…”. It was Emma’s 13th birthday, and …

A Novel by Mira Steffan The large conference room was full of people standing closely together, each holding a glass of champagne. It was Günter Heinze’s celebration for his 60th birthday and the company anniversary. …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Charlotte sat in her car outside Dorothea’s house, waiting for her. They were going to their company’s corporate party together. Charlotte was excited. It was the first time she attended …

A Novel by Mira Steffan „Sit down,” Meier said friendly, but in an neglegtful manner. With unease, Charlotte complied with this request. Why had Meier called her into his office? She was sure – it …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Nervously, Charlotte kept glancing at her wristwatch. She had to pick up Emma from her piano lesson in 45 minutes. And Schuster was having an argument with Horst Alt about …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Being in a hurry Charlotte greeted Günter Heinze, who bumped into her in the hallway. But Heinze forced her to stop: “Hello, Mrs. Reimann. Why did you disappear to so …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Her tan from the vacation and the feeling of relaxation had quickly faded. When Charlotte looked in retrospect at the last six weeks, she realized that on four weekends they …

A Novel by Mira Steffan She knew something was wrong even before she picked up the phone. “Mrs. Reimann, Emma hurt herself in sports class. She probably has a concussion of the brain. The ambulance …

A Novel by Mira Steffan “Have you ever noticed how pale Dad is?” Charlotte stopped raking and sat up, “Now that you mention it. True.” She wiped her forehead thoughtfully, “I think Papa has lost …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Charlotte flipped back and forth in the file folder, back and forth. Why had the department manager canceled the old maintenance contract for the injection molding machines? Somehow, the costs …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Heinze’s incredulous expression said it all. He’s staring like a numbed goldfish, Charlotte thought heretically and almost had to laugh out loud, but suppressed the impulse immediately. Then Heinze cleared …

A Novel by Mira Steffan She parked her car in the parking lot for hikers and got out. Again she took a deep breath. The air scented of damp earth, leaves and grass. Without paying …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Charlotte opened the front door. Silence greeted her. Emma and Justus had gone swimming. She hung up her coat on the coat rack, added her shoes, and strolled into the …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Pauline nodded in Charlotte’s direction. She had been ranting unabated for ten minutes about the pros and cons of different grave borders. They sat across from each other at her …

A Novel by Mira Steffan “Ms. Lah could print this out straight away,” Meier told Charlotte. What she meant was the adjusted figures for the budget planning she had just discussed with Meier. They left …

A Novel by Mira Steffan The moderator’s voice was getting on her nerves. The world was so noisy. People everywhere were talking, gossiping, arguing. The people were wearing her out. Charlotte turned off the car …

A Novel by Mira Steffan The hollow cheeks, the black circles under her eyes, the hurried expression on her face. Justus didn’t like this at all. Charlotte worked too hard and too much. But when …

A Novel by Mira Steffan “Yes, yes, that’s what I say. It goes on and on.” Short break. Then a shrill exclamation, “My God! NO! OH! Oh, the poor thing!” Charlotte cringed. She was sitting …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Work was a distraction that Charlotte immersed herself in. She took care of Emma as much as her work allowed, had sex with Justus, went to invitations, smiled, chatted, talked, …

A Novel by Mira Steffan The world was standing still. Or was it her standing still? And the world kept on rotating? Minutes, hours, days melted into one another. Her life was falling apart, and …

A Novel by Mira Steffan The following weeks blurred in the routine of everyday life. The conversation with Dorothea faded. Office, household, child demanded her full attention. Charlotte and Justus met in the kitchen for …

A Novel by Mira Steffan “How nice of you, that you could come over,” Dorothea said, hugging Charlotte and taking her coat. “I’ve already opened a bottle of white wine for us,” she continued, pointing …

A Novel by Mira Steffan In a rush and focused on the shopping list in her hand, Charlotte was pushing the shopping cart through the aisles of the grocery store when she was abruptly brought …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Robert casually raised his right hand, which was resting on Ute’s shoulder, and greeted everyone. But then his gaze slid past them. Automatically, Charlotte turned and saw two attractive men …

A novel by Mira Steffan Smiling, she followed her instruction and looked up at her. Her chin-length, fringed blonde hair framed her oval face, giving it a soft, feminine expression. With her dark blue eyes, …

A Novel by Mira Steffan “Have you signed up?” with a stern look on her face, Susanne wagged her index finger back and forth. It was another Saturday morning. There were red and yellow tulips …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Not three steps away from her, she saw a man who had already caught her eye in the seminar because of his endless questioning. “What are you doing here?” “I’m …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Done. She had done it. The applications had been sent. Thoughtfully, she turned on the kettle, got a chamomile tea bag and her teacup from the cupboard. Leaning her hip …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Two more job interviews followed in the next few weeks. But the salary expectations matched even less than those with UPPA Energie GmbH. After another two weeks, Charlotte was about …

A Novel by Mira Steffan The energy and the voices of the others were stuck in her head. Charlotte turned off the radio. Not a single sound could she bear anymore. The clock on her …

A Novel by Mira Steffan Charlotte looked around her office. She liked the small room of about ten square meters and the window front to the right of her desk. Above all, and this was …

A Novel by Mira Steffan 7:30 p.m.: Charlotte switched off her computer and left. She had a dinner date with her sister Pauline. Twenty-five minutes later, she pulled into the restaurant parking lot. As she …