Tom

Tom Berger, Johanna's husband

To flee from the limitations of his Swabian home, Tom went to university in Berlin. How so many Swabians of his generation, he, too, wanted to define himself anew in the distant metropolis. And he succeeded. In his first semester, he already met Johanna – and fell in love with her. A time like a wonderful trip. The partied all night through, made new friends and the bourgeois limitations of his youth seemed far away. When Johanna got pregnant, he didn’t shy away from confronting his appalled mother, who never liked independent Johanna and wanted her son to finish his studies first. That was what father Hubert had always wanted – before dying from a stroke just weeks from his retirement, the only unplanned event in his life ever. And Hubert’s word had to be followed. Hubert Berger, in the upper grade of civil service, was never extraordinarily strict. But he had a natural authority. He always seemed to know exactly, how other people should lead their lives (the way he did) – and all his life he ignored stubbornly that there may be alternatives to his ideals. This time, however, Tom asserted imself. He stood up for his family, even before his daughter was born. 

When his studies came to a conclusion and Tom had some great goals. He wanted to open a legal practice in Berlin – together with two of his fellow students. They wanted to fight for justice and freedom – and the socially disadvantaged. He consider Berlin to be the perfect place for a plan like that. Tom did not want to become a boring company lawyer – in some corporate law firm. He wanted to make a difference. Yet, it turned out Berlin is not the ideal place for a young lawyer. This city is full of dreamers, but there is not enough money to make them come true. Slowly, Tom’s doubts began to grow. He got increasingly nervous: many of his former fellow students announced their new jobs on their social network profile pages. Jobs with many responsibilities and lots of money – yet he was stuck. Tom found his position frustrating – and unfair. Maybe Prenzlauer Berg had only been a playground for his dreams. Maybe now was the time to face reality. Tom went looking for a job. He found a temporary position in a small legal practice specializing in bankcruptcy law. In Stuttgart. And so Tom returned – to the world, he once escaped from.

„It’s just for now“, he told Johanna and himself and commuted from Stuttgart to Berlin every weekend. Tom wouldn’t let go of Prenzlauer Berg. Yet one day, he was offered an unlimited contract by his office.

And only now that Johanna found a Job in Stuttgart, the family is reunited. Not in Berlin, but in Stuttgart. Even if Meike’s enthusiasm is anything but overwhelming.