YAY! another story in the third person.... They're always great!!
Having said that, since u r writing in the 3rd person, why not a little more from Paul as well?? i mean we r looking at Karl and his misery... Its great that Paul is doing so well, i mean we don't HAVE to know the details of his personal life and his history of getting to where he is now... I mean a little about what he is feeling and how he was shocked into a stutter at seeing karl after all these years u know... Since u said this is gonna be a short story, it'll be nice to get to know both sets of emotions instead of just one.
Huge Grey Eyes!! **sigh**