She placed her hand on the harness handle next to his. “I’m not asking you to decide today. But please, promise me that you’ll give it some thought.”
“I will,” he said, already knowing what his decision would be.
Minutes later, they arrived at the town hall. The groups split up—with each veteran and his dog venturing off to their assigned landmark—except for Max and Anna.
“Do you remember how to get to the hospital?” Anna asked.
“I know the way to the general area,” Max said, struggling to bury his thoughts about Anna’s invitation to stay. “I’m sure Nia and I will find it.”
“Make sure you explore the garden. Emmi and I used to spend our lunch breaks there. It won’t be as nice in the winter, but it’ll give you some protection from the wind.”
“I will,” he said. “What will you do with your afternoon?”
“I’ll go home to check on Norbie, and then I’ll see about getting rations.”
He reached into his coat pocket and removed a small paper bag. “In case you don’t have any luck with acquiring food, we can add this to tonight’s dinner.”
“Oh, Max,” Anna said. “You can’t keep giving us your military lunches.”
He held out the bag.
“You need your nourishment,” she said. “Eat it in the hospital garden.”
“I’m not hungry,” he lied. “Please take it.”
Anna exhaled and reluctantly took the food.
“I’ll meet you here later,” he said.
She slipped the bag into her coat pocket. “Good luck, Max.”
He nodded and clasped the harness. “Forward.”
Nia padded ahead, and they left Anna behind.
It was more difficult to find the hospital than he’d thought. Although he’d previously traversed the area, he took a wrong turn, and after walking several street blocks in the wrong direction, he resorted to asking for directions from a woman who was shoveling snow from the entrance to her front door. And it occurred to Max that Fleck had expected that the veterans would have trouble finding their destinations.When I go home, I won’t have Anna to rely upon. It’ll be up to me and Nia to find our way.
For twenty minutes, he navigated through unfamiliar cobblestone streets and intersections. Twice, he paused to catch his breath and to make mental notes of his route. Eventually, Max found the hospital, which he verified with an old man with a raspy voice who was smoking a cigarette near the building.
“We did it, Nia,” Max said. His veins surged with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Nia panted and wagged her tail.
They maneuvered their way to the rear of the building. Max increased the tapping of his cane until he found the garden, given the winding path that was bordered on both sides by bushes and dormant flower beds. Relieved to find his destination, he gave the command for Nia to stop. He drew in a lungful of cold air, which stung his throat and produced a cough. Kneeling to Nia, he removed his gloves and warmed her front right paw with his hands.
“You were favoring it on our walk.”
Nia nuzzled him.
“Better?”
She licked his nose.
He chuckled, and then stood and put on his gloves. “All right, girl. Let’s take a stroll through the garden.”
They wandered along the path, absent pedestrians or hospital staff. His boots crunched on the packed snow. Tweets of birds, coming from a nearby tree, decorated the air. Tension eased from his shoulder muscles, and his thoughts turned to Anna.
Two months ago, he’d arrived in Oldenburg a broken man, but Anna had given him hope and restored his will to live. She’d united him with Nia, his companion and living prosthetic for his eyes, and she’d helped him to rekindle his passion for music. By all accounts, Anna had rescued him from the hellish aftermath of war, and he would be forever grateful to her for what she’d done. But his feelings for Anna had grown far beyond the boundaries of friendship. He adored spending time with her—training, walks with Nia, and, most of all, sitting beside her at the piano. Her voice was the first thing he wanted to hear in the morning, and the last thing he wanted to hear before going to bed. Somewhere along the line, he’d fallen for her. And he thought, although he didn’t know for certain, that she had feelings for him, too. He’d imagined what it would be like to hold her in his arms and never let her go. But it was far too soon for him to act upon his emotions.She needs time to heal. And, perhaps, so do I.
