“You’ll be outside in the cold for much of the day. I suggest adding a layer of clothing. If you need extra garments, you can borrow some of Norbie’s clothes.”
“I have some in my suitcase.”
“We leave for school in thirty minutes,” she said. “When you’re ready, come downstairs for breakfast.”
“All right.”
“Coming, Nia?”
Nia yawned, emitting a faint, high-pitched whine. She padded to Anna, and then followed her down the stairs.
Anna entered the kitchen, where Norbie was placing toasted black bread and a pot of bark coffee on the table. “Thank you for getting up early to prepare breakfast.” She hugged him, noticing his shoulder blades protruding from beneath his sweater.You’ve lost more weight.
He released her. “I wanted to surprise you with a nice meal, but all we have is a hunk of bread and turnips. I wish we had a bit of plum jam to hide the sawdust taste of the bread. It’d be nice for Max to have a decent breakfast for his first day of school.”
Anna nodded. Potatoes were scarce, and people were surviving on turnips, which were traditionally used to feed animals. Her heart ached with the thought of people, especially children, perishing from malnutrition. She shook away her thoughts and gestured for hervaterto take a seat at the table. “There’s something about Max that you should know.”
Anna told Norbie about the damage to Max’s ears from a shell explosion. “Before the war, he was an aspiring pianist. His range of hearing is compromised, and he’s unable to detect the upper octaves of a keyboard.”
“Oh, my,” Norbie said. “He must be devastated.”
Anna nodded. “He’s given up on his dream of becoming a composer, and I’m worried that he’ll abandon his guide dog training.”
“Fate has brought Max here.” He looked into his daughter’s eyes. “I can think of no one better than you to help him regain his spirit.”
Anna smiled, feeling grateful for hervater’s confidence in her.
Max came to the kitchen a few minutes before they had to leave, allowing little time to eat. After a thirty-minute walk over frost-covered streets and sidewalks—of which Max preferred to use his walking stick and Anna’s verbal instructions, rather than allowing Nia to guide him—they arrived at the barn at precisely 7:00 a.m. Anna, shivering from the cold air, ushered them inside.
“Hallo.” Emmi attached a harness to a German shepherd and approached them.
“Max,” Anna said, rubbing her glove-covered hands, “this is Emmi.”
Max removed his cap and nodded.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Emmi said.
Nia greeted the shepherd with a sniff to her nose, and then wagged her tail.
Anna touched Max’s arm. “The trainers and trainees will be here in an hour. Do you think you can make a fire while Emmi and I tend to the dogs?”
“Ja,” he said.
She guided him to a cast-iron stove that Fleck had installed at the back of the barn. It was used to warm the staff during their breaks. Like Anna, who cared for Nia in her home, some of the trainers had begun taking some of the dogs home in the evening due to the falling temperature.
She handed him an ash shovel and a metal pail. “You can empty the ash in here. The wood is stacked to the right of the stove, and matches are on a shelf in front of you.”
Max kneeled and began cleaning the stove.
Anna removed a dog from its pen, attached a harness, and walked outside. She met up with Emmi, who was taking a shepherd to do her business in the yard.
“How’s it going with boarding Max?” Emmi asked.
Anna frowned. “Not so well.”
“What’s wrong?” Emmi asked.
Frigid wind nipped at Anna’s neck. She adjusted her scarf, and then told Emmi about Max’s hearing loss and former profession as a pianist. “He’s sad and depressed, and he barely spoke during our walk.”
