“Watch where you’re stepping,” Waldemar said, his voice filled with irritation.
“Was that your foot?” Max asked.
“Ja,” he said.
Max stood and dusted snow from his clothing.How did your foot get behind me?
Waldemar glanced to Fleck and the trainers, who were far away and out of earshot. “You did badly yesterday.”
“Ja,” Max said. “I will do better.”
Waldemar approached the dog and patted its back. “Gunda is having trouble bonding with you. She’s the most amenable shepherd in the group, and I’m concerned that none of the dogs will grow attached to you.”
Max pressed his lips together.
“Maybe you’re not cut out for this,” Waldemar said. “You might want to think about resigning before Fleck has you removed.”
Max’s blood turned hot. “I won’t quit.” He clasped the harness and stared ahead.
For the rest of the morning, Max worked with Waldemar, who criticized him on his commands and maneuvers. He was relieved when he and the veterans were given lunch, courtesy of the military, which consisted of black bread and a field sausage. Huddled around the barn stove, the veterans ate their food. Despite his hunger, Max only consumed the bread, and he stashed the sausage in his coat pocket.I’ll give it to Anna and Norbie.
Max contemplated telling Fleck about what happened with Waldemar, and he quickly dismissed the idea. Based on his experience, nothing good came from a Jewish soldier complaining up a military chain of command, and he believed it would be the same for a Jewish veteran. At the front, Jews were often given the more dangerous assignments, such as patrolling for enemy activity or conducting raids on Allied trenches. Also, they were routinely assigned the less appealing duties of removing mud from the trenches, digging tunnels, and carrying away the dead. And while stationed at Ypres, Max had witnessed a Jewish soldier named Konrad express dissatisfaction to an officer about a sergeant singling him out, because of his ethnicity, to empty rat-infested latrines. Konrad was relieved of latrine duty but was permanently assigned to a unit—consisting mainly of Jews and insubordinate soldiers—to conduct nightly repairs to barbed wire in no-man’s-land. Konrad lasted four nights until his body, ravaged by machine-gun fire, was found tangled in barbed wire, like a fly in a spider’s web.
Max resolved to keep his mouth shut.I’ll take everything Waldemar gives me, until I graduate or I’m kicked out of school.For the afternoon, Max rotated with the other trainers, who were far different from Waldemar. Although they were strict with their manner of instruction, they were kind and supportive and, during breaks, they expressed genuine interest in Max by asking personal questions and chatting like equal comrades. And it became clear, to Max, that Waldemar was prejudiced against him because of his Jewish ethnicity.
Waldemar influencing Fleck to remove him from training wasn’t Max’s only problem. He struggled to create a working rapport with any of the shepherds. Although he liked them, and he assumed that they were tolerant of him, none of them were like Nia, who was gentle and smoothly carried out his commands, despite a slight limp in her gait. He hoped that his lack of focus on his first day of training hadn’t tainted how the dogs viewed him. For the rest of the day, he diligently followed instruction, like he’d done when he was taught to play the piano as a child. With renewed determination—fueled by Anna’s kindness, as well as to prove Waldemar wrong—he practiced his commands with the shepherds, again and again.
At the end of the day, the trainers and veterans left, except for Max. While he waited for Anna to finish her duties, he sat on a crate outside the barn. A frigid wind stung his cheeks, compelling him to flip up his coat collar. Although he was tired and cold, he was eager to hear Anna’s voice, and to walk home with her, Emmi, and Nia. Having endured hours of commands, he longed for a cordial conversation. Minutes later, the barn door squeaked open. A patter of paws approached and he received a wet lick to the face.
“Hallo, Nia,” Max said, wiping his nose.
“How was training?” Anna asked.
“Better,” he said, not wanting to disappoint her.
“I’m glad,” Emmi said.
Anna paused, slipping on her leather gloves. “I told Emmi about Wilhelmina. I hope it was okay.”
“It’s all right,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Max,” Emmi said.
“Danke,” he said.
They walked to town with Max holding Nia’s harness. Unlike the day before, he initiated conversation by asking questions about their duties and experiences with shepherds. By the time Emmi took a separate route to her apartment, he’d learned about her nursing work with Anna, her husband, Ewald, who served as a medic at the front, and how Anna recruited her for the school. Based on Emmi’s kind words about Anna, he determined that they were not only close colleagues but best friends.
Arriving home, Anna made a dinner of sautéed, diced turnip mixed with old bread crust. Max gifted Anna and Norbie the sausage that he’d stashed in his pocket, but they insisted that they share it. So, Anna chopped the sausage into bits and added it to the food. Finishing their meals, Max and Anna washed the dishes, and they settled into the living room where Norbie was sorting through a stack of phonograph discs.
“Max, do you mind if I play something lively?” Norbie asked. “The sausage has renewed my energy.”
“Nein,” Max said, feeling glad to have made a contribution to the meal. He tapped his walking stick over the floor until he located the sofa, and then sat.
Nia curled near Max’s feet.
“You might regret your answer to Vater’s question,” Anna said, joining him on the sofa.
“Why?” Max asked.
