Anna wiped her eyes with her sleeve.He’s lost so much, yet he’s encouraging me to pursue my aspirations.
“How about a pact?” he asked, extending a gloved hand. “I’ll do my best to graduate from guide dog school, and you do everything in your power to remain a trainer.”
“Agreed.” She shook his hand.
Nia raised her snout, her eyes peering back at them.
Anna released his hand and patted Nia. “You’re in this pact, too, Nia. I’m expecting you to show Fleck that you’re worthy of being a guide dog.”And someday you’ll be assigned to Max.
Arriving at home, Anna—despite being chilled, tired, and hungry—was excited to tell hervaterabout the day. They entered Norbie’s workshop, void of light except for a glow coming from under a crack in the back door.
“Vater!” Anna called.
“Outside,” he said, his voice muffled.
Anna opened the back door. In the garden, a small snow-covered space that was surrounded by a brick wall, Norbie was on his hands and knees. Beside him was a lantern, spade, and hand trowel. Ice beads clung to his beard.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Digging for food.” Norbie attempted to stand and grimaced.
Anna dashed to him and helped him to his feet.
Nia led Max into the garden.
“Why?” Anna asked, dusting snow from his clothing.
Norbie, his eyes filled with sadness, looked at Anna. “I went to pick up our rations and was told that they were out of food.”
Oh, God. “How long?”
“They don’t know,” Norbie said. “I’ll try again tomorrow. But in the meantime, we only have a couple turnips for us to eat.” He glanced to a row of leafy stalks, which were partially covered in snow. “I was saving the winter leeks to separate and replant in the spring, but I decided to dig them up for us to eat. The ground is frozen. It took me over an hour to collect a couple of meager plants.”
Anna clasped his hands. “You’re shivering, and you have icicles in your whiskers. Let’s go inside.”
“I’ll be a little while longer,” Norbie said. “I barely have enough for a watery soup.”
“I’ll do it,” Max said, stepping forward. He removed his gloves, reached into his pocket, and handed Anna a small package wrapped in newspaper.
She lifted a corner of the paper, exposing a hunk of bread and a field sausage. Her heart sank. “You can’t keep giving us your lunch.”
“The military gives me more than I need.” He turned toward Norbie. “My time in the trenches has turned me into a skilled digger. How many do you need?”
“Danke, my boy.” Norbie patted Max on the shoulder. “A few more would be splendid.” He led Max to a row of winter leeks, handed him the garden tools, and then went into the house.
Anna paused, watching Max hack away at the frozen ground with a garden trowel. The winter was unseasonably cold, as if Mother Nature was bestowing her wrath in response to the war that ravaged her Earth. A shiver ran down her spine.What if there are no rations available tomorrow, or the day after that?The dormant leek bulbs in their miniscule urban garden would not be enough to augment their depleted rations. Her excitement to tell Vater about her day vanished, replaced with a fear of not having enough food to survive the winter.
“Take Nia inside,” Max said, scraping at frozen soil. “I can find my way upstairs.”
“All right.” Anna clasped Nia’s harness and led her inside.
In the kitchen, Anna removed Nia’s harness and bundled her in a blanket. She attempted to check her paws, but the dog playfully rolled in the blanket, as if she were drying herself after a bath. Assured that Nia’s sore paw was not causing her too much distress, Anna lit the wood stove and prepared a bowl of lukewarm water for Norbie to thaw his numb fingers, and a pot of boiling water to make soup. She chopped the frozen leeks and a turnip and tossed them into the pot. Thirty minutes later, Max entered the kitchen with a handful of leeks, which she diced and added to the soup.
Dinner was served well after 9:00 p.m., a time when they were usually preparing to go to bed. On the table were bowls of leek soup and a plate with Max’s leftover field sausage and bread.
“It’s good,” Norbie said, tasting his soup.
“It needs cream and potato,” Anna said.
