Max buried his angst and commanded Nia to proceed forward. Once they were out of earshot he said, “I should have argued with Waldemar to allow us to join the others.”
“It wouldn’t have done any good,” Anna said. “He dislikes you because you’re Jewish, and he loathes me because I am a woman, infringing upon his work.”
“Maybe I should speak with Fleck,” he said.
“I doubt that Fleck—or the pastor of our church, for that matter—would condone banning you from the cathedral because of your faith. But we need to pick our battles, Max. I don’t want to take a chance of you not graduating because we disobeyed Waldemar’s orders when he’s acting as a substitute supervisor.” She rubbed the sleeve of his coat. “Like you said, it’s only for one day.”
“But it’ll be cold for you and Nia at the train station.”
“At least we’ll be shielded from the wind,” she said. “Today, we’ll follow orders, and soon you’ll be leaving Oldenburg with Nia.”
A memory of serving on the front filled Max’s head. Regardless of his education and combat training performance, he’d been given a low rank position because he was a Jew. Now, Anna was struggling to succeed in a role that was dominated by men.We’re both fighting to be viewed as equal.He tightened his grip on the harness and trekked through the snow.
Arriving at the train station, they went straight to work. Although the structure provided cover from the wind and snow, the temperature remained frigid. To protect Nia’s frail paw, they took periodic breaks on a wooden bench, where they placed the dog on their laps and warmed her pads with their bare hands. Since Max did not receive his usual military-issued lunch, which he presumed was at St Lambert’s, Anna insisted that he eat half of her lunch, a leftover turnip latke that Norbie had packed for her. Regardless of their fatigue and hunger, they pressed on with training, practicing left turns, right turns, and avoidance of obstacles. Nia excelled at carriage work—when Max told her to “find the seat”—and she shined with intelligent disobedience work by successfully refusing to follow Max’s commands to place him in danger of falling off the ledge of the platform. Waldemar checked in on them twice to make sure they were working and, while doing so, made disparaging comments about their dog handling techniques. But Waldemar’s contempt didn’t rattle Max as it did before. The isolated training had turned out to be blessing, all because he had more time with Anna and Nia.
* * *
After training, they arrived home to a dark, empty home. Anna, still wearing her coat, lit a lamp, and placed it on the kitchen table.
“Norbie is running errands and will be home late.” She removed her leather gloves and blew on her fingers. “We were saving our small stash of coal for later in the winter, but I think we’re going to need it tonight. Would you mind making a fire in thekachelofen?”
“Not at all,” Max said, unbuckling Nia’s harness. He ruffled the dog’s fur, and then ran his hand along the living room wall until he found the tiled stove. He removed hunks of coal from a tin bucket and placed them into the stove by stacking on a layer of kindling, arranged like a small wooden pallet. He stuffed in paper and lit it, using a box of matches he’d located by the bucket.I so appreciate the latitude to do things on my own, Max thought.Unlike Wilhelmina,Anna and Norbie don’t fret about me accidentally setting the house on fire.
“I’m boiling water in the kitchen,” Anna said, entering the room. “I’ll prepare you a washbasin.”
“Danke,” Max said. “But you wash first. Your teeth were chattering; the hot water will take off your chill.”
“Are you sure?”
“Ja,” Max said. He patted his lap, and Nia sprang to him. “I have a dog to keep me warm.”
Anna smiled. “All right.”
While Max waited for the tiled stove to radiate heat, he remained in his coat and cuddled with Nia on the sofa. He took in a few deep breaths, attempting to alleviate the tightness in his chest.The brumal air makes my lungs feel like they’re being squeezed in a vise.“How are you feeling?” he asked, rubbing Nia’s ears.
Nia panted.
He gently rubbed Nia’s right front leg. “Is your paw okay?”
Nia leaned back her head and gave him a wet lick to the chin.
He chuckled. “I guess so.”
Twenty minutes later, Anna entered the room and approached him. “Ready for your washbasin?”
Max nodded. He stood, unbuttoned his coat, and slid his cap from his head.
“When was the last time you had your hair cut?”
Max ran a hand over his head. “I can’t remember.”
“Come to the kitchen,” she said. “I’ll cut your hair.”
“It’s not necessary,” he said.
“Norbie never goes to a barber. I trim his hair and beard, and he’s never complained about my work, even when I nearly snipped off his earlobe.”
Max fidgeted with the cuff of his coat sleeve.
