“Would you care for orange juice with your meal, sir?” she asked.
Klaus and Max arrived to the dining room a few minutes later and while the men dined, I went back to the bedroom I’d slept in to pack my things and tidy up. But as I looked around the room in the daylight, I couldn’t help but feel sickened. This had clearly been the room of a young woman. Ediline. The furnishings were feminine, but not childlike. Elegant. A teenager coming into her own. My room in Hamburg, though three times the size and filled with much more expensive furnishings, had had the same feel. The feel of coming into one’s own.
I quietly opened the door and tiptoed down the hall to the built-in cupboard in the hall, smiling when I saw I’d guessed right, the shelves inside filled with linens and bath towels. Grabbing a washcloth, I hurried back to the bedroom and shut the door. Opening the window, I gasped as a gust of frigid air blew in, and then hurriedly began wiping down all the surfaces, clearing away the dust that had gathered in its owner’s absence. When I was done, I removed the quilt and, holding on tight, gave it a hard shake near the open window before putting it back on the bed and fluffing the pillows.
I hoped the young woman who had lived in this room got to come home soon.
After the men had finished their meal and washed up, Max, Klaus, and I followed the captain out to his car and were driven to a small military base where Max was given a set of keys and a pat on the shoulder.
“It was an honor to have you in my home, sir,” Hauptmann Keller said. “I wish you all a safe journey.”
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Max said.
“And my boat?” Klaus asked.
“You are going back?” Keller asked.
“There are others who are trapped. I must do what I can to help.”
“You are a true patriot. We’ll be sure to be on the lookout for you now.” He waved down a nearby soldier. “I’ll have one of my men drive you to it.”
“That would be lovely, thank you.”
“You’re sure?” Max asked. “I’m happy to drop you off myself.”
The two men’s eyes met and held, as if asking silent questions back and forth.
“Please,” Keller said. “We held you up last night. Let me at least save you some time now by giving him a ride.”
Klaus gave Max a nod. “You should get on the road. Make up the lost time.”
Max sighed and then he clapped the man on his shoulder. “Klaus... Thank you. May your travels back be swift and safe.”
“It was my pleasure to assist you both.”
The two men shook hands, and then Klaus turned and shook mine as well.
“Thank you, Klaus,” I said. “Be safe.”
“You too, miss.”
We got in the car then and sat for a moment, watching as Klaus drove off with the soldier.
“You think he’ll be okay?” I asked.
“I think he will leave here okay. But now he has to survive his return.”
As the car started to roll away from the base, I stared out the window, hoping I survived my return as well.
29
William
Seattle
2003
The book layon the table between us. It was brown leather. Worn. No title across the front or along the binding, just some floral markings etched along the border, the edges of the pages yellowed with age.
