Page 51 of Library of Forbidden Books

New “Friends”

Berlin

December 31, 1936

Helene put off the inevitable visit to the Meyers as long as she could. The weeks went by without much variation, and Christmas came and went quickly. The city was decked out to a degree that reflected how much the German economy had picked up in recent years. Nearly every household was back to making their traditional holiday foods. For Helene, the season was tinged with sadness due to her grandmother’s absence. But the world kept turning. Hitler had become a routine part of life, and few seemed to notice that his rule was increasingly authoritarian.

Working at Kedem continued to prove refreshingly uncomplicated. But Helene had decreased their visits to the Secret Library in order to spend more time preparing holiday things for Alexander, now that he was big enough to start enjoying them.

When Derek got home from work on New Year’s Eve, they got dressed to go out, buttoned Alexander into an adorable little suit, and crossed the hall. A maid opened after the first knock, which surprised them, but then Lauralei appeared, dressed in a long red silk gown. Her bright blond hair was gathered at the nape of her neck, and she had on enough makeup for several women.

“Forgive me,” she said, nodding toward the maid, “but we’ve got people coming over at eight. Do come in, come in,” she said with an aggressively wide smile. She cooed over how darling Alexander looked.

Derek had brought a bottle of wine. He did not know if these neighbors preferred wine or beer, but he had not wanted to show up empty-handed. Joss came out to meet them as they passed through the hall to the living room. He wore a svelte, tailor-made suit with a spotless white shirt. His expression was one of tolerance rather than eagerness.

“Ah, the neighbors. We’ve been wondering when we’d see you—waited till the very last day of the year, I see.” He cast an uninspired look at the bottle of wine Derek held out.

The Meyers’ living room was much larger than their own. The entire apartment was larger: four bedrooms, plus one for a servant. It was a corner apartment, and the view from the windows was even more impressive than at Helene and Derek’s. The Brandenburg Gate was practically at arm’s length. The Christmas lights from the Pariser Platz were magical, a nearly unreal spectacle. Alexander was mesmerized and kept tapping at the glass trying to reach them.

They settled onto the couches, and Lauralei could not take her eyes off the child. “He’s grown so much since the last time I saw him!” she cried.

“Yes, he’s bigger and bigger every day,” Helene answered proudly. At sixteen months, Alexander was definitely starting to look like Derek.

“We, well . . .” Lauralei hesitated, then dropped her voice so that only Helene could hear. “We can’t have children. It’s a shame not to be able to help grow our Führer’s nation.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Helene said, truly sad about the first part of Lauralei’s grief.

“Can I hold him?”

Helene smiled. “Of course,” she said, and she held out Alexander. He was squiggly at first but then settled into the woman’s lap and ran his fingers up and down the smooth silk hem of her dress.

“Oh, he’s just a dream. Do you take care of him all by yourself? Or do you have a job? Joss doesn’t want me to get a job. When we met, I was a secretary at the Ministry of the Interior, but Joss thinks the proper place for a good German wife is at home taking care of her husband and children.”

Helene took a deep breath, not sure where to begin. The Nazis had relegated women once again to anonymity in the private sphere. The fairer sex was only useful in so far as they provided progeny for the Third Reich.

“Well, I used to be a librarian. But now I help out in a bookstore in the mornings, just for a few hours, while my mom watches Alexander. My parents don’t live too far from here.” Helene tried to keep things vague.

“A bookstore! I used to love to read, and I’ll still pick up a book every now and then. But between the radio, going out, seeing my friends, and my duties with the Party, I’ve got no time. I’m a founding member of the National Socialist Women’s League and head up several of our programs, mainly the ones with the young marrieds. We teach them everything they need to know about being faithful mothers and wives. It keeps me busy. I’m sure you’re in the League?”

Her tone was casual, but Helene could tell she was fishing. “I haven’t gotten to that. Before Alexander was born, I was busy all the time. And now that he’s here, nothing has slowed down!”

As if on cue, Alexander scrambled out of Lauralei’s lap and made a dash back to the window. Helene whisked him up just before he started banging on the glass.

“Of course. Anyhow, I’m home many mornings if you need someone to watch him. I really would love to. I’m hoping to adopt, but it’s complicated. You know how it is. There aren’t very many Aryan orphans . . .”

Helene nodded and made a noncommittal noise to cover up how awkward she felt. They would only have to stay another thirty minutes. Their excuse to leave would be going to Derek’s parents’ house, which was not an enjoyable prospect, but at least it would get them away from the Meyers. “Yes, thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

At the other end of the couch, Derek was skillfully maneuvering an even more awkward conversation with Joss, who was interrogating him from every angle to define his relationship to the Party.

“Two years? Why did it take you two years to join? Don’t you support the Party?” Joss said. His face muscles tensed with loathing as he sipped at the wine Derek had brought.

“Well, at first, you know, there was a lot of confusion about whether the military could or should affiliate. It took a while for all of that to get cleared up. When it did, I joined.”

Joss did not seem convinced. His lips pursed as he forced down another thimbleful of the wine. “A man with principles will always do what’s right, even if he has to go against tradition or, in this case, the bunch of outdated cuckolds in charge of the army. They’re the reason we lost the war. If it were up to me, I’d slit the throats of the entire lot, just like we did with the SA traitors.” He made no effort to lower his voice or modify his brashness in front of the women and the child. One thing Joss had going for him was consistency between thought and word.

Derek also took a sip of wine. To him, it tasted perfectly balanced. He regretted having brought such a nice bottle over.

Joss resumed his interrogation. “The doorman told me your wife was absent for a period of time and then came back with the baby, but she was emaciated.”