Page 67 of The Watchmaker of Dachau

‘Father and Mother have gone to Munich. They won’t be back tonight. Please, Isaac. If you do this for me, I promise in my whole life whilst we are friends, I will never ask for anything else. Please!’

Friedrich had come so close – so very close. He had not thought that Isaac might not do as he wanted.

‘It’s Anna!’ he suddenly blurted out. ‘She needs you.’

‘Anna?’ Isaac stood and looked to the house. ‘I thought you said it was a surprise?’

‘It is. Sort of. I was in a rush and my words got all jumbled. Anyway, please, it’s Anna, she needs you.’

Slowly Isaac nodded and he followed Friedrich to the house, through the kitchen door where Anna was washing sheets in a large sink, water creeping up the arms of her brown work dress, causing it to darken.

‘What’s going on?’ Anna spun round, water dripping onto the tiled floor.

‘Come with me.’ Friedrich held out his hands to the two of them and dumbly they took them, allowing him to lead them into the dining room.

Anna gasped when she entered. ‘This is what you’ve been doing?’

Friedrich dropped their hands and placed the needle on the record, the smooth melody of a saxophone ringing out, then accompanied by the tinkle of light keys on the piano.

‘It’s for you both. To dance. It made Mother happy when Father would dance with her. And when Otto and I would dance at school. I thought you would like it.’

They both stood as still as statues, staring at him.

He had got it wrong; he had got it all so wrong. They didn’t want to dance – they didn’t like his surprise.

He felt tears prick at his eyes, then Anna stepped forward, crouched down and put her arms around him.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered in his ear, her voice breaking. ‘Thank you. It’s perfect.’

A woman’s voice began to sing – deep, rich with English words that Friedrich did not know.

Isaac still stood motionless, and Friedrich watched as Anna moved towards him and took his hands in hers. ‘May I have this dance?’ she asked him.

Slowly, ever so slowly, Isaac put his arm around Anna and the two began to sway to the music, moving silently, carefully. Friedrich sat on a chair and watched them, the flicker of the candles in the darkened room causing shadows to jump on the walls, so that their shadows danced too, as if there were more people in the room, all of them dancing whilst the voice of the woman, who his mother had said was named Billie Holiday, sang out, making Anna cry.

Chapter 23

Isaac

April 1945

Isaac dreamt that he was with Hannah. They danced in the spring meadows, the music filtering from the heavens, a woman’s voice, rich and deep, the tinkle of piano keys helping her to hold the melody.

There was someone else with them too – a child, a boy, who clung to them both – who had Hannah’s eyes. In that moment he felt a rush of warmth, of happiness swelling in his body.

Hannah did not speak to him as they danced. They held each other close.

When he woke, he felt bereft. His body was cold, his fingers numb, and he realised where he really was.

‘You were muttering in your sleep,’ Elijah told him as he climbed out of his bunk.

‘What did I say?’

‘I don’t know – just mutterings. We all do it, I suppose. But I haven’t heard you do it before.’

Isaac tried to talk but a wave of coughing overtook him, and he felt Elijah’s hand patting him gently on the back.

‘You’re getting worse,’ he said.