pulled me inside.”
“Kurt Abt.” The man’s right sleeve hung empty. He must have a very strong left arm to have lifted her into the truck the way he did.
“I should have stayed with Herr Holtzmann, held on to him tighter. If only you could have rescued him.”
Kurt’s blue eyes frosted. “He was an old man, not long for this world.”
“He was my opa’s best friend. Neither of them will make it.” The empty space in her heart pained her. She swallowed around the lump in her throat.
At last Kurt released his hold on her. “He could get on the next truck.”
“How many more will there be? If Elbing and Frauenberg have fallen, how much longer until Heiligenbeil and Königsberg do too? The Russians could already be in Danzig. We don’t know.”
Mitch touched her back. “These soldiers wouldn’t be on their way there if it was in Soviet hands.”
But they all understood that it wouldn’t be long.
“Tante Gisela.” Renate cried for her and she became aware of the little girl beside her and the gorgeous platinum blond woman holding her.
Gisela took Renate and snuggled her.
Mitch spoke in her ear. “If you hadn’t made it onto the truck, the girls would have been without you.”
She squeezed Renate. “Then what was I supposed to do?”
“Just what you did.”
“Was it the right choice?”
“The only one.”
Yet she heard the huskiness in his voice. He had to miss his friend as much as she missed Opa. And now Herr Holtzmann. There had to have been a way to save them.
“You did the right thing.” The woman beside her with the Hollywood looks nodded. “When the Russians entered my village last year, they ran over the fleeing civilians with their tanks.”
“I know. I know.” Gisela would never forget the sickening sound of bones being crushed. All night long that horrible last fall in Goldap, she listened to the Russian tanks roll over those fleeing them. She shuddered. How many more lives would the Soviets demand?
Gisela studied the young woman, her wavy hair escaping her rolls. She had seen her before. But where?
A moment’s consideration gave her the answer. “You are Audra Bauer, a seamstress at the shop where my cousin buys her dresses, aren’t you?”
The woman tipped her head. “Ja. I always remember these sweet girls. Frau Steinmetz gives them candy.”
Gisela introduced herself and Mitch.
Audra wrinkled her forehead. “That soldier is your husband? I don’t remember you or Ella mentioning him when you came to the shop.”
When would she learn to think before opening her mouth? Or at least have an excuse at the ready. Gisela paused for a long moment before an answer came to her. “We are newlyweds. You know how wartime romances go. You meet one day and are married the next.”
Audra giggled like a schoolgirl. “He is very nice.”
Gisela had to admit she was right. His dimples got her every time, making her want to smile. And the way he raked his hand through his thick, dark hair . . .
Person upon person had crowded onto this truck tighter than pickled eggs in a jar. The truck flew over a bump and she and Renate jostled against Mitch. As if touched by fire, heat suffused her body. She managed a cautious peek at him. His prominent Adam’s apple bounced as he swallowed.
He smiled a sort of sad smile, biting his lower lip.
Her head spun.
The world buzzed.
Then there was blackness.
Gisela, standing in front of Mitch, slumped into him. He grabbed her under her arms. If there had been a spare centimeter to move, she would have fallen to the ground. The hair on his arms bristled.
They bumped along the road, jostled and shaken until every muscle in his body hurt. The smells of human waste, the taste of fear, the packing of one body against another reminded him of thathorrific trip in the cattle car from France into Germany five years before. Their captors had been less than kind. The POWs had been packed tighter than in this truck. Men prayed. Men cried. Men
“Kurt Abt.” The man’s right sleeve hung empty. He must have a very strong left arm to have lifted her into the truck the way he did.
“I should have stayed with Herr Holtzmann, held on to him tighter. If only you could have rescued him.”
Kurt’s blue eyes frosted. “He was an old man, not long for this world.”
“He was my opa’s best friend. Neither of them will make it.” The empty space in her heart pained her. She swallowed around the lump in her throat.
At last Kurt released his hold on her. “He could get on the next truck.”
“How many more will there be? If Elbing and Frauenberg have fallen, how much longer until Heiligenbeil and Königsberg do too? The Russians could already be in Danzig. We don’t know.”
Mitch touched her back. “These soldiers wouldn’t be on their way there if it was in Soviet hands.”
But they all understood that it wouldn’t be long.
“Tante Gisela.” Renate cried for her and she became aware of the little girl beside her and the gorgeous platinum blond woman holding her.
Gisela took Renate and snuggled her.
Mitch spoke in her ear. “If you hadn’t made it onto the truck, the girls would have been without you.”
She squeezed Renate. “Then what was I supposed to do?”
“Just what you did.”
“Was it the right choice?”
“The only one.”
Yet she heard the huskiness in his voice. He had to miss his friend as much as she missed Opa. And now Herr Holtzmann. There had to have been a way to save them.
“You did the right thing.” The woman beside her with the Hollywood looks nodded. “When the Russians entered my village last year, they ran over the fleeing civilians with their tanks.”
“I know. I know.” Gisela would never forget the sickening sound of bones being crushed. All night long that horrible last fall in Goldap, she listened to the Russian tanks roll over those fleeing them. She shuddered. How many more lives would the Soviets demand?
Gisela studied the young woman, her wavy hair escaping her rolls. She had seen her before. But where?
A moment’s consideration gave her the answer. “You are Audra Bauer, a seamstress at the shop where my cousin buys her dresses, aren’t you?”
The woman tipped her head. “Ja. I always remember these sweet girls. Frau Steinmetz gives them candy.”
Gisela introduced herself and Mitch.
Audra wrinkled her forehead. “That soldier is your husband? I don’t remember you or Ella mentioning him when you came to the shop.”
When would she learn to think before opening her mouth? Or at least have an excuse at the ready. Gisela paused for a long moment before an answer came to her. “We are newlyweds. You know how wartime romances go. You meet one day and are married the next.”
Audra giggled like a schoolgirl. “He is very nice.”
Gisela had to admit she was right. His dimples got her every time, making her want to smile. And the way he raked his hand through his thick, dark hair . . .
Person upon person had crowded onto this truck tighter than pickled eggs in a jar. The truck flew over a bump and she and Renate jostled against Mitch. As if touched by fire, heat suffused her body. She managed a cautious peek at him. His prominent Adam’s apple bounced as he swallowed.
He smiled a sort of sad smile, biting his lower lip.
Her head spun.
The world buzzed.
Then there was blackness.
Gisela, standing in front of Mitch, slumped into him. He grabbed her under her arms. If there had been a spare centimeter to move, she would have fallen to the ground. The hair on his arms bristled.
They bumped along the road, jostled and shaken until every muscle in his body hurt. The smells of human waste, the taste of fear, the packing of one body against another reminded him of thathorrific trip in the cattle car from France into Germany five years before. Their captors had been less than kind. The POWs had been packed tighter than in this truck. Men prayed. Men cried. Men
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