timber wagon leaving the city with all the right papers and someone knocked on the door for her. Chances
like that don’t come up often.’
Words seemed to fill his throat, twisting together, choking him. ‘She didn’t . . .’
‘Say goodbye. No.’ Mrs Gronowska’s touch became a clasp. ‘She was worried you’d want to go with her. It’s only temporary, Gregor, just for the next month or
so.’ She gave a forced laugh. ‘Eva had to wear an old pair of overalls with a turban round her hair. She wouldn’t have got many cabaret parts dressed like that.’
She was trying hard to console him. Gregor forced himself to stretch his facial muscles into an amused expression. ‘She left this.’ She took an envelope from her dress pocket and he
ripped it open.
Darling Gregor,
Forgive me for leaving without saying Auf Wiedersehen. I actually said it to you while you slept. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. I knew you’d want to come with me and I
wouldn’t have been able to resist letting you. And you’re safer away from me.
It’s only for a short time, Gregor. The Russians and the Germans will reach a stalemate, some people believe, and life will ease for us. Or the Allies will do something.
I found the address of the German office you can approach about repatriation as an ethnic German and the Gronowskis have the details. I didn’t make the application for you myself
because we need them to forget all about me. You can honestly say that you don’t know where I am at the moment. But I’ll send you an address in due course.
Try and keep up your piano practice. Sometimes your left hand is unsteady at speed. By the time I see you again perhaps you’ll have mastered that mazurka! I look forward to hearing
it.
All my love, Liebling.
Mama
When Mrs Gronowska went to supervise breakfast Gregor sat on the stairs, letter in hand, staring at the front door through which his mother had crept so silently hours earlier.
‘What the hell are you doing staring into space like an idiot?’ someone said below him.
He hadn’t heard Jacob coming out of the dining room.
‘Your breakfast is waiting. Hurry up or one of the girls will eat it.’ His hand was gentle on Gregor’s back. ‘You wouldn’t believe what greedy little devils they
are. And don’t worry – Vargá would have done everything necessary to make sure your mother’s safe.’
‘Have you ever met this Vargá?’
‘None of us have, except your mother. They met at one of those cafés in Nalewki Street. That’s what Reuben said. He’s got friends who know Vargá.’
So that’s where Mama had gone on those evenings when she’d pleaded headaches and said she was going to walk in the evening air. Gregor felt a kind of impotent exasperation. The
Gronowski boys seemed to know so much more about what’d been going on than he did.
‘How did Vargá know she was in the city?’
Jacob rolled his eyes. ‘You’ll never make a Varsovian, Gregor. Word travels in this city. Particularly among us Jews.’
‘But you’re not really . . .’ He stopped.
‘Observant? No. The Gronowskis have lived a pretty secular life for the last half-century or so. But we still have friends and family in the Jewish community.’ He slapped
Gregor’s back. ‘Come on, little German boy.’
One afternoon he came into the drawing room and found Reuben smoothing down the Persian rug. Reuben looked up. ‘Damn thing’s never sat properly.’
Gregor sat on the floor beside him, the question almost hanging out of his mouth. Reuben raised an eyebrow. ‘What?’
‘Why are you nice to me?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m German. I’m supposed to be getting myself repatriated to the glorious Reich. You should hate me.’
Reuben shrugged. ‘Vargá obviously trusts your mother.’
Once again, this man’s name. But other things were on his mind at the moment. ‘I’m caught in the crack.’
‘What crack? What are you talking about?’
‘I don’t
like that don’t come up often.’
Words seemed to fill his throat, twisting together, choking him. ‘She didn’t . . .’
‘Say goodbye. No.’ Mrs Gronowska’s touch became a clasp. ‘She was worried you’d want to go with her. It’s only temporary, Gregor, just for the next month or
so.’ She gave a forced laugh. ‘Eva had to wear an old pair of overalls with a turban round her hair. She wouldn’t have got many cabaret parts dressed like that.’
She was trying hard to console him. Gregor forced himself to stretch his facial muscles into an amused expression. ‘She left this.’ She took an envelope from her dress pocket and he
ripped it open.
Darling Gregor,
Forgive me for leaving without saying Auf Wiedersehen. I actually said it to you while you slept. I couldn’t bring myself to wake you. I knew you’d want to come with me and I
wouldn’t have been able to resist letting you. And you’re safer away from me.
It’s only for a short time, Gregor. The Russians and the Germans will reach a stalemate, some people believe, and life will ease for us. Or the Allies will do something.
I found the address of the German office you can approach about repatriation as an ethnic German and the Gronowskis have the details. I didn’t make the application for you myself
because we need them to forget all about me. You can honestly say that you don’t know where I am at the moment. But I’ll send you an address in due course.
Try and keep up your piano practice. Sometimes your left hand is unsteady at speed. By the time I see you again perhaps you’ll have mastered that mazurka! I look forward to hearing
it.
All my love, Liebling.
Mama
When Mrs Gronowska went to supervise breakfast Gregor sat on the stairs, letter in hand, staring at the front door through which his mother had crept so silently hours earlier.
‘What the hell are you doing staring into space like an idiot?’ someone said below him.
He hadn’t heard Jacob coming out of the dining room.
‘Your breakfast is waiting. Hurry up or one of the girls will eat it.’ His hand was gentle on Gregor’s back. ‘You wouldn’t believe what greedy little devils they
are. And don’t worry – Vargá would have done everything necessary to make sure your mother’s safe.’
‘Have you ever met this Vargá?’
‘None of us have, except your mother. They met at one of those cafés in Nalewki Street. That’s what Reuben said. He’s got friends who know Vargá.’
So that’s where Mama had gone on those evenings when she’d pleaded headaches and said she was going to walk in the evening air. Gregor felt a kind of impotent exasperation. The
Gronowski boys seemed to know so much more about what’d been going on than he did.
‘How did Vargá know she was in the city?’
Jacob rolled his eyes. ‘You’ll never make a Varsovian, Gregor. Word travels in this city. Particularly among us Jews.’
‘But you’re not really . . .’ He stopped.
‘Observant? No. The Gronowskis have lived a pretty secular life for the last half-century or so. But we still have friends and family in the Jewish community.’ He slapped
Gregor’s back. ‘Come on, little German boy.’
One afternoon he came into the drawing room and found Reuben smoothing down the Persian rug. Reuben looked up. ‘Damn thing’s never sat properly.’
Gregor sat on the floor beside him, the question almost hanging out of his mouth. Reuben raised an eyebrow. ‘What?’
‘Why are you nice to me?’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m German. I’m supposed to be getting myself repatriated to the glorious Reich. You should hate me.’
Reuben shrugged. ‘Vargá obviously trusts your mother.’
Once again, this man’s name. But other things were on his mind at the moment. ‘I’m caught in the crack.’
‘What crack? What are you talking about?’
‘I don’t
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