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“Not much. He was an angry man. I don’t speak Czech, so we didn’t get to talk much, and from what I remember, he wasn’t very happy that we were here. But I have already told you this.”
“Yes, and I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Thank you. Mom would call him periodically, but at times, she couldn’t get hold of him for weeks. And then he would call, out of the blue, and accuse her of never calling him. I always felt that he was like this black cloud hanging over her head. The only good thing was that he lived so far away.”
“Coming here wasn’t easy for you.”
She dropped her gaze. The flight across the ocean and the train ride—that was a breeze. What worried her was the man in the fedora, seemingly popping up on every corner.
Oliver cleared his throat. “The mill has been in your family for four generations.”
Meghan looked up.
“Your great-grandfather bought it from the family that built it. It was constructed in 1826, with some improvements along the way, but the main stone structure dates back to the early 19thcentury.”
Meghan reached for her phone. “Mind if I take some notes?”
A smile cracked the history teacher’s face. “Of course. There will be a quiz next week.”
Meghan chuckled. Her thumbs glided across the screen. “Okay,” she looked up.
“Your family took over the mill in 1933. And that is significant because that is the year when—” Oliver pointed at her, waiting for an answer.
Meghan frowned. Was he testing her?
“The Great Depression was in full swing?” She would humor him, this once.
“Yes, but it was also the year Hitler became the chancellor of Germany. Your great-grandfather had a small textile manufacturing company, but he sold it and bought the mill. He must have figured out that food would be of much greater value than fabric in the upcoming years.”
“How would he have known that?”
“He had been a legionnaire during WWI.”
“A legionnaire?”
Oliver leaned back. “Well, I will save that story for our second date, but it may explain why he seemed a bit rough around the edges. There was no help available for veterans suffering from PTSD then, or as they called it, shell shock.”
Date?She decided that the correct meaning of this word must have slipped, as English was his what? Fourth language?
“Okay, go on.” Meghan sipped her coffee.
“Having two sons, he must have thought running a mill would be manageable.”
“Wait a minute.” Meghan set her spoon down. “Grandpa had a brother?”
“Yes, and a sister.”
“I have heard nothing about that.”
“Hmm. Just wait; the story gets even more interesting.”
Meghan inched forward.
“This region was called Sudetenland before and during WWII. Over 85 percent of the population was German. They were the descendants of the Germanic migrants who immigrated into the Kingdom of Bohemia in the 11thcentury.”
“I don’t want to be rude,” Meghan set down her spoon, “but if we are going back to Adam and Eve, I will need another coffee.”
“Sorry, you can’t say I didn’t warn you. The history of this place fascinates me.”