Page 104 of Hell to Pay

“Strange times,” Dr. Müller said, “when one can meet such an educated lady behind the counter of a bakery. And you, Herr Stark? Pardon me—do you have a rank I should use? I fear I am unfamiliar, although I do know that a general wears stars.”

“Staff Sergeant, sir,” Joe said. “Nothing like a general, I’m afraid. ‘Sergeant’ works too, though.”

Dr. Müller nodded. “Staff Sergeant Stark. I’ll use your correct title. I imagine you’ve earned it. Do you enjoy reading also?”

If it was meant to put Joe in his place, it failed. He said, “I do, sir, though I haven’t had as much time for it recently, as you can imagine. I was just writing my dad about how much I was enjoying John Dos Passos. TheUSAtrilogy.”

Dr. Müller leaned forward eagerly. “Indeed? I have been able to obtain only the first book.”

“I’m just finishing it now,” Joe said. “I’d be happy to loan you my copy afterwards, if you like. They’ve got the whole thing in one volume now. I was thinking that I’d like to dig into some of the English novels next. Evelyn Waugh, now … what do you think of him? He has a new novel out, I understand, that’s made quite a splash.Brideshead Revisited.Maybe a little too much war in it, but I’d like to give it a shot.”

“Really?” Dr. Müller asked. “But how very exciting.”

Joe said, in a take-the-bull-by-the-horns manner that I found most attractive, “I’ll get you thatUSAonce I finish with it. And as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I really came in to see if I could invite Daisy out for a coffee, or even lunch, if I get my way. They’re serving something at the hotel. I’m not sure it’s exactly coffee —or lunch, for that matter—but …”

Dr. Müller said, “You’ll set tongues wagging if you do.” Still mild, but with an edge to it.

“I’m sorry about that,” Joe said, “but I guess I’ll leave it up to her.” He looked at me, that smile playing around the corners of his mouth. He wasn’t handsome, so why did I like his face so much? “May I take you out for lunch? If not now, maybe a coffee after the bakery closes for the day?”

The bells on the door rang again, and another customer entered the shop. I didn’t pat my hair, although I wanted to. I said, “Let me just check with Frau Adelberg. One moment, please.”

The minute I was around the corner and in the kitchen, Frau Adelberg was hissing, “He’s come back! Oh, what will this do to us, if it gets out?”

“Why should it get out?” I asked. “Can you take over in the shop for half an hour, please?”

She stared at me. “Why?”

“So I can have lunch with him.”

“What?”

“Nobody knows,” I pointed out. “He’s just another American soldier, and we’re seeing more of them every day. It won’t be such a shock as all that.”

“I’mnot seeing more of them every day,” she said. “Where are you going, that you’re seeing all these Americans?”

“On my bicycle?” I suggested. “Into the countryside? Theworst I can say of them is that they drive too fast. And they do whistle at one terribly, but they haven’t bothered me otherwise. Thereisa customer out there. Shouldn’t we …”

The sound of the bell again, and then a shout. “It’s you! Have you come to fight again? Where’s your gun and your grenades? Do you have any more chocolate?”

Matti had come home for lunch.

45

OVER THE SAUSAGE AND TURNIPS

You can imagine with what speed I hurried back into the shop. Frau Adelberg didn’t come with me—she might well be hiding under the bed again.

Dr. Müller was still out there, talking to Joe about Shakespeare. The other customer, the one who’d caused the bell to ring, was Frau Braun, who always came later in the day, as she worked at the hotel.

Matti was dancing around Joe, who was saying, “Hey, buddy. Give me a minute, all right?” In German, as that was the language in which Matti had addressed him. Joe looked up at me and gave a rueful shrug, as if to say,What’s the alternative? Should I have pretended he mistook me for someotherGI you rescued?

Matti said, “You must have chocolate, though. All the soldiers had chocolate. Can I have some? Please? Just a nibble?”

Joe said, “Not this time. None in my pockets. I’ll bring it to you another time, OK?”

Matti sighed and said, “OK,” then perked up again. “Do you want to see my soldiers?”

Frau Braun said, “How well you seem to know each other,” but she wasn’t looking at Joe. She was looking at me, and her gaze was sharp. “There are many attractions in Fürth, don’t you agree, Herr Stark?” She knew him, then.