Page 80 of The Last Safe Place
Here you could almost forget that there was a war going on. Life flowed along as tranquilly as it had done for centuries. Leonore’s greatest sorrow was that she wasn’t allowed to work, so she entirely depended on the disbursements from the Abwehr’s escape fund. It bothered her that she had contributed the least, since she hated living at the expense of others. How she’d have loved to earn her own livelihood. But Switzerland had imposed a strict employment ban on refugees, so all she could do was write a column for a local newspaper on a voluntary basis.
Herr Seifert had been taken to hospital immediately after arriving in Basel, literally at the last second, according to the doctors. After surgery, which had caused some complications and a long convalescence, he was now largely recovered. Because he, too, wasn’t allowed to work, he was writing a book: a legal appraisal of the Third Reich. Leonore gave an involuntary yawn at the title. Could there be anything more boring than legal documentation?
Herr and Frau Lange frequently met with a variety of important people to send messages to Germany to maintain the illusion of their espionage activities for the Abwehr.
Michaela, on the other hand, had positively blossomed. Despite not being allowed to work, word had quickly spread in refugee circles that she was an excellent doctor, and now a constant stream of patients consulted her under the pretext of a social visit. Professionally, there was little difference from practicing in secret under Hitler’s regime.
Ilse and Eva had been enrolled in school and caught up on all the things normal children and adolescents did in their everyday lives. Nor had the two girls had the slightest difficulty adapting to the unique Swiss dialect. They now spoke impeccable Swiss German and were indistinguishable from the local children.
Leonore envied the two a little, since they were so carefree, not noticing the struggles of the adults. She scolded herself: no matter how arduous life here might be, it was nothing compared to the harassment she’d suffered in Germany, and she certainly wouldn’t return while Hitler was in power.
Almost daily, new and disturbing news reached them of the persecution of Jews, ghettoization and – according to rumor – murders. Leonore shivered despite the warm sun.
People in Basel didn’t believe the rumors; they found them too far-fetched, a construct of the morbid imagination of people suffering delusions of persecution. Leonore, on the other hand, didn’t doubt the truth of the stories for a second. She knew there were no depths to which Hitler wouldn’t sink. She’d experienced first-hand what his minions were capable of.
After a while, she tucked her notebook into her purse, picked up a pebble, and sent it skipping across the water. She was smugly congratulating herself on the three skips when someone called her name.
“Leo! Leo!”
She looked around to see Michaela walking with her daughters along the bank, which was a popular meeting point for the youth of Basel. The locals loved to leap into the water and drift downstream on the current until they came ashore at the next riverside bathing spot, before walking back to their starting point.
“Gruezi. Have you taken the afternoon off?”
Michaela sat down next to her on the pebbly beach and took off her shoes. “I’ve decided my patients will have to make do without me for an afternoon.” She wiggled her toes, looking at the water. “My daughters persuaded me to come here. They say I work too hard.”
“They’re right, you do.” Leonore sometimes wished she had a job too, even if it was unpaid.
“I promise to do better. Who’s coming for a swim?” Michaela stood up and was heading for the water.
Leonore felt uneasy about the current in the Rhine. “I’ll stay here and take care of your belongings.”
Watching the family of three walk away, she was suddenly aware of how sweet life could be. They had finally escaped the clutches of the Nazis, thanks to Reuben and Hesse. She hoped that whatever they did next, they stayed safe. The world needed more people like them.
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