Page 9

Evi pushed aside her books as Lotte set a tea tray on the table, and there was sudden quiet after a murmured round of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and, “ah, the tea is so fragrant!”

It was Lotte who broke the silence. “Mila, we are pleased you have come – and thankful for your generosity. “But I am guessing you have not come all this way for a social visit. Perhaps you have some news to share?”

Mila hesitated, took a sip of tea, and steeled herself.

“Not news, exactly, but I have put together a plan with the Resistance Council to eliminate a few of the Reich’s despicable officers – and at the same time, help us to acquire a few Nazi uniforms and credentials that can be used as cover for our police marecheussees and volunteers. ”

She measured the look that passed between mother and daughter.

“I realize, Evi, you are not yet seventeen. But you are a pretty girl, and I think that with some make-up and suitable clothing, you could pass for older, ja ?”

Lotte’s eyes narrowed. Evi sat straighter in her chair.

Mila took a breath. “There are German officers here in Haarlem who are attracted to our beautiful young Dutch women – the younger the better, in many cases. They regularly patronize a few of our taverns – mostly taverns in quiet areas, far from the stadsplein, away from prying eyes.”

She leaned in. “These Nazi pigs are looking to – shall we say, to connect with the young Dutch beauties they find in these taverns, some of whom are happy to comply.”

Both pairs of eyes stared straight at her. “Collaborators,” Evi whispered.

“ Ja , sometimes, in return for German favors. But the operation I propose – which has the full support of our Resistance leaders – has a very different purpose.”

She leaned in closer.

“The plan calls for one or two of our pretty young women to patronize these taverns and deliberately catch the attention of German officers. ”

Two mouths dropped open. Mila expected as much. She laid out the rest of the plan, the protections that would be put in place.

There was total silence when she finished.

Evi was the first to recover. “Are you asking me to be one of these young women?”

“I would do it myself,” Mila said. “But I have already met with too many of these Nazi officers. I am afraid my face might be too easily recognized.”

“S o, you are asking me to…?”

“Ja , Evi, if you are willing to be trained, and if your mam will allow it.”

Evi clasped her mother’s hands. “Mam, you must say yes. You must! I can do this. I know I can!”

Lotte’s gaze went from Evi to Mila. “You cannot be serious, Mila. This could be far too dangerous -”

Mila sighed. “We all take risks every day, Lotte – hiding refugees on your barge, ja ? Transporting them down river in broad daylight right under the nose of the Germans.”

Mila lowered her voice. “There is danger in so many of the things we do – but in this instance, a pair of Resistance volunteers will be in place…bodyguards, ready to defend Evi if she needs it, and put these Nazi officers in the ground.”

Lotte paused. “What happens when these officers are discovered missing?”

Mila shook her head. “They will not be missed. The war has stretched on far too long. German soldiers desert the Reich Army every day.”

Lotte looked at her daughter. “But the violence –”

“I have seen more than my share of violence,” Evi burst out. “Innocent people shot in the street. Nazis leaving a shop owner for dead, his blood dripping into the gutter…”

Mila spoke quietly. “She is right, Lotte. You have seen these things for yourself. You risk your life – and your daughter’s life – every time you transport a fugitive. ”

She could see Lotte’s mouth working.

“These Nazi bastards have been getting away with murder from the moment they crossed our border,” Mila said. “We work daily to sabotage their phone lines, bomb their transports, keep innocents from dying at their hands – but they never lack for new ways to torture us.”

She paused. “Lotte, this is a chance for Evi – your beautiful, brave Evi – to help us eliminate one verdoemde Nazi at a time.”

In the silence, Evi locked eyes with her mother. “I have to do this, Mam.”

Mila saw the defeat in Lotte’s face. “…What, exactly, would she have to do?”

EVI

The kerosene lamp flickered and died early on a Thursday night – all at once, without warning, plunging them into darkness as they sat eating a dinner of cold cabbage soup.

Mam burst into tears. Evi rose silently, carrying their dishes to the sink. She reached into a cabinet with a steadiness that surprised her. “We have candles, Mam,” she said. “We will be fine.”

“I’m sorry, lieveling ,” Lotte sniffled. “I am the mother. I should be the brave one. It is only that …”

“You are brave,” Evie murmured, setting two fat candles in a pair of brass holders. “I hope I can be as brave as you have been from the moment the Germans stormed in.”

She struck a match and set the candles alight, bringing an eerie, dancing light into the cabin.

“It is fortunate the hold is empty,” Mam’s face was half in shadow. “It will be pitch dark down there.”

She paused. “Evi, Zoe asked me yesterday if we could manage to shelter two little children – Jewish orphans from Germany who saw their parents shot to death by Nazis as they watched.”

Evi’s eyes widened .

“Resistance forces are trying to spirit the children out of Germany and deliver them to relatives in Portugal,” Mam said.

“Portugal?”

“Yes. From Belgium into Southern France, then though Spain and into Portugal – which is still, Godzijdank, a neutral country.”

But the danger in such an extended route was daunting, Evi knew. “How old are these children?”

“I believe they are four and six.”

Evi shivered, not just from the cold. Her mother’s face looked older in the flickering light. “Mam,” she said, “children that young cannot possibly be in the hold by themselves.”

“I know. I know that, Evi, but neither can they be turned away. Most of the hiding families in Haarlem are already caring for more children than they can feed – and we are at least able to transport them down river to be moved along to other hands.”

Evi washed and dried the few dishes by candlelight. “When are the children scheduled to arrive?”

“If they arrive. We can never know for certain, you know that, Evi – but perhaps in the next few days if God is good to them.”

Evi took a deep breath. “We may as well go to bed now, Mam. Tomorrow, in the light of day, we will talk about what we can or cannot do.”

...

First light came late as winter stole more of the daylight. Evi had been awakened by air raid sirens during the night and once she thought she had heard the scream of a grenade. She climbed out of bed just after seven and dressed in the murky darkness.

With no way to light classrooms as the days darkened, she was fairly sure school would be closed. But all was quiet, and she missed her friends. She decided to find out for certain.

She scribbled a note for Mam, who was still asleep, pulled a wool cap over her ears, and hoisted her book bag over a shoulder.

In moments, she blended into a smaller group than usual heading toward the main road.

She was not surprised. Without power, fewer businesses could operate, and there were fewer places for people to go.

She paused at Sissi’s lamp post, then shivered in her coat and turned toward school. She walked past the SS guards with barely a nod, burning more keenly than ever to play her part in the plan Mila had proposed.

...

To her surprise, she saw for a full block before she reached the building that the school doors were wide open. Clusters of students stood chatting in the cold, a smattering of teachers walking from group to group.

She spied Sophie, her blond braids pushed up under a green wool cap, waiting on the top step. She picked up her pace, walking through clouds of her own cold breath.

“Evi!” Sophie ran down the stairs to meet her. Fat tears were running down her cheeks.

“What is it?” Evi rummaged for a handkerchief but could not find one. “What happened?”

As if the sight of her friend had fueled the spigot, Sophie cried even harder.

“Are you hurt?”

Sophie shook her head.

“Then what?”

Sophie worked to gain control. “It is Lukas.”

Evi reared back. “Sophie, you scared me half to death. What about Lukas?”

“He is…” Her friend took a shuddering breath. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper. “Lukas is quitting school. This is his last day, he told me. He is joining the Royal Dutch Police.”

Evi stared. “Surely not on the side of the – ”

Sophie leaned in close. “No. He is joining so he can wear the uniform and be out and about after curfew. There are plenty of Royal Dutch police, you know, who are not collaborating with the Germans.”

“I know that, Sophie. So, Lukas will be a marechaussee – working for the Resistance.”

Sophie nodded and wiped away a tear, her expression a mix of pride and sorrow.

“But Sophie, that’s wonderful!”

She was fairly bursting to tell Sophie that she, too, would soon play a new role for the Resistance. But Mila had sworn her to silence about the plan, and she knew she must keep her word.

“Be proud of Lukas,” she whispered. “Think of it! He will surely save innocent Dutch lives. And, surely, he will not drop out of sight. He knows where to find you, Sophie.”

“I know.” Sophie kicked a stone at her feet. “But not to see him every day!”

Evi looked ahead at the last group of students climbing the steps to the entrance. “We must go inside. It is late.”

“I do not think it matters,” Sophie fell into step beside her. “With the power cut, and the days so short, my English teacher told us classes will be held for only two hours a day.”

“Two hours! It hardly seems worthwhile.”

Evi followed her friend up the stairs, but her thoughts were already elsewhere.

ZOE