The German Wife(14)

My parents’ bedroom door was closed when I got out of bed the next morning, and I had a feeling Dad might not make it out of bed that day. I went out to use the washroom, but while I was there, I heard Dad and Henry shouting. I ran back to the house just as the bedroom door slammed again, and a defiant Henry stomped down the hall, joining Mother in the kitchen.

“What did you do, Henry?” Mother whispered, visibly upset. He raised his chin stubbornly.

“You’ll see,” he told us both. “Everything will turn around next season. That money is going to save us.”

Maybe Daddy was worn down by the dry and the hopelessness, or maybe he knew Henry had ultimately done the right thing, because as much as he grumbled, Daddy didn’t even try to give that money back to the judge.



9


Lizzie

Huntsville, Alabama
1950

As I’d driven to the party, my intention was to seek Calvin out and apologize. I had a perfectly good excuse for my tardiness. This wasn’t the first time my car had needed some cajoling.

But as I approached Cal, I heard snippets of the conversation around him. These men were speaking English, but much of it was heavily accented. Henry’s taunt about my new “Nazi friends” rang in my ear, and I felt a shock of outrage.

No.

It just was not right for these people to be mingling with the rest of us, enjoying the sunshine on their faces, sipping champagne, and laughing so freely.

I spun on my heel and made a beeline toward more familiar faces. My friends Becca, Juanita, and Gail were there with a handful of other women. Avril Walters was there too, talking quietly with a woman I didn’t know—a woman with auburn hair and a milky, clear complexion I couldn’t help but be jealous of. Was this new woman German? I looked between the groups and quickly decided she must be the wife of one of the new American scientists. Calvin’s team had expanded so quickly, it was hard to keep up.

“You look like you need a drink,” Becca said, and she picked up a champagne flute from the table and handed it to me.

“Thanks,” I muttered. I downed the glass, then glanced toward the German women. I dropped my voice. “I just cannot believe this. We’re supposed to just mingle with them like we don’t know where they’re from?”

“No need to whisper, honey,” Becca laughed gently. “It seems none of those women speak a word of English. But Mr. Newsome still wants us all to invite them for coffee to help them settle in.”

I looked at her in disbelief.

“Are you going to?”

“Well, it’s hard when they don’t even speak the same language, but yes, I was going to try. For the program, you know, but...” She winced. “It doesn’t feel right, does it?”

“These people should probably be on trial at Nuremberg, not sipping champagne in Huntsville. They’ll infect this town like a disease.” I took a second glass of champagne and looked around the crowd. Elijah Klein was with the men, but his wife, Leah, was standing behind Becca, flicking decidedly uncomfortable glances at the Germans. “It’s bad enough that these monsters aren’t in prison, but to put them to work, side by side, with American Jews?”

“It’s not right,” Leah said flatly. “I didn’t want to come today, but Eli insisted. I just hate that he’s working with these men.”

“How does he stand it?” Becca asked, her voice hushed. Leah sighed impatiently.

“He says the end justifies the means. Honestly, does it even matter if we put a rocket into space? Who cares?”

“Kevin says that if we don’t work with these men, the Soviets will beat us to it,” Becca muttered, shaking her head. We all paused. No one wanted the Soviets to beat us at anything.

“The problem isn’t that we’re working with them,” I muttered. “The problem is that they’re here as free men.”

“The Germans murdered millions of people! Millions of Jews,” Leah said, her voice trembling. “We should not be welcoming them to this country.”

A small crowd was gathering around us as we talked, the American women ending their private conversations and listening in to mine.

“Are you going to invite these women for coffee, help them settle in and all that?” one woman asked. “I was going to, but it didn’t sit right with me...”

“Don’t,” I said abruptly. “Especially if it makes you feel uncomfortable.”

“How could anyone be comfortable with this situation?” another woman remarked. “I’m so happy you’re speaking out, Lizzie.”

“We don’t have to welcome them,” I said flatly, meeting the gaze of each of the women as my confidence grew. “We can take a stand. I mean, for God’s sakes, someone has to.”

“Excuse me,” a voice said. I glanced toward the voice and saw that the woman Avril was speaking with had joined us. “Yes, many Germans made terrible mistakes in a time of immense pressure, but it would be unfair of you to paint all of us with that same brush. There are plenty of bad Americans, just as there are bad Germans. You should not assume we are Nazis, and you should not assume we are guilty. Some of us didn’t even know what was happening.”

She spoke in clear, fluid English—but her accent was unmistakable, as was the look of defensiveness in her eyes. A burst of adrenaline shot through my body.