The Room on Rue Amélie(22)

Ruby blinked a few times. “Come in.” She put a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “But you must be quiet. And you mustn’t breathe a word of this. It could get us all killed.”

Her heart thudding, Charlotte stepped into the apartment and looked around as Ruby closed the door. The pilot was nowhere to be seen. “Where is he?” Charlotte asked.

Ruby sighed. “Charlotte, dear, I’m not keeping things from you because I believe you’re a child. I know you’re not; this war has forced us all to grow up. And I feel that we’re friends too. But some things are better not to discuss.”

“Why?”

“Because if you’re ever questioned by the police or by the Germans, you could be in danger. I’m American, so they might be more careful in the way they treat me. But you’re—” She stopped speaking.

“I’m Jewish,” Charlotte filled in. “That’s what you were going to say.”

“Yes. Yes, Charlotte. And if there’s ever a problem, I want you to be able to say you haven’t seen anything.”

“But I have seen something. I saw the airman!”

Ruby turned away, placing her hands on the kitchen counter and staring out the window into the darkness beyond. Finally, she turned back around. “Honey, if the Germans come asking, you need to be able to deny having any involvement in anything illegal.”

Charlotte held up the care package. “I’m already involved. See, I’m feeding your airman.”

Ruby eyed the bundle. “Your parents will notice.”

“I’ll tell them I ate the food myself. They’ll be angry, but it will be okay. It’s better than him starving, isn’t it? I know you don’t have enough food.”

“I have some.”

“And now you have more. If he’s injured, he’ll need his strength back, right?” Charlotte could see Ruby wavering, so she pressed on. “Ruby, I hate being helpless. There’s not much someone my age can do to assist the Allies.”

“It’s not just people your age, Charlotte. I feel helpless too.”

“Then let’s help together.”

Charlotte was certain Ruby was about to say no. But then there was a mighty crash from the back of the apartment. Ruby ran toward it, and Charlotte ran after her.

In the bedroom, they found a scene that would have been laughable if they weren’t both so on edge. The airman was half-buried in a mound of clothes on the floor outside Ruby’s wardrobe. Charlotte realized in an instant that Ruby must have hidden him there when she heard a knock at the door, and he’d somehow managed to fall out.

“Dexter?” Ruby said loudly, rushing to the airman’s side. “Dexter, are you all right?”

To Charlotte’s relief, the airman was awake, and he struggled to sit up, his face red. He mumbled something that Charlotte couldn’t understand. Ruby replied in English, and it was then that he noticed Charlotte. His eyes widened.

“He said he was feeling a bit weak,” Ruby said, turning to Charlotte. “I think he may have lost more blood than he realized.”

“How did he come to be here?”

“I was just about to ask him that when you knocked on the door,” Ruby said. “Now let me explain to him who you are and that you don’t mean him any harm.”

She turned back to the man and said something in rapid English. He glanced up at Charlotte once more and smiled, almost shyly. “Merci,” he said with an awful accent. “Merci beaucoup.”

Ruby turned back to Charlotte. “I explained that you brought him a bit of food and that you’re a friend who can be trusted. Now, do you think you can help me get him up?”

Charlotte moved quickly to the airman’s side. Up close, he smelled of grease and grass. He was breathing shallowly, there were beads of sweat on his tanned forehead, and his eyes were glassy.

“Just grab him under his left arm there and help me lift,” Ruby said. “We’ll take him to the dining table, all right?”

Charlotte nodded, and on the count of three, they hoisted the man, who was heavier than he looked, and helped him into the other room, where he collapsed into a chair. He looked terrible, but he was sitting upright, his eyes open, which was an improvement from a few minutes earlier.

Ruby said something to the airman again, and he smiled, first at her and then at Charlotte. Charlotte found herself blushing; he wasn’t so very many years older than she was.

“I thank you helping me,” he said in broken French, turning to Charlotte. “I know it is danger.”

Charlotte smiled and said carefully in English, “You’re welcome,” just like Ruby had taught her. Then she turned to Ruby and said, “Perhaps it is better for him to speak in English. You can tell me what he says.”

Ruby translated this to the airman, who nodded and began to talk. They went back and forth for a few minutes, and Charlotte caught familiar words here and there, but not enough to piece together the story.

“He says he’s a pilot in the British air force,” Ruby finally said, turning to Charlotte. “He was on a mission over the eastern part of France when he was shot down. He managed to parachute out, and then he hid in a barn while the Germans searched the woods for him. At night, he found a river and followed it west using a compass in his flight kit. He just knew he had to make it to Paris.”