The Room on Rue Amélie(71)

But she couldn’t think like that. If she’d followed a different path, she wouldn’t have known Charlotte. Or Thomas. Or any of the people here in Paris who’d made her proud to be fighting for something bigger than herself.



AUTUMN HAD PAINTED THE TREES in the brilliant hues of sunset, and as Ruby strolled toward the Seine on a sunny November afternoon, she could almost believe that life was normal. It was a trick of the light, but on days like this, when the neighborhoods bustled and the Germans weren’t filling the streets, Ruby could imagine that this was the Paris she had dreamed of. This was the Paris that Hemingway had written about a generation ago, the Paris that had tantalized her from afar.

She crossed the river at the Pont de l’Alma, marveling as she always did at the way the Eiffel Tower sliced into the bright blue sky off to the right, and made her way down the Avenue Bosquet. She turned left on the rue Saint-Dominique and right on the rue Amélie, intending to walk by the old building just once, as she did every Monday. She had mostly lost hope that she’d ever see Charlotte’s parents or Thomas or any of the other pilots again, but to cease trying would be to admit defeat. So it had become part of her weekly routine to walk briskly along the narrow street that had once been her home, pausing only briefly outside the old building to look for signs that someone was trying to find her. She never knew quite what she was searching for: a note? A handkerchief tied to a terrace? It was a fool’s errand, but it soothed her somehow. As she passed, she always said a prayer for Charlotte’s parents, for her own lost baby, and for the safety of all the pilots she had helped, and this day was no different. In fact, she was so lost in her own thoughts that she almost didn’t hear her name being hissed from across the street.

“Ruby!” There it was again, an urgent whisper coming from the shadows of a doorway on the other side of the narrow lane. She turned in the direction of the voice, cursing herself for being careless enough to come here like this. She could be putting everything in jeopardy. She took a few steps backward, prepared to make a hasty retreat.

But then the figure in the doorway emerged into the crisp afternoon light, and she froze. The man in the shadows was thinner than he had been two years before, his face darker, his eyes more intense. But she would have known him anywhere. “Thomas?”

He began to walk toward her, and for a moment, she couldn’t move. It felt like an impossible mirage. Surely, the handsome pilot wasn’t once again standing in front of her, smiling that perfect smile, looking at her with relief and tenderness written across his face. “It’s you,” she whispered, a warm glow spreading over her whole body.

But then, common sense kicked in and unfroze her, reminding her of where they were—who they were. Quickly, she motioned him back into the shadows. He paused and retreated toward the doorway he’d been standing in. She scanned the street for passersby. They were alone, but for how long? She crossed the street quickly, and then, she was just inches from him. This couldn’t be happening. She knew she’d have to get him someplace safe, but for now, time stood still. She reached out to touch his face, her fingertips grazing the stubble along his jaw. She longed to kiss him, to fall into his arms, but she couldn’t do it here, not in public.

“Ruby,” he murmured, and it was his deep, familiar voice—the one she’d never really expected to hear again—that finally snapped her back to reality. What if he didn’t feel the same way she did? After all, it had been two years. Anything could have happened in that time. The fact that he’d returned wasn’t necessarily an indication of his feelings; it could just as easily have been that he knew nowhere else to go. Suddenly self-conscious, she dropped her hand back to her side. “Thomas, what are you doing here?”

“I was shot down over Saint-Omer a few days ago. I came as quickly as I could.”

“But the escape line has been compromised. Didn’t you hear?”

“Yes, but I had to see you. I had to make sure you were all right.” His smile faltered. “But no one answered at your apartment, and I began to fear the worst.”

“You were worried about me?”

He reached for her hands, pulling her closer. He was cold, and she had the sudden, strange thought that she’d like to draw him a warm bath. “Ruby, of course.”

“But why?”

He looked startled. “I’ve thought of you every single day. Have you thought of me?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

They stared at each other for another long moment, and finally, she believed. The impossible had happened; he had come back to her. But she was being careless; an old neighbor could recognize her, or worse, a collaborator or a Nazi could spot Thomas in his uniform. “Come,” she said, abruptly breaking the loaded silence between them and pulling her hands from his. “I must get you somewhere safe. Are you injured?”

“Nothing like last time.”

“Very well.” She forced herself to be practical, to push her feelings aside. What mattered now was getting him to safety. “We’ll need to walk a bit. To get to my new apartment, we must cross the Seine, which means you’ll be out in the open, and I’m afraid your disguise isn’t very foolproof. So instead of crossing at the Pont de l’Alma, we’ll work our way south and then west on side streets, and we’ll cross at the Pont de Passy. There’s a lower likelihood of Nazi presence there, and it’ll be easier to stick to the shadows. All right?”