Of Windmills and War (18 page)

“Oh
God,” she prayed. “Please protect him. Please—”

Anya
gasped as something hard pressed against the back of her skull.

“Perhaps
your prayer is misplaced, Fräulein.”

Her
heart thundering in her chest, she clutched Inge tightly. “Please don’t—”

“Zum
Schweigen bringen,” he whispered into her ear as he clicked the hammer on his
gun. “Not a sound or you and the baby are dead.”

Anya
looked across the field for Wim, unable to find him.
Oh God! Let him save us
before it’s too late!

“On
your feet.”

She
clumsily stood up bracing herself against the tree. He moved the barrel of the
gun against her forehead, coming into view for the first time. She recognized
him immediately. One of the soldiers who’d come to her home with von Kilmer.
She remembered the ugly jagged scar across his cheek and his deep-set eyes.

“Ja, Fräulein,
we’ve met before.
That night in your home.”

She nodded,
her whole body shaking.
Lord, please . . .

“We
wondered where you were the last time we paid your parents a visit. Did you
know we shipped them off to
Auschwitz
? By now, who knows what
fate may have befallen them.”

“Please,”
Anya croaked. “I beg you. Let us go.”

His
wheezing laughter frightened her. “Surely you’re not that stupid? Why would I
let you go? You and that farm boy are going to earn me a commendation from my
superiors. And as for this precious little Jew in your arms?”

Anya
screamed as the shot rang out. “Nooooo!”

Inge
went limp in her arms. Anya dropped to her knees as blood poured from the hole
in the baby’s forehead. “She’s just a BABY! How could you—”

“Correction,
Fräulein. She’s just a
Jew
.”

Anya
rocked the child’s lifeless body in her arms as her own cries filled the air.

“Zum
Schweigen bringen!”
Silence!
He grabbed her by the elbow and pulled her
to her feet. “Enough of the melodrama. Start walking.” He shoved her with his
gun in her back. When her cries continued he shoved the barrel against her head
again. “I said, SHUT UP!”

Anya
could barely see through the blur of her tears as she stumbled into the field, the
baby’s limp body in her arms. She looked down at the blood covering them both,
her own body shaking so hard she could barely lift her hand to close the
child’s eyelids. Her mouth burned with bile at the sight and she fell to her
knees, setting the child on the ground before vomiting the other direction.

“You
Dutch are all alike,” her captor said. “So weak and stupid.”

Anya wept
as her stomach emptied, her wails sounding distant as she heaved.

“Aufstehen.”
He poked her in the back with his weapon again. “I said, GET UP!”

She
wiped her mouth with the back of her hand then turned to reach for Inge’s body.
The German kicked the child’s body away from Anya as if it were nothing more
than a rag doll. “Leave her. Let her body rot and serve as fertilizer for the
crops.” He snickered. “Perhaps she’ll be worth something after all.”

“No! I
won’t leave her!” Anya cried, scrambling over to the lifeless child.

“Oh,
but you will,” he said, kicking Anya in her ribs. She doubled over, clutching
her side. “Really, Fräulein, you’re making this so much harder than it needs to
be.” He pulled her up by her hair. I said, GET—”

She
heard the wind knocked out of his body as she fell from his grasp.

“Anya!”

She
jumped at the sound of Wim’s voice as he fell to his knees beside her. “No!
Wim, the German! He—”

“He’s
dead, Anya. Look!” He turned to show her the soldier, collapsed in a heap on
the ground behind him. “I smashed his head with that stone. He can’t hurt us
now. Oh, Anya! I should never have left you all alone.” He pulled her into his
arms but she pushed back.

“Wim,
he killed . . .” She covered her face with her bloodied hands.
“He killed her,” she cried, falling back on the ground.

“I know,
I know. I’m so sorry.” He pulled her back into his arms. “I’m so sorry.”

“I
wished he’d killed
me
. Not Inge! She was only a baby!”

He held
her as she wept, wishing she could just die and be done with it. Suddenly, she
looked up at him. “What about the others? Your mother? Your father? Is Lieke—”

He
shook his head slowly. “They’re gone. They’re all gone. I’d only glimpsed their
bodies in the barn when I heard the shot ring out. I was so afraid you’d been
killed too.”

“You
mean they’re all dead?”

He
nodded, a lone tear running down his face. “It looks as though they lined them
all up and executed them. All of them . . . they must have
hidden little Inge somewhere before they were captured. If only she’d—”

Another
shot rang out. Anya jumped, turning in the direction of it. A wisp of smoke
from the German’s gun drifted upward, his hand clutched around it. Still lying
on the ground, he cocked it again, aiming it straight at her. Just as she
started to scream the gun fell from his hand and he dropped face first in the
dirt.

“Wim!
He’s—” She stopped, realizing Wim was slumped against her. “Wim? No! No!” She
tried to push his body to a sitting position, but he fell backward. “WIM! Oh
God!”

“Anya . . .”

She rested
his head in her lap. “Wim, please, hold on! I’ll go for help. Just hold on!”

He
reached for her hand, as his eyelids drifted shut. “No . . . no
time.”

“Stop
it. Stop it! Open your eyes, Wim. Open them!”

His
eyes flickered open then squeezed shut as he tried to swallow. “Anya, it’s too
late.”

She
cried out but not a sound came from her mouth. She had nothing left. She rocked
him in her arms just as she’d rocked little Inge only moments before. Surely
this was just a nightmare? Hadn’t she fought the nightmares, night after night?

“Anya,
you must run . . . please . . .
go . . .”

“No! I
won’t leave you!”

He
reached for her face and pulled it toward him, his eyes struggling to focus on
her. “I love you, Anya. I have always . . .” His eyes rolled
back as his head fell against her lap.

“Wim! WIM!”
Anya pulled his lifeless body against her, his arms flopping at awkward angles.
She tried to gather them, make them stay in place. “Why? Oh Why? Oh God, where
ARE YOU? Why would You . . . how could You?”

She
wasn’t sure how long she sat there, cradling him in her arms. The sun was starting
to set in the western sky. But no sooner had that realization crossed her mind
than she heard shouts in the distance. German shouts.

She
squeezed Wim’s body one last time, kissing his pale cheek. “I love you, Wim. I’ve
always loved you.” She gently laid his body down, kissed him once more, then
got to her feet and tried to discern which direction the German voices had come
from. As the wind carried more of their despicable language, she grabbed the
gun, turned the opposite direction, and ran as fast as she could.

Part
III

26

October
1941

Northwestern
University

Evanston
,
Illinois

Danny stared
out the window of his dorm room. He’d been studying for more than an hour, but
his mind kept drifting. He still couldn’t believe he was finally here—a college
freshman living on campus.
During all those months he’d managed the
theater during his dad’s recovery, he’d constantly stewed over the delay. While
the rest of his friends went off to college or enlisted to serve in the
military, he’d kept the theater running. But his mind seemed to constantly
chronicle everything he was missing out on. He’d missed a year.

One full
year.

His
mother had encouraged him not to look at it that way. “You have to stop
agonizing over this change of plans. God allowed it for a purpose, Danny. Your
father will never forget the sacrifice you made to provide for our family
during his recovery. And I know God will bless you. You’ll see.”

He
wished he had his mother’s simple faith. She accepted whatever crisis or
roadblock fell in their path. When his father was finally released from the
hospital late last year, their lives had changed drastically. Again. Since Dad
couldn’t manage the stairs up to the bedroom, they’d rented a hospital bed and
set it up in the living room. Day and night he barked at them, always needing
something just out of reach—the newspaper, a glass of water, the ledger from
the theater, a pain pill. Danny’s mother took it all in stride, maintaining a
cheerful attitude no matter how belligerent he was.

Danny did
his best to stay out of the house, spending as much time as possible at the
theater. He didn’t possess a single ounce of his mother’s patience and resented
the way his dad treated both of them. At first, he’d felt compassion toward his
dad, realizing how close they came to losing him. But once the initial shock
wore off, Frank McClain was back to his old grouchy self, only worse. Like a
caged animal, he’d snap at anyone near him—usually Mom.

Sophie
seemed to be the only companion Dad could tolerate. She parked herself at his
side whenever possible. It occurred to Danny that his dad related better to
dogs than humans.

By
summer, Frank had learned to walk again, though his gait was jerky at best. He
hated using what he called “that blasted cane.” Refusing to stay bedridden the
rest of his life, he gradually forced himself to get used to walking with a
cane. Eventually he eased back into his routine managing the theater.
Naturally, he made quite a production of pointing out all the things Danny had
done wrong in his absence. But Danny took it in stride, knowing it was just his
father’s way.

Even
then, all Danny could think about was starting classes at Northwestern in the
fall. Even with all his savings, he’d come up short for housing primarily
because of the ongoing medical bills. His mother continued praying over the
matter, and much to his surprise, Danny was able to secure a job working at the
campus soda fountain. It helped with expenses, it was easy work and a good
place to meet people.

Which
is exactly how he met Beverly Grayson.

Danny never
had time to date much in high school. Which wasn’t a problem since he always had
crushes on the popular girls whose eyes were set solely on the football and
basketball players. With everything else going on, he figured there’d be plenty
of time for romance when he got to Northwestern. Still, he was surprised when
the cute little coed from
Wisconsin
seemed to frequent the
snack bar whenever he was working.

“Hi
there, Danny,” she’d said that first week of school.

He’d
never laid eyes on the attractive brunette before, but somehow she knew his
name. He looked around then leaned across the counter toward her. “I’m sorry,
do I know you?”

“Of
course not, silly.” She pointed at his name tag. “I just thought we should get
acquainted since we’ll be seeing each other a lot.” She’d tossed him a subtle
wink then ordered a cup of coffee and a brownie.

“Coming
right up.” He poured a mug of fresh coffee from the urn then plucked the
largest brownie from the display case and put it in a small paper bag. “That’ll
be twenty-five cents.”

She dug
in her purse and placed fifty cents in his open palm. “Thanks, Danny. You can
keep the change.”

“Thank
you, Miss . . .?”

“Miss
Grayson. But you can call me Beverly.” She picked up her brownie and coffee.

“Thank
you, Beverly Grayson. Nice to meet you.”

As she
turned to go, she waggled her eyebrows and smiled at him. “The pleasure’s all
mine, Danny McClain. See you tomorrow.”

He was
fairly sure it was the most gorgeous smile he’d ever seen. And by the time he’d
slipped her tip into his pocket, he was head over heels for her.

The
door banged open. “Well, if it isn’t my roommate, the bookworm.”

Danny blinked
out of his daydream as Craig Gilmore sauntered into the room and threw his
books on his desk. Danny doubted there were two more mismatched roommates on the
entire Northwestern campus, but he couldn’t help but like the
Indiana
transplant.

“I’m just
trying to keep up.” Danny turned around. “Where’ve you been?”

“I
thought you’d never ask. I’ve been tutoring the
sweetest
little
Georgia
peach.”

Danny
laughed. “For two days? Somehow I doubt there was much ‘tutoring’ going on.”

Craig
flopped onto his bed, locking his hands behind his head. “I suppose that depends
on your definition of the word. I feel it’s my duty to welcome as many coeds as
possible to our sacred institution. I see myself as a one-man hospitality
committee. In fact, the university should probably pay me for my services.”

Danny shook
his head. “I’m afraid that’s still illegal in the state of
Illinois
, but
I’m sure they appreciate your endeavors.”

Craig rolled
onto his side to face his roommate. “And what about you, Saint Daniel? Have you
found any bewildered young coeds in need of a more personal introduction to the
vast exploitations of our beloved campus?”

 “Not
in your context of the word. But yeah, I met someone.”

“And?”

Danny closed
his textbook and shoved it aside. “And we’ve gone out a couple of times.”

“And?
C’mon, McClain. Out with it.”

“Out
with what? We’ve gone out. In fact we’re going to the movies tonight. She’s a
nice girl. There’s not much else to tell.”

Craig
rolled onto his back again, covering his face with his hands. “Please don’t
tell me you haven’t scored yet. Because I refuse to give you a lecture on the
birds and the bees. Let’s be absolutely clear on that.”

Danny stood
up and pulled a clean shirt from his closet. “Ah shucks. I guess I’m on my own
then. Whatever shall I do?” A pillow sailed by his head as he opened the door.
“Nice try, Gilmore. Where I come from, a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”

“Yeah?
And where I come from, guys who don’t tell aren’t getting any.”

Danny shook
his head. “See you later, Mr. Hospitality.”

After
he showered and shaved, Danny returned to his room to find Craig sound asleep
and snoring like a freight train. He finished getting dressed, ran a comb
through his damp hair, and splashed on a little aftershave before heading out.
As he walked to
Beverly
’s dorm in the south quad, he
had to appreciate the fact that she kept things light and fun. He’d waited a
long time to find someone special and wasn’t in a big hurry. He wanted to savor
the experience. Craig could keep his conquests. Danny preferred the
all-American girl-next-door type.

It
still embarrassed him, thinking about the first time he asked her out. True to
her word, she’d stopped by The Grill every day and said hello. Whether she
actually wanted a morning snack between classes or whether she stopped by just
to see him, he couldn’t be sure. He just knew he’d grown awfully fond of seeing
her smiling face every day at
9:50
. By Wednesday of the second
week of school, he’d convinced himself to ask her out. Unfortunately, he lost
his nerve, kicking himself as she waved goodbye like she always did. On
Thursday morning, his boss asked him to get some straws and napkins out of the
store room right at
9:50
. As he hurried to grab the
supplies, he dropped the carton of straws, spilling them all over the floor. By
the time he’d cleaned up his mess and returned to the counter, he saw her
rounding the corner as she left.

By
Friday, he vowed to ask her out no matter what else transpired. But on that
particular day, she wasn’t alone. A tall, good looking guy walked in with her,
then sat beside her at the counter.

“Hey
Danny! How’s it going?”

“Good.
How about you?”

“I’ll
have a cherry Coke and a Danish,” the guy with her ordered.

She
swatted the guy’s arm. “Where are your manners? Whatever happened to ladies
first?”

“Fine.
The lady can order whatever she likes, but I’ll have a cherry Coke and a
Danish.”

Danny wanted
to deck the guy. Wise guys like him were a dime a dozen on this campus. But it
bothered him even more that
Beverly
would hook up with a
smart mouth like this one.

“Coffee
and a brownie?” Danny asked her, avoiding the chump beside her.

“Yes,
thank you.” She smiled at him like she always did, which felt a little strange under
the circumstances. So much for asking her out.

He put
their order together, serving her first. As he finished pouring the cherry syrup
into the Coke, someone yelled, “Heads up, Grayson!”

Danny turned
just in time to see a football sail across The Grill toward
Beverly
’s
friend who thankfully caught it. As he spun the football in his hands, he
yelled back, “
Dawson
, if you’d throw like that on Saturday, we
might just beat
Kansas
State
!”

Danny slid
the coke and Danish across the counter.

“Danny,
you’ll have to forgive my big brother.”

“Your
brother?”

“Oh, that’s
right. You probably don’t know him.” She tugged at her brother’s sleeve.
“Billy, turn around. I want to introduce you to Danny. Danny, this is my
obnoxious brother Billy.”

Billy
tucked the football under his arm and held out his hand. “Nice to meet you,
Danny. Oh wait—did you say Danny?” he asked, looking at his sister. “So this is
the guy you keep talking about?”

She
dropped her face behind her hand. “Gee, thanks, Billy.”

“Huh?
Oh. I probably wasn’t supposed to say that. Well, it’s nice meeting you, Danny.”

Danny returned
the handshake. “Billy, it’s my pleasure.”

Beverly
lifted
her head, her face flushed as she pasted a smile on it. “Okay. Now that we’ve
got that straight . . .”

“Hey
Sis, I’m gonna go sit with the guys. I’ll catch up with you later.” He was
halfway across the room before the words were out of his mouth.

She
faked another smile. “Sure, brother dearest. By all means.”

Suddenly
Danny laughed out loud.

“And
what, pray tell, are you laughing at?”

He
pushed his paper hat back on his head. “Ah, nothing. I’m just relieved.”

“Relieved?”

“Well,
sure. I mean, I was all set to ask you out and then you walked in with that guy
and I thought he was your boyfriend or something. So I—”

“You
were going to ask me out?”

He
watched her face fill with expectation. He didn’t know much about girls and
dating, but he had a feeling that was a good sign. “Well, yeah. In
fact . . . I’ve been wanting to ask you out for several days now
but I—”

“I’d
love to.”

“You
would?”

“Of
course I would.”

He
laughed again.

“Now what
are you laughing at?”

He
scratched his eyebrow. “I was going to ask if you’d like to go to the football
game with me tomorrow.”

She
laughed out loud. “What a great idea! I would love to go to the football game with
you. As long as you don’t make me root for my brother.”

They’d
had a great time at the game, cheering the Wildcats—and Billy Grayson—to a 51-3
victory over K-State despite a drenching rain. Afterward they’d huddled under
Beverly
’s
umbrella and walked to Cooley’s Cupboard for dinner followed by a slow, chatty
walk back to campus.

“I must
look like a drowned rat, but I had a really nice time today, Danny,” she’d
said, taking his hand as they walked up the steps to her dorm. “I hope we can
do it again sometime. Preferably without the monsoon.”