Kate poked out her lower lip but returned to admiring the car. Back home for her 16th birthday her father had given her a Pontiac Tempest. It was plain to see her taste in cars was going up.
“Come on in. Helga has supper ready,” Mary said. “We can take a ride tomorrow.”
Al moved the car to an empty place in the garage and closed the door. Crossing the courtyard he entered the house along with his wife and daughter.
The transformation of the house had just been completed. Entering the great hall the walls had been scrubbed clean and looked much the same, but the floors had been ground smooth and polished till the shine was deep and rich. The old leather Tyrolean furniture had been replaced by a four-piece sectional sofa, soft leather easy chairs and pillows. There was a Persian rug on the floor in front of the couch and chairs. On it was a glass coffee table. The pillows were arrayed around the area for additional seating as needed. On one side was a console stereo system. The sconces, which once were a hand holding a torch, had been replaced with shiny brass twin candle fixtures on dimmers so that the mood of the room could be changed. In the dining room, the long table was still there, but the chairs had been replaced with something more modern and definitely more comfortable. Behind the dining room, walls had been knocked out to expand the entire space. Now the kitchen was visible and the smells for the meal filled the rooms.
Helga Huffham had been hired a month before to prepare the meals and do light housework. A widow of the war, the job had been the first meaningful full-time employment she had been able to get. Helga was middle aged and always wore traditional Tyrolean dress with an apron. She was a happy soul, always smiling and ready for a small joke. Her presence brightened the place wherever she went.
Mary had hired Helga. They became friends immediately. More often than not Mary was in the kitchen with her preparing a meal, sharing a recipe or making some of the little decorations that spruced up the house for the coming season. Helga was given a small set of rooms in the house as a part of her employment. On occasion, her family would come to the house and visit. They would immediately become a part of the Anderson family.
Hans Kemper was the exact opposite. He had come to them from an agency and had proved himself an efficient butler and gardener. But where Helga joked with Mary, Hans never cracked a smile. He was always serious and almost mechanical about his work. The only time he showed any emotion was when a particular job was completed to his satisfaction. He also had a set of rooms and both he and Helga could come and go as they pleased. They had the weekends off and one additional night off where they could go out.
Hans had the places set when the family arrived and Helga brought in the last of the food. The family sat down to eat and invited the two to dine with them. As usual both declined. Hans took his meal with Helga in the kitchen.
The meal itself was tremendous. Helga loved cooking and always had plenty. Tonight they had roast pork, her special recipe for peas in an onion sauce and carrots cooked in orange juice. The bread was always fresh and dessert was an apple pie Mary had baked.
After the meal, the Andersons went to the kitchen to praise Helga on the meal and to help with the dishes. This was the first time Helga had gotten to know Americans other than the soldiers after the war. The soldiers had been a happy and considerate group. Often she saw them pitching in to help or being courteous to someone. There had been some problems with a few, but by in large they were good people. The Andersons were unlike anyone she had ever met. Where most people treated servants with distant courtesy, the Andersons welcomed her as a part of the family. They didn’t just sit back and let her do all the work. On the contrary, they pitched in to make the big house a home. Even their daughter would come in and help around the kitchen or get some things from her garden.
One day her sole surviving brother and his children came for a visit. Mary made a special trip to town to get things to spruce up their rooms and Helga found she had no work to do. Mr. Anderson had set up the grill on the back patio and they grilled steaks for everyone. Her brother was the last of three boys. The others had been killed in the war. He had served in the Luftwaffe and flew fighters. He and Al had spent the entire evening sharing war stories and becoming good friends. Her brother later told her he had been a little hesitant to come, but now he was looking forward to visiting again and again. It was the first time Helga had felt like she had a family since before the war. If Americans were all like the Andersons, she was sorry for any bad feelings about losing her family.
Hans always kept to himself in his rooms. He seemed to always be somewhere nearby waiting for a call or just watching what was going on. He could usually be found in his room reading and listening to the radio. When everyone was having a good time, he was sitting alone or watching from a distance. Al could never seem to crack his demeanor.
After dinner, the Andersons moved to the great hall. A gas fire was lit and someone put some music on the stereo. Al sat back in an easy chair while Mary relaxed on one end of the couch with a book. Kate sat reading a magazine by the fire and Helga pulled up her sewing table and began working on a dress she was making for one of her grandchildren. The warmth of the fire spread slowly through the room and there was occasional conversation. But in all it was a simple, peaceful night.
Chapter 6
Problems
Fredrich Stadt sat down with his friend Otto in the school cafeteria. They had been friends since they were five and both were a part of the secret organization their fathers were making them attend. As he sat down, Otto got a worried look on his face. He glanced around the room and whispered to his friend, “We are not supposed to be sitting together,” he said.
Fredrich saw the fear on his friend’s face. It was the same with all but a few of the young men he had met. The Nazi organization was doing that to them. All of them seemed to be in a state of fear. Otto constantly looked around to see if they were being watched. Even when someone dropped a set of books, Otto jumped. Fredrich smiled at his friend. “We have known each other since we were children. No one will notice anything strange,” he said.
Otto seemed to relax a little. “I know, but Johann always seems to be looking at me. He can cause a great deal of trouble.”
Johann was the school bully. He was constantly pushing around underclassmen and classmates who were not his size. When both Otto and Fredrich had first started going to meetings they found Johann had been there for several years before. He was a Nazi through and through and too dumb to understand anything but brute force. There were no other members in the school.
“Johann is not so stupid as to cause a scene at school. I think we can handle him when the time comes,” Fredrich said quietly.
“I hope so,” Otto said with a sigh. It was clear the young man was concerned and afraid. He looked back at his friend and leaned closer. “I may get in trouble for this,” he said while glancing around, “but what do you think of what we are learning?” he asked.
Fredrich also looked around. The subject of their Nazi meetings was verboten. If overheard there would be real trouble, but Fredrich felt safe with his friend. “I have concerns,” he said. “I understand why people want their country to be great, but the methods to get there are pretty extreme. I’m not sure about how things are being done. It’s against everything we learn in school,” he said.