Maman, I couldn’t help feeling the excitement of my first legitimate job.
I kissed each of the Wolf family in turn, blinking away tears. ‘I’ll miss you all.’
Jacob gave me a small smile and waved with his toy soldier.
‘When will we see you again?’ Talia said.
‘I’ll come to your new school as soon as you’re settled in and I can get away from the farm.’
Sabine gripped my arm. ‘I hope we can repay you one day, for all of this.’
‘What you, your friends and family, are still risking to help us,’ her husband said, the spectacles fogging with his quick, steamy breaths.
‘It’s a pleasure, Max,’ I said. ‘I feel privileged to have met your lovely family.’
‘Thank you for the paints and brushes and paper,’ Talia said.
Père Emmanuel and Dr. Laforge stared at me, obviously wondering how I’d got hold of such things, and I was glad of the darkness to cover my blush.
‘No word from any of the lookouts?’ Dr. Laforge said as he bundled the family into his Citroën Traction.
‘All clear,’ the priest said. ‘So far.’
‘See you soon,’ I called to the Wolf family, hoping my chirpy voice masked my unease.
I pedalled down the hill through the ugly tangle of autumn foliage and the fog that was galloping down from the hills, and as I approached my post, the icy air snipped at my cheeks and my speeding heart.
I had to get it right –– to help the Wolfs, and to prove to Père Emmanuel and Dr. Laforge that I was a worthy resistor in whose hands they could entrust lives.
I crouched at my lookout post until the doctor’s car drove past. I watched it disappear into the fog, and knew I had played my part. The Wolfs’ safety was, from then on, beyond my control, and I cycled back up the hill slowly, towards L’Auberge.
***
In the ghostlike silence of the farm, I knew sleep would be impossible. I could never rest easy until the doctor and the priest came back to tell me they’d hidden the Wolfs safely at the convent.
By the light of my candle I climbed the attic ladder and cleared away all traces of the Wolf family, then I padded downstairs and sat at the kitchen table. Shivering in the sallow candlelight, I gathered my mother’s crocheted blanket tighter around my shoulders.
It seemed the longest night of my life –– the torturous waiting, the not knowing. Were Patrick and Olivier cold, and hungry, in whatever prison they were being held? I thought of Maman too, even if she was not the kind of person who would want anyone fretting for her. Marinette Roussel believed she could hold her own in the world; she had no need of others.
I kept leaping from the chair and crossing to the window at the slightest noise –– an owl hooting into the blackness, the bray of a donkey across the fields, the hollow bark of a dog.
I eventually heard Dr. Laforge’s Traction puttering up the hill, and flew to the door.
‘Are they all right?’ I said, beckoning them inside. ‘Did you get there safely?’
‘A German patrol stopped us,’ Dr. Laforge said, as they followed me into the kitchen. ‘Just before we reached the convent. They wanted to search the car.’
‘Oh no! So did they?’
‘The doc told them it was urgent,’ Père Emmanuel said. ‘Said one of the children was seriously ill, and needed a hospital. They let us go.’
I sank into a chair. ‘That was lucky.’
‘Luck is what it comes down to these days,’ the doctor said. ‘Anyway, the family should be safe at the convent, for now at least. You’ve cleared out the attic, Céleste?’
‘Of course,’ I said, as I crossed to the stove and warmed the pot of onion soup.
‘You’re not eating with us?’ Père Emmanuel said as I placed two bowls of soup on the table.
I shook my head. ‘The thought of food makes me feel ill. I can’t eat until I know Patrick and Olivier are eating supper too. Maman, even.’
‘Unfortunately we can’t know that tonight,’ the priest said, steam spiralling from the gruyère
I kissed each of the Wolf family in turn, blinking away tears. ‘I’ll miss you all.’
Jacob gave me a small smile and waved with his toy soldier.
‘When will we see you again?’ Talia said.
‘I’ll come to your new school as soon as you’re settled in and I can get away from the farm.’
Sabine gripped my arm. ‘I hope we can repay you one day, for all of this.’
‘What you, your friends and family, are still risking to help us,’ her husband said, the spectacles fogging with his quick, steamy breaths.
‘It’s a pleasure, Max,’ I said. ‘I feel privileged to have met your lovely family.’
‘Thank you for the paints and brushes and paper,’ Talia said.
Père Emmanuel and Dr. Laforge stared at me, obviously wondering how I’d got hold of such things, and I was glad of the darkness to cover my blush.
‘No word from any of the lookouts?’ Dr. Laforge said as he bundled the family into his Citroën Traction.
‘All clear,’ the priest said. ‘So far.’
‘See you soon,’ I called to the Wolf family, hoping my chirpy voice masked my unease.
I pedalled down the hill through the ugly tangle of autumn foliage and the fog that was galloping down from the hills, and as I approached my post, the icy air snipped at my cheeks and my speeding heart.
I had to get it right –– to help the Wolfs, and to prove to Père Emmanuel and Dr. Laforge that I was a worthy resistor in whose hands they could entrust lives.
I crouched at my lookout post until the doctor’s car drove past. I watched it disappear into the fog, and knew I had played my part. The Wolfs’ safety was, from then on, beyond my control, and I cycled back up the hill slowly, towards L’Auberge.
***
In the ghostlike silence of the farm, I knew sleep would be impossible. I could never rest easy until the doctor and the priest came back to tell me they’d hidden the Wolfs safely at the convent.
By the light of my candle I climbed the attic ladder and cleared away all traces of the Wolf family, then I padded downstairs and sat at the kitchen table. Shivering in the sallow candlelight, I gathered my mother’s crocheted blanket tighter around my shoulders.
It seemed the longest night of my life –– the torturous waiting, the not knowing. Were Patrick and Olivier cold, and hungry, in whatever prison they were being held? I thought of Maman too, even if she was not the kind of person who would want anyone fretting for her. Marinette Roussel believed she could hold her own in the world; she had no need of others.
I kept leaping from the chair and crossing to the window at the slightest noise –– an owl hooting into the blackness, the bray of a donkey across the fields, the hollow bark of a dog.
I eventually heard Dr. Laforge’s Traction puttering up the hill, and flew to the door.
‘Are they all right?’ I said, beckoning them inside. ‘Did you get there safely?’
‘A German patrol stopped us,’ Dr. Laforge said, as they followed me into the kitchen. ‘Just before we reached the convent. They wanted to search the car.’
‘Oh no! So did they?’
‘The doc told them it was urgent,’ Père Emmanuel said. ‘Said one of the children was seriously ill, and needed a hospital. They let us go.’
I sank into a chair. ‘That was lucky.’
‘Luck is what it comes down to these days,’ the doctor said. ‘Anyway, the family should be safe at the convent, for now at least. You’ve cleared out the attic, Céleste?’
‘Of course,’ I said, as I crossed to the stove and warmed the pot of onion soup.
‘You’re not eating with us?’ Père Emmanuel said as I placed two bowls of soup on the table.
I shook my head. ‘The thought of food makes me feel ill. I can’t eat until I know Patrick and Olivier are eating supper too. Maman, even.’
‘Unfortunately we can’t know that tonight,’ the priest said, steam spiralling from the gruyère
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