CHAPTER 14 - OLDENBURG, GERMANY—DECEMBER 3, 1916
Anna rolled over in bed and turned off the alarm clock, silencing clanging bells.
An uneasiness stirred inside her. For much of the night her mind reeled with thoughts of Max, and she’d gotten little sleep.
She rubbed her forehead, attempting to bury her worry.
His spirits will improve once he begins working with shepherds.
“Nia,” she called, dangling her arm over the bed.
She waited for the click of toenails over the hardwood floor, typically followed by a wet lick to her hand, but nothing came. She lifted her head, propping her elbows on the mattress. The door was ajar and Nia’s blanket was bare. She’s probably in the kitchen with Vater.
She got out of bed, the cold floor sending a chill through her bare feet. She dressed for work, adding extra layers of clothing beneath her wool dress, and then knocked on Max’s door.
“Come in,” Max said.
“Good morning,” she said, opening the door. Max, wearing his uniform except for his boots, was sitting on a neatly made bed with Nia curled at his feet. Her eyes widened. “Good morning to you, too, Nia.”
The dog’s tail thumped the floor.
“She pawed at my door last night, so I let her in,” he said. “I hope it was okay.”
“Of course.” She eyed his clothing. “Are you wearing long underwear?”
“Nein,” he said, staring toward a wall.
“You’ll be outside in the cold for much of the day. I suggest adding a layer of clothing. If you need extra garments, you can borrow some of Norbie’s clothes.”
“I have some in my suitcase.”
“We leave for school in thirty minutes,” she said. “When you’re ready, come downstairs for breakfast.”
“All right.”
“Coming, Nia?”
Nia yawned, emitting a faint, high-pitched whine. She padded to Anna, and then followed her down the stairs.
Anna entered the kitchen, where Norbie was placing toasted black bread and a pot of bark coffee on the table. “Thank you for getting up early to prepare breakfast.” She hugged him, noticing his shoulder blades protruding from beneath his sweater. You’ve lost more weight.
He released her. “I wanted to surprise you with a nice meal, but all we have is a hunk of bread and turnips. I wish we had a bit of plum jam to hide the sawdust taste of the bread. It’d be nice for Max to have a decent breakfast for his first day of school.”
Anna nodded. Potatoes were scarce, and people were surviving on turnips, which were traditionally used to feed animals.
Her heart ached with the thought of people, especially children, perishing from malnutrition.
She shook away her thoughts and gestured for her vater to take a seat at the table.
“There’s something about Max that you should know. ”
Anna told Norbie about the damage to Max’s ears from a shell explosion. “Before the war, he was an aspiring pianist. His range of hearing is compromised, and he’s unable to detect the upper octaves of a keyboard.”
“Oh, my,” Norbie said. “He must be devastated.”
Anna nodded. “He’s given up on his dream of becoming a composer, and I’m worried that he’ll abandon his guide dog training.”
“Fate has brought Max here.” He looked into his daughter’s eyes. “I can think of no one better than you to help him regain his spirit.”
Anna smiled, feeling grateful for her vater’s confidence in her.
Max came to the kitchen a few minutes before they had to leave, allowing little time to eat.
After a thirty-minute walk over frost-covered streets and sidewalks—of which Max preferred to use his walking stick and Anna’s verbal instructions, rather than allowing Nia to guide him—they arrived at the barn at precisely 7:00 a.m. Anna, shivering from the cold air, ushered them inside.
“Hallo.” Emmi attached a harness to a German shepherd and approached them.
“Max,” Anna said, rubbing her glove-covered hands, “this is Emmi.”
Max removed his cap and nodded.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Emmi said.
Nia greeted the shepherd with a sniff to her nose, and then wagged her tail.
Anna touched Max’s arm. “The trainers and trainees will be here in an hour. Do you think you can make a fire while Emmi and I tend to the dogs?”
“Ja,” he said.
She guided him to a cast-iron stove that Fleck had installed at the back of the barn. It was used to warm the staff during their breaks. Like Anna, who cared for Nia in her home, some of the trainers had begun taking some of the dogs home in the evening due to the falling temperature.
She handed him an ash shovel and a metal pail. “You can empty the ash in here. The wood is stacked to the right of the stove, and matches are on a shelf in front of you.”
Max kneeled and began cleaning the stove.
Anna removed a dog from its pen, attached a harness, and walked outside. She met up with Emmi, who was taking a shepherd to do her business in the yard.
“How’s it going with boarding Max?” Emmi asked.
Anna frowned. “Not so well.”
“What’s wrong?” Emmi asked.
Frigid wind nipped at Anna’s neck. She adjusted her scarf, and then told Emmi about Max’s hearing loss and former profession as a pianist. “He’s sad and depressed, and he barely spoke during our walk.”
“Oh, my,” Emmi said, her breath turning to mist.
“I think he might give up,” Anna said.
“I doubt that Dr. Stalling and Fleck—or the government for that matter—would permit him to leave.”
“Perhaps,” Anna said. “But I was referring to his determination to carry on.”
Emmi place a hand on Anna’s shoulder. “Anyone boarding with you has no chance of quitting.”
“Danke,” Anna said.
Anna and Emmi took the dogs, one by one, to the yard to do their business.
Afterward, they fed them, including Nia, in the barn.
To replenish the food bin, Anna removed partially frozen turnips from a burlap sack and chopped them with a meat clever.
Dogs and Germans now eat the same food, Anna thought, tossing hunks of turnip into the bin.
The clack of horse hooves grew outside the barn, and then stopped. A moment later, Fleck entered with a shepherd at his side.
“Good morning, Herr Fleck,” Anna said.
He tipped his cap and looked to the back of the barn, where Max was placing logs into the stove. “Maximilian?”
“He goes by Max,” Anna said.
“Escort him outside. I want to introduce him to a veteran who is boarding with me.” He smoothed his mustache and crossed his arms. “In the future, I expect you or Emmi to be tending to the stove, not a veteran.”
Anna looked at him, his wool coat absent a trace of dog hair despite working with shepherds. “Ja, sir.”
For the morning, Anna and Emmi shuttled shepherds to and from the obstacle course, where trainers conducted basic training exercises with six veterans, including Max.
Anna was disappointed, but not surprised, that neither Fleck nor the trainers had made the effort to introduce her or Emmi to the veterans.
We’ll get to know them over time, she thought, cleaning out a pen.
She went about her duties, more determined than ever to find a way to further her contribution toward the rehabilitation of blinded men.
While the trainers and trainees were congregated around the stove to take a lunch break, Anna and Emmi went outside to eat. Anna removed sliced turnip, wrapped in a napkin, from her purse and gave a piece to Emmi.
“Here,” Emmi said, breaking a piece of black war bread in half and giving it to Anna.
From their position by the door, they had a clear view to the obstacle course, where Fleck was working with Max.
Emmi nibbled bread. “Why are Fleck and Max forgoing their lunch?”
“I don’t know,” Anna said, watching Max struggle to navigate with a shepherd around a wooden barrel.
“He’s performing terribly,” a gruff voice said.
Anna turned.
A sixty-year-old trainer named Waldemar stepped into the doorway and rubbed his elongated, spade-shaped chin. An unruly gray mustache ran from his upper lip to his earlobes. “He has trouble grasping our instruction on basic dog handling techniques.”
“A shell explosion compromised Max’s range of hearing,” Anna said.
“He hears our commands just fine,” Waldemar said. “I think he suffers from low intelligence. Or maybe his brain was damaged by that shell.”
Anna’s pulse spiked. She stuffed her food into her coat pocket. “I can assure you that his cognitive skills are quite intact.”
“It’s only his first day,” Emmi added.
Waldemar furrowed his brows. “I can’t believe that we’re squandering training on a Jew.”
Anna’s skin turned hot.
Emmi clasped Anna’s arm, as if to prevent her friend from confronting Waldemar.
Anna slipped from her grasp and approached him. “Max sacrificed his sight while fighting for our country. He deserves to be here, as much as any other battle-blinded veteran.”
Waldemar pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. “It doesn’t matter. He’ll be lucky to last a week before Fleck sends him home.” He took a deep drag and blew smoke in her face.
Anna fought back a cough and stood her ground.
Waldemar shook his head, and then walked away.
“Are you all right?” Emmi asked, stepping to Anna.
“Ja.” Her legs trembled. “I think I know which trainer refused to have Max board in his home.”
Emmi nodded. “You were absolutely right to confront him, but please be careful. Waldemar could make it difficult for you and Max, and he might be able to persuade Fleck to expel him.”
“I will,” Anna said, wondering if her rebuttal to Waldemar had created unnecessary attention to Max.
Emmi looked at Anna. “I wish I had your mettle. I’d love to be able to speak my mind like that.”
“You have far more courage than you think.”