Chapter Twenty-Four #4
‘Ben, come in here!’ called Helene. He tentatively entered the kitchen, his gaze darting from one to the other. Sam noticed Helene’s eyes shine with excitement as she announced, ‘Sam is in love with a German woman. She is called Elsa and he is going to start looking for her again!’
‘You are?’ Ben stepped forward. ‘Helene has not put you off?’
Sam smiled at Helene. ‘No, not at all.’
Ben’s shoulders lowered and he smiled back at them. ‘If you ever find her again, will you bring her home with you?’
‘She may not want to come, but I have to ask her. It will take years for Germany to recover. She deserves an easier life now.’ He smiled a little too brightly. ‘And if she says yes, I can now try to prepare her for a new life in England.’
‘And if she declines your offer?’
He looked away, unable to bear seeing Helene’s sad expression. ‘I will accept it and be glad to find her well.’
‘She won’t refuse you. You must find a home near us. We can all be friends,’ suggested Ben enthusiastically.
Helene smiled. ‘Don’t rush him, Ben. Sam might decide he doesn’t want to marry her.’
‘She may be married already,’ said Sam, solemnly.
‘And if she isn’t and comes here, I will help her to settle in Cornwall. It will be easier for her than me. Time has helped me.’
Ben laughed. ‘Now you are rushing him, Helene. He has to find her first. Besides, who in their right mind would marry him anyway?’
‘Thanks, Ben! But you are right,’ said Sam, ‘I have to find her first. Over the years I have written to the aid organizations that are stationed in Bremen but with no success.’
‘Well,’ Helene said, putting her hands decisively on her hips, ‘I have family in Berlin. I could write to them and ask if they can offer any advice on how to find her.’
‘And I still have contacts in the military,’ added Ben. ‘I could write to them.’
Their enthusiasm was infectious. ‘I’ll write to the Red Cross again,’ suggested Sam. ‘It has been a while since I asked them. Perhaps things are less chaotic now.’
‘Come,’ ordered Ben in an authoritative tone, ‘let’s sit around the table and decide on a plan.’
Helene rushed off and returned almost immediately with a pencil and paper. They settled around the table amid their scraping of chairs and observational chatter.
‘You sit there.’
‘Let me have the pencil and paper.’
‘Does it need sharpening?’
‘No, it’s fine.’
‘Move over a bit.’
‘Not too loud or you’ll wake Michael.’
‘Are we ready?’
They all nodded in agreement.
‘First we need to know her full name,’ Helene said with the confidence of a commissioned officer in the army.
Sam rested his forearms on the table. ‘Elsa Kalbach.’
‘Do you know the names of any of her relatives? It may help to narrow the search.’
Sam recalled their stolen moments together. ‘She had a sister, Frieda, and a brother, Otto, although he died in the war. I don’t know the names of her mother and father.’
‘And the child?’
‘Klara had a false name. I can’t remember her surname. Her real name was Miriam Leske, but I don’t know if she would use it. If I find Elsa, she will have Klara or know if her family was found. She would not have abandoned her.’
‘Then we will concentrate on Elsa. What does she look like?’
He reached into the inner lining of his jacket, withdrew a battered wallet and laid it on the table. They watched as he carefully opened the leather flap and slowly, tenderly, withdrew the folded drawing Otto had sketched of his sister. ‘She gave me this. It is a good likeness of her.’
Ben turned it to face him and his wife. ‘This is Elsa?’ he added needlessly.
Sam nodded.
‘She’s pretty,’ observed Helene.
‘Her brother was very talented. It is sad that such talent was wasted.’ He passed it to Helene. ‘We could have copies of it made so we can send it with our letters.’
Helene gently touched its edges. ‘You have carried this in your wallet all these years?’
Sam slowly nodded and swallowed down the emotion that always rose up from his chest whenever he looked at it.
‘Sam, a man does not carry something around with him every day that reminds him of his guilt. It is not guilt that makes you want to offer her marriage and rescue her from a broken country. It is love.’
* * *
Two hours later, and after much planning, Ben walked with Sam to the door.
With a heart filled with hope, Sam offered him his hand. ‘Thank you for inviting me into your home, Ben.’
Ben shook it. ‘My pleasure. We enjoyed it. Particularly Helene.’
‘You are a lucky man.’
‘I know.’ He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘Your talk with Helene . . . is there anything I should know?’
Sam thought for a moment. He had given his word to Helene to say nothing so he would not reveal the inner battle she had fought to stay with him. That was a conversation only she could share.
‘I think she gets homesick sometimes,’ Ben added, aware of the silence coming from him.
Sam could see the desperation in Ben’s eyes — he wanted to help his wife. ‘If you think she is homesick,’ he said, ‘perhaps you could ask her to make you a German dish now and then? I think she would like that.’
Ben understood and nodded slowly. ‘I will.’
‘And is it possible to visit her family in Germany?’
‘It is not impossible. I will ask her about it.’ He opened the door and stood back as Sam stepped out into the night. ‘Sam?’
Sam turned to look at him. ‘Yes?’
‘I’ve tried too hard to forget she is German, haven’t I?’
‘She did not say that.’
‘But it’s the truth, isn’t it? I’ll do better. I must stop ignoring that side of her because that also makes her who she is.’
Sam looked at Ben framed in the doorway and knew he would become his lifelong friend. ‘She is lucky to have you, Ben. And you are lucky to have her. Remind her that she makes you a better man for having her in your life.’
Ben’s eyes softened as he looked at him. ‘How did you know?’
Sam smiled sadly. ‘Because I know I would be a better man if Elsa was in mine.’