Chapter Four Aletta #2
She didn’t think to ask how her mother knew about the movement as she saw the surprise on her face turn to something else.
But it wasn’t the look that fazed her, it was the way her mother walked forward, the colour slowly returning to her face as she reached for Aletta’s hand.
Her mother, who’d never been anything other than a sweet, obedient wife, a woman who’d never openly disagreed with her husband as far as Aletta could remember.
‘If you’re brave enough to join, Aletta, if you truly believe it will make a difference, then I’ll support you,’ she said.
‘Emma, you can’t be serious!’ Aletta’s father cried. ‘You can’t—’
‘She’s right, Jan. Safe isn’t going to stop the Nazi soldiers from killing our fellow countrymen or trampling through our front door and taking our home––’ Her mother’s voice caught, her voice a gasp as she continued.
‘Or heaven forbid, helping themselves to our daughter when they do. We have to do something. We have to prepare.’
‘What do you mean we?’ he asked, his face draining of colour as he stared at his wife.
‘I mean that maybe I will go along to the next meeting too, and hear what they have to say. Maybe there’s even a contribution of value that a woman my age can make.’
Aletta hated being at odds with her father, the last thing in the world she’d ever wanted to do was upset him, but she was filled with pride at her mother’s words. Her mother who had never done anything other than care for and love her family, so bravely declaring her support.
Her father looked between them then, his shock slowly turning to understanding, almost as if he knew better than to argue with the two women he loved the most in the world, who were standing so resolutely before him.
And surely he must have been proud, after all he’d done to help others, that his wife and daughter were wanting to do something, too.
Aletta watched as he sunk back into his armchair, suddenly looking so much older.
He buried his head in his hands for a moment as she sat on the sofa, turning on the lamp, her mother on the arm of his chair, her hand falling on his shoulder.
They might have argued, but it hadn’t stopped her mother wanting to be near him, to comfort him as he struggled with their decision.
Aletta had never been the type of girl who yearned for marriage, but if she ever did marry, she knew she wouldn’t accept anything less than the kind of partnership that her parents had.
‘If you both do this, if there’s truly nothing I can do to talk you out of it, then we need to have some rules,’ he eventually said when he lifted his head, his eyes pleading.
‘We have to promise each other that we’ll all abide by them, to do everything we can to keep our family safe.
That has to be something we all agree on. ’
Aletta nodded. She could live with that.
Her father was taking risks every day too, and they all needed to understand what the others were doing, and just how far they could go, how much they were endangering the family.
Each of their individual actions had a knock-on effect, and it was unfair not to be honest with one another.
‘There is no shame in being the one at home looking after us, Emma,’ her father said, his gaze fixed on her mother. ‘You don’t need to do anything else for me to be proud of you.’
Aletta watched as her mother shut her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. ‘If we don’t join, if we don’t all do something . . .’
‘Then how can we expect others to,’ Aletta finished for her. ‘We all have a duty to do whatever we can to help our country and all the people in it. We don’t have a choice. We simply have to try.’
Her father’s nod was solemn, as if something in her words had resonated with him. ‘Emma, how about you make us all a cup of something hot. I have a feeling it’s going to be a very long night.’
Aletta knew then that her father had accepted their decision, but also, that their conversation wasn’t over.
He had that look in his eye she’d only ever seen when he was working on an important case, which meant he would be very thorough in his interrogation of them, and even more thorough when it came to establishing exactly what they were and weren’t allowed to do.
Aletta wasn’t complaining though – despite the confrontation, she was still thrumming with excitement about the evening she’d had.
And she couldn’t wait until the next meeting so she could take her mother with her and see the look on her face when she realised just how many people were prepared to fight for not just their country, but for the people.
Even if her mother chose not to volunteer, she still wanted her to feel the energy she’d sensed herself tonight.
They were going to make a difference. They were going to fight for what was right.
There was power in numbers, and if what she’d heard was correct, there were going to be resistance groups formed throughout Europe.
As far as she was concerned, this was only the beginning.