"I have been there too, Charlie. I understand," she says.
"Okay then," I begin to read.
My Dear Amelia,
I should have known today would be glorious. The sun is high in the sky and warm today—the kind of warmth you feel after a cool breeze forces the hairs on your arm to stand.
I thought the day couldn't get any better, but it has, Amelia. My day has become tremendously better because I found hope. It has been a year since I last saw your beautiful smile, but when I close my eyes, I can still feel your presence. You changed my life, Amelia.
This past year, I was locked away in a prison cell where I deserved to rot and die. However, because Hitler has died, I have been released and given a second chance at life, which means I have the opportunity to find you. I wasn't sure if you were still in Switzerland. I wasn't sure if you had even made it this far. I prayed—it's all I could do, Amelia.
I found myself stopped in front of a quaint bed and breakfast a couple of miles outside of a village in Zurich. Frau Joel has taken me in, and I couldn't be more grateful. I am working hard to earn my keep here and just secured a job at a bakery down the street. I am going to save every dime I can so I can make it to the United States. I know now that's where you are because I found your photo hanging on the wall in Frau Joel's house.
My heart stopped when I saw your face, Amelia. I hope you have not forgotten me, and in the case that you are missing me as much as I am missing you, please know that I am doing everything in my power to find my way to you—wherever you might be in the United States.
I hope Lucie is doing well and you two are keeping each other happy. I am sorry you had to travel alone. I am so sorry, Amelia.
I love you more than I had time to express. Be well, darling.
Forever yours,
-Charlie
As I fold the letter up and replace it within the envelope, Amelia's hand rests on my wrist. "I wanted to wait longer, but I had an opportunity to emigrate, and I thought I would be foolish to pass it up, especially after finding out I was pregnant with Clara."
"It was my punishment to bear," I tell Amelia.
"What am I supposed to say, Charlie? Hadn't I already been punished enough?" She's right. My statement is selfish.
"More than enough," I tell her.
"It isn't fair, Charlie."
"You're right."
Amelia stares up to the ceiling, the fiberglass panels of white reflect our shadows below. "Frau Joel was wonderful to me," Amelia says. "She asked for nothing. I told her all about you, how you had saved me—us, and she didn't judge our situation. She was one of the first impartial people I had met in a long time, especially since she was still hiding a Jewish woman, too. She could have been killed if anyone knew I was living with her."
I didn't quite consider how dangerous it was for Frau Joel to have taken Amelia into her home. In my mind, Switzerland was a safe place, but nowhere was safe when I helped Amelia escape Germany.
"How was your pregnancy? Were you all right? I—I had no idea—"
"Well, Charlie, sometimes when a man and woman—things can happen, can't it?"
"I suppose it did," I tell her.
"It was that night—the night before, at that couple's house." Amelia smiled weakly and stared at me for a long moment. "It was a beautiful moment, Charlie; one I would never take back."
"I remember it as if it was yesterday," I tell her, feeling my cheeks become warm.
"You gave me a gift—a part of you to hold on to all these years. Clara—she is just like you, Charlie. And Emma, my goodness, Emma—she is almost all of you, but a little of me too."
Amelia struggles to peek over the side of the bed at my briefcase. "What else do you have in there, Charlie?"
I smile at Amelia, watching her hand try and snag my briefcase. "Darling, you just had surgery on your heart. Let's be careful."
"Well then, tell me what else is in your bag."
"More letters mostly."
