I close my eyes as I watch her lift the flat of her palm up and out. The sting and clap against my cheek cause bright spots to freckle over my eyes. The pain is temporary, but my words will sit with her.
“Now. Go,” she hisses.
I will never judge a mother, but I know the result of bad parenting. Marlene and Isla will remember their mother’s behavior, and their father’s too. These memories will hang in the backs of their minds like paintings, ones they’ll view differently as they age.
Flora, red in the face with tears dampening her cheeks, croaks out another loud cry as the sound vanishes into a raspy breath. “Ma!” she shouts as I lift her up, finding her bottom soaked. It’s the first time I’ve heard her utter a word, and it’s a shame Ada doesn’t respond to her attempt to speak.
“Did you just say Ma?” I repeat her word with a forced sense of joy. “Ma?”
Flora mimics the movement of my lips but doesn’t say the word out loud again. It’s something. It’s a milestone.
“Isla, could you read your sister a story while I change Flora out of her wet clothes?”
Isla drops the book she’s holding and tosses her head back. “Fine,” she complies.
“I’m going out. I have errands to run,” Frau Schäfer says, her tone pompous and unaffected by our conversation. “Sylvia and Oskar are on guard for the prisoners and will be in and out frequently checking on them.” The kapos. I haven’t seen Sylvia since the first day I arrived, but Oskar charges in and out of the house frequently. He visits the attic at least six times a day, checking on Gavriel’s work. “Girls, stay by Halina’s side. There are prisoners in this house, yes?”
Frau Schäfer is out the door within seconds of her last statement.
“Yes, Mama,” Marlene grumbles, and Isla takes her by the hand and pulls her toward me as we make our way to the stairwell.
No sooner than I set Flora down and remove her wet clothes and diaper, does the squeal of car brakes ping against the windows. Frau Schäfer must have forgotten something.
I set the new dry cloth beneath Flora and fold in the sides. “Can you say ‘ba’?” I ask Flora, exaggerating the movement between my lips. “Ba…”
She smacks her lips together a few times and smiles. “Good try, sweet girl!” I say, tickling her tummy.
“Papa’s home,” Marlene squeals. “He’s come home in the middle of the day again!” My hands turn clammy as heat rises through my spine. With everything I’ve heard about and from Officer Schäfer this week, I know well enough that there’s no saying what his agenda is or what state of mind he’ll be in when he enters the house.
“He has a friend with him,” Isla adds. “Another officer, but I don’t know him. I thought we knew most of them by now.”
“Does your father bring officers home with him often?”
Isla turns from the window and faces me as I pull a fresh romper over Flora’s head and try to attach it at the bottom as she’s busy trying to roll away from me. Isla’s head falls to the side, just a bit, and her eyes narrow as if she wants me to read the thoughts going through her head before she speaks them out loud. “Not very often, but when he does, it’s usually because he needs a worker taken out or replaced from the house.” She peers over at her sister. “Isn’t that right, Marlene?”
Marlene drops her head and nods. “Yes, that’s right.”
The front door slams open so hard, the walls shudder, the paintings hanging in Flora’s bedroom rattling. “Where is she?” Officer Schäfer’s voice is paralyzing, biting through the walls as if he’s only a few steps away. A breath catches in my lungs, choking me, and all I can do is clutch Flora to my chest as I stiffen in wait.
“Where are you?” his voice booms.
“He must be angry with Mama,” Marlene whispers.
Their mama isn’t here. I am.
Flora must sense a need for calm among the commotion as she pushes herself upright to sit at attention, staring at the bedroom door. Even the youngest of prey knows when to remain still in the face of their predators.
SIXTEEN
GAVRIEL
From the crevices in the roof rafters, I watched Frau Schäfer bolt out of the house, running in the opposite direction that Officer Schäfer’s vehicle just came from with only moments in between. It’s too coincidental to believe she happened to disappear before he arrived just by chance…
I place down the wooden panel I was about to secure between two rafters and bolt toward the attic’s stairwell, peeking around the corner. Halina’s been in Flora’s bedroom with the girls following Frau Schäfer’s departure. I could hear their muffled voices through the thin floor, but there’s nothing but silence from them now.
With doors slamming all around the main floor, my pulse quickens, anticipating what he’ll do next. The heavy clomps of his boots grow louder as he returns to the front of the house—to the main stairwell. I hold my breath as he stomps up the first steps of the main stairwell.
Is he looking for Halina? I think of her resolve this morning, telling me she won’t allow them to hurt the children or the baby any more…What did she do?
