Strawberry Red

Chapter 26 Ruby

It had been nearly six months since Buck went down and Ruby's move to Berlin. She had started to work at the Berliner Charité again. But now she was working in the department for injured soldiers which needed surgery. She saw all kind of injuries from minor to almost deadly ones. She worked alongside of Doctor Otto Richter, a young surgeon who just had finished his studies. He treated his nurses fairly and always took care of them. Ruby enjoyed being in the operating theatre with him. She had worked with many surgeons before who often punished the nurses if something went wrong. But not Dr. Richter. When something went wrong, he reflected on his own work and even asked the nurses to tell him if they thought a different approach was better.

Ruby's apartment was a little outside the city centre. Every morning, she drove to work by bus and passed many destroyed homes. The Americans and Brits had upped their bombing campaign on Germany. Almost every night Ruby slept in her shelter which she shared with her neighbours. And during the day she was in the operating theatre which they had moved into the shelters as the raids continued to happen during the day. Parts of the Charité had been damaged during the bombings and were being reconstructed.

She and Rosie had kept in touch. Agent Horace had been smuggling their letters in and out of Germany. It was a risky game, but the SOE needed Ruby, so they were doing everything to keep her happy. Through Rosie she always got the latest news and occasionally Helen and Tatty would write a couple of paragraphs to tell her about the gossip. Honestly, Ruby was most excited for those parts. She missed her friends and life on base dearly. And hearing what was going on made her feel included even if she was over a thousand miles away.

Today was not different. She got up early and read through Rosie's letter again before writing a short response. She'd meet agent Horace in the afternoon and wanted to send a letter back to her friends. She grabbed her bag and put the letter inside, then she quickly stuffed some bread in her mouth and left the house with Meatball by her side. Meatball had moved with her to Germany for which she was incredibly grateful for. He gave her comfort and reassurance when she was alone. During the day she always dropped Meatball off at the children's department of the Chartié. The kids absolutely loved having Meatball around.

Ruby took her usual route to the hospital. She boarded the bus which stopped a few blocks away from her apartment. The bus drove straight to the hospital. She hopped off and entered the hospital. Before she headed underground to the operating theatre, she made her usual stop and dropped off Meatball.

"Margarete! It's good to see you," said one of the nurses, Linda, who worked in the children's department. "The kids are eager to go and play outside with him today. The weather is stunning."

"I think he'd like that very much." Ruby handed her the leash and kissed Meatball goodbye. "How's Karl?"

"He's recovering well. He's still having trouble walking but apart from that fine," answered Linda. "How is your little one? Hopefully letting you sleep?"

"Sleep? What even is sleep?" joked Ruby and stroked over her pregnant belly. "The baby is doing good. Just causing some discomfort. Hopefully, the baby will have my late husband's calmness."

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to have some of your whirlwind personality." Linda laughed and later left Ruby to head to work.

Ruby had found out about her pregnancy two months after her move to Berlin. She had considered to abort the mission. But the SOE needed more intel to plan the D-Day which was supposed to happen any day now and the sooner they landed in Western Europe, the sooner she got her husband back.

She and the baby had been doing fine during the course of her pregnancy. Thankfully, she didn't experience any of the nasty downsides of pregnancy. Most of the time the baby was an angel. Only rarely it decided to kick and squirm around in her belly.

The elevator doors opened, and Ruby reached her destination underground. Dr. Richter was already changed into his clothes for surgery. He smiled when he saw Ruby.

"Good morning, Margarete," Dr. Richter greeted.

"What's the plan for today?" asked Ruby and took a new set of clothes out of the cabinet.

"We've only got three surgeries. But today is the party," informed Dr. Richter. He scrunched his nose and fiddled with the hem of his shirt.

"Oh, right." Ruby nodded slowly. The entire department had been dreading the party for months. They were invited to a Nazi party because of their outstanding performance in the operating theatre. It was completely bullshit. Those kinds of parties were a way of spreading propaganda and fear amongst the population. "Don't worry, I'll be there with you."

Surprisingly, they were done with the operations at lunch time. So, Ruby took Meatball and headed home to relax and change into her party outfit. When she left her apartment for the second time of the day, she was wearing a modest and simple brown dress. It showed off her growing belly but also covered her knees and shoulders, just how the Germans liked it.

She talked to different people at the party and was engaged in various conversations. By the time the clock hit midnight, she couldn't remember any more names or faces. She climbed up the stairs to the rooftop to take a short break from socializing. She wasn't the only one with the urge to seek some quietness. Dr. Richter was standing on the ledge of the rooftop with his gaze firmly on the ground.

"Dr. Richter?" asked Ruby hesitantly and walked to where he was standing dangerously close to the ledge. His head snapped into her direction. He had tears in his eyes. And his cheeks were rosy from the crying.

"Leave me, Margarete. That is an order," said Dr. Richter angrily. With his sleeve he wiped away the tears. But it was no use because more and more began to fall.

"What is going on?" questioned Ruby softly. She slowly took another step forward. "Talk to me."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me." Ruby was almost standing next to him. She wanted to keep her distance from the ledge as she was absolutely terrified of heights.

"I'm gay," blurred Dr. Richter out. He was shocked that he actually said it out loud, so he quickly covered his mouth.

"That's why you want to jump?" Ruby reached for his hand. "It's okay. You don't have to be ashamed of who you are."

"I could be arrested for being gay. My boyfriend was arrested earlier today and is now on his way to the gas chambers." He wiped more tears away. "There's nothing I could've done to save him. And now I'm next. They'll kill me. If I have to die, I want to die on my own terms. I don't want to give the Nazis the satisfaction of killing me."

"I'm so sorry, Otto," said Ruby. She pulled him away from the ledge and turned his body, so he'd look at her. "Pretend to marry me. You need an alibi and I need someone for when the baby's here. Everyone is expecting me to find a new husband to provide for us. You could take that role, and nobody would raise any suspicion about your sexuality."

"You'd do that for me? You'd lie for me?"

"Of course. Beside it is a win for both of us." Ruby had gotten him far away from the ledge in the meantime.

"I guess, we're playing pretend now," agreed Dr. Richter.