A Country Not Your Own

Chapter 17 Guests

Chapter 17 Guests

As I enter, I get an image of a woman…our mother? What is Aaron thinking?

“Ach…” I begin as I arrive at his side.

We stand frozen, gazing at the guests. The man is tall and muscular with red hair and copper brown eyes. He has a girl about our age with angel blonde hair, soft brown eyes, pale skin, and rosy cheeks. She looks like a life size porcelain doll. But the woman is a Jew…with black hair and black eyes as familiar as the stars in the night sky…for me it is like looking in a mirror…our mother.

“Anne? Aaron?” she asks.

The General rolls his eyes.

“Another family reunion,” Jace grunts as his cousin enters. “Who is she, your aunt?”

“No…” I stammer. “She’s our Em.”

“What?” the General asks.

“Our mother…” Aaron whispers.

“Oh…thank you, God,” she cries as she rushed forward to hug us.

“Em, where have you been?” Aaron asks. “We thought…”

“I was almost…but Henry saved me. We got married four years later. That’s his daughter, Holle.”

“Henry, Holle,” she says, leading us to his side. “This is my daughter Analiese, and my son Aaron. They are the children I told about.”

“Nice to meet you,” the girl says with a slight curtsy. 

Henry smiles broad and shakes hands with us.

“It looks like there will be a lot explained. You three may sit privately in the parlor,” the General offers.

We walk to the parlor, and our mother shuts the door behind us. We sit silently for about ten minutes.

“So…uh…why are you all here?” Aaron breaks the silence.

“Henry is like a godfather to Jace and Jason. He came to try and talk their fathers out of sending them to Hitler Youth.”

Aaron turns away.

“That is where Abba wishes to send him,” I speak up for him.

I see my mother fidget, and she looks at Nachum.

“Who is this?” she asks.

As soon as he gets attention, he is at her side; I laugh.

“That’s my baby, Nachum. He’s the most loyal companion,” I introduce.

“He never leaves her side,” Aaron adds.

“He’s sweet,” my mother says as she strokes him.

She pauses a minute before asking, “Is your father here?”

“He will be,” Aaron says.

“Maybe I should leave,” she says.

“Please, don’t, Em,” I plead. “You have only been here a few minutes. We really thought you were dead.”

“I looked for you, Annie. I looked everywhere when I recovered, but I couldn’t find you. Henry saved me; he gave me a place to stay…we fell in love…we got married…I assumed you were dead, both of you. I heard nothing of Alois. I wouldn’t put it past him to kill his own son for the Nazis or Hitler. I moved on…lived life normally, being a mother for Holle…and now, here you are. My beautiful Ben and Bat!” she exclaims. “I’m only sorry that I missed so much.”