Something to Remember You By
Page 10
“Well … partly because I’m smart, partly because I’m lucky, and mostly because I was in touch with Brian Lewis every day, and he told me where he thought the gas chamber was. You and I were both lucky that he was right and that the pilot didn’t miss the target. The other places we bombed were technical buildings, nothing near where they kept the prisoners. Oh, and Brian told me to tell you that while Gilles was in prison his family was never touched, so you can relax about that.”
“I’m terribly grateful to you, Colonel.”
“You’re more than welcome, son. So what are your plans?”
“To be with the woman I love.”
“Not a bad plan. By the way, if you should ever get tired of being happy you can always work with me in my office. I could use a fellow like you, with ideas that could never work.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“Perhaps you’d like to be a captain now. It must be pretty boring just being a lieutenant for over five months?”
“Thank you, but no, sir. Just being a lieutenant is fine with me until the war is over.”
“It’s going to be over sooner than you think, Tom.”
FIFTY
The Shepherdess Café—May 25th, 1945
“You look so much better, darling. The bruise over your eyebrow looks almost gone, and a little color is coming back to your cheeks.”
“As long as I don’t frighten you again.”
“You didn’t frighten me. Not at all. It’s just—when I first saw you get off that plane, I was—”
“A little frightened?”
“Yes, I was a little … Oh, now you make jokes again. I’m the joke teller.”
“Don’t cry, Anna. Everything’s fine, as long as you still love me, even if I’m not very pretty.”
“But you are very pretty.”
“No, I mean—even when I’m not very good-looking.”
“You are very good-looking, min elskede … min lille kaereste.”
“Uh-oh. Now you’re talking Danish again and I don’t know what you said.”
“Nothing of importance. I was just thinking that Alfred should be here with our food any minute now and you must be very hungry.”
“You little liar. You couldn’t have said all that with four Danish words.”
“Well, I just added added a few more words and now look—here he is.”
Alfred Hollingberry came bouncing up to them, holding a platter with fish and vienna steak and potatoes and salad. He also had another bottle of the Moroccan imitation Sancerre under his arm. As he approached he started singing as he dished out their food:
As I stroll down Pic Piccadilly in the bright morning air,
All the girls will declare, he must be a millionaire.
“And how how are we doin’ folks? A little hungry I hope.”
“Oh, yes,” Anna said.
“Very good salmon tonight, and fairly good ‘sort of steak.’ Shall I pour your fake Sancerre now?”
“Yes, please,” Tom said.
“We missed the both of you so much. It’s grand ta see you back, sir.”
“Thanks, Alfred.”
“Now, I’ll leave you alone so you can enjoy yourselves,” Alfred said and bounced away.
“Tom, you’re crying. What’s wrong, dear?”
“Nothing … Nothing’s wrong, darling. I haven’t had a breakdown. It’s just that … I didn’t think I’d ever see you again. And here you are with Alfred and a fake steak again. Isn’t it wonderful?” Tom said as he took a hanky out of his pocket and wiped his eyes.
Anna came over and sat on Tom’s lap. “It is wonderful,” she said and kissed him nine or ten times. He held the pink bow in her hair as he tried to return her kisses.
ALSO BY GENE WILDER
What Is This Thing Called Love?
The Woman Who Wouldn’t
My French Whore
Kiss Me Like A Stranger
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gene Wilder has been acting since he was thirteen and writing for the screen since the early 1970s. His first book, about his own life, was Kiss Me Like A Stranger, and was followed by two novels, My French Whore and The Woman Who Wouldn’t, and a collection of short stories, What Is This Thing Called Love? Wilder lives in Connecticut with his wife, Karen.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
SOMETHING TO REMEMBER YOU BY. Copyright © 2013 by Gene Wilder. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.stmartins.com
Cover photograph of couple by Walter Sanders/Getty Images
Ribbon photograph by Danielle Fiorella
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Wilder, Gene, 1935–.
Something to Remember You By: A Perilous Romance / By Gene Wilder.—1st ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-312-59891-4 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-02960-7 (e-book)
1. World War, 1939–1945—Belgium—Fiction. 2. Soldiers—United States—Fiction. 3. Americans—Belgium—Fiction. 4. Young women—Denmark—Fiction. 5. Deception—Fiction. 6. Secrecy—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3623.I5384S66 2013
813'.6—dc23
2012041266
e-ISBN 9781250029607
First Edition: April 2013