by Dan Walsh
“What are you guys going to do?” Jack said. “I don’t think you can go home tonight. Everything’s on fire between here and there.”
“Well, I gotta try. My pass is only good until midnight.”
“Joe, they’re not going to write you up on something like this. They know you went to London, and they’ll know what just happened here.”
“You’re probably right. But I can’t just sit around here anyway. Most of the people here can’t do a single thing about these bombers. But I can. Two or three times a day. Nothing is on fire south of here. I’ll find a cab or bus, get them to take me to the train station. Maybe I can go around the damage, one way or another, and be back to the airfield by the morning. Can’t have that Polish kid going after these bombers without me.” He smiled and stuck out his hand. Jack shook it. “Well, it’s been great seeing you. Both of you.” He looked at the situation. “Want me to wheel you back to where you belong? Save Renée the trouble.”
“That’s probably a good idea.”
“I don’t mind pushing him,” Renée said.
“No problem. It’ll just take me a minute.”
For the next hour after Joe left, Renée and Jack visited by his bedside. But it quickly became obvious, all the added excitement had taken a toll on Jack. He’d actually started to fall asleep in the middle of a work story she had been telling. When she stopped talking, his head snapped straight up. “I’m sorry, keep going,” he said.
She’d said it was time for him to get some rest and for her to find someplace to sleep. Jack had come up with a plan. He’d become friends with a couple of the nurses. He called one over was able to get her to sympathize with Renée’s plight. The nurse said the building next door was a women’s ward, and there were several beds empty on the second floor. In light of the situation, she didn’t think it would be a problem for Renée to sleep there. Besides, several of the nurses were facing the same dilemma and would probably join her.
After she’d relocated to the women’s ward for a few hours, more German bombers appeared over the London skies and began hitting some of the same places they’d bombed earlier. And once again, everyone headed for the basement. Since she was in the building next door, Renée ran to the basement of Jack’s building as soon as the sirens sounded and kept searching until she found him. An orderly had brought Jack downstairs. They huddled together in the basement until almost 4AM when the bombs finally stopped.
When the all-clear came, everyone was exhausted. This time, Renée helped Jack get back to his room. For some reason, the man in the bed next to Jack didn’t return that night. They’d passed a linen cart in the hallway. Jack suggested she grab a couple of blankets, throw them on top of the bed and just sleep there. So, that’s what she did.
By midmorning the next day, they had a better idea about which sections of the city had received the most damage, and which parts were still closed because of fires. Jack helped her figure out a route back to the Westminster area, where she lived and worked. It appeared, at least for now, the bombers had left the entire area mostly alone.
Before leaving, she made sure Jack had everything he needed, then she leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. One of these days, she decided, she would get a little braver than that and kiss him properly.
(Many years later, whenever Renée looked back on this moment, she’d always think the same thing: had she known of the tumultuous events that followed over the next four weeks, she would have given Jack a proper kiss that day.)
41
October 9th, 1940
Royal Herbert Hospital
Jack’s cast had been off a week now. Using a single crutch, he had just limped back to his hospital bed and sat in the wooden chair beside it. Lately, he’d been spending more of the day sitting up, or else taking walks, like the one he’d just completed. He was more motivated than ever to get out of this hospital and back in the game.
It was especially frustrating that he hadn’t been able to see Renée since September 7th, the evening the London Blitz began. Except for a few bad-weather days, the Germans had bombed London without stop. They had flown daytime raids for another week until their losses became too severe. Then they’d switched tactics and bombed London every night. Among the one-thousand other horrible things about this, it had kept Renée from being able to travel across town to see Jack.
She was afraid to attempt the journey and, even had she been willing, Jack would have never allowed it. Life in London these days was dangerous and unstable. The civilian death toll ran into the thousands and the injured in the tens of thousands. The bombs seemed to fall wherever they pleased. No rhyme or reason. Whether one lived or died seemed to have everything to do with being in the right place or the wrong place at any given time.
When Jack had learned the Brown’s Hotel, like so many other high-end establishments in Westminster, had created a nice shelter in their basement for their guests, he’d advised Renée just to go there every night and stay put until the all-clear was given. So far, her hotel had been spared. Surprisingly Selfridge’s, the store where she worked, had also been spared. Several other department stores had taken direct hits.
Jack had not only missed seeing Renée for the last month, Joe had been unable to get free, either. But they had talked on the phone a few days ago, and he seemed in good spirits. Still boasting of the number of planes he’d shot down, convinced now that it would be impossible for Jack to ever catch up. Joe seemed to think that the air war was beginning to tip in their favor. In the last week, he’d been averaging only one or two sorties a day, and they were definitely seeing fewer German planes in the air.
Of course, being at Middle Wallop, Joe wasn’t being assigned any missions as far off as London. Maybe he’d have a different opinion if he could see what was happening here.
Jack looked up at the clock. Elliot should be here any minute. Jack had only seen him once in the last month, but they had also talked on the telephone a few times. Like this morning. Elliot had called saying he was driving over to see Jack with “two very urgent matters to discuss.” It wouldn’t have been like Elliot to give out hints, so Jack hadn’t bothered to ask.
But he was definitely intrigued.
From earlier conversations, Jack had learned that Elliot still hadn’t talked to their grandfather about him. Elliot said his plan was to confront him in person and, so far, the war was not cooperating with that plan. Maybe this was one of the urgent matters Elliot was on his way over here to discuss with Jack.
Jack had an urgent matter of his own to discuss with his brother.
Renée.
More to the point, he wanted to know the status of Elliot’s relationship with her. Jack was totally nuts about her. It seemed to him she felt the same way. But both of them were holding back on letting this romance grow into anything more. He supposed it was out of their respect for Elliot and this idea that he had some prior claim on her affections.
Had Jack seen any evidence to support this, he would’ve never allowed his heart to go where it had plainly already gone. But all Elliot seemed to produce was polite interest. The last time Jack and Renée had talked, he had asked her plainly what her understanding of their relationship was. “I have no idea,” she said. “At first, I thought there was something. I think we were actually dating. But then the war took over. I think he cares for me, but I cannot tell if there is anything more.”
Jack had wanted to ask her right then if she wished Elliot did feel anything more, but he didn’t. The right thing to do was to pick the right time and ask his brother that question first. After all, he didn’t come all this way to meet the woman of his dreams and fall in love. He’d come here to find Elliot. And he didn’t want anything to destroy their chances of becoming real brothers, who treated each other the way brothers should.
Jack heard footsteps and turned to find his brother walking this way. He was about to greet him cheerfully but saw the serious expression on his face. He was holding an opened envelope in
his hand. Jack stood. “Hey Elliot, so good to see you.”
“You too, Jack. You’re looking much better since I was here last.”
“Yes. Definitely feeling better, too. I’m ready to get out of here.” They shook hands.
He saw Jack grab the crutch. “You don’t need two?”
“No.”
“Can you walk?”
“Yes. If you don’t mind a slow pace. I’m hoping to change this in for a cane in a day or two if they let me.”
“Good. I’d like to talk in private. Maybe we could find a place outside? A bench or something?”
“I know just the place.”
Jack led him toward his favorite spot, about a five-minute stroll, as the turtle crawls. Elliot wasn’t much for small talk, so Jack decided to see if Elliot could tell him any news about the war. “I was talking with my pilot friend, Joe, recently. He seems to think we might be turning a corner in this thing, at least with the air war. Would you agree?”
Elliot looked around to make sure they were far enough away from listening ears. “Your friend Joe might be right. You can’t repeat this, but we’re getting some very strong indicators that Hitler may have postponed the invasion, if not called it off altogether.”
“Really? That would be wonderful news.”
“Wouldn’t it? It’s strange how things have worked out. Ironic, really.”
“How do you mean?”
“You recall about a month ago, just before that first heavy attack on London, that I said if something didn’t happen soon to alter the course of things, the RAF might be finished?”
“How could I forget?” Jack said. “But things do seem better now, don’t you think?”
“They are better now. Some would say remarkably so. Here’s the ironic thing…when Hitler decided to start bombing London that night in early September, he might have actually handed us the victory. In one sense, it’s a horrible thing to say, and I’d never say it aloud in a pub. But by redirecting all his energy away from attacking our airfields, it kept us from going under. We had maybe a week or two left of reserves at that point. If he had stayed on the same path he had been on, we’d have been wiped out, and the invasion would have certainly followed. We would have been powerless to stop him.”
“So,” Jack said. “These attacks on London are what saved the RAF?”
Elliot nodded. “And now, a much stronger RAF is destroying the Luftwaffe. They’re still attacking us in London, but their numbers are down everywhere else. And as I said, we’re all but certain the invasion’s been called off.”
They reached the quiet bench Jack had been aiming for, tucked under a sprawling oak tree. “Go ahead and have a seat, Jack. I think I’ll stand.”
Jack sat. “You said you had two urgent things to discuss.” He pointed at the envelope Elliot was holding. “I’m guessing that’s one of them.”
Elliot held it in front of him, pulled a letter out from it. Then released an audible sigh. “Yes, maybe we should start with this one.” He looked at Jack. “It’s a good thing you’re sitting down.”
42
“So as not to cloud the issue,” Elliot said, “I’ll get straight to the point.” He paused, the emotion straining on his face. “Renée has left England. By now, she’s probably back in France.”
“What?” Jack was stunned. The words sounded like utter nonsense. “You’re serious?” Of course, he was. Elliot didn’t kid. “How…why?”
“It’s in this letter. She says in here she sent you one, too. Probably more red tape involved for you to get it here, so she asked me to come and tell you myself. Just ask a nurse to hunt your letter down. I’m sure—”
“Elliot, why did she leave? How did she leave? What does the letter say?”
He sighed again. “I’ve handled this badly. I should have seen it coming. I’ve been so distracted these past weeks.”
“How could you have seen it coming?” Jack didn’t even see it coming. It made no sense. Why would she do such a thing?
“Well, I suppose it started three or four days ago. I was in Bristol handling a security situation. Apparently, a man came to my Baker Street office, looking for me. I have no idea how he even knew where to find me. But he’d come there that morning from France. Told my assistant he was a fisherman, a friend of Renée’s family. He was looking for her, said he had urgent news about her family.”
Jack could already see where this was going.
“I should’ve spoken to the man myself, found out his news first. But as I said, I was distracted and all I could think about was how desperate she had been wanting to get news about her mother and brother.”
“I know,” Jack said. “She talks about it all the time.”
“So, I told my assistant to go ahead and give the man her address and phone number at the hotel. Clearly, a bad idea.”
“I take it the news from home wasn’t good.”
“Not at all. Where should I start?” Elliot scanned the two-page letter. “Obviously, the Germans are settling in as an occupation force. Starting to install military governors throughout northern France. There is a strong indication that an SS Colonel is arriving soon and may commandeer Renée’s family home as his headquarters. You know how frail her mother is.”
Jack did.
“From what I understand, when this happens, they usually move in with their staff and completely take over. Also, Philippe was forced to leave.”
“Why would this officer force Phillipe out? Isn’t it a big house? Who else would take care of Renée’s mother?”
“I should rephrase that. The Colonel coming is not why Philippe left. An order was given throughout the region, essentially, giving the Nazi’s permission to draft every able-bodied young French man to be sent to work in German munitions factories. Basically, as slave labor. He fled to avoid this and has probably joined the French Resistance.”
“Resistance?” Jack said. “Is there such a thing, already?”
“Nothing very organized, but it’s beginning to take form. Before I left France, that was part of my job. We anticipated the fall of France and had already begun to recruit key men who might lead a resistance effort. Of course, once we were forced out so abruptly, we lost all contact with them. It would seem this fisherman who came looking for Renée was involved with them. He has been making discreet night runs in his trawler, back and forth between Dover and Calais for over a month. In fact, before he left and before I knew there was any chance of Renée returning with him, I arranged for him to smuggle in a crate of two-way radios, so we can start communicating more effectively with the Resistance in that area.”
“Wait, so you’re saying…Renée traveled back to France, at night, through Nazi-occupied waters, in a boat loaded with spy equipment?”
Elliot looked down. “I know, I know.”
“Elliot, if they had been caught, she’d have been shot. Tortured first, then shot.”
“I know. I had no idea she was even thinking of going back with him. I didn’t even know what the family news was until I read her letter.”
“But you managed to find out this fisherman was part of the Resistance and willing to work as a smuggler.”
“I never actually talked to the man myself. I just set things in motion. Like I said, it was badly handled.”
Jack had to control his anger. Elliot was clearly sorry about this. Then another thought. “Do you even know if they made is safely back to France? When you started, you said she was probably back in France by now. Do you know that for certain?”
Elliot shook his head. “One assumes.”
“Assumes?”
“The man’s been traveling back and forth safely for over a month. He knows what he’s about.”
“Maybe. We can certainly hope.” Jack felt sick inside. What if they had gotten caught? She could be dead already.
“I do have a way of finding out,” Elliot said. It won’t be today. Maybe not even for a week. But the point of sending the radios was to open up a li
ne of communication. Specifically, in that region of France. The fact that this SS Colonel is making her home into his headquarters gives us a clear rationale for making inquiries. I promise you, if I learn anything about her welfare, I will tell you.”
That was at least some measure of reassurance. But short of learning that Renée had died in the Blitz, this was the worst kind of news Elliot could have delivered. How was Jack supposed to keep his sanity in the days ahead? He would be sick with worry. He’d already stepped up his prayers for her safety every day, just with the nightly bombings. Now, if she’d even made it home safely, she would be taking care of her mother under the eye of a ruthless SS officer.
“I am, sorry, Jack. I wished I would’ve handled this so much differently.”
“That’s all right, Elliot. You didn’t do anything deliberate here. We’ll just have to pray God keeps her safe. What else can we do?”
“Right.”
“You said there were two urgent matters you wanted to discuss. Please tell me the other one isn’t this bad?”
“It’s really not bad news at all. Mind if I have a seat?”
Jack scooted over to one side of the bench.
“You remember that I said I hadn’t mentioned our reunion to Grandfather yet? That I wanted to wait until I could do so in person?” Jack nodded. “As it turns out, with the news that the German invasion has been called off, and since getting ready for that event has been my primary duty, really since coming back to England, I’ve been given a long-overdue two-day pass, which starts tomorrow. I was thinking, if you’re up for it, we could go and see him together.”
This was totally unexpected and tapped into a totally separate but equally deep pool of emotions. Jack didn’t know what to feel.
“I could pick you up in the morning tomorrow. We could drive there in a few hours. I think having us there both together when I confront him will be far more effective than me just going there alone.”
