Eva sighed and moved out of the tiny cul-de-sac she had created with boxes of biscuits. She wiped the sweat from her brow. “Blödes Arschloch,” she muttered, scowling in the direction of Stalk’s retreating back. She had spent most of the morning in the room with no fresh air. The windows were shut, and the roaring whir of the machines had made her feel quite distressed. She had quelled the rising panic that threatened to overwhelm her, but control had not come easily. Earl’s appearance was a godsend.
“Come on, Muzza, let’s go for a smoko. I need one,” Earl said as he guided Eva out of the section. They walked silently up the stairs where a blast of cooler air hit Eva like the answer to a prayer. She stopped for a moment and enjoyed the blessed relief.
Earl looked a little worried. Eva shut her eyes and leaned back against the railing. “Hey, are you all right?” he asked.
“Yes.” Eva nodded. “It was too hot in there,” she said, and started up the steps. Her hair was damp with sweat. All she wanted was to go home, have a bath, and lie down.
“No kidding. That blasted fan has been broken since yesterday.” Earl opened the door and waited for Eva to go past him, then joined her outside. He took out another cigarette and offered it to Eva, who took it gratefully.
“So, how come you didn’t go for your tea break?” Earl asked as he lit Eva’s cigarette.
“My what?”
“Oh, strewth, woman.” Earl shook his head. “Didn’t Bean tell you about tea breaks?”
“He told me a lot of things, mostly at the top of his voice,” Eva replied, taking a long drag off the cigarette. She cast a shy glance at Earl. “What’s a wanker?”
Earl grimaced. “I’m sorry, I don’t usually swear in front of women,” he apologized. “Um...well, it’s something men do.”
Eva looked at him blankly. “I do not understand.”
“Um...” Earl sighed. “It’s an Aussie saying.”
“Yes, I figured that out.” Eva grinned. “So it’s an...impolite word?”
“Yes, it sure is.”
“Ah.” Eva took another drag off the cigarette. “And,” she said to Earl, “I shouldn’t call Mr. Stalk a wanker to his face?”
Earl smiled. “You already knew what ‘wanker’ means, didn’t you?”
Eva blew out a perfect smoke ring. “Yes, I knew.” She chuckled. In the short time she had been working at the factory, she had heard the word used more than once, and it was usually associated with Jack Stalk. The hand gestures that followed had given her a good indication of its meaning.
Earl laughed and gently slapped Eva on the shoulder. “You have a great poker face, you know that?”
“Too bad I don’t play poker.” Eva smirked. “So what’s wrong with Mr. Stalk?”
“He needs a good fuck,” Earl replied, obviously without thought. He paused midway through a drag off his cigarette, looking at Eva in embarrassment.
“Hmm, that could help,” Eva said chuckling. “But I meant with his arm.”
Earl grinned. “You have a wicked streak in you, Miss Muller,” he said playfully. “Ah, Stalk...his arm was hacked off by a Jap.”
“Ow.” Eva grimaced.
“Yeah, well, sometimes I think something else was hacked off, too.” Earl grinned. “Bean has a lot of problems up here,” he said, tapping the side of his head. “I guess we all do.”
Eva studied Earl’s handsome face for a moment. “Where were you in in the War?”
“I was a guest of the Emperor for a while,” Earl replied. “Fought in North Africa before going to Singapore, where I was captured.” He stopped, watching the smoke rise. “Spent the rest of the war in hell.”
“I’m sorry,” Eva said softly. Earl was looking away and she knew he was trying to compose himself. She understood the posture, the strength it required not to let the outside world know the storm that was raging inside. “Your soul was rendered,” she quietly remarked.
Earl blew out more smoke before turning to Eva, gazing at her for a long time. “You understand. Don’t you?” he asked, his voice soft. “Being a guest of the Emperor...”
Eva looked at the cigarette she held and watched ashes float downward. “I understand.”
“I...”
“Don’t,” Earl responded as he put his hand on Eva’s arm. “You don’t have to.”
Eva looked at Earl for a moment and let him see the truth behind her steady gaze, a glimpse of the pain-filled horror that she usually managed to keep locked away.
They fell silent and watched the trees sway in the breeze, lost in their own memories.
“So you came home?” Eva asked, finally breaking the silence.
“I came home and started working here,” Earl replied. “It’s the right job.”
“Did you work here before?”
“No. I was a high school teacher.”
Eva’s eyebrows lifted. She continued to study Earl. “Why this place?”
Earl smiled. “I needed mindless, numbing work that didn’t require me to think.”
“Well, this qualifies,” Eva replied, and they chuckled.
“How about you?”
“I studied languages at university before the war,” Eva explained, and smiled shyly. No one had asked her about her studies before, apart from Zoe.
“Really? What languages can you speak?”
“Italian, German, and Greek.”
“I can speak a little German.” Earl puffed on his cigarette. “Guarded some krauts for a bit in North Africa.”
“And you learned German from them?”
“I got tired of hearing ‘Affenschwanz’ all the time.”
Eva put her hand over her mouth in surprise but could not stop the giggle that escaped. Earl looked at her, his amusement apparent. “So you understood what I said back there?” Eva asked.
“Stupid asshole.” Earl smiled. “I went to one of the interpreters and he gave me some useful phrases,” Earl said. “So, Fraulein Muller, why this place?” Earl mimicked Eva’s accent and they smiled.
“I needed mindless, numbing work,” Eva replied, her heavily German-influenced attempt at an Aussie accent making them both laugh.
“Hey, that was good.”
“I have a gift for languages — and usually for accents, too.” Eva shrugged.
“So, really, why work here? You could get a decent job with all the immigrants around and stuff.”
“No one would give me a job,” Eva replied. “I also want to help my...my sister with her education.”
“Younger?”
“Yes,” Eva replied, a broad smile creasing her face. “Zoe. She’s an artist.”
“So you’re willing to work here to get Zoe into school?”
“It’s what she has always dreamed about.”
“She must be one very special girl for you to do that.”
Eva smiled. “She is. She lost all her family.”
“I thought you said...?”
“Different mothers, long story,” Eva said quickly, covering her slip.
“Daddy got around, eh?” Earl guffawed. “The krauts are a randy lot.”
“He was Greek,” Eva said, happy to be in easier territory. She was a lousy liar and always failed miserably when she tried to alter the truth.
“Your mother was German?”
Eva shook her head. “German and Greek. My stepfather was German.”
“So how did you find out about each other?”
Eva scratched her ear and mentally winced. She liked Earl and hated to lie to him, but until she could trust him with her secret, she would have to be very careful about what she said. “The war. It tore families apart, and it brought us together.” Eva sighed. Well, it was the truth — somewhat.
“That was a neat trick,” Earl said. “So it’s just the two of you?”
“Just the two of us.” Eva looked at her watch. “Um, how long is this tea break?” she asked, not wanting to talk about Zoe further, just in case she said something that would cause her problems.
“It’s in our union rules that you have to take a break for ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes in the afternoon.”
“Ah.” Eva nodded. “Well, I think we have been gone for half an hour.”
“Actually, it’s closer to forty minutes.” Earl shrugged. “But it’s okay. This is union business.”
“Union business?”
“Yeah. So did you join the union?”
“No,” Eva replied. “I don’t like unions.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t like them,” Eva said. “I’m not a socialist.” She dropped the stub of her cigarette onto the pavement and ground it out with the heel of her shoe.
Earl frowned. “What?”
“Unions are formed by socialists,” Eva patiently explained.
“You are confused,” Earl said. “It’s not that way here.”
“So they don’t want you to belong to a political party?”
“Not unless they’ve changed the rules and I wasn’t told.” Earl grinned. “I’m the union rep.”
“Union rep?”
“Yes, I take care of the workers for the Whole Workers United Union.” Earl took out a card and gave it to Eva. “If we have a union, we can get better conditions and not have to put up with working in an atmosphere like you had to endure this morning.”
“And I have to join this union?”
“Well, if you want to be protected, yes.”
“But I don’t have to join a political party?”
“Nope. Interested?”
“As long as you don’t make me wear a funny uniform and salute,” Eva said smiling, and slipped the card into the pocket of her white coat.
“Now there’s a great idea.” Earl stubbed out his cigarette and held the door open. They went back into the stifling heat of the factory.
Chapter Nine
The afternoon dragged on as Eva tried to keep pace with the rest of the women in the processing line. At least she was a lot cooler in the Flossie Flute Fingers biscuit section than with Jack Stalk in his hellhole. She was now working in an area that was more welcoming to her. The majority of the women were Greek or Italian. Eva’s responses to them in their own languages surprised them and made them less suspicious of the new worker. It was gratifying, since she did not make friends easily.
She looked up at the clock and sighed. A few more hours until she went home and then she could lie down. Her body was aching all over and she had to admit Zoe was right about the job, but she wasn’t going to give up. She put another packet into a box and closed it.
“Take that to the pallet.” Mrs. Higgins had stopped at Eva’s station and motioned to a large pallet. She moved on after issuing the order.
Eva looked down at the box which she had packed. She looked around for Earl. He had been on the floor carrying boxes and moving pallets, but he was nowhere to be found. Eva decided to lift the box herself.
Not a good idea. Immediately her back began screaming at her. She managed to get the box full of biscuit packets onto the pallet and grimaced as her back continued to protest loudly. She knew she had overdone it; that had been made very clear, very quickly.
Eva took several deep breaths before going back to her station. The sciatic pain radiated down her spine and into her legs, which now began to feel rubbery.
“Are you all right?” a woman asked her.
Eva smiled and nodded at her co-worker, Maria Spiropoulos. “I just need a minute.”
“You know, I told Earl that we are going to have an accident if we don’t get more of the boys down here...”
“I’m alright, Maria,” Eva repeated, and smiled. “It’s just a twinge.”
“Hmm.” Maria gave Eva with a dubious look. “If it’s a twinge, why are you looking so pale?”
“I’m fine.” Eva smiled. “I’ll just take these to the storeroom.” She picked up some empty boxes and slowly made her way out.
***
The factory door opened slowly and Zoe entered a little hesitantly, unsure if she wasn’t supposed to be there. There were no signs outside to indicate it wasn’t allowed. She was early, but she did not care. She had managed to get off work a little ahead of her normal time and catch the bus. She wanted to go home with Eva, and was more than a little curious about Eva’s new workplace. She was not happy with what she saw. A large metallic fan whirred, increasing the noise to a level that hurt her ears. The smell of the biscuits gave her an odd feeling, and the heat of the factory made her wince.
“Oh, Evy, this is such a hell-hole,” she muttered. She went deeper into the factory and looked around at the large machines and the women who operated them. All the women wore white and they continued working without glancing up at the stranger in their midst.
“Excuse me, miss. Members of the public are not allowed here.” A young man stopped and motioned to a sign that said the same thing. He turned and left without looking back.
“Funny place to put a sign if no one is here to read it,” Zoe muttered, looking back over her shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of Eva. With a sigh, she left that section and was about to leave the building when she caught sight of a very familiar figure in the storeroom just outside the area she had been in.
“Evy!” Zoe walked quickly to where Eva was standing. She noticed that Eva looked tired, but on seeing her, Eva’s face lit up in a smile. Even so, Zoe was attuned to Eva’s ability to hide discomfort.
“What are you doing here?” Eva asked, glancing around in an obvious attempt to see if any of her supervisors were nearby.
“I wanted to see you.”
“Come in here before you are found out,” Eva said, and took Zoe’s hand. She closed the door and led her to the back of the storeroom.
Without a word, Eva embraced Zoe and kissed her tenderly. “I missed you,” she whispered, melting into Zoe’s arms. “It’s so good to see you.”
“How was your first day?” Zoe asked, already knowing the answer just by looking at Eva’s exhausted expression.
Eva sighed. “I thought I knew what hell was, but I was wrong. Hell is really the biscuit factory. Clever disguise.”
“I believe you,” Zoe said. She put her arms around Eva’s slim waist and hugged her. “I was only in that place for a minute and it made me sick.”
“That was the nicer place,” Eva replied, clearly too tired to censor herself. “One of the fans was out and it’s stinking hot.”
They sat down on a pallet, still holding hands. “Are you all right?” Zoe asked. Already she could tell this new job was not going well. Eva had dropped all pretense and was not even trying to hide her disgust.
“Yeah.” Eva nodded. “My back hurts and I’m cranky.”
“Evy, are you sure—”
“Zoe.” Eva closed her eyes for a moment and sighed again. “Are we still having this debate?”
“I saw the hell-hole.”
“It won’t be forever, love,” Eva pleaded, and got up from the pallet. “Let it rest.”
“Okay, okay, I’m going to let it rest.” Zoe shook her head and got up herself. She went over to Eva and put her arms around her. “You also smell...” Zoe sniffed at Eva’s uniform, “you smell like...”
“Flossy Flute Fingers.” Eva lifted her sleeve and took a sniff. “I was there this afternoon.”
“Flossy Flute Fingers,” Zoe repeated. “Sounds like a disease.”
Eva smiled even wider. “I love you,” she said, caressing Zoe’s cheek. “I’m so tired. All I want is to go home and sleep.”
“How about,” Zoe took Eva’s hands and held them, “you have a bath and we can just cuddle until you fall asleep? Maybe a nice massage.”
“You have a deal.” Eva kissed her tenderly.
“Hey, Muzza, are you in here?”
“Over here, Earl,” Eva said.
Earl came around the corner carrying a pallet. From her position on the pallet, Zoe smiled at him.
“Earl, this is Zoe...my sister. Zoe, this is Earl Wi
ggins.”
Zoe hopped off the pallet and looked at Earl, who towered above her. “Evy didn’t mention how tall you were. Hello,” she said, and stuck out her hand. “Zoe.”
“Wiggy.” Earl smiled and shook Zoe’s hand.
“Wiggy.” Zoe giggled. “So what do you do around here, Wiggy?”
“Oh, this and that — and I’m Eva’s protector.” Zoe caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to find Eva trying to look nonchalant. Oh Evy you really are a bad actress. “Huh?” Zoe asked as she turned back to Earl.
“One of my supervisors is a Nazi in training,” Eva quipped.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Jack Stalk shouted as he stomped around the corner. “Wiggins! Muller! Who the hell are you?” he asked, spotting Zoe.
“Blödes Arschloch,” Eva muttered loudly.
Zoe was dumbstruck at Eva’s comments. She’s going to explain that when we get home, she thought.
“What the hell did you say in that kraut talk?” Stalk growled.
“She said that you are...her supervisor.” Zoe smiled, turning on the charm. “Hello, my name is Zoe.”
“Members of the public are not allowed in here.” Stalk continued to growl but softened a little when Zoe smiled at him. “You have to get out.”
“I will, Mr...”
“Jackson Stalk.” He gave his full first name.“You can call me Jack.”
“Jack,” Zoe said. “I came here to see my sister.”
“Who’s your sister?”
“Eva.” Zoe indicated behind her.
“You don’t sound like a kraut,” Stalk said.
“That’s because I’m Greek. Long story, different mothers,” Zoe replied, making Eva look at her in surprise. She realized she had slipped up on their rehearsed story and avoided looking at Eva. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Earl was leaning against a pallet, fiddling with a cigarette.
“Oh, well...all right...you saw her?”
“Yes.”
“You have to wait outside then,” Stalk said, a little less gruffly. He smiled at Zoe before turning his attention to the other two. “Another smoko?” His voice was heavily laden with sarcasm.
“Not now,” Earl muttered, slipping the cigarette into his shirt pocket. Eva and Earl left the storeroom, quickly followed by Stalk, while Zoe headed toward the exit from the factory.
Where Shadows Linger (Intertwined Souls Series Book 2) Page 8
