The Star and the Shamrock

by Jean Grainger

  Despite their closeness and the way they teased each other, nothing romantic had happened between them, though she knew the neighbours noted his comings and goings.

  To him, she was probably just the old schoolteacher with the sensible clothes, and he was likely being kind. He never mentioned Talia, but Talia often dropped his name into conversation, so Elizabeth assumed there was something there.

  Daniel Lieber did attract attention among the women of Ballycreggan, though, and Elizabeth had seen the way the mothers looked at him as they dropped their children to school. He was so much more exotic looking than the locals, and so many of the women were lonely. They had not seen their men for a long time. She’d heard Juliet Maddox – mother to the incorrigible Maggie – remark after he passed one day, ‘Just ’cause you’re on a diet, girls, doesn’t mean you can’t look at the menu.’

  She hoped Daniel hadn’t heard them. She did not want to be one more middle-aged woman ogling one of the only eligible men for miles.

  Still, she had to acknowledge in the small hours of the morning when she tossed and turned in bed that she’d not had feelings like this since Rudi.

  Daniel was nothing like Rudi, physically or in terms of personality. Rudi had been slight and boy-like, but then, she supposed he had been just a boy of nineteen years. She often wondered what sort of man Rudi would have become, but he never got the chance, just like so many others. She tried often to remember Rudi’s face, but Daniel’s smile kept floating in front of her eyes, and she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss him. Immediately, she dismissed the thoughts; she was behaving like a lovesick schoolgirl.

  Talia was more his scene. She was so pretty and full of life and fun despite everything. The children loved her, though Elizabeth got the impression that Liesl had some reservations. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, but something about the girl’s demeanour every time Talia turned up made her think the girl wasn’t too keen on her. Elizabeth suspected it was about Daniel. Liesl really looked up to him, and in lots of ways, he’d taken her under his wing, so perhaps she resented the closeness he seemed to share with Talia.

  Talia held the others in the palm of her hand as she explained about light and shade. Every child was totally focused. Elizabeth noticed Talia had that effect on people; they gave her their undivided attention.

  The young artist made the little ones giggle as she showed them how to draw funny animals. It had been a good idea to invite her, and the children looked forward to her Friday morning classes.

  While the children had their undivided attention on Talia, Elizabeth used the opportunity to tidy the classroom. They were breaking up at the end of the following week for the summer holidays, and she would normally make up a bundle of artwork and crafts that her pupils had done for the year for them to take home and show their parents. But these children had nobody to show them to, so she was arranging a little exhibition in the school hall instead. The local children’s work would be on display as well, so her hope was that their parents would come and at least some adults could admire the masterpieces. The adults from the farm were going to come too. It wasn’t perfect – she knew every single one of her class wished that things were different – but it was the best she could do.

  Talia explained how they should avoid trying to draw hands at first, as they were so difficult to get right, as Elizabeth pottered about the room.

  That evening, she was invited with the children to the farm for Shabbat for the first time. She was a little nervous, but it was a big honour and she wanted to see how Liesl and Erich observed their faith with other Jews. Liesl would be preparing for her bat mitzvah, so the rabbi thought it would be a good idea for Elizabeth to at least have seen what Judaism was all about. She tried at first to keep a kosher house, but it proved too difficult with rationing and it was so complicated, not mixing meat and dairy, having to have two sets of dishes so she gave up. She said their prayers with them, as she didn’t want Ariella and Peter to think she had allowed them to abandon their faith and culture while in her care.

  Rudi had been a practising Jew, but it was so long ago and he did it on his own, so she had no idea how she should be. Daniel assured her there was nothing to be worried about. There would be prayers and a blessing as they lit candles a little before the sun set, then a meal. Shabbat lasted until three stars appeared in the sky on Saturday night, but she and the children would come home after dinner. Daniel was going to drive them, which was outside of the rules – no work, including driving, was to take place during Shabbat. But he’d explained that while he did his best to observe the faith, as far as he was concerned, allowing a woman and two children to walk three miles in the dark was a much greater sin than driving, so he insisted.

  Liesl’s upcoming bat mitzvah had caused a bit of contention. She was adamant that if she was being singled out by her government for being Jewish, then she should at least be a full member of that faith. Rabbi Frank was Orthodox and had not really been in favour of it – it was more a Reform idea that girls mark this milestone – but Liesl found an ally in Daniel. He’d spoken to the rabbi on her behalf, once he’d discussed it with Elizabeth, of course, and he made the point that the girls as well as the boys were being persecuted for their faith. Should they then be discriminated against within that faith? They were all in this together. And finally, the rabbi relented. He’d never performed a bat mitzvah before, but he was willing.

  She was only eleven, and she would celebrate her bat mitzvah at the age of twelve. Perhaps the war would be over by then and she could go home, or Ariella and Peter would turn up, but since either of those was unlikely, it was best to be prepared.

  The lesson finished, and each child produced a portrait of the child sitting beside them with varying degrees of success. Talia helped the children put the art things away before cycling back to the farm. Elizabeth had offered her tea, but she had to get back – she had to help prepare the Shabbat meal.

  The rest of the day went by in a blur of hectic activity for Elizabeth as most school days did.

  When the bell rang, she walked the students out as she did every day, and there was Daniel, waiting at the gate.

  ‘I’ll collect you at 8:15? I cannot believe how bright it is here at this time of year. Sunset is going to be around nine thirty this evening, so we will be in plenty of time.’

  ‘Thank you, Daniel.’ Elizabeth smiled. ‘We’ll be ready.’

  As he drove off, she remembered the care Rudi used to take with his appearance before Shabbat. He would shave and wash thoroughly, often getting a haircut, and he always wore his best clothes, freshly laundered. She was determined that she and the children would not let anyone down, so she rushed them home to prepare.

  By seven thirty she had both of them sitting on the sofa, looking beautifully turned out. Liesl was in a white dress and had a pale-pink ribbon in her hair; Erich wore a short-sleeved pale-blue shirt and navy short trousers. Their shoes were polished and their socks were brilliant white. She was so proud of them, it almost broke her heart. She went to get herself ready after giving a dire warning – to Erich in particular – not to move a muscle. That boy could get dirty in one second if she turned her back.

  In her own bedroom, she wondered what to wear. All of her old dresses were hanging in the wardrobe. She pulled out a dress of midnight-blue silk, with a high collar and a row of seed-pearl buttons down the front. She had worn it to a piano recital she had played at when she was fifteen, but she knew it would still fit. It was very elegant, and she’d never normally wear an outfit so decadent, but something made her consider it.

  The other dress in the wardrobe was red, and she dismissed it; it was a little too frivolous for a night of prayer. The last thing she wanted to do was scandalise the rabbi.

  She put on the blue and was pleased when she saw how it looked. The bodice was fitted but not tight, and the flared skirt fell nicely. On a whim, she took her hair out of its bun, shaking it loose. She felt the familiar hea
dache she got every night when she removed the elastic band and hairpins. She smiled as she recalled the first time Liesl had seen her hair down.

  ‘Oh, Elizabeth, you’re so pretty,’ she’d gasped.

  Of course, the child was biased, and ‘so pretty’ was stretching it, but as she brushed her long chestnut hair, she had to admit she did look younger with it down. As she picked up her elastics to tie it up again, she stopped. She’d leave it down. She would need to cover her head for the prayers, and she had found an old lace mantilla of her mother’s that would do the job perfectly, but for the meal, it could be down.

  She patted some cold cream on her face and plucked one or two stray hairs from her naturally arched eyebrows. She put on a little powder and a slick of pearl-pink lipstick.

  Before she had a chance to change her mind, she walked downstairs and into the sitting room where Liesl and Erich were sitting quietly. She stopped, just watching them, her heart bursting. Liesl was reading a story to her brother. They were the best thing to ever happen to her, she knew, and though she prayed for the day she would return them to their parents, if that never happened, she would care for them with a heart and a half.

  Liesl stopped just as Peter Rabbit was about to do something dastardly to poor old Mr McGregor and just gazed.

  ‘Elizabeth!’ Erich recovered first. ‘You look like a beautiful fairy.’

  Elizabeth blushed. ‘Ah, don’t be daft. I just decided to leave my hair down. Does it look all right?’ She was suddenly not so sure.

  ‘It looks so lovely, Elizabeth, so pretty. And your dress is beautiful too. You look really nice tonight.’ Liesl was sincere.

  ‘Well, you two look smashing as well.’ Elizabeth smiled at her two young charges.

  They stood up and walked into her outstretched arms. She hugged them and kissed the tops of their heads.

  ‘Now, one last check – let me look at you both.’ She settled a stray hair on Erich’s head and smoothed the sleeves of Liesl’s dress.

  As they’d measured Liesl for the dress, Elizabeth had noticed a curviness that had not been there before. Liesl was a tall girl for eleven, and her body was developing. Elizabeth had wondered if she should have the conversation with her about puberty and what was going to happen, and decided there and then that she would. Her own mother had never mentioned anything about her body or anyone else’s, and Elizabeth remembered vividly the horror of getting her first period. She thought she was dying, and if it were not for a kind teacher, she didn’t know what she would have done. As for boys and where babies came from, well, that was a total mystery. She never imagined it would be her job to inform a girl about such things, but now that it was, she was determined to do it right.

  She applied her teaching technique – the facts with no frills, but not so much information that would make the child anxious. Liesl listened as Elizabeth explained about women’s bodies and how they worked, and then about men’s bodies and how they worked, and finally, how babies were conceived and born.

  Liesl listened and had some questions, and neither she nor her young charge was mortified as Elizabeth had feared. Afterwards, they sat in the kitchen and had a cup of cocoa, and Elizabeth realised she had never felt as close to another female in her whole life as she did with this little girl.

  ‘Your mutti and papa would be as proud of you as I am if they could see you now,’ Elizabeth said to the children as they sat on the sofa. Their eyes were suspiciously bright, and she was glad when they heard a beep outside. Daniel was there to collect them.

  She opened the door and waved. He was in the car this time. He always drove the school bus whenever she met him, so to see him in a big black Austin was unusual. He got out and opened the back door theatrically for Liesl and Erich, giving them a low bow. They giggled as they got in. He was dressed in dark trousers and a snow-white shirt. His hair was brushed and he was clean-shaven. He took her breath away. She took one last glance at her reflection in the hallstand mirror before going out the front door and pulling it closed behind her.

  In her nervousness, she fumbled with the lock. When she turned, she found Daniel at the gate. He was leaning against the pillar, a look of astonishment on his face.

  ‘Elizabeth. You look lovely.’ There was such sincerity in his words, she didn’t want to dismiss them and brush off the compliment. She forced herself to just accept it.

  ‘Thank you, Daniel.’ She prayed she wouldn’t blush.

  He didn’t move; he just stood there, staring at her.

  ‘We’d better go?’ she asked, feeling uncomfortable.

  ‘Of course.’ Daniel snapped out of it. ‘We mustn’t be late.’ He went around and held the passenger door open for her and smiled as she sat in.

  ‘I hope it doesn’t smell too bad?’ he said, sliding into the driver’s seat.

  She looked at him in confusion. The car smelled of beeswax polish and leather. ‘No, it smells nice, actually. Why?’

  ‘Earlier today, someone took this car to the market with lots of chickens. I spent the evening cleaning feathers and worse from the seats.’ He chuckled, a lovely gurgling sound that came from the back of his throat.

  ‘Well, thank you. I don’t think I’d like to arrive for my first Shabbat dinner smelling like chickens.’ She smiled.

  ‘Nobody there would notice.’ Daniel gave her a wink. ‘I think we all smell like chickens by now.’

  He put the car into gear and drove along the narrow country lanes. There was a lot of construction going on at the RAF base on the coast, and army trucks were everywhere.

  ‘They are expanding the RAF base, that’s why there are so many more trucks and things,’ Erich announced. ‘Marcus Bridges told me.’

  ‘His father is in the RAF, isn’t he?’ Elizabeth asked.

  ‘Yes, but I was worried it would make Hitler want to come.’ Erich seemed to lack his usual confidence.

  There was no point to saying it wouldn’t happen. There was every chance of a bombing raid, but she wanted to reassure him. Before she could say anything, Daniel spoke. ‘If they come, we will be ready. They won’t hurt you because I will build you a bomb shelter in the garden.’

  ‘Really? Do you think you could?’ She had been planning on having one built anyway. ‘I’d pay you, of course.’

  Plans were in motion in the village to use the crypt of the Catholic church as a communal bomb shelter. All the men were volunteering to remove the decades of furniture, broken pews, boxes of old hymnals and all the other stuff that currently occupied the space, but it was taking time.

  Daniel refused to take any money for the work he did for her in either the house or the school, and he had a full workload on the farm as well, so she didn’t want to impose further.

  ‘Yes, you can pay me in meals, and in the clothes you find and repair for me, and in the friendship. That is my payment.’

  She sighed. She’d found some old shirts and jackets of her father’s hanging in a wardrobe, and she had freshened them up and offered them to Daniel. She’d felt a bit awkward at the time, as food and clothing parcels generally were delivered to the farm and distributed evenly, but she gave them directly to him one night after he’d stayed for dinner. He accepted them gratefully.

  He turned up the rutted lane to the farm, and Elizabeth felt a pang of sadness. She loved time with him alone or with the children. The idea that they were going to be surrounded by beautiful young women who all seemed to have eyes for Daniel made her feel old and frumpy.

  Liesl and Erich ran off to find their friends the moment he parked.

  Daniel showed Elizabeth around. The land had been leased by the Jewish community for the refugees, and they were doing a wonderful job of turning it into a productive business. Elizabeth knew from the children’s stories how hard everyone worked, even the little ones, and they were rightly proud of their new sanctuary home.

  ‘How many people are here?’ she asked as Daniel led her towards the main living area.

  ‘At the moment, fi
fty-five – ten adults and forty-five children.’

  They entered a large room where people were beginning to gather. Several freshly washed children, wearing old and worn but spotlessly clean clothes, greeted her and welcomed her to their home. As dusk settled on the summer’s day, the entire community had arrived and the singing in Hebrew and the lighting of the candles began. Elizabeth watched in wonder as Liesl and Erich participated fully, and she paid very close attention to the proceedings.

  She saw them in a new light as they integrated easily with the rituals of their faith. She vowed to do everything she could to keep it going for them; it may well be all they had left of their parents.

  The evening was a wonderful experience, and the discovery that her late husband was Jewish was met with warmth. There was eating, and even a little wine was found for the occasion. After the meal, the children went to play, and Elizabeth and Daniel sat and conversed over weak tea with the adults.

  Ruth and another woman who was introduced as Rosa came to clear the tables, and Elizabeth insisted on helping.

  ‘We would normally not even do the dishes at home,’ Ruth explained, ‘but we don’t have enough crockery or cutlery for breakfast in the morning if we don’t, so we have to wash up.’

  ‘Well, I’m happy to help,’ she said.

  ‘We never refuse a helping hand, so here, throw this on. You don’t want to ruin your beautiful dress.’ Ruth handed Elizabeth a worn apron that was grey from washing; it was impossible to tell what colour it might once have been.

  ‘Thanks.’ As she wrapped the apron around her, she asked, ‘You’re from Dublin, aren’t you?’

  Elizabeth had met Ruth once or twice and seen her around, but this was the first conversation they’d ever had. Rosa was in the dining room, gathering dishes.

  ‘Yes. Dublin born and reared. We live off the North Circular Road – do you know it?’ She began to wash the dishes as Elizabeth dried them.