Category:
Science Fiction
Publisher: Createspace
ISBN-10: 1494768356
Type: Fiction
Pages: 227
Copyright: 2015
ISBN-13: 9781494768355
Price: $12.00 (eBook)
A girl is faced with the challenge of remaining loyal to her deceased mother or forging a friendship with the enemy. Her sister is the link that helps the girl move forward in order to make an adult decision.
Rosalie DeLuca was raised by a mother who, after losing her husband and son on the battlefields of Europe during World War II, held a grudge against the Nazis and anyone associated with them. When her older daughter, Carlotta, marries German scientist Sigmund Lowe, nicknamed “Lion,” mother and daughter part ways. Rosalie is torn between the love of her mother and a desire to know her sister.
Excerpt
When the airplane landed, another woman escorted her to a tall man with thick blond hair that had a natural wave to it. His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue and his complexion smooth. When he opened his mouth to speak, she noticed he had perfectly straight white teeth.
“Hello,” he said, bending forward. “I am your brother-in-law, Sigmund Lowe. How are you?” he asked politely.
The sound of his accent caught her attention.
“I’m okay,” she said.
She wanted to hate it, but there was something about it that intrigued her. He wasn’t dark and foreboding; he was light and elegant.
“Where’s my sister?”
“She’s home, resting.”
“Is she sick?”
“No, no. She was up with Stanley all night.”
Stanley, she knew, was the baby’s name.
As they walked toward the parking lot, he asked, “Did you have a nice flight?”
“It was okay,” she answered in a low voice.
The truth was that she enjoyed every minute of it. For her, it was the adventure of a lifetime. She loved the way it felt when it took off. She couldn’t stop looking out the window at the clouds. And when it touched down, she felt the thrill of speed as it headed toward the terminal.
He nodded and smiled.
“I like airplanes. I always have.”
She wanted to talk about the experience but decided it was best not to become too familiar with him.
When she didn’t respond, he didn’t say anything until they reached his car, a long black sedan.
“Would you care to sit in the front or back?”
“I don’t care.”
He opened the front door. She wished she had opted for the back seat. When she hesitated, he asked, “The front is okay, yes?”
“Yes,” she said and slipped into the passenger seat.
He took her suitcase and the gift and placed them on the back seat.
She peered through the window as they crossed two bridges, not speaking. The second led them to a long, winding road lined with trees that reached across to form a majestic green arch.
Rosalie leaned forward, looking up.
“It’s nice, yes?”
She jumped.
“Yes. It’s pretty.”
“I like it here. This is my favorite roadway. It feels as though we’re in a magical tunnel, no?”
“Yes, it does feel like that,” she said. “Is the house much farther?”
“Just a little way. You are growing anxious to see your sister, yes?”
“Why do you add a yes and a no to your questions? Is that how na--, I mean German people speak?”
She wondered if he caught her near slip. When she turned to look at him, she saw that his view remained on the highway.
“I’m sorry. Yes, we often speak that way. I think it is because we are new to English. After all, Rosalie, I was born and raised in a place where German was spoken. Sometimes, it’s difficult to speak English like an American. Forgive me.”
Rosalie wasn’t sure how to respond to his answer. She wondered if she had offended him. Her stomach began to hurt. She rubbed it and turned her head toward the side window.
“Are you alright? Are you going to be sick?”
“No, I’m fine,” she said.
“It’s not much further.”
After a few minutes, Rosalie felt compelled to make amends.
“I didn’t mean anything wrong. I don’t mind if you ask questions like that, really. I was just asking.”
“That’s good because my parents often ask questions in that manner, too,” he said.
Oddly, she noticed, he didn’t seem angry. Rosalie could almost hear a hint of laughter in his tone. She looked at him and realized he was, in fact, smiling. She smiled, too.
“They do?”
“Yes. I hope you don’t find it too annoying.”
“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind. I sort of like it.”
Now, he laughed.
“Oh, so you like how clumsy I sound?”
She didn’t want to. She even tried to stop herself, but she laughed, too. And she especially liked the manner in which he spoke to her, unlike Mr. Pinella and the lady in the blue uniform.
After a few seconds, she turned to him.
“You’re funny.”
“Oh, heavens. Funny. No, I’m afraid not. Carlotta says I’m always too serious. She said I’m not fully Americanized.”
“Is that why my mother said you’re a Nazi?”
At first, he didn’t say anything and Rosalie was sure she’d gone too far. She’d angered him and now she’d be in danger. However, he merely replied in a soft voice.
“Rosalie, I am not a Nazi. It’s very complicated and I wouldn’t expect a person as young as you are to understand. But, I assure you, my family and I are not Nazis.”
Of course, he’d deny it, she thought.
“You believe me, yes? I mean, you do believe me, don’t you? There, is that better?”
She wanted to smile, but she didn’t dare. Instead, she lowered her head and shrugged. What, she wondered, would her mother think if she heard them sharing such a nice conversation.
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