A Flicker of Light (7 page)

“I would, yes. I would appreciate that, truly. Are you sure it’s no bother?”

“No bother at all,
child,” s
he smiled at Petra. “Good, then it’s settled. I will go and start the water.”

Alone in the bathroom, Petra removed her clothes. For a moment she stared at the black and blue bruises on her elbows, the cut
s
on her knee and
hand
, and then she said a prayer in hope that the baby had not been hurt when she fell. The steam from the tub beckoned her. Careful not to slip, she climbed in.

Caressed by the warmth of the steaming water surrounding her wear
y body like the hands of a long-
time lover, Petra began to relax. As
she
lay in the bath with a towel over her face,
Siegland
took a dress from the suitcase and laid it on a chair by the fire so that it would not chill Petra when she put it on. Such a thin material, and it is so cold outside,
Siegland
thought as she felt the clothing. I would love to make her something to wear in a heavier fabric.

Siegland
quickly cleaned the kitchen, the task so familiar to her tha
t she hardly realized what she
was
doing. While she worked, she thought about how nice it would be to have the girl and her baby stay with them for a while, at least until the weather broke. Once she had finished washing dishes and putting away food, she turned her attention back to the living room and the fireplace. She felt the frock to be sure she’d sufficiently warmed it, and when it met her approval, she brought it to the bathroom.

Sie
gland
knocked softly at the bathroom
door,
“There is no rush, take as long as you would like. I just want to tell you that I have hung your dress up
on the doorknob.”

“Thank you
s
o much.” For a long time Petra languished in the tub, and she found herself reluctant to leave even when the water had grown cool.

For the moment she was safe. As Petra stretched out in the bath, her thoughts turned to Hans. She missed him terribly. The anger and isolation suddenly robbed her of any pleasure she might have felt from the warm water as she remembered his death.
Why h
ad this happened? Why could we
not be together
? Resolving
not to cry, she fought the empty feeling that brought on the weakness and tears. After all, weeping would do her no good. Instead
,
she got up and wrapped her swollen body i
n the thick white bath towel
Sie
gland
had given her.

Petra reached around the door, took her dress and put it on. Then she went back into the living room. Her stockings had been shredded when she fell and now she wondered how she would continue her journey home without any stockings.

“How do you feel?”

“Wonderful,
” Petra said. Golden ringlets formed around her head like a halo as her long hair dried.

“Sit, please.
I have something to ask of you.” As she dried her hands on her apron, and sat across from Petra,
Siegland
carefully approached the
delicate
subject, “Do you have somewhere to go?”

The question, combined with the kindness and the tender look in the older woman’s eyes, caused Petra to break down. She could bear the cruelty and stand up to it with her jaw set in determination, but the kindness touched her deeply.  Tears flooded her face, and her lip
s quivered as she bent her head,
“No, I have nowhere. I mean, yes, I could go home, I suppose, but I’m not sure I would be welcomed, and I don’t even know how I would get there.” Against her will, Petra found she could no longer control the sobbing.

Siegland
went to her,
wrapping the girl
in
her thick
,
fleshy arms as Petra wept into the older woman’s bosom.
Siegland
did not want to ask where the girl came from. She did not want to scare her off in any way. “Stay here, please. We have a guest room and plenty of food. You would be comfortable and safe here, at least until the weather gets a little bit warmer, and even maybe until your baby is born, eh?”

“Oh, ma’am, I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t impose that way.”

“You would not be imposing
. We have no children; it will light up our home to have you here. Stay, please?”

“You’re sure?”

“Very sure.”

“Yes, then. Yes, I would love to stay.”

“It’s good. Come, I will show you the room, and I will get you lots of extra blankets, eh?”

W

ith the suitcase
heavy in her weary hand, Petra followed
Siegland
to a small room. Upon entering, she looked at the white bedspread, the sparkling clean wood floor, and the white curtains with prints of blooming red roses on them, and felt her throat tighten again. Tears touched the back of her eyes. She turned to
Si
egland
, and without reserve,
hugged her. Clumsy, but content,
Siegland
hugged Petra back. Daisy stood at the doorway, her kind old eyes smiling in the way that only a devoted dog can do. Her tail wagged merrily as she watched
Siegland
make Petra comfortable.

“Sleep, take a rest. I will come for you later for dinner, eh?”

“I know I keep thanking you, but again, thank you so very much. I am really tired. Maybe the baby is making me feel this way. I don’t know,” Petra said.

Siegland
nodded, “Don’t you worry about anything. You just sleep and I will take care of everything.”

Petra slept for the rest of the day, and the
Bruchmeiers
found themselves reluctant to waken her, even late
r
that evening. But with a soft knock at the door,
Siegland
announced supper. Petra stretched, opening her eyes, “I’ll be right there.”

When she had eaten, Petra grew tired again.
Siegland
watched
as
Petra
’s
eyes began to grow heavy, and insisted that she go back to bed.

“Because you’re going to have a baby, you’re going to be needing lots of rest. Don’t feel bad. You don’t need to stay up for me or Klaus. We understand.”

After dinner, sitting comfortably by the fire, with Petra sleeping soundly in her room, Klaus and his wife discussed their new guest.

“I am so happy that she’s made this choice to stay with us,”
Siegland
said.

“I know that you are, but what do you think that she did? Do you think she’s a criminal of some kind?”

“No, Klaus, I think she got herself into trouble. She’s probably not married, and her parents maybe got mad and kicked her out. Maybe she even ran away.”

“You really think that’s all it is?”

“I do. She is a sweet child, in trouble and alone. Here she will be safe. When the baby comes, she can decide what she wants to do.”

“Yes, all right. You are going to have your way anyway, and I can’t argue with a beautiful woman.” He smiled at his wife warmly, “Did you make a strudel for dessert?” Although he was worried, Klaus would try not to put a damper on his wife’s happiness.

“Of course, my sweetheart, I know how much you like it.”

“I do.”

“Then you just sit there by the fire and get comfortable. I will bring you a nice big piece. It’s cheese
strudel tonight;
I made it
fresh this afternoon.” As
Siegland
grew older, it had become an effort to get up and down from the chair, but she did in order to find the blanket that she had knitted the previous year, so s
he could drape it across Klaus’
legs.

“Some tea, as well, please, my love?
With sugar and cream?”
Klaus patted her hand as she tucked the blanket in on either side of him.

“Of course,”
Siegland
smiled.

At almost three in the afternoon the following day, Petra awakened.
Siegland
had looked in on her several times and found Petra sleeping so soundly that she took a moment just to watch and smile with contentment.

Pleased that the house contained no stairs, and that she had access to the main rooms and the bathrooms by walking just a few feet from her quarters, Petra went into the kitchen. Climbing the stairs at Heim
Hockland
had become tricky as she’d grown larger. 

The afternoon sun filtered through the kitchen window. With skilled hands,
Siegland
rolled out dough for cookies. Upon hearing the girl enter, she turned to face the door.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Oh yes, very well, thank you,” Petra said.

“Would you like something to eat?”

“Yes, please, if it is not any trouble to you.”

“Of course it is no trouble. Sit and keep me company.”

“May I help you?”

“Do you know how to cut cookies?”

“No, I have never done it, but I would love to learn.”

“It’s settled then. I will make it a project to teach you. I will show you how to make all kinds of things. Would you like that?”

“Yes, ma’am, I would.”

Daisy got up from her place beneath the table to greet Petra, who patted her head.

“Call me
Siegland
, eh?”

“I don’t think I ever told you my last name. It’s Jorgensen.”

“Good to meet you
,
and to know your whole name,”
Siegland
laughed as she motioned Petra to take a seat. Petra Jorgensen - a
Scandinavian
name for certain,
Siegland
thought. However, rather than alarm the girl, she would ask no questions. In reality, it didn’t matter to
Siegland
where this precious child had come from. God had sent her to the
Bruchmeiers
, and
Siegland
intended to take care of His precious gift.

After they finished eating, the women spent the remainder of the afternoon cooking and baking.
Siegland
showed Petra how to stuff sausages and make strudel. Familiar with the job,
Siegland’s
practiced hands pounded and rolled the dough as the flour flew about the kitchen.

As they worked together, the older woman shared some of her memories with Petra. “Oh, my mother, she could sure bake,”
Siegland
said, nodding her head as she worked the mass of flour. “When I was small, just a little girl, I used to sit on this wooden box, you see, like that one over on the side of the kitchen. My family had a strawberry farm, so we used to have these boxes to take the fruit to the market. You like strawberries?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Oh, wait till you taste ‘
em
fresh off the vine. We have a patch here and when they come in season, you and me, we will go out and pick some, and bring ‘
em
back and make a pie, eh?”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“Oh, yes, it will be. We will make a strudel too.  I
like to
bake because the smell in the house reminds me of my mother. I miss her so. She died of the influenza. When it happened I thought that maybe I would die too, but Klaus, he’s a good man, and he helped me through my time of need, you know? And I never could have children of my own, so I guess maybe I miss her even more.
Well, anyway, soon we’ll have
a baby here and that will be nice, eh? I mean of course, if you should decide to say…”

Petra could not answer; she had no idea what she planned to do in the future. Right now she was happy for the refuge the
Bruchmeiers
provided. “I hope everything will go all right with the delivery. I’m a little nervous about the birth, and then besides that, I have never raised a child. I helped my mother with my brothers, but this is different, I guess. This time I’m totally responsible.”

“I
t’s not so very different - you’ll see. I think it will come natural to you, and i
f you would
let me, I
would
be more than happy to help.”

“Of course, I would appreciate your help.” Petra thought that at least she would stay until the baby was born.

“Good then, don’t worry so much it – it will be just fine, you will see,”
Siegland
winked and smiled.

Petra smiled back as she felt the baby kick.

Siegland
hummed softly as she worked. A sense of comfort came over the two women. They did not need to speak. They understood each other perfectly.