All God's Children Read Online Free Page B

have company,” he said quietly.
    Liesl’s face got very red, and Josef feared she might be about to cry—or worse, launch into a tantrum. From the look of Frau Schneider, Josef believed that she was anticipating the same thing.
    “What did you learn in school today, Fräulein Liesl?” Josef asked, wanting to do his part to ease the situation and spare his hostess any embarrassment.
    It worked. The child gave him her full attention, her voice filled with the excitement of her report. “Oh, our teacher told us all about
der
Führer
and what a great and good man he is. He came to Munich last spring, you know. He passed right by our house here.”
    It was evident that the child’s comment had not eased the strained atmosphere around the table but rather worsened it. “Did you see him then?” Josef concentrated on his food even as his curiosity overruled his reason. Speaking of Hitler would certainly do little to ease Frau Schneider’s anxiety.
    Liesl frowned and toyed with her food.
“Nein
. Some soldiers came that morning and made us all stay in the kitchen, and then some other people came into our house. They had little flags, and they were all dressed up and everything.”
    Josef looked to the professor for an explanation, as he had never heard of such a thing. But it was Beth who provided the answer.
    “Because we are Quakers, the authorities have some doubts about our enthusiasm for the Reich,” she said, obviously measuring each word. “Apparently they felt that occupying the apartment with cheering strangers for the occasion was preferable since they felt they could not rely on us to be quite so—enthusiastic.”
    “Liesl, drink your milk,” Frau Schneider said. She reached for the glass of cider beside her plate, and her hand shook so badly that she nearly spilt the amber liquid. Josef noticed her send her husband a pleading look—one that clearly begged him to change the subject.
    Josef cast about for a way he might help and turned his attention to Beth. “Professor Schneider tells me you came to Munich to learn our language while you helped Frau Schneider with Liesl’s care,” Josef said.
    “Ja. My mother was born and raised here in Munich but moved to the United States when she and my father married. Once they moved to the United States, she insisted that only English be spoken in our home. As a girl I became fairly adept at reading and understanding the written words, but my spoken German needed work.” Her eyes met his, challenging him to question her presence in a country that was at war with hers.
    “I must say that after eight years with us our Beth speaks like a native,” Professor Schneider added with a wink at his niece. “She’s even managed to pick up much of our Bavarian dialect.
Net woar
, Beth?”
    “Of course, because her mother is a native,” Ilse added, “some would agree that this gives Beth the right to…to…” She looked at her husband.
    “To live here as well,” he finished quietly. “And certainly after eight years…well, she’s become a treasured member of this family—like a daughter to Ilse and me and a sister for Liesl.”
    Josef focused on cutting his sausage into bite-sized pieces. Perhaps it would be best if he allowed the professor to guide the conversation. Certainly his attempts to ease the strained atmosphere that surrounded the meal had failed. He glanced up and was surprised to see that Beth was smiling at him. It was a sad smile but lovely nevertheless.
    “My brothers do that,” she said, nodding toward the way he held his knife and fork in a position that Americans would consider the reverse of how it should be. Her tone was soft and wistful, and Josef felt a flicker of pleasure at having given her some reminder of home.
    “Your mother brought some of her ways to you and your brothers then?”
    “She has. I never really thought about it, but yes.”
    Josef set his knife on the edge of his plate and took a bite of the meat. “Your brothers