asked Jana with some trepidation. “I don’t want to pry, and if I get too nosey, you can tell me to shut up. You’ve never talked much about the time after you and Mom split up. There are a lot of missing pages in my Marsh history book that I’d like to fill in. Would it hurt too much to talk about it?”
“Not at all, Jana. It’s pretty boring stuff to anyone but me. Oh, I admit it was rough at first when I got out of the navy in forty-five, but by then the divorce was already final. You know how that all came about, so I’d rather not get into that part of the story. By then you were at Angel Guardian. Since I did get custody, but had no prospects, I thought it would be best for you to live in a safe place where I wouldn’t have to worry every day about you. An orphanage may not be anyone’s ideal place to be, but I had no better way to provide for you at the time. I stumbled around for a couple of years, going from one dead-end job to another and feeling sorry for myself. Finally, I got my act together. I used the GI Bill that had been out there for me all along. I went down to IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology) and took their entrance exam, thinking of nothing but engineering. My job in the navy was a good background. Lo and behold, I passed with flying colors. It took six years to get a master’s degree in civil engineering, but it has proven to be the best thing I ever did. I’m now licensed to ply my trade in seven states with more to come when I get the time to work on it. In the meantime you and I lost touch with each other. The next time we met was at Meadowwood for your wedding reception. Don’t think I didn’t spend many hours agonizing over some of my decisions earlier on, but once you left Angel Guardian I had no way to reach you. If it hadn’t been for Phil’s partner, Don Swanson, we wouldn’t be sitting here together today. He’s the one who tracked me down as you well know. This moment, right now, is one of the high points of my life. Just to be here in my new home with the two people I cherish most makes me the happiest man on the planet.”
“That’s quite a story,” said Phil. “I’m glad you included me in on at least that much of it. You gave me my most precious gift the day that Jana was born, even though you had no way to know how it would all work out in the long term.”
“Well, Phil, I can see how well you two are suited to each other. We all came out ahead in the game of life.”
Jana tossed her raven locks and gave them the biggest, broadest smile she could muster. “I didn’t do too badly, even before I met Phil, you know. Almost everything has worked out well for me since I left the home. I’ve been lucky at life and now, very lucky at love.”
Phil returned her smile with one of his own. “Who’s the lucky one here? Without you, Jana, I was floating along with nothing but my business on my mind. Speaking of business, Fritz, did she tell you about our jaunt down here? Jana was commander. I was just along for the ride.”
Fritz looked a little startled. “I didn’t know you could fly, Jana. When did that come about?”
“A long time ago, Dad, I’ve got almost three hundred hours now. Phil is talking about maybe putting me to work soon.”
The conversation waned after another hour or two. It was time for a few hours’ rest. It was only then that they all realized that the rest of the house was still a mystery to Jana and Phil. However, they were all pleasantly weary. The only room they wanted to see was one of the several guest bedrooms. The one Phil and Jana were escorted to contained an overgrown bed with a feather mattress. It was a canopied four-poster with a look of the nineteenth century. On the wall, not too far from the bed, was a large fireplace with a fire all ready to start. All it needed was a match to get it going. Fritz did the honors and then left them alone to enjoy the night.
And enjoy it they did. From the second he left the room, they were in each other’s arms. For the next two hours, they made tender love, regretting that it would be their last chance for the next two weeks. It was a blending of two hearts and two minds making the two into one complete identity. It was almost as if they would never experience such ecstasy again. In some ways, it was a melancholy time for them.
VI
Hans and Miep spent most of Friday talking about all they had accomplished through the years. It had been quite a journey even before they met. Both had been born in the middle thirties, so they each had experiences during the war that neither wanted to discuss. The subject was usually a mutually closed door. Some things are better forgotten. There were other events that caught their attention.
“Do you remember how it was when we first met on the Westerdam so long ago?” asked Miep.
“Of course, I do. How could I ever forget the day I walked into the galley to pick up an order and literally ran into a vision with the reddest hair I’d ever seen? You were the most beautiful sight my young eyes had ever beheld. I was stunned, and I knew right then and there that I had to learn more about you.”
“Yeah, well, before we docked in Rotterdam, you knew about all there was to know about me—and vice versa. I’m still surprised that we never got caught out there on those deck chairs at night when we were playing our little games. I lost a lot of sleep on that trip, but it was certainly worth it. It was like a shipboard romance, only this one is still in full bloom.”
Hans had to laugh at what he remembered. “We were just a couple of lovesick kids barely out of our teens. Looks like we knew what we were doing. Our families both said it wouldn’t last, that we were just mesmerized by the rhythms of the sea. I think the seventeen years we’ve been together sort of disprove that theory, don’t you, Schaatje?”
Miep turned serious. “Don’t you ever miss Holland, Hans? Sometimes I think about some of the things we used to do there. We had fun. I can’t forget little things like when we flew kites on the beach at Zandvoort and watched all those crazy people digging huge holes in the sand to get out of the wind. It was almost like they didn’t want to be there.”
“Another place we can never forget is the Hoogge Voursche, right near my home in Baarn,” said Hans. “How many people can say they spent their wedding night in a castle? We sat out on the balcony drinking our Oragjeboom beer, looking at the woods with stars in our eyes. I think we spent less time out there on that deck than normal that night because we couldn’t wait to get to our room.”
“And what about Madurodam?” cued Miep. “Where else can you see an entire nation in miniature? I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere else. Of course, there was always the rain. We could count on it nearly every day. The amazing thing about it was the way it would come and go so fast. You could almost be convinced that it had never happened at all.”
Hans felt himself getting too sentimental thinking about these and other things. “Of course, I miss Holland,” he said. We both have good families that we had to leave behind when we came here. We were living the good life with virtually no worries while we were there. The thing is, we’ve done very well here too. Look around you. I don’t call this poverty. Sometimes, you have to give up one good thing to get something even better. Now, before we get too maudlin, why don’t we get out of here for a while? I made a reservation at the Pier W to celebrate my early retirement.”
“That’s just an elevator ride and a few steps away,” said Miep. “But it’s a good choice. They’ve got just about everything on their menu. Maybe I’ll get away from seafood this time.”
It was like old home week at the Pier W. Living so close, they were well acquainted with most of the staff. They had been there often since moving to Winton Place two years ago and even before that. It was one of their favorite haunts. They made it easy for their waiter, Steve. They ordered Chateaubriand with Béarnaise sauce, enough for two hungry people. As a former sous chef, Miep could appreciate good food that was well prepared. This was as good as it could get.
When they were finished, Hans paid the tab, and they went for a stroll along the lakeshore. It was an incredibly clear evening. If human eyes could reach that far, it would have been possible to see Canada across the water. There wasn’t a cloud to be seen in any direction. Out on Lake Erie, no big seas were in evidence. In fact, the surface was nearly dead calm. The walk didn’t last too long. It was starting to get downright chilly.
When