Chapter Twenty-Nine

"Who cares?" she said defensively.

Alice did not like giving her age away. It was a weak subject, something that made her uncomfortable.

"I'm just interested. Aren't you interested knowing my age?"

"Not really. You're about twenty-two to twenty-six. Who cares about knowing for the exact number?"

"Twenty-seven," he offered quietly. "You're about twenty-one."

Yes, Alice knew that she looked older for her age. In fact, to the outer world she was twenty-two, almost twenty-three.

"By the looks of your guilty face, you're younger then twenty-one...you lied about your age to get in."

Before he caught more things of her face, she made sure to look away so he would not see it.

She nodded.

"When I went into war as a nurse last year," she said nervously, "I signed up with a date of birth that counted that I'd just turned twenty-one. It's a rule to be at least twenty-one if you want to enroll. So, twenty-tree now...I seem twentyish."

He narrowed his eyes, seeming to understand what she was saying.

"You're twenty-three according to some date of birth you made up. What's your real date of birth?"

Before she gave him a date of birth, she thought well. Nobody, not even Jacob knew her real age.

But Jacob was gone now. She didn't like to have secrets. So she told Jasper. She told him the truth.

"1927. December. The twenty-fifth."

The fact that her birthday was on Christmas did not make Jasper gasp. He calculated her age very quickly.

"You turned seventeen last week?" he asked with hard eyes. "Fick meine Leibe! Du bist ein Kind!"

"What was that?" she muttered, meaning the part he spoke in German.

"A kid," he said in disbelief. "You're a kid."

"I really had to join the war. You understand that, don't you?"

"No, I do not understand a child's business in war. You were fifteen then, when you enrolled?"

"Only for two weeks," she whispered. "I went into war on December the ninth. The need of medical assistent grew and I'd finished my education. The times were hectic. Many girls were able to fool the system."

She remembered well how it went. It wasn't even a little difficult to get in.

The man was staring ahead of himself, seemingly very upset.

"We all have our reasons," she said in her defense. "I've told you more than I've already told anyone, but this is the reason why I never told anybody. Because this is the look they'd give me. One of weakness. As if I'm small and-"

"You are small," he said in a hard voice, staring at her frame briefly. "Lied about your height as well?"

She swallowed and looked away.

"I'm not going to examine you, America. Just wondering, how tall are you? The army requires women to be at least 5'0 feet."

"I am 5'0 feet...almost. I wore shoes with some heels to gain an inch."

"To gain an inch, huh? So you're 4'9 feet? Plus you're four years too young to fight this war?"

"They're just rules, created because the law wants a set of pointless rules," she muttered. "Besides, I had my reasons."

"Yes, you told me you had reasons. And I have no interest in knowing what they are."

Her mouth was still open to continue their war, until she realized that he put it to a rest.

"It's my hair, I suppose. I used to have hair until my waist. But I cut it off."

"Trying to become a boy?" he asked in mock, his lips pursed.

She gave him an angry shove.

"No. They say short hair makes you look older. It worked, did it not?"

"Certainly. Well, I respect your honesty, America. You could've chosen to lie. Danke."

"Your welcome," she muttered. "Bitschn."

He laughed and Alice flinched. There she did it again, making a fool of herself.

"It's bitte schön," he said slowly.

"That's what I said. Bitt shin."

"Not quite. They're two words. Bitte and schön."

"Bitte shin."

"Not shin. Schön. You need to purse your lips."

"Sheen."

His hand came up, holding her chin.

"Shön. Lips pursed. Like you're trying to kiss a guy."

She didn't dare and say it again. She was staring at him wide eyed. Especially now that he touched her.

For a moment, she thought he was going to kiss her.

He didn't.

Of course he wouldn't kiss a girl ten years younger than him.