"I can't believe you're really here," Patty mumbled, her face crushed in the softness of his shirt.
"Of course I'm here," Anton said soothingly. "You knew I'd never forget you, didn't you?"
"You can leave right now." Pearl's voice was cold. "You aren't welcome in my home."
"It's my home too, and I say he can stay." Ike's voice was firm.
"I was not planning to impose on you," said Anton. "Surely there is an inn nearby."
"The Dew Drop Inn," Ike told him. "It's right up the road."
"Thank you," said Anton. "I will take my things there right away, and if Patty is able to travel, I would like her to come with me. We have a lot to catch up on."
"She isn't," said Pearl. "She has a sprained ankle."
"I'm fine, Mama," said Patty. "As long as I use my crutches, I can get around all right."
"Well, if you go off with that Nazi, don't bother coming back."
"Pearl." Ike's voice was full of reproach. "Surely you don't mean that. She's your daughter."
"She's a traitor to her country."
"Mama, the war is over," said Patty.
"She's right," said Ike. "You're being unreasonable, Pearl. Let Patty have a visit with her friend. She's a good girl. I trust her judgement."
"Well, all right," Pearl relented. "But have her back before midnight."
"We will be back well before then," Anton assured her.
Patty's heart was light as a feather as she followed Anton outside to his car. He opened the passenger side door and helped her in. He laid the crutches across the back seat and then started the car.
"You have a nice car," said Patty.
"Thank you," Anton replied. "It is a rental. I have to return it before I go back home."
"How long are you here for?"
"Two weeks. I thought that would give us enough time to catch up. I had no idea you had moved from Jenkinsville to Walton's Mountain. If I had not just happened to run into your friend Freddy, I might never have found you." He cleared his throat. "He told me your father died. I am sorry to hear of your loss. When did that happen?"
"Three years ago. He had a heart attack in his office. Mama went in and found him slumped over his desk. She called an ambulance, but he was already dead by the time they got there."
By now they'd reached the Dew Drop Inn. Anton parked the car and helped Patty inside. He checked in and was given a key and shown to his room. It was small but tidy and contained a single bed, a dresser, and a table with a lamp on top. There was also a small closet.
Anton sat his suitcase on the bed, and Patty sat beside it. The door to the hallway was still open.
"Um, perhaps we'd better go to the dining room," Anton said uneasily.
He helped her to the dining room and an empty table and ordered cherry Cokes for both of them.
"What's it like in Germany now?" asked Patty.
Anton sighed. "Very bad. As you may have heard on your news, my country has been split in two - East Germany, which is under Soviet control, and West Germany, which is still free. Many of our manufacturing plants have been destroyed, and there are also refugees from areas which have been lost to Poland and other countries."
Patty took a sip of her cherry Coke. "So there are a lot of poor and homeless people."
"Yes."
"What about your family?"
"They are more fortunate than many. Gottingen received no heavy damage from the war, although a couple of churches and part of the university were destroyed. My parents' home was not affected, and my father is teaching at the university again." He clasped her hands and gazed into her eyes. "But what about you, P.B.? How have you fared with the changes in your life?"
"The worst time for me was when Ruth died. She had cancer."
"I am so sorry, P.B. I know she meant a lot to you."
"Even when my Daddy died, things were kind of bad. Mama had to run the store by herself for awhile. Sharon and I helped as much as we could, but we were both still in school, so we could mostly only help on weekends, except in the summer. Things got a lot better after Mama married Ike. She sold the store and we moved here. I was glad to get away from Jenkinsville - it held so many painful memories for me."
"Your stepfather seems to be a kind man, and I see your mother has a new baby now."
"He's a Mongoloid. There's something wrong with his eyes, and his brain too, I think."
"I am sorry to hear that. I have heard of Mongoloids. They usually live in institutions. I think it is good your mother and stepmother are raising him themselves."
"I don't think Mama wants to. All she does is complain about how much of a burden taking care of him is. I think it's just Ike who wants him at home."
"And how do you feel?"
"Well...he's my brother, and I love him, but it is hard to take care of him sometimes. I suppose he can't help that, though."
"Of course he can't. He will need even more love than other babies." Anton smiled. "He is lucky to have you as a big sister, P.B."
As he drifted off to sleep that night, Ike thought about the startling events of that day and concluded that his older daughter possessed even more maturity, courage, and compassion than he'd given her credit for. He was more proud of her than he'd ever been. He only wished Pearl could see her older daughter as he saw her himself.