July 1951

Anton awakened and sniffed the air, inhaling the delicious aroma of eggs, sausage, pancakes, and coffee. He opened his eyes to see a smiling Patty standing beside his bed, holding a tray laden with food.

"Happy birthday!" she cried. Anton sat up in bed, and his wife placed the tray in his lap.

"Everything smells so good!" he said as he arranged a napkin in his pajama top. "Danke!" He pulled Patty close and kissed her lips.

"You're very welcome." Patty pulled a chair close to the bed so she could share in the feast.

"I feel quite pampered," said Anton. "Perhaps I will have a birthday every week from now on."

"Oh, no," said Patty. "I don't want you getting older that fast!"

They both stopped smiling, the awareness of the ten-year difference in their ages hitting them yet again.

"That is right," said Anton after a moment of reflection. "I had better hold onto twenty-nine for as long as I can."

"Thirty isn't all that old," Patty replied in an attempt to lighten the mood a bit.

They were almost finished eating when Patty realized she hadn't heard a peep from the nursery.

"Sammy's awfully quiet," she observed. "I'd better check on him and make sure he's all right."

She found Sammy still asleep in his crib and felt his forehead.

"You're a little warm," she remarked.

Sammy began to squirm, opened his eyes, and let out a weak cry.

"Good morning!" Patty checked his diaper and found it was wet.

"Are you hungry?" she asked as she changed it. "I'll fix your breakfast in just a minute."

Sammy's only response was to howl louder. Concerned, Patty picked him up and took him into her bedroom. "I think he might be coming down with something," she told Anton.

"I will check." Anton quickly dressed, then got out his kit and checked Sammy's temperature, throat, and ears. "He has a low grade fever, and his throat is red."

"Poor baby," Patty murmured, cuddling her little brother. Anton gave Sammy a mild analgesic, and he soon stopped crying. However, when Patty tried to feed him, he turned his head away.

"Well, maybe you'll be hungry later," said Patty.

Sammy was so fussy she hardly got any work done all day, and for dinner, she prepared Anton's favorite meal, bratwurst in beer with onions and sauerkraut. Since marrying Anton, she'd become accustomed to cooking and eating different kinds of sausages and no longer cared that it wasn't kosher.

She knew Sammy wouldn't eat sausage and sauerkraut, so she made a grilled cheese sandwich for him and cut it into four triangles. He ate one triangle and wouldn't take even one bite from another.

"He seemed hungry, and he hasn't had anything else but a bite of cereal to eat all day," Patty said to Anton.

"He has a mild infection," Anton replied. "That is normal. He will be fine in a few days."

Several days later, Patty noticed that both sides of Sammy's face were swollen.

"I do not want to alarm you, but I believe he might have the mumps," Anton told her. "I will take him into the hospital with me today. They can run tests on him there."

Without Sammy, the house seemed strangely quiet and still to Patty. After lunch, Ike and Sharon came over for their daily visit.

"Anton took him to the hospital to run some tests on him," Patty explained when they asked where Sammy was. "He thinks he might have mumps."

"Is that where your cheeks swell up like a chipmunk's?" asked Sharon.

"Yes, his face is swollen on both sides," Patty told her.

Ike frowned. "They can do something for that, can't they?"

"I hope so," said Patty.

Later, Anton returned home with Sammy.

"He does have mumps," Anton told his wife as she reached for her little brother. "The only treatment is to keep him comfortable and wait for the virus to pass."

Patty resumed her vigil over the child, but rather than improving, Sammy's symptoms seemed to worsen. One afternoon, Anton was still at the hospital when Patty saw that Sammy's eyes were rolled back in his head and his body was making jerky movements.

Panicking, she picked him up and drove to the hospital with him. When she got there, she dashed into the emergency room with him. By now, his body had stopped jerking and gone limp.

The receptionist looked up. "Can I help you, ma'am?"

"I need to see Dr. Anton Reiker right away!" Patty puffed, struggling for breath. "There's something wrong with my little brother!"