Paris, France
September 1942
Every time I think that the Boche might be human, they remind me that they are pigs, animals, brutes, and the lowest forms of life on Earth! I don't even know how they manage to tie their shoes in the mornings! Their brains are as small as their shrivelled hearts.
Léona LeBeau sighed and set down the letter from her brother, Louis. She had no idea how any of these insults had made it through the German censors. Perhaps her brother was right and some of the Germans were just too stupid to understand what the letter was saying. Or they didn't care. After all, it was no secret how the French felt about the Germans. If they censored every insult every French prisoner wrote down, there would be no letters to deliver at all!
She understood why her brother was so contemptuous. There was a war on, after all. He was a prisoner, held in Germany against his will while the German army occupied his beloved country and city. But she wished he would not use such harsh language. After all—
A knock on the door cut off her thoughts. She glanced behind her and bit her lip. It was always a little dangerous nowadays to answer the door. One could never be sure who was on the other side. Especially when one's mother was involved with the Resistance.
There was another knock, but this time it had a little rhythm to it. Léona couldn't help but smile. She knew who it was now.
Getting up from her chair, Léona quickly made her way to the door, pausing in front of a mirror for just a moment to pat down her hair and check her teeth. Then she grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, and pulled open the door.
Léona's heart fluttered. "Stefan!"
The young man on the other side of the door slipped off his side cap and grinned. "Léona!" he greeted before grabbing her and pulling her in for a kiss. "Léona, my darling."
Léona almost got lost in the kiss before quickly coming to her senses and breaking away. She grabbed ahold of his tunic and pulled him inside before shutting the door. Then, she threw her arms around him and kissed him once more.
"Oh, I thought you would be gone forever," Léona sighed.
Stefan laughed. "A week is hardly forever! And my mother insisted I go home for my leave."
"You're a good son. I suppose I can't be mad at you for that. In fact, it may just make me love you more."
"Love?" Stefan repeated, raising an eyebrow. Léona's eyes went wide and she blushed. But Stefan just smiled. "So it's mutual, then. That's a relief!" He laughed again and gave her another kiss. "I suppose that makes us like Romeo and Juliet!"
"Yes, I suppose it does," Léona agreed ruefully. Only, she thought, so much worse. Not for the first time, her heart sunk as she thought about the situation she found herself in. She had never intended to fall in love with a German. A German soldier, no less, who was part of the occupying forces in Paris. It was inconceivable. Treasonous. If her family ever found out…
Ah, but Stefan was so wonderful. He was handsome enough to be an American movie star and he was so charming and kind. And his French? Why, he hardly sounded German at all when he spoke.
They had met when he came to the café and it must have been love at first sight because they both fell hard. He came back almost every day for a week after that and showered her with attention. And then, one day, he stayed for hours until she was off just so he could walk her home. She had walked with him, refusing to get too close, hold his hand, or link her arm with his, painfully aware of the dirty looks she was getting from the people they passed by. He had sensed her unease, and ever since, he had chosen to visit her at home, away from the judging eyes of the public.
He did, however, return often to the café. He would pointedly ignore her in the most comical way, and then, when Mama wasn't looking, tease her with some surreptitious flirting. Léona found it all quite adorable.
"Don't worry, darling. We are much older and wiser than those two. You're almost seventeen, after all, and I am a very cunning twenty-one. We're far from those love-blind children of old Verona!"
"But our families still hate each other and war is so uncertain," Léona said softly.
"My family could not possibly hate you," Stefan reassured her. "I told my mother everything about you and I think she is more in love with you than I am! And as for your family, well, I will have to win them over. Perhaps I can start by meeting your mother?"
Léona gave him a weak smile. "No, not yet. She…"
"Oh, never mind. It is far more romantic to keep this to ourselves for now, don't you think?" He pressed his lips to her forehead. She sighed and then nestled into him before craning her neck to meet his lips with hers. They held each other for a magical moment before breaking away. "Yes, very romantic," Stefan repeated. "Now, do you have any tea, darling?" Stefan asked, pushing past her to settle on the sofa.
"I'll make some."
"Please." Stefan caught her hand as she passed and pulled her down for another kiss before sending her off to the kitchen with a little pat on her bottom.
As she set about making tea, Léona's brow furrowed. She did love Stefan, didn't she? And, yes, he was a German, but surely Mama would see through that and focus on all his good qualities. There were so many. So why shouldn't she introduce them?
Léona knew why. 'Just what we need!' Mama would sneer. 'A German becoming familiar with our café and all that goes on there! Use your head!' But even if her mother could get over his uniform and all the danger it represented, she would find another excuse to end their romance. 'You're too young,' she would say. 'War is not the time to fall in love,' she might add.
No, it was definitely best to keep this to themselves for now.
Mind and tea made up, Léona nodded and readied a tray. When she returned to the salon, she found Stefan with her letter from Louis in his hand. He looked up with a sheepish expression.
"Oh dear," he said with a little laugh. "It looks like it might not be so easy to win over your family after all. The lowest form of life on Earth? That doesn't sound too promising."
Léona felt her heart rise up into her throat. "You read my letter?"
"Sorry. I was reaching for the paper," he said, pointing to the newspaper on the table, "and it caught my attention. Your brother is a prisoner of war?"
Léona nodded. "I'm sure you must understand his anger."
"Certainly. But, listen, I have an uncle who is the kommandant of a POW camp. Perhaps I can ask him to pull some strings and transfer your brother there. When I explain how madly in love I am with you, he will treat your brother like a prince, or release him altogether then—"
"Sounds like something a love-blind child would say," Léona said as she nestled down beside him on the sofa. She kissed his cheek.
Stefan sighed, deflating a little. "You're right." He pulled back a little and examined her through squinted eyes. "You know, you're beautiful."
Léona's heart left her throat and started to flutter. "Do you think so?"
Stefan clapped his hand over his heart. "Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."
Léona giggled. "Well, I think you're very handsome. Even for a pig and a brute!" She grabbed the letter from him and tossed it onto the table. "Oh, forget what Louis has to say. When the war is over, he won't have any reason to hate you whatsoever."
"Then I'll do my best to end it as soon as I can," he promised. "And as for this?" He tapped the letter. "O teach me how I should forget."
They fell into an embrace and Léona pushed all her doubts and worries out of her mind. Mama, Louis, her family and neighbours— all of France!— could disapprove but, at this moment, she did not care. This was love and no war could stop it.
AN: If you've read it, you may recall that in Journey of a Little Deer, Carter stops at a little Parisian café where he is waited on by a little old lady named Adèle.
