May 1943
"I'm home!" Helga yelled into the foyer of the manor. She took off her shoes and walked up the stars to her room. "Anyone here?"
"In the parlor, darling!" Rhonda replied. Helga changed her clothes into something comfortable and met up with Rhonda, Phoebe, and Lila in the parlor.
"Hey everyone," Helga said as she sat down.
"Hi, Helga," Lila greeted. "Did you have an oh so wonderful day in the city?"
"I'm just thrilled I got to walk around without worrying someone was following me or carrying illegal products. But I was passing by a radio store when I heard that Germany surrendered in North Africa several days ago!"
"Oh, Helga!" Phoebe squeaked. "That's wonderful news!"
"I'm sorry, but what does that actually mean?" Rhonda asked.
"It means that Germany lost their territories in Africa," explained Phoebe. "They're starting to lose power."
"That is ever so delightful," Lila cheered. "Hopefully this war can end soon and we can move on."
"I'm still in shock we've already been here for three months already," Helga admitted.
"I know what you mean," Phoebe agreed. "So much has happened in such a short time."
"My arm's healed, Arnold has a great job working at the shipyard," Helga listed.
"Sid and Gerald are doing well in the underground," Phoebe mentioned.
"Harold, Eugene, and Patty are flourishing at the synagogue," Lila included.
"And my darling Thad is going back to medical school," Rhonda sighed.
"I'm still in shock that the Karolinska Institutet accepted him for their program," Phoebe admitted.
"I'm still in shock that you gave Curly a chance," Helga chuckled.
"Why wouldn't I?" Rhonda defended. "He may be a bit unorthodox, but he has shown he is a caring person, and the fact he is committed to being a licensed doctor speaks volumes about him."
"I just had an oh so wonderful idea!" Lila exclaimed. "Why don't we celebrate the three months you all have been here? We can get dressed up and go out to a fancy dinner or something similar."
"I did pass by the opera house on my walk in the city," Helga recalled. "They are playing 'Carmen' this weekend."
"I love 'Carmen!'" Rhonda shrieked. "It's such a beautiful story. I remember seeing it when I was younger."
"We saw it when we were younger, too," Helga remembered. "That was before Hitler came to power so we were young. After that, it was all German operas."
"I never saw it," Lila admitted sheepishly. "What is it about?"
"It's about this Spanish gypsy named Carmen, and she has stolen the heart of a soldier named Don Jose," Phoebe explained. "She convinces him to join her and band of gypsies. And there is a bullfighter named Escamillo who also had his heart stolen by Carmen. I don't want to give away the ending, but it's a beautiful story."
"Oh wow," Lila gasped. "It sounds ever so exciting. I say we go see it."
Rhonda gasped. "We'll need to go shopping for dresses! When Patty comes back from the synagogue and Nadine from her illegal job we have to go. And I will get the tickets for the show. It shouldn't be too hard to get."
"What about the men?" Lila asked. "What are they going to wear?"
"Do any of them have tuxedos?" Helga and Phoebe shook their heads. "Honestly, how did you live without going anywhere?"
"It's not that hard when your life depends on it," Helga answered snarkily.
"Well, I believe there is a tailor nearby they can go to get what they need," Rhonda continued. Soon they heard footsteps coming from the foyer. "Someone's home. Let's go see who it is and tell them the good news."
"Are you sure this dress looks good?" Helga asked as she looked in the mirror. She was wearing a grey, sleeveless floor length gown with a high neckline and sparkles all over the dress. It was the night of the opera and Helga was rethinking the dress she picked. "It's so shiny."
"You look amazing," Rhonda assured her, wearing a red ball gown with a fitted sheer lace top. "Arnold is going to want to eat you up."
"You do look beautiful, Helga," Phoebe agreed. The other girls agreed as well.
"Arnold is going to love it," Patty said.
"I hope so," said Helga. "He's been acting weird all day."
"What do you mean?" Nadine asked.
"Ever since he came back from the docks, he's seemed… distracted about something."
"Do you think something happened at work?" Lila asked.
"I don't know," Helga admitted, worried. "I tried to talk to him when he came back, but he wouldn't say anything. He just went straight to his room and didn't come back down until dinner."
"Personally, I wouldn't worry about it," Rhonda said. "He was probably tired or stressed from work. It just may have been a bad day."
"Maybe. It's just unlike him to not say anything. He always talks about his day."
"It just may be an off day for him," Phoebe said, looking at her friend. "He probably didn't want to worry you about it because of the opera tonight. He knows you're looking forward to it, and he didn't want to ruin it."
"It's not ruined, but if his intention is to not have me worry, it didn't work." Helga played with her dress.
"The best thing you can do right now is knock him dead," Rhonda said as she finished the final touches of her outfit. "Is everyone ready?" The rest of the girls nodded. "Then let's get downstairs. The doors will be opening soon and we do not want to be late."
The girls descended the staircase and met up with their respective dates. Sid decided to escort Nadine while Eugene escorted Lila, since everyone else was already paired up. The men, dressed in their fancy tuxedos, looked in awe and amazement of how beautiful their women looked.
"Rhonda, my pet, you take my breath away!"
"Blue is definitely your color, Phoebe. You look radiant."
"If you were a jelly doughnut, I would just eat you up."
"Gosh, Lila, you look incredible."
"Stunning, Nadine. Absolutely stunning."
Helga kept her eyes on Arnold to gauge his interest. She could see his face light up and she moved closer to him. He walked to the bottom of the staircase and extended his arm out to her. She placed her hand in his and he kissed it.
"You light up the room, and it is not because of the dress. Although it is gorgeous."
"Thank you, Arnold," Helga replied, blushing. At least he seems okay now, she thought. He took her arm as he escorted her to the car.
"You were right," Lila confessed. "That was amazing!" The show had finished and the group decided to walk back home since it was a fifteen minute walk and the night was unusually warm.
"And the theater was magnificent!" Nadine said.
"It was so glamorous," Patty chimed in.
"And Carmen was such an amazing singer," Phoebe reflected.
"It was definitely one of the better performances I've seen," Sid said.
"I couldn't understand anything!" Harold whined. "There was no fighting until the end!"
"Well, here's what the bullfighter said when we first met him," Curly said. He then began dancing and singing around the group.
"I'm so fine, the girls know I'm divine;
The thing is, I'm sublime — it's really true, you know;
Check out my cuspidor! I'm what you're looking for;
Rhonda, won't you join this guy and come to my bullfights?"
The group laughed at Curly's outburst as he continued.
"Bullfights and swordfights, rolling in manure;
Blows to the head I can endure!
Fighting bulls is all I want in life
Plus I could use a wife!"
"How much did he have to drink?" Helga asked Rhonda.
"And several pairs of tights in shades of blue;
Rhonda, please say, 'I Do!'"
Curly was down on one knee and holding Rhonda's hands, looking up at her. Everyone was laughing while Rhonda paled at his position.
"Are you being serious right now?" she asked.
"No, I'm playing," Curly chuckled as he got up and kissed her cheek. "We have plenty of time before that."
"Oh, thank goodness," Rhonda exhaled. "I'm nowhere near ready to get married."
"Neither am I," he said. "But when we both are, you better keep an eye out."
The group giggled as they continued their walk back.
"So, is that what the bullfighter really said?"
The next day, Helga was sitting in the library, now frustrated with Arnold. When they came home the night before, he gave her a small peck on the cheek and went straight to bed. His seclusion continued throughout the night and into the next day. He wouldn't say much at breakfast and then just kept to himself for the rest of the morning.
Oh my love, what is it that occupies your mind that causes you to live like a hermit? Was it something at work? Was it something I did? Oh God, what if it is something I did? I don't remember doing anything. What if he no longer loves me? My flaxen haired angel, don't tell me your love has waned like the moon. There is only one way to know.
Helga walked to Arnold's door and knocked. There was no response. She knocked harder. Again, no reply. She opened the door to find Arnold sitting by the windows, staring at the gardens below.
"Arnold?" Helga asked, looking for any response. When he didn't even flinch, she walked over and sat next to him. She stared out the window as well. The two stayed like that for several hours.
"The uprising in the Warsaw ghettos ended the other day," Arnold finally spoke, his gaze still upon the gardens. Helga looked at him in shock.
"That was going on for a while. What happened?" she asked.
"Tens of thousands Jews died from it," he reported. "The ghettos were liquidated. The Jews were sent to Treblinka."
"What type of camp is it?"
"Extermination."
Helga sighed and rubbed her eyes. "That is very unfortunate. God have mercy on them." Arnold didn't move, but his eyes started to water. "Is that why you've been so distant?"
"Sort of," he confessed. "I just feel… guilty."
"Why?" Helga asked.
"Because I know what they're going to suffer through. How is it fair that I'm out here safe while they will be slaughtered by the thousands? I get to live, and celebrate three months of living in a neutral country while they won't get to see outside the camp ever again."
He covered his face while his shoulders shook up and down. Helga rubbed his back. It made complete sense to her why he was feeling this way. "You're here because you're meant to be here," she attempted to explain. "There is a reason you were spared. And you know if Bob didn't work at Auschwitz, I never would have been able to get in and help you guys. You risked your life to save Patty, Harold, and Eugene, and that is a noble thing you did. I know you want to save everyone, and if it were possible, I would help you. But the reality is, we can't take on the whole Nazi party by ourselves. And I know we're not the only ones who hid people. There are tons of Poles who hid Jews in their houses. And Patty mentioned the other day that there are Danish families who took Jewish kids in and are hiding them right now. It's happening everywhere."
Arnold's shoulders shook less as he wiped the tears away.
"I think we're here for a reason," Helga continued. "I think we need to tell our stories."
Arnold looked at her through his blurry eyes. "Why ours? Why not someone else's?"
Helga thought for a moment. "Well, our story as a whole is unique. To go from living in Berlin to hiding, then to a concentration camp, then back to hiding, and finally escaping. We all risked our lives to do this, and somehow, we're all still here together. We're blessed, Arnold, and I think we need to cherish that blessing."
Arnold sniffled and wrapped around Helga. "You're my blessing. Ever since you came back into my life, you've done nothing but be there for me. I could never thank you enough."
"There's no need to thank me, because I will continue to do it for as long as we live."
Arnold sighed. "Is it bad that I still feel guilty?"
"I don't think so," Helga answered honestly. "I think it's your way of showing you care about what's going on. I'd be more afraid if you didn't show you cared."
Arnold chuckled softly. "I guess there is only one thing we can do."
"What's that?" Helga asked.
"We get our story out to the world."
A/N: 'What's Opera, Arnold?' is one of my most favorite episodes of all time from the series and I'm so glad I'm able to incorporate it into the story. As for Helga's look for the opera, this is the dress that inspired me: post/78535363363/lovelaceleopard-love-lace-leopard-3