To Go Home
By Bashfulglowfly
Chapter Three
Munich 1923
Liesl moved quickly around the kitchen preparing the night's supper. Ed invited a friend over. A man named Alfons Heiderich, whom Ed said looked exactly like his brother, Alphonse. He had known the man for almost a year and this was the first time that he had been able to convice him to have dinner with them.
She and Ed had been married for just over four years now. They had moved from their respective flats to a rented house across the city to be closer to his work. It was a nice neighborhood although she knew that they appalled the neighbors because she was a painter and the fact that Ed was doing nothing to stop her "frivoulous activity." But the old bats on the street couldn't complain that she kept a dirty house or that she didn't make sure that there was food on the table when Ed came home or that they weren't always neat and clean in their clothes and appearance.
The only other fly on her otherwise perfect life were the monthly questions about her having a baby. She thanked God that Ed never heard any of the sly questions and innuendoes. Even though he said that he had grown out of the rages of his youth, he still periodically had them. And questions about when they were going to have a baby would certainly set him off.
She paused for a moment. Actually, there was another fly in her life. No, more like a wasp. She wasn't a rabid follower of the news like Ed was but she could see the changes in her country. The National Socialist German Workers' Party had her, and Ed, worried. Ed had already had a few run-ins with some people affiliated with them due to his limp and their hatred of people with infirmities. Not to mention their hatred of pretty much everyone who were not them.
Ed insisted that she keep her idenity papers with her at all times. And he had her sew gold coins into a packet that she kept in her undergarments and she kept another packet in her artist's bag, along with the portfolio that held the picture of her brother Richard in it. She never displayed it anymore, seeing Richard reminded him of his Col. Mustang and it hurt him. But she was afraid not to have it near her. Something told her that she needed to keep it with her at all times. She told Ed about her feeling and he told her not to ignore it, to do what she felt was right. And to let him know when she had those feelings.
She peeked out the window to see if Ed was coming with his friend. He had warned her that Alfons might cough a lot but that he didn't suffer from tuberculosis so she needn't worry. She smiled as she saw Ed's familiar form turn the corner. She pulled back and quickly made sure that everything was still tidy for their guest.
Ed's keys jingled as he unlocked the front door. "Welcome to our home." He said as he held open the door for Alfons.
"Thank you." Alfons entered and looked around. There were many paintings on the walls. "Did your wife do these?"
"Most of them. A few of them aren't hers. There are some that her friends painted and gave to her or us as gifts." He smiled as Liesl entered the foyer. He held out his hand to her. "Liesl, this is Alfons Heiderich. Alfons, this is my wife, Liesl."
Alfons smiled "Thank you for having me for supper, Frau Elric. These are for you." He handed over a boquet of flowers.
Liesl smiled as she sniffed deeply. "Thank you very much, Herr Heiderich. Please come in and sit down. Supper is almost ready." She turned and went back into the kitchen.
Ed led Alfons to the dining room. "Sit down. What would you like to drink?"
Alfons coughed lightly. "Water, please."
Ed smiled, "Water it is." He smiled as Liesl came into the room carrying a vase with Alfons' flowers in it. "Liesl, water or wine?"
"Water's fine." She placed the vase on the sideboard then went back to the kitchen.
Ed poured water for all three of them then sat down next to Alphons. He sighed as the weight eased off his leg.
"Are you alright?" Alfons looked at him with worried blue eyes
"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine. My leg just gets tired after a while. I really shouldn't stand on it so much but…" he shrugged.
The two men chatted about work until Liesl came in and began placing food on the table. She served up their plates and they began to eat. "Let me be honest with you Alfons. I don't trust that woman, Dietlinde Eckhart or that Rudolf Hess. There's something… dirty…about them.
Alfons nodded as he swallowed his mouthful of food. "I agree. I don't trust that assistant of hers, Jan Adler…"
Both men jumped when Liesl dropped her fork onto her plate. She blushed. "Sorry."
Ed patted her hand gently. Turning back to Alfons "I don't trust Adler either. He's approached two or three of the others, as if he's trying to seduce them. And when they react badly, he acts as if they misunderstood what he was trying to do. Lousy actor if you ask me."
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Liesl was pale and that her hands were trembling. She hadn't been acting that way until Adler was mentioned. He certainly was going to ask her about it later, after Alfons had left.
"Good night, Alfons. I'll see you in the morning." Alfons waved then walked up the street. Ed watched for a moment more, then shut and locked the door. He knew that Liesl was in their bedroom; she had made herself scarce after supper while he and Alfons talked.
He found her sitting at her vanity, brushing her hair. He sat down on the bed and watched as she began to braid it for the night. He waited until she was finished then spoke. "Liesl, you reacted when the name 'Jan Adler' was mentioned. How do you know that name?"
She turned to him; her eyes had filled with tears. She bit her lip and took a deep breath. "Jan Adler was the name of the man that accused my brother of seducing him."
"Shit!" Ed stood up and began to pace. "Are you sure?" Liesl nodded. "Damn. We are probably in deep, deep trouble. What did he look like?"
"It's been a long time…but dark blond, glasses, brown eyes…oh! And a scar that went through his right eyebrow."
"Same guy. It has to be." Ed stopped pacing. "This isn't good. I know this isn't good. Tomorrow, I want you to carefully start selling what you can. I think we're going to have to leave Germany."
Over the next few weeks, she did as Ed wanted. Carefully selling her paintings and other easily portable household items. It was hard keeping things out of sight of the neighbors prying eyes, but she managed. Ed would take the money and exchange it for gold that she sewed into his vest. She even sewed some into a skirt that she didn't wear but kept close at hand. He would come home frustrated because Alfons, despite not liking Eckhart, Hess or Adler, refused to see the danger that they were in. "DAMNED IDIOT! He only wants to work on the rockets; he refuses to see that we are in trouble! He's more interested in proving that Germany can be the best in science."
Late one night, it all came to a head. As they finished cleaning up the supper dishes, there was a frantic knock on the door. Ed motioned for Liesl to stay back as he grabbed a club he kept near the door. He cautiously opened the door then opened it the rest of the way. "Alfons! Come in! What's wrong?"
"Everything!" Alfons was clearly upset. "I overheard Eckhart and Hess talking. They were talking about invading another world using magic. They're planning on doing it soon. Using the rockets! They said that with the help of 'the dragon' they could do it!"
Ed pulled Alfons inside and shut the door, locking it carefully. "Dragon? What dragon? Oh, hell! Never mind. What do you want to do?"
"Destroy everything. I don't want my work to be used for evil. I know that's what they are going to use it for. Something evil. Will you help me destroy everything?"
"Of course!" came back the prompt reply. "Let me grab a few things and we'll go." He looked at Alfons. "You do realize that we'll have to flee the country after we do this, right?"
Alfons swallowed. "I know." He whispered.
Ed turned to Liesl. "Get what we discussed. Alfons and I will go and blow up the lab and we'll meet you at the train station."
Liesl looked him in the eye. "No."
Ed was astonished. "No? What do you mean 'No'?"
Liesl took a deep breath. "I'm having one of my feelings. I'm going with you. I will not leave you."
Ed rubbed his eyes. He wasn't going to argue with her. They didn't have time. "Fine. Go change. Wear that one skirt."
Liesl nodded and ran upstairs.
Ed pulled on his brown coat over the vest and shirt he was still wearing. Out of a closet, he pulled out a messenger bag and draped it over his head and across his shoulder adjusting it until it rested against his hip. Liesl came down wearing a dark blue coat and matching skirt. She, too, had her bag over her shoulder.
Alfons looked at the pair. "You've been planning to leave, haven't you?"
Ed looked him in the eye. "Yes. For a while now."
Alfons closed his eyes. "I am a fool."
Placing a hand on Alfons' shoulder, Ed spoke. "No, you are not a fool. You just want to believe in the goodness of everyone." He looked at Liesl and silently held out his hand. She took hold of it. He gave one last look at their home. "Let's go."
Author's Note #1 - The National Socialist German Workers' Party aka The Nazi Party
Author's Note #2 – Tuberculosis was and still is a terrible disease. And extremely contagious, which is why many cities and towns have anti-spitting laws. According to Wikipedia (.org/wiki/Tuberculosis) in France 1918, one in six deaths were still caused by TB. If you read the Epidemiology section (not to mention the rest of the article), you will understand why the people freaked out Andrew Speaker (.org/wiki/2007_tuberculosis_scare) traveled about the world while infected with TB.
