It was several days after Easter. Elizabeth noticed that Max felt warmer than he usually did when she lifted him from his crib that morning and frowned in concern. "I hope you're not getting sick, little one."

"Is he all right?" Paul, dressed for work, stepped toward his wife and son and ran his hand over the top of the baby's head.

"He feels warm to me," said Elizabeth. "I sure hope he's not coming down with something."

Paul frowned. He knew that, whatever the case may be, he had to go to work anyway. "Be well, son of mine." He kissed first the top of the baby's head, then Elizabeth's lips, and was off.

Max was so fussy all morning that Elizabeth could barely get anything done. She walked the floor with him, rocked him, and sang to him, all to no avail. When she finally got him settled down for a nap in the late afternoon, she was so exhausted that she fell asleep herself soon afterwards. About a half hour later, she was awakened by his screaming. Quickly she checked his diaper. "Poor baby, no wonder you're so mad!"

She was preparing dinner later when she realized that, to her consternation, she was out of baking soda. Torn between her urgent need and Max's sickly condition, she finally decided that a quick trip to the Godsey's store would do him no harm. She was in the process of buying the baking soda when an April shower started outside and she was forced to wait until it had slackened enough that she could go home.

Arriving at last, she saw that Paul was already home. She entered the house to find him listening to the radio, mesmerized. "The Soviet Union has announced that no cargo may leave Berlin by rail without permission of the Soviet commander."

"What does it mean?" asked Elizabeth. "Is Berlin under siege?"

"The Soviets are trying to starve them into submission," Paul said grimly.

"Oh, no!" Elizabeth was aware that, since the end of the war, the Soviet Union had increasingly become a threat to the west, and especially to occupied Germany. "Can't anything be done?"

"Plans are being made to airlift food and supplies into Berlin."

"What about your family? Are they all right?"

"As far as I know. I'd give anything for a word from them."

Paul sat up listening to the radio until long after Elizabeth had put Max to bed and then turned in herself. She awakened briefly when she felt the mattress sink lightly with his weight several hours later and wrapped her arm around him in an offer of comfort. "Sorry, didn't mean to awaken you," he mumbled.

"That's OK," she whispered back.

Max was much better the following morning. When he opened his mouth to gurgle at his mother when she reached for him, she noticed a tiny sliver of white in his lower gum. "Paul, come look! Max has his first tooth!" she called to her husband.

"Oh, yeah?" Paul walked into the bedroom. Max looked at him and grinned. "Well, what do you know! You'll be eating bratwurst soon!"

"That's a little ambitious," Elizabeth remarked. Paul laughed and swatted her behind.

The excitement over Max's first tooth seemed to have temporarily taken Paul's mind off the situation in his homeland, yet he made a bee line for the radio as soon as he got home that evening. On April 3, President Truman signed the Marshall Plan, and on April 5, a Soviet Air Force fighter collided with a British European Airways airliner, killing all aboard both aircraft. A week and a half later, a letter finally arrived from Max and Elsa. Paul translated for Elizabeth.

Dear Paul and Elizabeth,

I know that you must be quite worried about us, so I am writing to assure you that we are fine. The airplanes bring us everything we need and we want for nothing. However, we have yet to become accustomed to the almost constant sound of roaring engines in the sky. Matthias was very excited when it all began, but lately he has tired of all the noise and yearns for peace and quiet again, as we both do. I daresay the Russians have overstepped their boundaries in worrying and harassing us so, and I strongly suspect that it will probably get worse before it gets better.

I hope that you are all doing well. Tell John and Olivia that we said hello, and give our precious grandson a hundred kisses for us.

With all our love,

Max and Elsa

"I'm so glad to know they're all right!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"So am I." Paul held her tight. "More than you'll ever know," he murmured into her neck.

On May 14, a new nation, Israel, was born. Paul and Elizabeth greeted the news with happiness. "As much as they've suffered, they deserve a land of their own," said Elizabeth. Paul thought of his friend Gretchen from school and hoped that she'd survived the war. If she had, was she amongst the celebrants?

"What are you thinking about?" asked Elizabeth.

"Oh, nothing. Just somebody I used to know a long time ago," Paul said quickly.

On June 24, the Soviets severed land and water connections between the non-Soviet zones and Berlin and also halted all rail and barge traffic in and out of the city. If not for the Operation Vittles airlift initiated by General Lucius D. Clay, General Curtis LeMay, and Brigadier General Joseph Smith, Paul's family and their neighbors may well have starved to death. The blockade lasted until May 12 of the following year, when the Soviets finally lifted it.