"My older brother, Paul, was in a German POW camp here," said Matthias. He, Ginny, and their children were having dinner with Leah, her husband Erich, and their children, Anna and Lukas. Anna was ten, and Lukas was six.
"He escaped and was hiding out in the woods near Ginny's grandparents' house. He befriended one of Ginny's cousins and eventually met the whole family, including Ginny's Aunt Elizabeth. When he had to leave, they stayed in touch, and when the war ended, they got married."
"That's so romantic!" said Leah. "And so similar to the way Erich and I met, except in my case, it was a little more complicated because my family's Jewish, so they really hated the Germans for what they were doing to our people in Europe. I told them Erich was just scared and wanted to go home, but they still threatened to turn him in. After he left, we heard he'd been shot, and I thought he was dead. Just imagine my shock when I met up with him in London, England six years later."
"I really did die." Erich continued the story. "When I woke up in the hospital bed, they told me my heart had stopped beating. I knew I'd survived for a purpose, so I was more determined than ever to do whatever I could to make a difference in the world. I went back to medical school and got my degree. Then I found out my grandmother was ill and moved to London to take care of her."
"I was in London as an exchange student." Leah continued the story. "One weekend, I went horseback riding with my friend Louise and fell off and broke my arm. Erich was the doctor who took care of me. After the initial shock, we were overjoyed to see each other again, and soon our friendship picked up where it had left off, but then, tragedy struck. My friend was killed in a train crash along with the rest of her family - all except her big sister Sally."
"I was one of the doctors who helped out at the crash site, looking for survivors who needed medical care." Erich's voice quivered, and he had to wipe tears from his eyes. "It still hurts to think about those young lives, so full of hope and promise, snuffed out in a heartbeat. The memory will haunt me for the rest of my life."
"I'm sure it will!" said Ginny. "How terrible!"
"The loss of Louise really tore me up inside," said Leah. "She was like a sister to me. Then Erich and Sally became close, and I was afraid I'd lost him, too. I was thinking of returning to the United States, but Erich convinced me to stay and finish school in London. We fell in love and married right after I graduated."
"What a sweet love story!" said Ginny. "But how did you end up back here?"
"My sister had encephalitis and almost died," said Leah. "We returned home to find out the clinic's only GP was retiring. Erich offered to take over for him, and then I got pregnant with Anna and we ended up staying."
"Well, I'm glad you did," said Ginny. "If you hadn't, I'd have missed out on meeting some lovely people."
"Why, thank you!" said Leah.
Ginny knew she and Leah would always be good friends.
"I can't wait for the weekend!" said Annie.
"Neither can I!" said Yvette.
"It's going to be so much fun!" said Jo.
"You sure are quiet," Yvette said to Laura.
Laura shrugged. "I guess I just don't have anything to say."
"You are going, aren't you?" asked Jo.
"How can I? Stephen's in Vietnam," said Laura.
"You could still go," said Yvette.
"You mean by myself?"
"I'm sure you could find someone to go with."
"I don't want to be with anybody but Stephen."
"It's just a dance," Yvette pointed out.
Laura didn't answer.
She didn't say much for the rest of the evening.
"You sure were quiet at dinner tonight," Elizabeth said to her after the dinner dishes had been done. "What's on your mind?"
"Yvette thinks I should go to the school dance with another boy, but I don't want to be with anyone but Stephen!" Laura replied.
"Well, darling, it is just a dance," said Elizabeth.
"That's what Yvette said, but I'd still feel guilty about it."
"Stephen's away fighting in a war," said Elizabeth. "I don't think he expects you to just sit around waiting for him to come back. I think he'd understand if you wanted to go out and have a little fun."
"Well - maybe not," Laura conceded. "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't hurt anything just to dance with another guy."
Later that evening, she received an unexpected telephone call.
"Hi, uh, Laura? This is Timmy Jordan. You know, Jimmy's twin brother. Um, I don't have a date for the dance yet, and Annie said you might would go with me if I asked."
"Sure, I'd love to!" Laura replied.
