Susan whispered, “keep smiling any more like that and your face is going to turn funny.”
“Susan!” Sally burst out laughing at her neighbor’s comment before linking arms with her. “I’m so glad you are coming up too. Pity Maggie didn’t want to come but she says she is too old.”
“Mark would never have forgiven me if I hadn’t agreed to go. He and Tom said you were going, so I thought it was a good idea.”
Sally chuckled. “That’s what Tom told me. You were going and could we please go too.”
They looked at the boys.
“Aunt Sally, Mrs. Fletcher’s family are heading to Parliament Square. Can we go with them and sit by the Houses of Parliament? That’s the best spot we reckon.”
Sally and Susan Fletcher rolled their eyes; they were at it again. “Can Ruth stay with you? Us boys want to explore.”
“Tom, what have I told you before. You and the Bernstein girls arrived here from Germany together. That bond is unbreakable and I won’t have you ignoring Ruth. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Aunt Sally.”
Sally ignored his fed-up expression.
Tom and Ruth Bernstein had once been very close due in part to the Kindertransport and also to the fact Sally’s closest friend Maggie had taken Ruth and her sister Rachel into her home. As the children got older, Tom had veered towards the boys. Ruth had some English friends but Maggie said she missed Tom.
“Aunt Sally, they say Mr. Churchill will speak at 3 pm. We won’t be able to see him but we can hear him, as they will have loudspeakers outside. Just think, he will be a few feet away from us yet people all over the world will be listening to him. Won’t they?”
“Yes, Tom.”
“After, we could wander through St James’ Park and round by Trafalgar Square to the Health Ministry. They say Mr. Churchill is going to speak again at five – he must have a lot to say.” Tom squinted his eyes at the thought, making Sally exchange an amused glance with Susan.
“What about my visit to the Royal Family, Tom?” Sally couldn’t resist teasing the youngster. She loved him almost as much as Liesl although she’d never admit to having a favorite. Both had been with her since the day they arrived at Liverpool Street station. She could still see Tom’s tear-stained face as he told her, via an interpreter, that the Germans had stolen his teddy. Her heart raged at the memory even after all these years and despite the countless atrocities reported in the paper, she simply couldn’t understand how any man could have torn a teddy-bear from a child.
“Aww, do you have to go and see them? You could see them any day.”
“But Tom, you said yourself this is a special day and me being English, I have to see my King and Queen.”
As his face fell, she couldn’t stop herself from laughing. “I’m teasing you, sweetheart. I would love to see them, of course, but it might not be possible. The whole country will be looking to be near them. Our brave Royal Family who stayed by our side through thick and thin. No running away for them.”
Tom rolled his eyes, having heard more than once about the virtues of Dear Queen Elizabeth who refused to take the princesses to live in safety, in Canada. Instead, she had insisted on staying by her husband’s side and facing whatever the Germans wished to throw at them.
The train arrived at Waterloo and everywhere you looked were people dressed in all sorts of gay colors. Women wore flowery dresses with garlands of red, white and blue around their necks, or in their hair. Even the men had buttonholes. She gave Tom a couple of coins to buy some flags and was touched when he came back with a hair ornament for Liesl and a matching one for Sally.
“You aren’t going to wear it, are you?” Enid said, her face all pinched into a sour expression.
“Of course, I am. Why would I disappoint the child? Anyway, it’s a special day and we are going to have some fun. Come on Enid, the war is over. Loosen up and live a little bit, will you?”
“I want one too,” Susan said before Enid could argue. “Lead the way, Sally. Let’s make this a day to remember. Children if you get lost, ask a policeman to direct you to the main gate at the Houses of Parliament. We will find you there.”
“Buy one for Maggie too. She’d like a reminder of the occasion, since she couldn’t make it.”
“Yes Mrs. Fletcher, Yes Ma,” the children chorused and then they were off, surrounded by people smiling and clapping. Sally knew everyone was happy the war, at least in Europe, was finally over. But what would the next few weeks, months, and years bring? She gripped Liesl’s hand tighter, telling herself she didn’t want the child getting lost in the crowd but the reality was, she never wanted to let her go. Of course, she hoped Trudi, her mother, had survived the war but she really didn’t want her to claim her daughter. Sally loved
