Charlotte stood with her back to the door for a long time. Her apartment was silent, her parents in bed. She’d heard a commotion in the hall and had gone to the door to investigate. Perhaps it was Monsieur Benoit, up to no good again, she’d thought. If she could see what he was doing, she would have something to share with Ruby. But instead, when she peered out, she realized there was a strange man in the shadows outside Ruby’s apartment, knocking insistently. She had opened the door a crack, intending to tell him, in her firmest possible voice, to go away, for Ruby already had so much to deal with. But then Ruby’s door had opened and the light spilling into the hall had revealed his uniform. Charlotte had frozen, terrified.
At first, she’d thought the man was German. After all, she’d gotten accustomed to seeing German uniforms spreading across her city like a growing mold. But his voice sounded different, and as he spoke in low tones to Ruby, she made out a few familiar words—Sorry. Flying. Thank you—and she’d realized he was speaking English. So he was British, then, or perhaps even American. He had to be. And he must be a pilot too. There was no other reason an Allied soldier would be in Paris.
Before she’d stopped going to school, Charlotte had overheard gossip from her classmates that there were Resistance networks sprinkled throughout Paris, French citizens who smiled to the Germans’ faces and behind their backs helped pilots who’d been shot down. She knew, too, that the penalties were stiff for those who were caught working against the Nazis. The men were most often executed, the women shipped off to prison camps in Germany.
But Ruby was helping? Why hadn’t she said anything? Charlotte had thought she and Ruby were friends, but friends confided in each other. Friends trusted each other. The only explanation was that Ruby saw her as merely a child. But Charlotte was twelve and a half now, old enough to help out, old enough to make a difference. Besides, she could keep a secret. Even from her parents. Ruby could trust her. Charlotte was determined to prove it.
She snuck into the kitchen, where she packed a small bundle for the airman: a little cheese, some stale bread, sardines in a can. Ruby’s rations weren’t any more plentiful than hers, and though she knew her parents would probably notice the missing items, she vowed she’d simply eat less over the next week to even the scales. If she arrived at Ruby’s door with food for the fugitive, surely Ruby would see how serious she was about joining her secret mission.
Charlotte checked on her parents before she left to make sure they were sleeping soundly. Maman was curled on her side, her shoulder rising and falling, and Papa was on his back, snoring loudly. They were both deep sleepers; there was no way that she would wake them now as she slipped out of the apartment.
A moment later, she knocked on Ruby’s door. She heard shuffling inside, but no one answered. She knocked again, but there was still no answer, only silence from within. Finally, she rapped for a third time and said quietly through the door, “Ruby, open up! It’s Charlotte! I know about your airman.”
There was a moment of quiet, and then Charlotte could hear footsteps. The door swung upon to reveal Ruby, red-faced, staring down at her.
“Charlotte!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing up?”
“I know about your airman,” Charlotte repeated, presenting her carefully assembled bundle. “That’s what he is, right? I’ve brought him some food.”
Ruby’s face went blank, though Charlotte noticed her cheeks were still flaming. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. There’s no airman here.”
“Ruby,” Charlotte said slowly, her feelings hurt, “I saw him.”
“Charlotte—”
“No! I’m tired of everyone treating me like a child! Maman and Papa act like I have no idea what’s happening, but I see it every day. I understand way more than they think I do. And you! I thought we were friends. But friends don’t keep secrets like this.”
Ruby blinked a few times. “Come in.” She put a hand on Charlotte’s shoulder. “But you must be quiet. And you mustn’t breathe a word of this. It could get us all killed.”
Her heart thudding, Charlotte stepped into the apartment and looked around as Ruby closed the door. The pilot was nowhere to be seen. “Where is he?” Charlotte asked.
Ruby sighed. “Charlotte, dear, I’m not keeping things from you because I believe you’re a child. I know you’re not; this war has forced us all to grow up. And I feel that we’re friends too. But some things are better not to discuss.”
“Why?”
“Because if you’re ever questioned by the police or by the Germans, you could be in danger. I’m American, so they might be more careful in the way they treat me. But you’re—” She stopped speaking.
“I’m Jewish,” Charlotte filled in. “That’s what you were going to say.”
“Yes. Yes, Charlotte. And if there’s ever a problem, I want you to be able to say you haven’t seen anything.”
“But I have seen something. I saw the airman!”
Ruby turned away, placing her hands on the kitchen counter and staring out the window into the darkness beyond. Finally, she turned back around. “Honey, if the Germans come asking, you need to be able to deny having any involvement in anything illegal.”
Charlotte held up the care package. “I’m already involved. See, I’m feeding your airman.”
Ruby eyed the bundle. “Your parents will notice.”
“I’ll tell them I ate the food myself. They’ll be angry, but it will be okay. It’s better than him starving, isn’t it? I know you don’t have enough food.”
“I have some.”
“And now you have more. If he’s injured, he’ll need his strength back, right?” Charlotte could see Ruby wavering, so she pressed on. “Ruby, I hate being helpless. There’s not much someone my age can do to assist the Allies.”
“It’s not just people your age, Charlotte. I feel helpless too.”
“Then let’s help together.”
Charlotte was certain Ruby was about to say no. But then there was a mighty crash from the back of the apartment. Ruby ran toward it, and Charlotte ran after her.
In the bedroom, they found a scene that would have been laughable if they weren’t both so on edge. The airman was half-buried in a mound of clothes on the floor outside Ruby’s wardrobe. Charlotte realized in an instant that Ruby must have hidden him there when she heard a knock at the door, and he’d somehow managed to fall out.
“Dexter?” Ruby said loudly, rushing to the airman’s side. “Dexter, are you all right?”
To Charlotte’s relief, the airman was awake, and he struggled to sit up, his face red. He mumbled something that Charlotte couldn’t understand. Ruby replied in English, and it was then that he noticed Charlotte. His eyes widened.
“He said he was feeling a bit weak,” Ruby said, turning to Charlotte. “I think he may have lost more blood than he realized.”
“How did he come to be here?”
“I was just about to ask him that when you knocked on the door,” Ruby said. “Now let me explain to him who you are and that you don’t mean him any harm.”
She turned back to the man and said something in rapid English. He glanced up at Charlotte once more and smiled, almost shyly. “Merci,” he said with an awful accent. “Merci beaucoup.”
Ruby turned back to Charlotte. “I explained that you brought him a bit of food and that you’re a friend who can be trusted. Now, do you think you can help me get him up?”
Charlotte moved quickly to the airman’s side. Up close, he smelled of grease and grass. He was breathing shallowly, there were beads of sweat on his tanned forehead, and his eyes were glassy.
“Just grab him under his left arm there and help me lift,” Ruby said. “We’ll take him to the dining table, all right?”
Charlotte nodded, and on the count of three, they hoisted the man, who was heavier than he looked, and helped him into the other room, where he collapsed into a chair. He looked terrible, but he was sitting upright, his eyes open, which was an improvement from a few minutes earlier.
Ruby said something to the airman again, and he smiled, first at her and then at Charlotte. Charlotte found herself blushing; he wasn’t so very many years older than she was.
“I thank you helping me,” he said in broken French, turning to Charlotte. “I know it is danger.”
Charlotte smiled and said carefully in English, “You’re welcome,” just like Ruby had taught her. Then she turned to Ruby and said, “Perhaps it is better for him to speak in English. You can tell me what he says.”