December 1943
Hanukkah began on December 22 that year, and although it was too risky to have a menorah, Ruby, Thomas, and Lucien joined Charlotte in lighting a single white candle on the first night of the Festival of Lights.
“Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the universe, who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah light,” Charlotte recited solemnly, her eyes closed, while the four of them held hands. “Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the universe, who performed miracles for our forefathers in those days, at this time. Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the universe, who has granted us life, sustained us, and enabled us to reach this occasion.” She opened her eyes and looked up with a half smile. “I might have gotten some of the words wrong. It was my papa who used to say the blessings.”
“It sounded beautiful, Charlotte,” Lucien assured her. “Should we say a prayer for your parents too?”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she nodded. Ruby waited for her to speak, but instead, the girl closed her eyes and remained silent. When she opened them again, she looked somber. “My prayers for them were in my heart. God knows what I was asking.”
“Amen,” Thomas murmured, and Ruby and Lucien followed suit.
They gathered each night to light the same candle again, and on the twenty-fifth, they celebrated Christmas together too. There were no presents, no tree, no feast, but the four of them were together, and that felt, to Ruby, like the greatest gift she could ask for. They had become a family, somehow, and though she’d never been a very religious person, she couldn’t help but feel that God was with them. God is present wherever love can be found, her mother used to say.
She didn’t have a doubt that Thomas loved her, and she him, but what had surprised her over the past few months was that she could see the same feelings reflected strongly in Lucien and Charlotte. Before the war, she would have said that they were too young to know what love was. But they’d both lost so much and had managed to find each other. It gave Ruby a feeling of hope, because she knew that if anything happened to her, Lucien would protect Charlotte with his life. He was a survivor, and he would make sure Charlotte lived too.
THE YEAR 1944 ARRIVED UNDER a dark shadow, although there was the sense throughout Paris that the tide was turning. The Americans were involved heavily in the war now, and Lucien often brought news of illicit BBC broadcasts that spoke of Allied victories against the Germans and Italians. Berlin was being bombed regularly, he informed them, and the Germans were surely growing weary. “It’s just a matter of time now,” he said again and again, grinning at Charlotte, and Ruby and Thomas would exchange concerned looks. Believing that the end of the war was on the horizon was certainly tantalizing, but it didn’t feel realistic. Not yet. And Ruby hated to think of Charlotte harboring the false hope that within a few months, her parents could be home.
Thomas continued to spend his days hidden in the closet and his nights in Ruby’s bed, but it was clear he was growing restless. He hadn’t been outside the apartment in more than two months for fear of drawing attention, but Ruby had caught him staring longingly out the window more than once. As much as he loved her, part of him must have yearned to return to the skies.
A few days after the new year, Lucien arrived at their door just past dawn, wearing a grim expression. “I’m not just here for Charlotte,” he said right away when Ruby opened the door, pulling a bathrobe around herself.
A shiver ran down Ruby’s spine as she stepped aside to let him in, closing the door behind him. “What is it?”
Lucien cleared his throat again, as if the words he needed to say were lodged there. “There’s word of a new escape line, Ruby. This one goes west, to the coast. It’s put together by MI9, British intelligence. It’s—it’s a way to get Thomas out. If you want.”
Ruby didn’t respond right away. Of course she wanted to get Thomas out. Didn’t she? After all, the sooner he left, the safer they all were. Yes, there would be risks involved in his escape, but she had to believe that a line established by MI9 would be as secure as possible. He wouldn’t have to sleep in a hidden closet or stay confined to a small apartment while the world went on without him. And he could once again try to make a difference in the war effort. She knew those things would make him happy.
But he would also be gone from her life, a thought that made her feel as if her heart were splitting in two. Though she’d known that the euphoria she’d felt over the past weeks couldn’t last, she still wasn’t prepared for it to end so abruptly. He’d promised to come back for her at the war’s end, but what if he didn’t survive the escape? What if he was killed in air combat a few months from now? What if someone came for Charlotte, and Ruby died protecting her? What if the arrests of last January finally led back to her door? If they parted now, there was no guarantee that she’d ever see him again. But she had no choice, and neither did he.
“Ruby?” Lucien asked into the silence.
“I’m sorry.” She refocused on the boy. His eyes were full of sympathy, and suddenly, she wanted to cry. But she had to be stronger than that. “Of course. I’ll tell him. Thank you.”
“If you’re not ready . . .” Lucien’s voice trailed off.
“But I must be. This is for the best, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
They stared at each other for a moment. “Let me go see if Charlotte is dressed yet. And I’ll tell Thomas you’re here.”
When Lucien’s knock had come, Thomas had hurried into the hidden closet, just in case. So when Ruby arrived back in her bedroom, it seemed, for a moment, like he was already gone. She could still see the imprint of his head on the pillow on the right side of the bed, still see the spot where the sheets had wrapped around him as he held her tight the night before. She sighed and shook her head before rapping lightly on the wall. “Thomas, Lucien is here. You can come out. He’s found you a way home.”
“YOU’LL HAVE TO LEAVE TONIGHT,” Lucien said ten minutes later as the four of them sat in the living room, their expressions somber. “There’s a bistro not far from here where one of the men who runs the escape line will interrogate you to ensure that you’re really an RAF pilot.”
Thomas looked confused. “Who else would I be?”
“A few of the escape lines have been infiltrated by German spies. They need to be absolutely sure that you are who you say you are before they take you to the next stop on the line.”
“And where is that?”
“I don’t know. I only know you’ll be heading west. The escape is by water rather than by land.”
Thomas looked surprised. “By water?”
“Across the Channel. From what I’ve heard, this plan was months in the making. But you’ll be among the first to test it. I’ve vouched for you, but the men involved in this escape line don’t really know me. So they’ll need to evaluate you for themselves.”
“Of course,” Thomas murmured.
“I, um, was hoping that you wouldn’t mind if Charlotte spends the day with me today,” Lucien said, glancing first at Charlotte and then at Ruby. “I have a lot of work to get done, and I could really use her help.”
Ruby smiled at him sadly. Charlotte left with him every day; there was no need to ask her permission anymore. But she understood what he was saying: he was promising that Ruby and Thomas would have the apartment to themselves. “Of course,” Ruby said.
“Good.” Lucien smiled encouragingly at her. “We’ll be back at five so I can bring Thomas to the bistro.”
“Thank you, Lucien.” Thomas stood and shook the boy’s hand. Lucien stood too, and Ruby had the strange, fleeting thought that they could almost be father and son—or at the very least, brothers.