High Noon

Ch6

That night as I lay in bed I stared up at the ceiling and thought about Papa. 

Where was he now? Was he fighting the Germans? Did Papa ever think of Mama and me? Was he in the middle of fighting wondering when he would come home? Then another thought came to me would he know where we are? How could Papa find us?

Tears overflowed my eyes as the pain of missing him suddenly overwhelmed me and I whispered.

"Come home soon, Papa, please." 

I walked with Ruth we had set up a meeting spot in the marketplace we had seen each other at and when I saw her she had something clutched in her hands. Whatever it was smelled sweet and she was covering it with a cloth.

"What's that?" I asked her.

"Pain au chocolate," Ruth told me as she removed a little bit of the cloth to reveal a fluffy bread-like pastry.

Mama used to make Pain au chocolate a lot especially when I was little. 

It was a sweet bread with some chocolate in the center, it was simple and I usually didn't like it.

"My Mama is working in a bakery shop just down the street, and the owner let her have this, I've never had it before but we could try a little together," Ruth told me and I could tell she was excited to try it.

She walked me to her house which was just two houses down from me. 

Ruth's Grandma was listening to the radio on the couch and knitting.

"Bonjour, Ruth, this must be your friend Sophie." Her Grandma greeted her with a smile as she got up.

"Oui," Ruth confirmed with a smile.

"Bonjour, Madame." I greeted politely. 

"Bonjour, I'm about to make some bread, if you girls want you can help me." She said.

We helped her Grandma make the bread having to wait to eat our Pain au chocolate.

 I kneaded the bread folding it in half and then smoothing it down with the bottoms of my hands and then repeating it.

When the bread was made we ate some of that along with the Pain bread. The bread was nice and moist that we had made, but the Pain au chocolate bread was a disappointment. 

I and Ruth both exchanged disappointed looks and then burst out laughing.

When I got home or at least the place we had been calling home for the past two months that we had been here.

 I heard the radio in the living room and I smelled fresh herbs telling me that Madame Berna had gotten some from the store.

"Good, your back, help me with dinner," Claire told me with a smile as she began to cut carrots.

I helped make the soup which smelled amazing as I put in the carrots, celery, and potatoes.

When Mama got home she smiled and seemed excited about something.

"Honey, we can move, I finally bought a house."

I smiled she had been working as a teacher for months and had been searching for a house, and now we finally have one.

"That's wonderful," Claire said with a smile.

Mama hugged her thanking Madam Berna for everything and Claire hugged me as well saying that she was glad we had been here.

I packed my things upstairs feeling a sense of sadness to leave Claire and the place that we had called home for months now, but I was also happy to finally have found a house of our own again.