Eva took Zoe's hand and kissed it tenderly. “We are both thinking of you.”
“And hope not to meet you up there for a long time,” Zoe quipped.
Eva shook her head and kissed Zoe on the lips.
“Ach, not in front of your mother!” Zoe said in mock outrage, and then leaned in for another kiss.
Eva got up and held out her hand for Zoe. With her free hand she crossed herself and blew a kiss to her mother.
“Who else do we have to visit?” Zoe asked.
“My grandfather,” Eva said and squeezed Zoe's hand. “He's over there.” Zoe followed Eva's gaze to the headstone that read, “Alexander Muller.”
Eva smiled, opened her handbag, and took out two cigars. Zoe shook her head as Eva took out some matches and lit both cigars. She stuck the cigar in the soil next to the headstone.
“There you go, Opa.” Eva sat down next to the headstone and crossed her legs. She took a puff of the cigar.
“What are you doing?” Zoe asked.
“Smoking with my opa,” Eva replied, and blew out some smoke. “I did this every time I came to visit him.”
“You smoked at his grave?”
“Yep. He wanted me to.” Eva patted the grass next to her. Zoe sat down. “When he was sick, before he died, he said to me that when I visited him, I was to bring his favorite cigars, and when the time came when he couldn't enjoy them with me, I would smoke them for him.”
“How old were you when he died?”
“Fifteen.”
“He wanted you to smoke them with him?”
“Hmm, he said that I was going to smoke them anyway so we might as well enjoy them together.” Eva grinned. “My grandmother was livid the first time she caught me smoking here after he died. She didn't know who to yell at first, him or me.” She chuckled at the memory. “Isn't that right, Opa,” she asked her grandfather. “Opa, this is Zoe. Zoe, this is my grandfather.”
“You let her smoke?” Zoe asked. “You let her smoke?”
“Watch out, Opa, Zoe is not happy.” Eva giggled and kissed Zoe lightly, knowing full well Zoe hated the cigar taste on her lips. Eva wasn't sure why, but she was feeling very light headed. Maybe it was the relief of finally visiting her mother's grave or the fact she was smoking her grandfather's favorite cigar at his grave again.
Zoe scrunched up her face. “You did that on purpose.”
“Yes, guilty.” Eva nodded solemnly before winking at her. “You forgive me?”
“No.” Zoe shook her head with a mischievous grin. “But because you promised to smoke that thing here, that's what you have to do.”
“I love you.” Eva blew a kiss at Zoe. Zoe smiled —the response Eva wanted.
“I'm going to leave you to smoke and talk to your grandfather.” Zoe got up and walked a little further down the hill.
“So, Opa, you like her? She's one of a kind.” Eva brought the cigar to her lips and puffed away. “I miss talking to you. It's been a long time. You have Mutti up there with you, and Willie. Papa isn't there; he's gone somewhere else…I told Mutti I forgave him for what he did…I don't want to talk about him. I don't know if I'm ever going to come back here again. I live in Australia now with Zoe. It's nice there, although it's not home. I can't come back here. Nothing is left here for me.”
Eva gazed at Zoe, who was reading the various headstones. “Oma has disowned me and I don't even want to know what the rest of the family thinks. A lot of things have happened, but the best has been Zoe.”
Eva looked up at the sky and wondered if she would ever see Germany again. More than likely this was her last visit. “I'm going to say goodbye now.” She stubbed out her cigar and put it in her bag. She knew it was also the last she would see of that cigar as soon as Zoe got a hold of her bag. She changed her mind, opened the bag, and lit the cigar. She took another puff and buried it lightly in the soil. “You can't waste a good cigar. Goodbye, Opa.” She kissed the headstone before getting up from the grass to join Zoe.
“Are you ready?”
“Hmm.” Eva nodded and took Zoe's hand. “I want to go home.”
“Well, you didn't sleep at all last night so—”
“No, I meant home. Our home.” Eva turned and took one long last look. “I'm going to be seeing my mother and grandfather when it's time over there.”
“I don't want that to happen for a very long time.”
“I'll try not to,” Eva promised.
“I'm going first.”
Eva stopped. “You're going first? Do we need to have this conversation now?”
“Probably not, but I'm telling you I'm going first.”
Eva closed the gate and took a final look before she turned with Zoe and walked away. “I don't want to have this conversation.”
“Too depressing?”
“Yes.”
“Fine, we won't have this conversation, but I'm still going first.”
Eva tapped Zoe on the nose. “I'm older.”
“I thought we weren't having this conversation.”
“Eva Muller?”
Eva was stopped in her tracks by the very familiar voice and she turned. Her past had finally collided with the present.
“Oh, dear God,” she whispered. “It can't be.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
“Who's that?” Zoe asked when Eva turned around.
Eva took a couple of steps towards the woman and then set off into a run to her.
Zoe didn't know who to look at first—Eva running or the woman dropping what she had in her hands and opening her arms to welcome her. “I'm going to guess this is a friend.” She shook her head and sprinted after Eva.
“My God, it is you!”
“Leila!” Eva exclaimed as she engulfed the woman in a bear hug, nearly lifting her off the ground in her exuberance. “My God, Leila.”
Zoe came to a stop near the two friends as Eva cupped Leila’s face and laughed. Leila was an elegantly dressed woman, as tall as Eva, with fire-red hair and deep green eyes. Zoe's smile broadened when she realized who this Leila could be.
“You're alive.” Leila held Eva at arm's length and laughed. “My God, I thought I was seeing things. I saw you and then I thought it couldn't be you, but the more I watched you, it dawned on me that I wasn't seeing things.”
Zoe could half follow what Leila was saying—she was talking so quickly Zoe could barely keep up. Her German was good, but she got lost when someone was talking excitedly and fast.
“Oh, my God,” Eva kept repeating while she hugged Leila.
“Effie, I need to breathe.” Leila laughed and took Eva's hands. “You're too skinny.”
“And you've got red hair.”
Zoe thought that's what Eva had just said, but didn't get the connection. She knew that trying to keep up with them was going to be a hit and miss affair, so she sat on a nearby bench and observed.
“We thought you were dead.” Leila took Eva's hand and led her to the bench where Zoe was sitting. They were quite oblivious to her presence, much to Zoe's annoyance at first, but then she realized that this Leila woman was seeing Eva for the first time since 1938.
“No, no, very much alive.” Eva laughed. “I don't know where to start.”
“Well, I have to say Oma kept this a secret from us.”
“Oma doesn't know I'm here.”
“Really?” Leila laughed. “We are talking about your grandmother, right?”
“I take that back.” Eva smiled. “She probably does know I’m here.”
“Wait until my mother sees you. Oh, she's going to be overjoyed. I see you've turned into an old hag, Fraulein Muller,” Leila teased as she cupped Eva's cheek. “You are so beautiful.”
Zoe frowned at the overly intimate gesture. Hmm Evy, did you leave anything out of that story you told me? It wasn’t just the intimate gesture, but Eva’s response as well. Eva never allowed anyone to touch her like that, other than Zoe. Eva’s demeanor fascinated her—her normally reserved partner was so relaxed.
“So are we going to be rude toward your friend here?” Leila asked.
Zoe saw Eva’s cheeks turn a bright shade of pink at the obvious afterthought. She turned to Zoe and had such an apologetic look on her face that Zoe laughed.
“Old age will do that to you, Evy,” she said in German.
Eva looked between Leila and Zoe. “I'm so sorry. Zoe, this is one of my dearest friends, Leila Becker, Willie's sister. Zoe this is my…”
“I'm her sister-in-law, Zoe Lambros.” Zoe stuck out her hand.
Leila leaned over and shook it. “Sister-in-law? Did you get married? Pleased to meet you, Zoe.” She smiled and then turned back to Eva. “You have so much to tell me. Were you visiting Opa? I can smell that awful cigar on you.”
Zoe raised her eyebrows at the very personal revelation and the very intimate way Leila put her arm around Eva’s shoulders.
Eva chuckled. “I would show it to you, but I left it with Opa.”
“Good place to leave it,” Leila quipped. “You visited your mutti?”
Eva nodded.
“I’m so pleased. You never got the chance to say goodbye. I’m glad you are here. I was just tending to...”
Eva’s eyes glistened.
“You know, don’t you?”
Eva nodded. “I think I’ve known for a long time.”
“Let’s wait a moment before I take you in,” Leila suggested.
Zoe internally smirked at the way Leila had not asked Eva if she wanted to come with her to Willie’s plot. What amused her the most was Eva’s quiet acceptance. She never surrendered so easily except to Zoe, and apparently for her first crush. Leila took Eva’s hands.
“He’s gone, isn’t he?”
Leila nodded. “Yes, darling, he’s gone.” She wiped the single tear that ran down Eva’s cheek. “He was injured in France and was brought home, but he never recovered.”
“Oh,” Eva whispered.
“I did take photographs of him.” Leila smiled. “His good side, of course.” They laughed at what sounded like a very private joke. “When you come to the house tomorrow, I will give you a copy. I’ve got the negatives and will print some off for you tonight.”
“His good side?”
Leila smiled at Zoe. “My brother used to say he looked much more handsome from the left than from the right side of his face. Crazy boy.”
“How was he?” Eva asked.
“Let’s not talk about that, darling. I want to remember him with you as that crazy boy who climbed your balcony to lie in bed with you when you had chickenpox,” Leila said affectionately.
“He climbed the balcony?”
“Oh, yes. He was told he wasn’t allowed near Eva because she had chickenpox. I think you were ten or something. My brother and Eva were inseparable, so naturally Wilhelm just didn’t want to listen—he climbed the balcony and got into bed with Eva.”
“He got his wish of catching chickenpox with me.” Eva laughed.
“He did. Your mother loved to tell the story of her coming into your bedroom to check on you and seeing Willie asleep next to you, his cherub face so peaceful.”
“He made chickenpox fun.”
“Not sure if your mother saw it like that. He started to play join the dots on your arms.” Leila chuckled. “The last time I saw you was in Aiden.”
“What?”
“You probably have no memory of that, but Papa pulled some strings with Willie’s commanding officer and we both went to Aiden to see you,” Leila said, and brushed Eva’s hair from her eyes.
“I don’t remember that.”
“No, I’m quite certain you don’t. You had just undergone surgery for the fibroids, and as shocking as that was, we were so glad they saved your life. You were still groggy.”
“You and Willie?”
“Yes, darling, Wilhelm and I came to see you. I went to speak to your uncle and left Willie alone with you. When I returned, what did I see? My little brother, who looked all grown up in his uniform, had taken off his shoes and jacket and was in bed with you.” Leila sighed at the memory. “That boy loved you so much.”
“I loved him.”
“I know.” Leila nodded. “He took off his signet ring and put in on your finger. He proposed to you and he claimed you said yes.”
“He proposed on the night he was due to leave,” Eva said quietly. “I said yes then.”
Zoe looked down at the ground and wondered how life would have been like had Eva stayed in Germany and not been forced to come to Larissa. She knew how life would have been for her—she was destined not to survive the war.
“Did you take a photograph of that?”
Leila smiled. “Of course. I don’t travel without my camera.”
“Can I have it?”
“Of course you can, darling. Tomorrow when you come over. Don’t be shocked about Mutti’s hand, alright?”
“What happened to your mother’s hand?”
“Your father didn’t tell you? Of course he didn’t.” Leila sighed. “On the night your mutti was killed, she was together with my mother.”
“Our mothers were together?”
“Yes. Those Brownshirts, they came looking for my mother. I think you need to hear the full story from her.”
“What’s wrong with her hand?”
“They shot it.”
“Oh, no,” Eva exclaimed and turned to Zoe. “Leila’s mother is a renowned artist—”
“Becker? The Marlene Becker, that’s who you are talking about, right? The Marlene Becker.”
Leila looked surprised. “Yes, have you heard of her?”
Zoe grinned. “Have I heard of her? Yes, absolutely.”
“You must be an artist.”
“She is. A very gifted artist.” Eva smiled at Zoe.
“Wow, Marlene Becker.” Zoe whistled.
“My mother was an outspoken critic of Herr Hitler and it reflected in her art, much to the annoyance of the Nazis. Why don’t you come to the house tomorrow and I’ll introduce you?” Leila suggested and smiled at Zoe’s very enthusiastic nod.
“Thank you.”
Leila turned to Eva with a sad smile. “Let’s go and say hello to Wilhelm, shall we?”
“If I don’t, then he’s not really gone, Leila.”
“You can’t do that, darling, because he is gone. I know you can’t say goodbye to him, but you have to,” Leila said gently. Eva nodded and got up from her seat. “Have you got another one of those horrible cigars?”
“I do.”
“Well, Willie did love smoking them with you, so you can leave him one.” Leila grimaced when Eva took out a cigar from her handbag.
Leila threaded her arm around the crook of Eva’s elbow and started to walk towards the mausoleum. She stopped and looked back at Zoe. “Are you coming, Zoe?”
“Yes,” Zoe replied and hurried along after them.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Eva was sitting on the bed lost in thought when Zoe came back from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She smiled and beckoned her over. She captured Zoe’s body between her legs. “You smell nice.”
“You’re not dressed yet and thank you.”
“Hm. I’ll get dressed soon.”
“How do you feel about going to the Beckers’ house?”
Eva studied the carpet for a moment, lost in the myriad of memories that swirled around in her head. “I'm nervous.”
“Why? They're your family. I know Tessa is family, but you have a history with the Beckers, a good history.”
“I know.”
“Why are you nervous?”
“I don't know. Marlene was always like a second mother. I was at their house as often as I was in mine, so I'm not worried about that. Leila is like a big sister—”
“You actually still have a crush on her.” Zoe smirked. “You do, Evy. There's nothing wrong with that.”
“Yes, there is, and no, I don't.”
“You don't have a crush on Leila?”
&n
bsp; “No.” Eva shook her head. “I grew out of that crush a long time ago. I'm a little hurt you would say that.”
Zoe grinned and Eva's pout morphed into a wry smile.
“Aww.” Zoe put her arms around Eva's neck and gave her a kiss. “I didn't mean it in a bad way, but you do look up to her. I noticed she's a photographer—she carried that camera in her bag.”
“Is there anything you don't notice?”
“Well, it was a little hard to miss. I'm going to make this really hard guess that Leila taught you photography and you wanted to be like her. Now, why don’t you get dressed and we can get out of here.”
“Are you alright?” Zoe asked as they turned onto a tree-lined street.
“Yes,” Eva replied a little unconvincingly while they walked along the pavement.
Zoe looked around. She was starting to understand a little of Eva’s background. Having Eva tell her about her upbringing and seeing it in person were two very different things.
Eva gave Zoe a knowing smile. “Yes, this is where I grew up.”
Zoe looked in amazement at the beautiful homes. “You came from here?”
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“It’s just another home.”
“No, it’s not. This is privilege,” Zoe replied. “I’m almost speechless. You worked in a factory…”
“Almost speechless?” Eva teased and bumped Zoe with her hip. “I worked in a factory. That’s not a big deal.”
“Yes, it is; it’s… Zoe stopped outside a gate that led to one of most beautiful houses she had ever seen, surrounded on either side by gardens. “Oh, wow.”
Eva chuckled and put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders. “Let’s not dawdle here. That’s where the crazy old lady lives. I bet she is still around.”
“You had one of those?”
“Every neighborhood has one. Remind me to tell you about my tangle with her dog Satan.” Eva took Zoe’s hand and they crossed the street.
“Her dog Satan?” Zoe asked while still looking behind her at the house.
“Ach! She’s here, she’s here,” a voice rang out in the midday stillness, which caused Zoe to forget the house. A rotund woman wearing an apron was running towards them with her arms open wide.
Awakenings (Intertwined Souls Series Book 4) Page 26