All God's Children Read Online Free PDF Page B

tantrums. As the two women washed the dishes, Beth was well aware that something beyond the conversation at dinner had caused her to become so upset—perhaps something that had occurred while she was out shopping earlier. Whatever the reason, Beth had learned that it was best to address the situation directly rather than allow it to fester overnight.
    “I apologize for upsetting you earlier,” she said, taking a freshly washed serving dish from her aunt and wiping it dry. “I know that sometimes I say things that—”
    Aunt Ilse wheeled around and glared at her. “You must mind your tongue, Beth. These are troubling times—dangerous times. We know nothing of this man—this Josef Buch.”
    “I thought he studied with Uncle Franz.”
    “As have any number of such young men, but is that enough? Is that all we need to know to take him in, to have him living here, taking meals with us, engaging us in conversations that might ultimately be reported?”
    Ilse was whispering, although she and Beth were alone in the kitchen. They could hear the men walking around the bare boards of the attic above them. “Reported?” Beth asked.
    Her aunt heaved a sigh laden with frustration. “Sometimes you are as distracted and dense as Liesl is. This man’s father works for the government—has quite a high position in the Gestapo right here in Munich. His mother entertains regularly, and word has it that some of the highest ranking politicians have sat at her table—perhaps even Herr Hitler himself.”
    “Uncle Franz explained his reasons. I don’t understand….”
    Ilse shut off the water and wiped her hands on her apron. “Of course you don’t understand. What do you know of the way things are here? The way everything has changed?”
    Beth struggled to control her bent toward impatience when it came to her aunt’s hysterics. Sometimes Ilse still treated her as if she were the newly arrived teenager instead of a twenty-five-year-old woman. “I understand more than you may realize. I’ve lived in this country for eight years, after all, and in that time—”
    “Ha! ‘My country was founded on the principle of religious freedom,’” Aunt Ilse mocked, practically hissing the words. “Well, I must remind you that you are not living in
your
country. You are living in
this
country, where things are very different. And as an American living in the very birthplace of the Nazi Party, you bring all of us under scrutiny. There are things that you—” She bit her lip as if to stop her tirade and turned her attention to scrubbing a pot.
    “Auntie Ilse,” Beth pleaded, “tell me what has upset you so.”
    The scrubbing slowed and finally stopped as Ilse let the pot sink into the suds. “This morning I was on the telephone with Gudren Heinz and heard a clicking sound on the line. She professed not to hear it, but she certainly got off the line quickly. What if the government has tapped our telephone? What if they have taken notice of the meetings for worship we host and these so-called literary soirees? What if they have decided to watch us because we are harboring an enemy—an American? What if that young man’s father sent him here to spy on the professor—on you?”
    “Surely Uncle Franz—”
    “Your uncle is a good and decent man who believes in the goodness and decency of all men. He is, in these times, a fool.” Ilse pressed her fist to her lips as if she would take back those harsh words. “And I can’t protect him—or Liesl,” she whispered, her voice cracking as she turned away. “And you…”
    Beth folded her dishtowel into precise thirds and then folded it in half and in half again while she considered her next words. “Shall I move out?”
    “Of course not,” Ilse snapped. “You are the daughter of my husband’s beloved sister. Liesl adores you. You are family.”
    “Then what do you want of me?”
    “I want you to keep your distance from this doctor—this Josef Buch. I want you to keep your