ham and sweet rolls and fresh juice. Fresh fruit also, if you like. We must have you healthy again,” she said, smiling. She rang the bell, speaking rapidly in French when the maid appeared. Minutes later, a platter of golden eggs and pink ham stared up at him, accompanied by sweet rolls dripping with creamery butter. He gulped the refreshing juice and didn’t question the miracle of fresh fruit in a war zone.
“I’m pleased, so pleased,” Mickey said. “You’ve both slept well, you’ve eaten a hearty breakfast, and now you’re going to rest. I must leave you darlings for a short while. I’m off to Marseilles. I’m certain you can find ways to amuse yourselves. I’ll return before dinner. We’ll have time to talk then. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
Both men stood. Reuben made a grimace that passed for a smile. Daniel grinned. Mickey called over her shoulder, “If you wish to brave the outdoors, ask Nanette for warm coats. Don’t get chilled.” Then she was gone, and all that remained of her was the scent of her perfume. Reuben rang the bell for a second cup of coffee. Daniel held his cup aloft for a refill.
“Tell me, how was last night, Reuben? Not details,” he said, flushing a rosy red. “Was it good? Did…did you make her happy? What was it like with her? Where did you spend the night?”
Reuben was tempted to lie, but he didn’t. “I spent the night in my own bed, alone. Nothing happened. I’d tell you if there was anything to tell.”
“But I thought…nothing?” Daniel exclaimed.
“Nothing,” Reuben affirmed. “I’ll tell you the truth. In a way I was relieved and in some way I was disappointed. Now, can we drop the subject? I know you’re itching to get into the library, so let’s do that first. I’ll read off the titles, but you aren’t to try to do any reading yet, agreed?” Daniel nodded happily. An entire room filled with books. What could be better?
Across the foyer from the drawing room they found the library. The tall windows allowed daylight to spill into the room, illuminating every corner. The room was cold, no fire had been laid in the hearth, but it was cozy despite the temperature. Leather chairs and chaises and small tables with reading lamps, a massive desk near the glass-paned doors leading to a small garden outside, and a dark Turkish carpet were all the furnishings necessary. The vaulted atmosphere was created by ceiling-high bookshelves, each holding a burden of leather-bound books, their spines lettered in gold. There were books in several languages, but Reuben was happy to note that an entire section had been devoted to English.
Daniel came to a dead stop in front of one shelf.
“Reuben,” he faltered.
“What is it, Daniel?”
“I…even close up, I…can’t make out the letters. I’m scared. I thought I’d be able to see better today than yesterday.” He tried to hide the quavering in his voice, the trembling of his hands. How he hated feeling this way! He was supposed to be a man now and accept things that couldn’t be changed.
“It…your eyes will be fine,” Reuben assured him. “It was exactly the same for me, too. I kept thinking I’d end up selling pencils on a street corner. Don’t forget our eyes were burned. It will ease, I’m telling you. Just don’t forget to use your eye drops. I just wish there were something I could do to make it easier for you.”
“Why? Who was there to make it easier for you? You had to go through it alone. If you could, then so can I,” said Daniel.
“That’s the right attitude. But you’re wrong. I did have someone. Madame Mickey kept me sane, kept me hopeful. She talked to me for hours, she made me believe I would see. The will is half the battle she would say. It wasn’t just me she encouraged, either. I’m very grateful to her.”
“When did she get smitten with you, Reuben? You never told me.”
Reuben laughed ruefully. “I don’t know that she is smitten with me. She talked to me for hours about her life with her husband. She said I was a good listener. She loves life. I can’t pick a time, really. One day she came up to my bunk, we talked of ordinary things, and then she invited me, just like that.”
“How did she find out about me?”
Reuben grinned. “From me, of course. I asked her to check on you and let me know how you were doing. Every day she brought me a report on your progress.”
“She could have invited anyone, Reuben. Anyone! She picked us. I hope she’s right about the war being over soon.”
“I hope so, too. I’ve had enough, we’ve given enough. I want to put this war behind me and go on. With or without Mickey’s help.”
Reuben wasn’t ready to discuss the Mickey issue further, not even with Daniel. He hadn’t figured it out in his own head yet. All he knew was whatever happened, however it had happened, he and Daniel were now a team. With will and motivation, he would succeed one way or another. Daniel would ultimately get to law school, that much was definite. “Why don’t I put a record on the phonograph for you,” he offered. “You can sit here and rest your eyes. You’ve been up for a few hours now, so you should have some compresses for at least an hour. What do you say?”
“Fine with me. What will you do meantime?”
Reuben smiled. Daniel’s anxiety was something they were both going to have to deal with. One way or another he had to wipe away Daniel’s fear, but he didn’t know how…yet. Maybe as Daniel’s eyesight improved, his confidence would return. “First I’ll go outside and get some air. Walk around this little country house and see how it looks from the outside. Then—hey, how much of the house have you taken in so far? Did Mickey show you around this morning?”
“Just as much as you, I guess. She was waiting for me when I came downstairs and took me right in for breakfast. Why?”
“Good! Then I’ll reconnoiter while you’re resting and report back with the details of my mission. Okay?”
When Reuben returned an hour later he found Daniel stretched out on the leather sofa with his slippers off and his feet propped on cushions. His good arm lay across the cast of the other, and for one crazy moment Reuben thought he was dead. Daniel stirred at the sound of his footsteps.
“Reuben?”
“Yes.”
“How long have you been gone?”
“Only an hour.”
“It seems longer.”
“Yes. Keep the compresses on a few minutes more,” he urged when his friend began to rise. “It’s not as though you have somewhere to go. They help, so keep them on as long as you can tolerate them.” Did his voice sound as paternal to Daniel as it did to himself? He burst out laughing when Daniel spoke.
“Yes, Father. I know you mean well. That’s how a father would sound, isn’t it, Reuben? Since I never had one, I have to rely on stories I’ve heard and my books.”
“I wasn’t trying to sound paternal. Brotherly, perhaps. As little as I can recall, my own father wasn’t a man of many words. Months went by and he hardly spoke to me.”
“Do you know how often I wished I had parents? I mean, I had them, but I don’t know who they are. I kept thinking all the time we were at the front that if
