Mila 18 - Leon Uris [128]
ALEXANDER BRANDEL
Alex was instinctive about bad news. The moment Ervin Rosenblum walked into his office he knew something had gone wrong. Ervin paced and wrung his hands.
“Out with it.”
“My pass to the Aryan side has been revoked.”
“Has De Monti protested?”
“He left for the eastern front four days ago. He doesn’t know yet.”
“Confidentially, it is just as well you are inside the ghetto with us.”
“But all the contacts on the Aryan side ...”
“It was getting more difficult for you to see anyone, and De Monti refused to co-operate. You were being watched every minute. Ervin, I’ve been thinking. You can fit right in here at Mila 19. We need you in several positions.”
“Like for example?”
“Orphans and Self-Help cultural director. Nu, don’t shrug and make faces. The arrangement of debates, concerts, theater, chess tournaments becomes more and more important to give the people something to think about other than misery. What do you say?”
“I say that you are a good friend.”
“Another thing. The Good Fellowship Club. I can’t keep up with all the material coming in to the journal. I have been thinking for a long time. Build a secret room in the basement. With you putting time in, we could really expand the archives.”
Ervin shrugged at what he felt was charity.
“Think it over, Ervin. Let me know.”
That evening Susan Geller came to Ervin’s flat. Since the ghetto, they had had little time for each other. Susan was nearly completely married to the orphanage and Ervin was on the Aryan side most of the time. They met about once a week at Good Fellowship Club meetings, usually too weary to pursue personal pleasures. Their unofficial engagement seemed destined to go unresolved.
“Susan!” Momma Rosenblum cried with delight.
“Hello, Momma Rosenblum.”
“You heard?”
“Yes.”
“So maybe cheer him up a little.”
Ervin sat on the edge of his bed, staring glumly at the hole in the toe of his bedroom shoe. She sat beside him, creaking the bed.
“So maybe you’ve come to pray over the corpse,” he said.
“Shut up. Alex has offered you a responsible position. So, stick up your nose. Be a martyr.”
“I am glad you stopped by to cheer me up with your tender consolation.”
“Ervin, you’ll take the job?”
“I have a choice, maybe?”
“Stop krechtzing. Alex is very excited about the plans for a secret room in the basement. You know how important the work on the journal is.”
“All right all right I’m bubbling with happiness.”
“Confidentially, Ervin, I am just as happy that you don’t go to the Aryan side any more. I have been afraid for you, even with your fancy super-official papers.”
“That’s something. I didn’t think you had time to think about me.”
“Ugh, you are in a mood. Of course I think about you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Ervin,” she said, taking his hand, “on the way here I was giving this all a great deal of meditation. We’re not getting any younger and God knows I’ll never grow pretty. With conditions as they are and so forth and so forth and so forth, perhaps we should consider getting married. In addition to the fact that already we should be having a little pleasure now and then, there are very practical reasons. For example, you’ll be working at Mila 19 most of the time. It will be difficult for you to keep up this flat. So, why should we waste space? If we are married, Alex will give us our own room on the second floor and you can move Momma in and so forth and so forth.”
He reached over and kissed her on the cheek. “How can a man resist a proposal like that?”
Journal Entry
Ervin and Susan were married yesterday by Rabbi Solomon. It is about time.
ALEXANDER BRANDEL
Chapter Twenty-six
CHRIS RETURNED TO WARSAW from the eastern front to find Rosy gone, his office and apartment thoroughly searched and filled with hidden microphones, and his private line to Switzerland unavailable.
He dialed Rosy’s number in the ghetto, to learn the phone was disconnected; then stormed to the