The car stopped in front of the Heyn’s old house. And they all pealed out, laughing. Nothing had changed, except the stucco was now a handsome light brown with dark brown wood trim, and the front door a deep blue. Tante Heyn stood in the entrance, beaming, her old eyes brimming with tears.
“What a WONNNNNDERFUL surprise,” she boomed, examining the children, hugging Anna. “You look beautiful. A lovely young mother,” and “come in, come in. I have made some chocolate milk. They like chocolate milk, don’t they?” she asked.
“How did you know?” said Anna, and Tante Heyn opened the door to the back patio, and Anna noticed the raspberry hedge in the same place by the fence, sunflowers on the other side and the old sandbox at the back of the lawn, a little worse for wear.
“I forgot to ask you how old they are,” said Tante Heyn. “I found these sand shovels and buckets in the basement?”
“Well, this is Anthony, he’s six, and that’s Emily. She’s two,” said Anna.
“Maybe they would get too messy?” mused Tante Heyn.
“No, it doesn’t matter. Let them just drink their chocolate milk. They’ll just go exploring. Don’t worry.” And Anthony took Emily by the hand, buckets and shovels in the other, they wandered down to the end of the yard.
Tante Heyn was superbly organized, just as she had always been. Tea was made and a pile of photo albums sat on the table.
“Sugar? Milk?”
“Yes, thank you. It’s just so good to see you again, after all these years. I was so afraid you’d moved, but here you were in the phone book. I almost jumped out of my shoes.”
“Yes, well. I did consider moving to West Germany after my Walther died. Oh, you wouldn’t know that, of course, we lost him two years ago, after a stroke. Walther junior was called to the bar, and he and my daughter-in-law wanted me to live closer, but I’ve lived here for thirty years now… it doesn’t make sense to start over somewhere else.”
Anna nodded.
“I have thought of you so often, have told people about you both. You did so much for us. But as I mentioned on the phone, I’ve lived in Canada for six years now. And I have my hands full with these two, at least for the moment.”
“Look, Anna. We have little time. There’s much territory to cover until your friend comes to pick you up again. So I chose these photo albums to keep us focused.” There they were, neatly organized pages, dated and numbered, their young son and the dog, young Walther and the maid’s child in the sandbox, Walther with his first two wheeler, Walther with Anna’s siblings, Nadja and Korinna, all on roller-skates. And here was a photo showing Foffie next to a car bearing a regal couple, waving.
“My in-laws,” said Tante Heyn with a fond smile. And so it went, photos of a wonderful trip to Switzerland and Italy that the Heyns had taken just prior to Walther’s stroke.
“He SOOOOOOO enjoyed himself. What a blessing we decided to take that trip,” said Tante Heyn with conviction.
“Now, tell me about your family. How is your dear mother?”
And Anna had related the story, that after moving away from this house she had attempted to live in a small apartment on her own, but couldn’t cope, and was now in a home with assistance in-house.
“Regular meals and medication. We’re all so relieved,” said Anna. Then she noticed the children standing in the sandbox, their eyes raised to the sky.
“I wonder what they’re looking at,” said Anna.
“Oh, I suppose they’ve discovered our watchtower,” said Tante Heyn soberly, with a deep sigh. Anna ran to the back of the yard and turned to look. There it was, less than three hundred metres from the sandbox, with two border guards, tommy guns over their shoulder, observing Anthony and Korinna through their field glasses.
“Come,” said Anna, “let’s go back to the house.”
“That’s what Walther can’t understand,” said Tante Heyn. “How I can live with this abomination day-in, day-out. And most days I can’t either. They blasted those two lovely old houses in the sand dunes to make room for that wall. Do you remember them? You children used to play over there every day.” Anna nodded. “But the idea of moving is just overwhelming. All my old friends are here. So many memories.”
They carried the dishes into the kitchen.
Anna was barely listening now. Brushed sand off knees and the sandals.
And here was Hilde with the car, to pick them up.