My German Lover, Part 22

Suddenly, Paul rose up and, as he was walking out of the drawing-room, Will anked him:

"...Where the hell are you going like that, in the middle of our discussion... What's the matter?"

Paul turned to look back at Will and said:

"...I'm going to pay a visit to... my next-door neighbours..."

"What are you going to tell them?"

"...I have four minutes to think about it!"

An hour and a half later, Paul was back and Will looked at him: He was as white as a ghost, and his hands were shaking. He sat down and said:

"...They were born in Brussels! Their son is a French citizen, since he was born in Paris... But they are not! They said they never bothered themselves with such details..."

"Shit! What are they going to ..."

"They are packing a few things... jewels, mostly..."

"Where are they going?"

"...They are coming over here..."

"Huh?"

"...Where the hell do you want them to go? They have no place to go... They are no longer young... "

"...What about their son?"

Paul raised his head and looked at Will straight in the eyes:

"...They don't know where he is. He's with the résistance... All they know is that he's with the Front National* (...)"
(*Not to be confused with a far-right political party that actually exists in France today...)

"That's the group founded by the French communist party, ins't it?", Will asked, stunned...

"Yes... And I don't care!"

"...We're talking about the résistance, here... These guys shoot at us!"

"...I don't think we have time now to think about that, do we? Remember: We're talking about my Jewish neighbours... not their son!"

"...Right. (...) But even if they come over here... They can't stay here... Sooner or later, they would get arrested, and we would be in big troubles, you and me!"

"What else can we do? We must help them...", Paul said.

Will started thinking that, indeed, what they were about to do could lead them into big troubles... He was a German officer... helping Jews... and worst: Hiding them! He prefered not to think about the consequences for him, should the Gestapo ever find out!

"Yes..." Will answered... "We must help them... that's the right thing to do, so let's do it!"

Paul looked at Will and, with a big smile on his face, he said:

"...I knew that's what you were going to say! And I love you Will..."

An hour later, Mrs & Mr Bloomfield were knocking on the door, and as Paul opened it, they quickly made their way inside...

They all went to Paul's study and closed the doors behind them: Paul didn't want any of the servants to see Mrs & Mr Bloomfield, so if later they were questioned by the police, they could swear they had not seen them...

"I can't believe this is happening to us...", Mrs Bloomfield said, with tears in her eyes...

"...We don't know for sure Paul is right, dear", Mr Bloomfield said to his wife... "But I think it's better for us not to take any chance..."

"But... We can't leave everything behind us like that... Our home.. Why? We have not done anything wrong! Why us?", the old lady asked...

"...As long as we are alive, the rest doesn't count, dear...", Mr Bloomfield answered, showing a very resigned face...

"You're right, Mr Bloomfield: There are questions we can not answer for the moment... For now, let's make sure you're in no danger... Later, we'll have time to think..."

"What are we going to do now?", Mr Bloomfield asked...

They all turned to look at Paul for an answer!

Like if I had the answer to that question, Paul thought to himself! What the hell are we going to do now, he thought...

"What about a Cognac?", he asked...

Everyone agreed, and while he was serving Cognac to his guests, he was thinking. And thinking fast!

"I can't hide them in the attic... Nor can I hide them in the cellar... They are no longer young, and anyway, the mansion could be searched", he thought to himself. "I could take them to Bagatelle... or to La Vacherie... but... before long, the servants over there would become suspicious... They would start asking questions... We're not sure we can count on them to keep such a secret... They could be scared and run to the police... No! That's not the solution...", he thought...

While he was serving Cognac, Paul knew very well all the eyes were on him... They were all expecting an answer from him...

Then, it hit him in the face!

"YES!", he shouted out...

Everybody looked at him, stunned by his sudden reaction...

"We are all going for a car ride...", he said, with a big smile on his face...

Then he rose up, went to his desk, took the phone and made a call.

"Thank you for talking my call" he said to his interlocutor... "No... I'm in Paris... I can't explain to you right now... but we're going to pay you a visit tonight. I have a big, a very big favour to ask you... Yes... No: I can't explain over the phone, sorry! But don't go to bed until we get there... And please: Don't say a word about our visit... You'll understand later. Yes... And thanks ... a lot... see you later tonight!"

He hung up, then turned and said to Will:

"Come with me for a minute: I need to talk to you... Please, excuse us, Mrs & Mr Bloomfield... it won't take long..."

Will and Paul walked over to the drawing-room, and Paul said to Will:

"Call Lutz... We need him! Tell him to come over here as quick as possible... and tell him to bring your uniforms! Tell him it's urgent! Don't tell him anything over the phone..."

"... What the hell is going on? Why do we need Lutz?", Will asked, flabbergasted...

"We need a second driver... No time to explain... stay near the front door, and as soon as he gets here, bring him here and let me know... I'll then explain everything to both of you..."

"I hope you know what you're doing...", Will answered.

"...Do you trust me?", Paul asked...

"With my life!", Will answered.

"Fine! Call Lutz..."

Paul left Will and walked back to his study. He sat down near Mrs & Mr Bloomfield, looked at them straight in the eyes, catched his breath, then explained his plan to them...

"... Do you think you can make it?", Paul asked his neighbours... "That's the only way out..."

"It's risky... all the roads are closely garded...", Mr Bloomfield answered...

"Yes, I know. But I've menimized the risks... and in a few minutes, don't be scared when you see my cousin and one of my friend in German uniforms... That's part of my plan..."

"Are you the devil?", Mrs Bloomfield asked, smiling...

"No... but almost!", Paul answered, grinning...

As soon as Lutz got there, Will came to fetch Paul and they walked back to the drawing-room, where Paul explained his plan...

"You don't have to accept, Lutz... If you don't, I'll understand... I know what I'm asking you is very dangerous... And you don't even know my neighbours..."

Lutz grinned and said:

"I'm in with you! When do we leave?"

Paul smiled to his friend and said:

"...As soon as the servants are all gone to bed. Just bring your car inside the underground garage... Will will go with you... then, put on your uniforms..."

"Fine!", Lutz and Will answered.

Later that night, Paul made sure all the servants had gone to bed, then he lead Mrs & Mr Bloomfield to the underground garage.

As soon as they got there, they looked at Will and Lutz in their German uniforms, and Paul said:

"Perfect! We could swear you are German officers... Oh... but that's not all..."

Paul took something out of his pocket and walked over to his father's official car: On the hood, there was a small flag stick where a French flag used to stand, as his father used to be a minister with the French cabinet...

All the others could see was Paul's back... and they had no idea about what he was doing...

Then he turned to face them and, with a big smile on his face, he said:

"Voilà!"

They all looked at the car and saw a... Nazi flag... soundly attached to the flag stick...

"Thank God your father is not here to see that...", Mr Bloomfield said, stunned!

"He would be doing the same...", Paul proudly answered... "Now, let's go... and sorry for the inconveniences..."