In The Presence Of My Enemies

"I wasn't sure what I thought of this whole election business," Heinrich said. "Sounds like everybody's excited about it, though."

"Sure does," Willi agreed. "I'm as surprised as you are, maybe more so. And once the votes get counted, I can think of some other people who'll be more surprised yet." He mouthed Lothar Prutzmann's name, but he didn't say it out loud, not in a restaurant full of strangers.

"Someone else might be surprised, too." Heinrich mouthed the Fuhrer 's name, and Willi nodded. "I don't think he expected Rolf to get so popular so fast."

Willi nodded again, but he said, "Still, the two of them ought to be able to work together. They're going in the same direction. It's not like that other fellow, the one who wants to turn back the clock."

"No, I wouldn't think so. I sure hope not," Heinrich said. "The only thing that worries me is, what happens if the one of them gets jealous of the other?" Yes, not naming names was definitely a good idea. A few months earlier, Heinrich wouldn't have dared to talk about Party rivalries in a public place with or without names. Back in the days when Kurt Haldweim was Fuhrer, he would have been leery about doing it even if private.

As usual, Willi Dorsch had more nerve than he did (of course, Willi hadn't been hauled away from his desk by the Security Police, either). "Buckliger should've run for the Reichstag himself," Willi said. "This way, Stolle will be able to say, 'The Volk chose me, but who chose you?' If elections really do stick, that could matter. It could matter a lot."

"You're right," Heinrich said. Willi might not notice something like his wife making a play for another man, but he missed very little when it came to politics.

And, when Heinrich tried to pay the tab, Willi wouldn't let him. "Next time, fine, but not right after the Security Police let you go. You don't need to show me you're no cheap Jew. I believe it."

"That's nice," Heinrich said. Willi laughed at the irony in his voice. But it held more irony than Willi knew. It was especially nice that Willi thought Heinrich wasn't a Jew when he really was. Had Willi-or anybody else-been truly convinced he was, he wouldn't be full of Japanese food right now. He would have been disposed of, and so would his children.

Willi got to his feet. "Shall we head back?" he said. "I know you're dying to, with all the catching up you've got to do."

Heinrich rose, too. "I don't mind," he said. Willi rolled his eyes and shook his head at such dedication. Heinrich meant it, though. He wasn't dying to get back to the office, but, as he'd thought a moment before, he would have been dying-or dead-if he couldn't go back. Given that stark choice, sitting at a desk and adding up long columns of figures didn't look bad at all.

Alicia Gimpel's class went out to eat their lunches and play on the schoolyard. She was about to walk out with the other boys and girls when her teacher called her name. She stopped. "What is it,Herr Peukert?" she asked.

"You've only been back in school for a couple of days, Alicia," he said. "You don't need to work so very hard to make up all the assignments you missed."

"But I want to get them out of the way!" Alicia exclaimed. "Then I won't have to worry about them any more."

"I'm not going to worry about them now, or not very much,"Herr Peukert said. "You're a good student, and you've shown you can understand the material. That's what really matters." He hesitated, then went on, "And it's not as if you could help being absent, not with what happened to you. I'm glad you're back."

"Thank you,Herr Peukert. I'm glad I'm back, too," Alicia said. "Are you sure it's all right about the work? I don't mind doing it." Like her father, she was glad to have the chance to work.

"Yes, I'm sure." The teacher hesitated again. Finally, nodding to himself, he asked, "Has anyone given you a hard time about…about where you were, and why?"

"No, sir," Alicia answered, which wasn't strictly true. Wolf Priller and a couple of other boys had teased her, but it hadn't been too bad-certainly nothing where she felt she ought to tattle. "But…" Now she was the one who paused.

"But what?"Herr Peukert asked. "The charge made against you was serious, but it was false. Now that it's been shown to be false, people have no business-none-throwing it in your face. Do you understand?"

"Ja, Herr Peukert." Alicia would have let it go at that if her teacher hadn't sounded angry that anybody could still be bothering her. Since he did, though, she added, "It's not me, sir-it's my sister."

"Some of the students in your sister's class are giving her trouble?" Peukert sounded angrier still. "Who is your sister's teacher? We'll deal with this."

Alicia's heart sank. She wished she'd kept her mouth shut. "Francesca's in, uh,Frau Koch's class, sir." She'd almost saidthe Beast's class, but not quite. "The boys and girls aren't giving her any trouble, though. It's…it's Frau Koch." She waited to see if the sky would fall.