Chapter Thirty

When the answers didn’t come in a dream, Kate began to panic. After three days with the shoe, she had no answers and no clues on how to find those answers.

The prospect of having come so far and risking so much ate at her insides. She could still see the slump of Johnny’s shoulders as he blended into the crowd. She missed him. More than when he went away to boot camp. She had taken for granted that he was always there to listen to her problems and help her figure things out. She took a deep breath. If nothing else came of this trip, she’d at least learned how important he had become to her.

And then there was Malwinka. It seemed as if she assumed Kate wasn’t trying very hard because she didn’t trust the Burgosovs. That was half true. She didn’t fully trust them, but she was trying. If only Aunt Elsie could have come with her. Together they’d be able to work out what to do. Even Nessa might have been a help. She knew even less than Kate, but she, at least, was eager to test things out.

Each morning, Malwinka asked her if she’d discovered the secret of the shoes. She hadn’t. How long would Malwinka let it go on before she pronounced the experiment a failure and asked for the shoe back?

All throughout breakfast on the fourth day, Kate worked up her courage. The others—the maid who was really Malwinka’s granddaughter, and the driver, who was Malwinka’s son, chatted in Polish, leaving her out of the conversation. They’d already deemed her a failure and not worth their effort to talk to. Kate was ready to pack up and go home. She’d tried, but Princess Kolodenko was right. The shoes would not help.

There was only one other thing she wanted to try. “What if my dad is too far away in Italy for the shoe to work? May we take it back with us?”

Malwinka’s smile disappeared. “You are forbidden to take the shoe to the Kolodenkos.”

Everyone stared at Kate as Lidka translated. She could feel the blood rush to her face under the scrutiny. As accommodating as Malwinka had been, she was still from the feuding line of stepsisters. Of course she would not give up any gains she had made.

“I’m also wondering if the shoes only find separated sweethearts, like Kopciuszek and the prince.” And Johnny and me. She swallowed self-consciously.

Malwinka leaned forward at the name Kopciuszek and demanded a translation. After Lidka explained, Malwinka shook her head. “Nie. Not only young lovers. Kopciuszek gave the shoes to Nadzia the day our family advanced on the kingdom to rid ourselves of the Kolodenkos. Princess and servant used them to find each other many years later.”

Lidka piped up. “I know what you are thinking. Your boyfriend is not lost from you. He knows where you are. The shoe will not reunite you.”

Kate hoped Lidka was right, but she had her doubts. Her stomach churned with nerves. She was running out of time and couldn’t risk a wild rabbit trail. Each passing day brought her closer to their return trip to America.

“Let me know when you have some useful information for me,” she said. Even if Kate didn’t know the language, she would have gotten the idea from Malwinka’s tone. Kate kept her gaze on her plate and finished eating without looking up.

After the table was cleared away, Malwinka stood. “Come, girls. I am going to make some errands that will take us out into the country.” Her voice was light, as if she’d already forgotten the tension at the beginning of the meal. “Bring the shoe in your bag, Kate. If it is away from so many people who have lost loved ones, it might work better. The city might be too loud for it.”

Kate was eager to get out and see more of Poland. Babcia tried to pretend she had left it all behind, but despite her protestations, she had taught Kate her heritage. She had taught Kate to love the land.

The burly driver was waiting outside for them. He assisted Malwinka into the backseat, then stepped away to allow the girls in. Kate held back, letting Lidka go next. She didn’t want to sit by Malwinka, the warnings of the Burgosov still ringing in her ears. Malwinka was being nice, because she wanted something from Kate. Would she stay this nice if Kate couldn’t deliver? If she’d learned anything from this family, it was that everyone was hiding secrets.

The rain and cloudy skies that had hovered for days had finally gone away, and the sun had called everyone, it seemed, out of doors. They drove through town on cobbled streets. After passing several buildings labeled bar mleczny, Kate asked, “What are those?”

“Milk bar,” Lidka said. “Is like cafeteria for the people. The factory workers, they eat for free. For others, is cheap food. Dairy food like milk, yogurt. The government does this new idea for health of the people.”

Kate wondered what Nessa would think of a government-run milk bar.

They continued on to the outskirts of town where women were hanging out the wash, past several abandoned buildings, and then through barren fields. Lidka leaned over and pointed. “That used to be village.” There was nothing but open meadow and tall weeds. “You have never seen anything like that in America. Sometimes a hatred is so much that a people is wiped out.”

Lidka always had to point out the worst in a situation.

The car took them through places that hadn’t been touched since the war. Town after town destroyed, with no one living there anymore. No reconstruction. She’d heard of these places, the bombed-out buildings described as skeletons, but to her they were like ghosts. Gray spindles, standing monuments to the lives buried in the rubble or burned to ash in the fires.

They arrived at a farm and Malwinka told the girls to stay in the car while she talked to the farm wife. The woman came out, wringing her hands, and invited Malwinka in. The driver went and stood by the falling-down porch steps.

“What is she doing?” Kate asked.

“Watch.” There was pride in Lidka’s voice.

There was shouting, then silence. Malwinka opened the door, a cloth-wrapped bundle in her hands, and not bothering to close the door, marched back to the car. The driver opened the trunk, and Kate could feel something land in the back.

“How did it go?” Lidka asked.

“It is done,” was the answer.

This strange process was repeated several times, at several different farmhouses. Sometimes Malwinka would take in a package, and other times, carry one out.

“This is last stop. Would you girls like to come with me?”

After watching the process for so long, Kate was intrigued and eager to see what happened behind closed doors. This house looked in worse repair than the others they’d been to as it still bore the scars of the war. A black smudge on the ground a few feet away could have been a barn that had burned down. The only animals they seemed to have were a skinny goat penned in a tiny enclosure, and two chickens meandering the yard. Three pairs of little eyes watched from behind a window frame missing its glass. Kate’s heart welled up with pity. She’d never seen such poverty.

Malwinka carried a small package, and when she knocked on the door, one of the little faces from the window came to the door and timidly opened it.

“Your mama, how is she?” Malwinka asked.

The little one pointed inside and let them enter. Malwinka sat by the woman’s bedside and took her hand. She spoke quiet words while Lidka made faces at the children. Kate figured she was trying to scare them off, but the kids found the expressions funny and it only attracted them to her more. Kate’s attention was divided. She didn’t know which Burgosov was more fascinating to her at this moment. She’d never considered Malwinka to be kind before. She didn’t realize how suspicious she’d been, always on the lookout for a trick.

When Malwinka opened the package to reveal a music box, the woman on the bed burst into tears. Her frail hands reached up to take the box, and she called her young ones to her. She opened the box and a Chopin sonata filled the room. In such a setting it was both strikingly beautiful and sad at the same time.

As they left, Malwinka spoke in halted English. “I want you to see acts I do.” She continued in Polish for Lidka to translate. “The people here do what I say. I work to restore the peace. Now you trust me?”

Kate nodded, although trust wasn’t exactly what she would call it. Lack of fear, maybe.

Lidka pulled her arm and whispered. “She sets things right. People are afraid of her. She can make people return what does not belong to them. Same as with Kolodenkos.”

It was late when they got back to the house. The timid maid was waiting in the foyer to see if anyone wanted a warm milk before bed. Lidka gave her a withering look before marching past her and up the stairs. Kate would have followed Lidka if it weren’t for the hurt look on the maid’s face. She nodded and followed the young woman into the kitchen.

The maid slammed a pot onto the stove. Then she marched to the icebox and grabbed a bottle of milk. Kate slid onto a chair at the table, wishing she had followed Lidka. Something had angered this woman, more than just a snide look from Lidka. After she sloshed a mug in front of Kate, she dumped the pot in the sink and marched out of the room.

Kate touched the mug and drew her hand back. Well, what in the world? She’d have to wait for it to cool. She stood and paced the room, examining the Kolodenkos’ former home. The kitchen was tiled in white, as was the counter. The cupboards, also white, were carved with roses. The curtains over the window provided a bright splash of color with their red flower print. As Kate circled the room, she noticed a door at the far end and wondered if it led to a pantry. She went to open it when she heard low voices. It must be a servant’s passage, not a food pantry. The maid’s angry voice, followed by Malwinka’s calm one, came through the door.

“It’s not working,” the maid said.

“Did you put the glass slipper in the same room?” Malwinka answered. “Where the father can’t find it?”

“I’m not an idiot. But everyone is getting restless. They’re wondering if we should do away with him. Even if the daughter does find him, then what? We let them go?”

Kate’s ears began to burn.

“Be patient,” Malwinka said. “She’s hardly had time. We’ve had the shoes for years; she has had only days.”

“But he needs a doctor before it’s too late. We can’t keep him like this much longer.”

As realization sank in, Kate’s legs went limp. She grabbed for the counter to steady herself. They were talking about her dad. They had him, and he was in trouble.

“Everyone will be patient,” Malwinka said. “We’ve worked too hard to quit now.”

“You need to talk to them, then. I’m not going back there. I’m done. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore.”

“Fine. If this is the way you talk to your grandmother, then you are truly done. Leave. Tonight. May I never see your face again.”

The maid cried out, “But I have no where to go.”

“There is no place here for you. I only kept you this long for your father’s sake. No more.”

There was a sound of a door shutting, followed by a sharp sob.

Kate grabbed the mug of milk and drained it down the sink. She needed to get up to her room before she saw either Malwinka or the maid. As Babcia used to say, fear has big eyes, and she needed to pull herself together. Uncle Adalbert was right: Malwinka had finally revealed her true nature.

Kate had to figure out how to make the shoes work—and fast—before it was too late.