Lyon
August 31, 1942
The children spent one more hot night in the convent. After two of the longest days of their lives, no one wanted to be in the Carmelite convent anymore. The novelty of all the games, singing, and dancing had long since worn off. The hay on the floor of the hall was disgusting and rank with urine, fleas, and lice. Food was running short, and the four remaining children were a real concern for the caretakers that morning. On top of the trauma of being separated from their parents, they were now languishing in a state of abandonment. It seemed that no one wanted them. When Father Glasberg entered the hall, everyone there looked to him. Lili, Madeleine, Charles, and Georges went up to him, hoping to hear a solution for the last few children.
The children were also looking at him with plaintive, anguished eyes. Jean Stern, Marcel and Miriam Frenkel, and Rachel Kaminker were the last of the unfortunate children waiting to be taken away.
Father Glasberg shook his head and broke the news to his colleagues. “We haven’t come up with any good options.”
Discouraged, they dispersed to make a few last calls.
When they came back together, Lili announced, “My mother’s coming for Jean, but she can’t handle any more than one.”
“That’s fine because I’ve finagled it so that Mrs. Berheim is coming to pick up the Frenkels. She should be here soon,” Charles said.
And another family had agreed to get Rachel Kaminker out of the city and to the Peyrins château.
* * *
An hour later the large hall was completely empty. Finally, nearly two-and-a-half days after arriving at the convent, the last of the children had been smuggled to safety.
With the mission complete, Father Glasberg accepted his lot of going into hiding for a while. The remaining workers got busy destroying all the evidence.
“It’s good, but I’m sad they’re gone,” Madeleine mused to Lili.
“I feel the same,” Lili said, hugging the psychologist. They had met only a few days prior, but the bond that formed between them was unbreakable. “It’s only been a couple of days, but they feel like my cousins or little brothers and sisters.”
Madeleine started to cry. “I’m sorry, it’s so unprofessional of me,” she said with a cracked voice.
Lili rubbed her back and said, “It’s all right. It’s all going to work out.” She spoke in hope against reality; the war had already gone on for three years and seemed like it would never end. The Nazis had lost precious few battles and were likely to be the masters of France for a long time.
Madeleine nodded and then moved off to continue cleaning.
Lili joined a few of the scouts gathering up the things the children had left. Georges came up to her then and held out his hand. She took it and stepped away.
“It’s all over,” Georges said.
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” she replied.
“Still, I want to take you out to dinner tonight. Let’s have a good wine and pretend none of this ever happened, that it was just a nightmare that very conveniently introduced us to each other.”
Her serious eyes stared into Georges’s.
“I don’t want to forget what’s happened. They’ve been the best and worst days of my life. But yes, I accept your invitation to dinner. However, I’ve got to shower first and get a fresh, pretty dress on.”
“You’re beautiful no matter what you’re wearing,” he assured her.
Lili smiled and smacked at his shoulder. “Oh, you men know all the right ways to lie.”
Life would go on despite all the suffering. But a dark shadow loomed. Evil would not rest nor make a truce with the noble souls who resisted it.