Rolf sat in his parents’ apartment, which was filled with well-wishers. He’d arrived by train only hours before, but word spread fast in a small town. That, and his blue Kriegsmarine uniform with the golden submarine combat badge had stuck out on the walk home. Germany was at war, and though most men Rolf’s age wore a uniform, the majority wore the field gray of the army.
“And after you sank all those ships, what then?” Papa asked.
“Then we steamed into Lorient with our victory pennants fluttering from the conning tower, and we were met on the pier by a band and the entire flotilla’s command staff. A crowd of workers, naval clerks, and nurses too.”
“Nurses?” Mama sounded concerned. “Were there injuries?”
Rolf shook his head. “Just a precaution. We did have one ship shell us, but the damage was small. And none of the nurses or clerks were as beautiful as my Frieda.” Rolf reached for his wife’s hand. “But after a long patrol, some of the other men enjoyed the sight of a pretty face to welcome them back to port. Then we had long, warm showers and a feast.”
The shower had been the best of Rolf’s life. He would never in normal circumstances go twelve days without a thorough washing, but the U-boat’s desalination unit produced only a limited amount of fresh water each day, and U-boats couldn’t possibly carry enough water for the entire crew’s bathing needs. Salt water surrounded them, but it was cold and left an itchy layer on their skin, so no one bathed. They were issued black underwear so it wouldn’t look so dirty, but the color didn’t improve the smell. Fortunately, the women on the pier waving and cheering them in had been upwind and some distance away.
“And you sailed under Kapitänleutnant Joachim Schepke?” Frieda’s fifteen-year-old brother sitting nearby on the floor seemed momentarily starstruck.
“I did. A privilege. I’m to report to a new boat now, one just coming out of the dockyards. We’ll pick her up from Kiel and take her on a few training cruises, and then we’ll go join the other wolves to ensure Germany finds victory at sea.”
“You won’t be with Schepke anymore?” Frieda’s brother seemed disappointed.
Rolf leaned forward from the sofa. “You remember Kapitänleutnant Schepke and the U-100. He’s a fine kommandant and a hero of the Reich.”
“Handsome too,” a neighbor said with a giggle.
Rolf smiled. The woman was significantly older than Schepke, but perhaps age didn’t prevent appreciation for a good-looking hero. He focused on his brother-in-law. “Remember Schepke, but keep your ears open for news about Oberleutnant zur See Baumann and the U-115. I have a feeling we’re going to sink a great many enemy ships. Make Schepke work extra hard if he wants to keep his tonnage totals higher than ours.”
Rolf answered all the other questions, and eventually, the apartment emptied until it was just him, his parents, and his wife. Rolf’s brothers were both in the army, and their wives lived elsewhere. Rolf and Frieda had gotten married only a few days before he’d begun training, so they hadn’t ever had a place of their own. Frieda’s parents still had four younger children in a three-bedroom flat. But Rolf’s parents had fallen in love with Frieda almost as much as he had, and they had a spare room, so it had seemed natural for her to move in with them.
Mama made an exaggerated yawn. “I think I’ll head to my room early.” She stood and gave Rolf a peck on the cheek, then turned to give Papa a meaningful look. “Your father is feeling a bit tired, too, so we’ll leave you two alone.”
“Nonsense. Rolf’s only going to be here a few days before he heads to Kiel. I’m not that tired.” Then Papa seemed to understand. “But I suppose everything else can wait until morning.”
Rolf chuckled as his parents said good night. When they were out of the room, he pulled Frieda into his arms. “What I’ve really been wanting since the moment I stepped off the U-100 is time alone with you.”
“Did you really miss me?” She fingered the hair over his left ear. He’d missed her touch. “The way you talk about the patrol . . . You make it sound so exciting, as if it’s the most wonderful thing you’ve ever done.”
“It was exciting. And meaningful—we’re really making a difference in this war. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you.” He kissed her then, savoring each moment with her soft lips against his and her body pulled in close. She’d put on some of the perfume he’d bought her in France, and the sophisticated scent was tantalizing. This was why he went away: to protect his wife and his family and to prove that he could be the hero she deserved.
When the kiss ended, she put a finger on his mouth and met his eyes. “I think that is the kiss of a man who hasn’t kissed anyone in a very long time.”
“Have I lost my skill?” He’d not kissed anyone since telling Frieda goodbye months before. Plenty of French mademoiselles in Lorient were willing to entertain recently paid sailors returning from patrol, and most of the crew had hit the local bars and bordellos quite promptly after the feast, but not Rolf.
“No.” She ran her hands across his back. “But perhaps we ought to practice again, just in case it’s a long time before your next leave.”