Ruth’s legs turned weak. “Non. It can’t be.”
“I heard the orders over the radio,” he said. “I’m a wireless operator. The BEF and French troops are surrounded by Panzer divisions at the Channel. They’re being evacuated from Dunkirk as we speak. The German forces are unstoppable. France will be lost.”
“We must try,” Ruth said. “You need to return to your post.”
He shook his head. “It’s over. I have a wife and baby boy in Creil—I must get there before the Germans.”
Aline slipped from Ruth and approached him. “My papa, he’s a soldier stationed at the Maginot Line. His name is Leopold Cadieux. Do you know him?”
“Non,” he said.
A rustling came from the farmhouse porch and an old man’s voice shouted, “Thief!”
The soldier jerked.
“Someone stole a bag of my clothes! Thief!”
The soldier, his face filled with shame, looked at Ruth. “I’m sorry.” He turned and ran into the woods.
Ruth, her nerves shaken, kneeled to Aline and clasped her hands.
Aline’s jaw quivered. “Have we lost the war?”
“Non,” Ruth said, struggling to maintain her composure. “That man is scared and he made a mistake.”
“Are you sure?”
“Oui.” Ruth squeezed Aline’s hands. “You’ll be safe in Paris. The Allied armies will never surrender.” And neither will I.
CHAPTER 26
PARIS, FRANCE—JUNE 3, 1940
Ruth, her anticipation growing, gazed at the horizon from the bed of a horse-drawn wagon. The clopping of hooves filled the morning air as an elderly man steered the wagon—that contained Ruth’s group and six refugees—over a dirt road. At the crest of a hill, the skyline of Paris appeared.
Tears of happiness welled in Ruth’s eyes. She nudged her friends, who were resting on a bed of straw.
Lucette sat up and clasped her hands. “Dieu merci.”
Pierre placed an arm around his granddaughter and pointed. “That’s Paris, my little cabbage.”
Aline smiled.
Jimmie leaned to Ruth. “We couldn’t have made it without you.”
She blinked away tears. “It took all of us.”
Over the past few days, Ruth and her group hitched a ride in a wagon, owned by an elderly couple who’d fled their farm in Rethel and were on their way to live with relatives in Chartres, a town southwest of Paris. Along the journey, rumors of Belgium’s surrender to Germany and a British evacuation of soldiers in Dunkirk grew rampant. Although their rural route did not provide them access to newspapers, radio broadcasts, or working telephone lines, they’d heard hearsay reports from refugees about the demise of Belgium and BEF troops. The speculations by the masses were overwhelming, and Ruth believed them to be true, considering her encounter with the French Army wireless operator who deserted his post.
Ruth had no more encounters with soldiers who abandoned their duty, but she did witness two military-service-age men, dressed in civilian clothing, walking alone through a field. She wondered why the men, who were staying far away from other refugees, had chosen a southeasterly path that, if continued for three hundred kilometers, would take them to the Swiss border. It saddened her to think that France’s military might be on the brink of collapse, but her hopes gradually improved when the rumble of artillery explosions disappeared. She wondered if the absence of gunfire meant that the French Army had somehow pushed back the Germans, or if Hitler’s forces were concentrating their firepower at the Channel. She’d decided it was the latter when Jimmie, days earlier, spotted an RAF squadron of Fairey Battle bombers, accompanied by three Hurricane fighters, flying in the direction of the coast.
Over the past days, the Luftwaffe raids on villages diminished, but the masses of refugees continued their exodus to the south. Also, the sightings of French and British aircraft grew infrequent. Although Jimmie had observed several Hurricane fighters, none of them had the markings of his squadron. And Ruth could tell, by the discontent on Jimmie’s face while looking up at the planes, that he was eager for his arm to heal and to return to the war in the sky.
Each night during their travel, Ruth and her group slept either in barns or the back of the wagon. Long after the others fell asleep, she and Jimmie—regardless of their exhaustion—remained awake to talk. Through whispers, they discussed their families and memories of happier times, but Ruth was reluctant to lower her guard and fully open her heart. It’s reckless to believe we might have a future, she’d thought, lying beside him under a starlit sky. There’s a war, and we’ll be going in separate ways when we get to Paris. She resolved to keep her emotions at bay and hoped that, after the conflict ended, their destinies would cross again.
Jimmie leaned his back against the side of the wagon and looked at Ruth. “What will you do when we arrive?”
“I’ll take Pierre and Aline to my aunt and uncle’s apartment in Le Marais,” she said. “After I get them something to eat, Lucette and I will report to the ambulance corps headquarters for our assignment.”
Lucette turned to Ruth. “While you’re getting them settled in, I’m going to stop by my apartment to see if there’s any news from Paul.”
Ruth placed a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Of course.”
“If the telephones are working,” Lucette said, “I’ll ring my parents in Toulouse to let them know I’m all right. I won’t be long.”
Ruth lowered her hand. “Take as much time as you need.”
Lucette nodded, then looked at Jimmie. “Are you going with Ruth?”
Jimmie shook his head. “I prolonged my reporting for service long enough. When we arrive in the city, I’ll go to the British Embassy to see if I can get word to my family and the RAF to let them know where I am. Then I’ll try to determine where the RAF wants me to go until I’m well enough to resume my duty.”
He’ll be gone by this afternoon, Ruth thought. A wave of melancholy washed over her. She looked at him, a bright summer sun shining on his mussed brown hair, and she yearned to extend their time together, even if it was only a few more hours. “Do you know the location of the embassy?”
“No,” he said. “I’ll inquire with people on the street until I find it.”
“I know where it is,” Ruth said. “It’s located within walking distance of my aunt and uncle’s apartment. Come with me and I’ll show you the way there.”
“It might be easier if you gave me directions,” he said.
