Come Fly With Me by Janet Elizabeth Henderson

Author:Janet Elizabeth Henderson [Henderson, Janet Elizabeth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: janet elizabeth henderson

21

January 1946

* * *

Their journey to Scotland began in the belly of a tank. A friend of Ben’s dropped them off a few miles west of Berlin, where they met up with another army vehicle that then took them a few miles more.

Natasha squeezed in beside her new husband, self-conscious whenever their bodies touched as the car bounced over damaged roads. Apart from Ben taking her hand to help her on and off their transportation, they’d barely touched. Even her wedding kiss had been a chaste peck on the cheek. It was nothing less than she’d expected and hoped for in a marriage that was only meant to rescue a friend. And that was all it was to Natasha. Unfortunately, she wasn’t sure Ben was on the same page.

Before they’d started their journey, Ben pulled her aside and whispered in her ear, “I know you don’t love me, and I don’t expect you to. We’ve both been through a lot. But I want you to know that I have feelings for you, Tasha, and if you wanted to try to make this marriage work, I wouldn’t object. So please think about it.” Then he’d pressed a kiss to her forehead and left her to say her goodbyes.

Now she sat beside him, a small battered suitcase clutched tight in her lap. It contained her beautiful wedding dress, the precious gifts from her fellow camp residents, and the necklace she’d removed from Marina after the crash. One day, when everything had settled and the world was more peaceful, Natasha would return the medallion to Marina’s parents in Moscow. It was a silent promise she made to her navigator each night before sleep. During their trip, Natasha had a lot of time to think about her promise. And her future.

Transport through Germany and France was patchy at best. Tired Allied forces used what meager resources they had to help the people around them, and little was left over to assure the comfort of their soldiers. There was so much rebuilding to do. And as news filtered down to Natasha and Ben, they became aware of the scale of need in Europe and the rest of the world. The war had left millions homeless and traumatized. Countries were decimated, food was scarce, and winter had hit hard. Already, snow was making it difficult to help those who needed it most, and world leaders feared another famine like the one in Holland the winter before.

Given the magnitude of everything going on around them, it was easy to understand why transport home for one army translator and his new wife wasn’t high on anyone’s list of priorities.

At the border with France, Ben managed to scavenge some winter coats from American soldiers leaving for home. It was the luckiest they’d been on their trip so far, as the snow had started falling in earnest the night before.

“There’s a train leaving for the coast tomorrow,” Ben said as they bedded down, fully dressed, on mats in the corner of one of the American tents.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.