No Neutral Ground: A World War II Romance (Promise for Tomorrow Book 2) by Terri Wangard

Author:Terri Wangard [Wangard, Terri]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HopeSprings Books
Published: 2016-05-02T16:00:00+00:00

Rättvik, Sweden

Tuesday, April 25, 1944

Ed had failed to reckon with one very important aspect of sending Jennie to an internee camp. She’d barely stepped off the train when she was surrounded by dozens of young American men starved for the company of American women. How in the world was she to slip away from the gang without raising questions?

Finding the senior officer in charge proved easy with so many eager guides. Dispensing with the paperwork took only minutes. The internees waited outside for her. Jennie smiled. She had found her pack mules.

“Someone at the legation told me to head up those hills for a great vantage spot to paint the view. I’m working on a Chicago exhibit for the Order of Svithiod, which promotes Swedish heritage and culture. Anyone care to help carry my gear and tell me your stories about being in Sweden?”

It didn’t take long to find the drop site. She’d worry later how she’d leave the pack without her seven companions noticing. “Tell me how you spend your days.”

“We eat and sleep,” replied a young man who stared at her instead of the view.

An earnest airman in need of a haircut elaborated. “Summer comes late this far north. Then we’ll be able to bike and play baseball…”

“If we had a bat and ball,” interrupted the man giving her the willies with his staring.

“…or tennis, go canoeing or sailing. There’s not much to do in winter when it’s dark most of the day.”

“We did try cross-country skiing. That’s big here.” A short fellow pawed through Jennie’s art supplies. Without asking, he opened her smaller sketchpad, selected a piece of chalk, and tried to imitate her strokes.

Watching him, she frowned. They were bored. They needed to keep busy. There must be something they could do. “Would you be interested in woodworking or art classes, or Swedish classes?”

A hungry look entered the staring eyes. “Are you going to teach art?”

Jennie resisted gritting her teeth. Like refusing to show fear to a snarling dog, she couldn’t show her exasperation. “No, I’m based in Stockholm.” Jennie reigned in her smile so it didn’t betray her relief. “But there must be Swedish teachers here in Rättvik who’d be interested in getting involved. You could carve Dala horses. You’ve seen those little wooden horses, haven’t you?”

The budding artist chose another color of chalk. “We have a small band.”

“What about a choir? We could probably arrange for you to sing at different churches.” At their looks of interest, she said, “I’ll talk to my dad about it. Most Swedes don’t have personal contact with Americans. More involvement would promote good will.”

“Hands across the water.” The earnest internee shoved his hair out of his eyes. “It’d be nice to have something more to do than build model airplanes all day.”

“Okay, brainstorm with me. Think of any activities you’d like to do or what you did back home that you could do here.”

“I helped my pa on our farm.”

“Here.” Jennie shoved a scratchpad and pencil into the hands of the starer.

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