The Heart Of A Gypsy (10 page)

As Ion headed back to his own tent he was struck with guilt. His father would not have approved of his choosing a
gage
over a brother of the
Rom
. But how could he force a marriage on Nadya? She’d broken into tears at the thought of spending her life as Tobar’s wife. He would not do that to her. Perhaps, if Christian did not return from his mission, then Ion would not have to speak to the
Shera Rom
as promised. But, he liked Christian, and even though it would be easier if the blond man were to perish…Ion prayed for Christian’s safe return. There was a special bond between himself and Christian, one Ion could not explain. Christian was not born Romany, but he was like a brother of the
Rom
. And against everything he’d grown up to believe, Ion hoped that Christian would be his future brother-in-law.

Chapter
17

When Christian arrived back at the camp he was immediately greeted by Ion, who had been watching and waiting for his return.  When Ion saw the truck pull into the clearing, he rushed up to greet Christian.

“Welcome back, my friend! Did you have any problems?”

“None. It went off without a hitch.”

“Good to hear. How about some food? You must be hungry,” Ion said. Now that Christian had returned from the mission, proving himself to be brave and capable, Ion would go to see the
Shera Rom
. Perhaps he would wait until the following day, when things had settled down.

“Yes certainly. I’m very hungry.” Christian stood, shaking out his legs, which tingled from having been frozen in a sitting position due to the long drive.  One of the men came immediately and took the truck to a cave-like opening that the freedom fighters had carved out of the trees. They covered it with branches concealing it completely. If anyone entered the camp, they would never find the vehicle.

As Christian walked around the site, he found himself scanning the area for Nadya. He was disappointed not to see her. After making his way back to his tent, he removed the hated Nazi uniform. Then he handed the clothes to Ion, who would put them away for the next mission. Now Christian felt more relaxed. In fact, he felt as if he had come home. After stretching his limbs, he ambled over to the raging fire. Several of the men sat together, smoking and talking, while waiting for the women to bring food.  As he leaned against a rock, several of the men came over to offer their congratulations on his operation. He thanked them, but continued to look for Nadya. Finally she arrived with Hanzi at her side. He watched as she fed Lil and wondered if she’d noticed him. By the sheer will of his stare, he attracted her attention, and she turned to see him. Nadya could not stifle the smile of relief that washed over her entire face. Christian smiled back. For a moment they froze, gazing at each other, until one of the older women took Nadya’s arm and led her over to the cooking fires.

“Come Nadya, I need your help here,” the old woman said as she led Nadya to a large bubbling cauldron.

Nadya tried to divert her attention from Christian. But just knowing that he sat there, only a few feet away from her, drove her crazy, and she had to turn and glance at him. When she did, she found that his eyes had not left her for a moment. In fact, they were fixed upon her with a burning passion. And for Nadya his gaze felt like a match that had lit a blaze so powerful within her that it made the cooking fire in the camp look small and insignificant.

She felt the heat rise to her face, but she could not look away.

“Nadya… Nadya…” The old woman commanded her attention again. “You are distracted. Here, help me move this pot.”

The old woman handed Nadya a rag to help her lift the pot. Before Nadya could begin to lift the steaming stew, Christian was at her side.

“Let me do this. I don’t want either of you to get burned,” Christian said. Before the old woman could protest he had moved the entire cauldron.

“Thank you,” Nadya said.

Christian smiled. “It looks good. I’m hungry,” he said.

“It’s ready. I’ll bring your plate in a few minutes.”

“Take your time. I enjoy watching you,” Christian said to Nadya, and the old woman frowned.

When the girls began to dance after dinner, Christian watched Nadya and saw the way that returned his gaze. It was then that he decided that it was time for him to talk to her. After the dancing was over, he found her outside of the tent next to the wagon that she shared with the little boy. Her heart pounded like a drum as she saw him walking towards her.

“You dance beautifully,” Christian said. “In fact, you are better than all of the other women put together.”

“
Oh… Thank you… I’m so glad to see that you’re back safely.”

“No, I mean it, you do. You dance like a goddess.” Just then the little boy rushed out of the tent with a paper airplane.

“Stay close, Hanzi. Please don’t go wandering off again.  I am in no mood to spend the night looking for you,” Nadya told the boy.

The little boy with the large forehead and slanted eyes ran across the field, laughing and shouting, “Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!” as he directed his plane into flight.

“Oh, but he is a handful,” Nadya said of Hanzi as she smiled back at Christian. She took notice that he wore the amulet about his neck.

“Ion tells me that you found Hanzi?” Christian asked.

“Actually, yes; he wondered into camp one night hungry and bleeding. I have no idea where he came from, but I couldn’t just send him away.”

“No, of course not.” Not only was she beautiful; she was kind, he thought.

“As you can see, he is not right mentally. I am afraid that perhaps he was to be sent to the euthanasia program. You know what that is?”

“Yes, unfortunately I do. So you kept him?” Christian asked.

“Yes, and now he is like our little brother, Ion’s and mine. Very sweet and loving, but sometimes filled with energy too.”

“I can see that. You know, I never had the chance to say thank you for bringing me the food in prison, and for taking care of me all of these weeks.”

She just smiled and bowed her head shyly.

“It meant a great deal to me when I saw you outside my cell window. In fact when you came I was feeling so low I thought I might want to die.  Your presence helped my morale tremendously.” He smiled, and then he continued, “And then when you stayed with me here at the camp when I was incapacitated, and you helped me to pass the time, I was so grateful.”

“Did they hurt you badly there in the prison?” Nadya asked.

“No, not too badly,” he winked at her, smiling, and her heart fluttered.

“I know that they are very brutal. I have seen it firsthand, and I still cannot believe it. I realize that I am very young, but such cruelty is hard to understand,” Nadya said

“Yes, it is. I am older than you and I still cannot comprehend it.”

“Ion tells me that you are from Norway? Why are you here in Poland?” she asked.

“I am from Norway, but I came here to Poland to work with a group of Resistance organizers; then, when I got caught, you brought me here to this wonderful camp. And so I am in Poland,” he smiled. “You see, I believe that if we don’t all do our share, the Nazis will never be defeated, and they must be overthrown if we are to survive and remain a civilized people.”

Watching her eyes in the moonlight as they spoke, he wanted to lean over and kiss her, but he knew that he dared not. He had tried that before with disastrous results. She was as delicate as a fawn, and at any moment she could run away and hide from him. So, instead, he sat beside her, content to be in her presence.

As Christian was trying to decide how to ask Nadya if she would consider marrying him, Ion came walking over.

“Christian, how are you holding up? You must be tired. How did it go?” Ion patted Christian’s knee.

“Ion,” Christian stood and they hugged, “I am doing fine, and I am glad that it went well. I found the Nazis to be quite cooperative.”

“Cooperative? Well, for us that’s a very good sign. And for them cooperative is something we don’t usually find.  This means that you passed, and they were convinced that you were one of them. Shmul and Samuel left the camp this evening with the money we were paid by the people that you delivered to the border. They are buying guns and ammunition as we speak,” Ion said.

“Good, that is very good. We need guns. That’s dangerous work, the purchase of weaponry, is it not?” Christian asked.

“Yes, of course. Everything that we do is dangerous. They are meeting with a member of the Polish Resistance. We work closely with the Polish Resistance, and they have access to many groups like ours. Together we form an underground. That is how we are able to help escapees across the border to safety.  I was going to go with Shmul and Samuel tonight, but they insisted I stay here with the
kumpania
and wait for you.”

“I see that you and my sister are becoming friends,” Ion shot Christian a look that told him that he must keep his promise once the
Shera Rom
gave his decision.

“Gypsy girls are not like the
gage
…the girls that you meet out there in the world. Gypsy girls are virgins until they marry. So don’t get any foolish ideas,” Ion spoke plainly.

“You embarrass me, Ion. Christian and I were just talking,” Nadya said, and she blushed.

“Is that all? Just talking? Well, all right then… Just keep it that way.” Turning to Christian, he patted him on his back. “Let’s go and have a drink. Come… One of the Poles from the underground, a good friend of mine, brought us some vodka today.”

Christian looked back as Ion led him away and thought he saw disappointment in Nadya’s dark eyes. He hoped that she had wanted him to stay with her instead of going off with Ion. And how he wished he had. Christian sighed as he realized Ion had been talking to him all the while as they walked along, and he had not heard a single word.

C
hapter
18

Several days passed without incident. Often Christian sought Nadya out, and they talked, laughed or played with Hanzi and Lil. Many times Ion would witness their banter and come to interrupt. Ion was confused. He wanted the match, but at the same time he knew the drawbacks.   Ion knew he must go to the
Shera Rom
as he’d promised, but he feared that the leader of the Gypsies would frown upon a wedding between a Romany girl and a g
age
. And once the word was given by the
Shera Rom
that the match was not approved, all contact between the couple must cease immediately. It was easier to avoid the question. The longer he waited, the more he hoped that Christian would win the favor of the
Shera Rom
. Ion hoped that by giving the
Shera Rom
and all of the gypsies a chance to know Christian better, they would come to see his true heart. As things stood right now, Ion held the power to make the final decision, but once he went to the leader for advice, he gave up his power; and then he must adhere to the decision of the
Shera Rom
.

Every night Nadya made Christian’s plate and brought it to him when she brought Ion’s. She took special care when preparing Christian’s food, almost as if he were her husband. The thought frightened her, and so she pushed it out of her mind, but she still enjoyed his company so much that instead of avoiding him, she found that she made an effort to see him. He would search for her as the fires of the evening were being extinguished, only to bid her a good night, and if just for a moment, to see her lovely face once more at day’s end. More than a week had passed since Christian’s last mission, and he found that himself growing contented. Lying around much of the day, smoking cigarettes and drinking the sweet cherry liquor of the Rom which he had come to enjoy, for the first time in many years Christian felt at peace.

One night Christian and Nadya sat together watching the sun set. The smell of the campfires filled the air, and Christian realized he’d begun to love this way of life. As he lay back on a patch of thick grass, he gazed in awe at the blood-colored sky as it faded to the color of aged wine, and then mellowed to match the shade of a young girl’s blush. When the shadows of the trees came over the camp he took a deep breath and looked at Nadya, the girl who had changed him in so many ways. And he wondered how all of his life he had missed the beauty all around him. Now everywhere he looked, all of his five senses were alerted to the wonder of God’s incredible creations.

“You make me happy Nadya. I can’t say that I have been happy for too much of my adult life,” Christian said as he lay on his back looking at the sky.

She swallowed hard. She had never expressed an emotion to a man, and she felt shy as she whispered “You make me happy, too.”

From behind a tree, Hanzi came over and jumped into her lap, breaking the moment. Lil bounded behind him with her tail wagging.

“Well, hello Hanzi! And how are you this fine evening?” Christian sat up and winked at Nadya, and she winked back.

“Fine,” a thin line of drool ran from the side of Hanzi’s mouth. Christian watched as Nadya took the bottom of her purple flowered skirt to wipe it. Then she took Hanzi off of her lap and sat him down on the ground. The child smiled up at her.