“Mr. Blanton, I presume,” the doctor said with a smile. “I’m James Nichols. My daughter and I were in town for the wedding, and got caught here.”
“Wedding?” George asked.
“Uh-huh. Rita Stearns and Tom Simpson.”
“Didn’t hear about it. How is she?” he asked, looking down at Anna’s mother.
“As well as can be expected under the circumstances. Physically, she only has some scrapes, bruises and two broken ribs. Mentally… mentally she’s fragile. Seeing the men who did it to her dead may have helped a little, but she’s still a rape victim. She also saw what happened to her husband, and that can’t help.” Doctor Nichols walked away, motioning for George to follow.
“He lost a lot of blood before we got to him. That, plus the shock and other things that were done to him makes me wonder how he survived. He’s going to be in danger for quite a while, and he’s in for a long recovery.”
George nodded his understanding. “I have plenty of room at my place when they’re ready to go. Anna is settling in, but I wish I spoke German or she spoke English. It’s hard to not be able to understand one another.”
“Learn German, Mr. Blanton,” Doctor Nichols instructed. “From what I’ve been hearing, there aren’t many people in this area that speak English.”
George gave him an intense look. “What have you heard? I’ve just been getting bits and pieces.”
Doctor Nichols gave George a quick verbal sketch of their predicament. “So, here we are, a bunch of Americans in southern Germany. Unless some bright boy comes up with a miracle, we don’t have anywhere else to go, and no way to get there.”
George shook his head slowly back and forth, then returned to Anna and her mother. “I’m going to go talk to some people, Anna. You stay here, okay? Stay here with your mother.” George motioned with both hands for Anna to remain where she was, then walked away.
Doctor Adams was also at the clinic, and George asked to see him in private. The doctor nodded and led the way to an empty classroom. “Yes, Mr. Blanton, what can I do for you?”
“Well, Doc, I don’t know. I’m on several medications, but the ones that worry me are the blood thinners and blood pressure meds. What’s going to happen when I run out?”
Doctor Adams rubbed his chin as he considered his answer. “This is something that we’ve already run into. One of the people that was rescued yesterday—day before yesterday?—time goes so fast sometimes. Anyway, one of the people that was rescued was having a heart attack at the time. Doctor Nichols managed to stabilize him, but we don’t have the facilities to handle that sort of thing. I’m afraid that you and the rest of our elderly are in for a rough time. We can manage some control of your blood pressure with diet, and aspirin can be substituted for your blood thinners to some extent. I hate to say it, but you’re in trouble.”
George gave Doctor Adams a sour look. “That’s not the answer that I wanted to hear.”
Doctor Adams simply shrugged. “It isn’t the answer that I wanted to give, but it’s the best I’ve got right now.”
George nodded and went to collect Anna. She was sitting beside her mother’s bed, holding her hand as she slept. She looked up when George arrived and stood, tucking her mother’s hand gently under the blanket. George simply nodded and walked away, and Anna followed him.
The walk out to the truck was silent as each of them considered their situation. George was watching Anna carefully, and the girl was watching the floor beneath her feet. She glanced up and caught him watching her and smiled a sad little smile. Seeing that, George smiled in return and patted her shoulder.
Boys and girls who he assumed were students were rushing about the school, moving chairs and desks from room to room with seeming purpose. A woman passed by and George stopped her to ask what was going on.
“It’s for the meeting tomorrow. Weren’t you informed?” the woman asked, looking at him closely. “I don’t recognize you, or this young lady. Were you just passing through?”