L'amore e la guerra - Love and war

Ch. 2

"Is that all, Felicia?"
"Yeah, thank you. I'll be going home. Ludwig is there already, he will be worried if I don't come back soon. See you, Herr Weber!"
With that, Felicia was on her way. Her husband had come back after six months in Russia, so the least she could do was preparing a good meal for him. Okay, he had come home three months ago, but still.
She was going home while she spotted her friend Elizaveta sitting in a café. She smiled and called her. Elizaveta looked up and smiled, gesturing for her to come sit at her table.
Felicia figured that she could stay out some more time. Wasn't she already late, anyway?"Hey Elizaveta! How are you doing?" she asked cheerfully.
"Pretty well. Even though Roderich is not here anymore, I'm glad to know that he's safe."
Felicia paused for a moment. Roderich was an Austrian jew. A very good violinist, too. Elizaveta was Hungarian, but she looked German enough to be left alone. She was Roderich's wife, but she decided to let him flee on his own, while she stayed in Germany to help other people who were in desperate need. She knew that once the war would be over, the two of them would be together again. But now times called for other measures.
Felicia had helped Roderich into hiding and then passed him food and money. She knew that she would have been sent to the nearest Gestapo point if people found out, but she couldn't help it. Jews, gypsies and homosexuals didn't have a very easy life in Germany.
That was why she entered the resistance and helped countless of them. Her grandfather too had been in the resistance. He had been called to Germany to work on weapons, but he had quite the double life. Her brother too was involved in that.
The first months in Germany were hard. Her grandfather was very busy, and her brother was helping the persecuted population of Germany with the help of Antonio, a Spanish guy who had to flee Spain but wasn't lucky enough to make it to England. That was why she had been lonely most of the time. She didn't speak very good German and she didn't have friends. Her family didn't want her to be involved with their "work", and with good reason.
That was when she came across a shy German soldier by the name of Ludwig Beilschmidt. In the beginning she had used his obvious love for her to get valuable information to her father and brother. It took nothing more than batting her eyes at him and he was putty in her hands. But then she fell in love with him.
That was the only reason why she married him. She had to be extra careful around him, but sadly not for long. He was sent to fight on the Eastern front a month after their marriage. It was true that she was more free to help people, but then her grandpa had been called back to Italy and her brother ran into some visa problems, so they had to leave. She had missed both them and Ludwig terribly. Regardless of his views on life and Nazism, she really did love him. She was worried sick and would always wait anxiously for his letters, and had been very happy to know that he would come back, though injured, but alive at least.
She also knew that if her Ludwig found out what she had been doing, he would not be very pleased. She hoped to never find out what his reaction would be.
"So, is he doing well in England?" asked Felicia.
"Well... his letters are few and far between, but it seems that yes, he's doing well. He says he misses me a lot..."
"Aaaw... he's so sweet... Ludwig never tells me that, he's far too shy..." she laughed.
Elizaveta, hearing that name, changed her attitude.
"You know that he's a Nazi bastard. Him, his brother and his father are all army officers! I can't see what you see in him. I tried, but I really can't. If he or his family were to find out what you do they would take your ass to the Gestapo in a heartbeat."
"Maybe his father and brother, but he wouldn't. He would be startled at first, but then he would understand. And besides, after the news I'm going to tell him today, I'm sure he would not even raise his voice at me." she answered, sure of her words.
"News? What news?" Elizaveta was intrigued.
"I'm... oh my God, I can't even say that with a straight face... I'm pregnant!" said Felicia with a beaming smile.
Elizaveta looked at her as if she had two heads. "Are you for real?"
"Yes, yes, I'm sure! I'm so happy!"
Elizaveta brought her hands to her eyes in a resigned gesture, then said "Well... congratulations, then. If you're happy, I'm happy too. When are you telling him?"
"Today, after dinner! Oh, he will be sooo happy!" she said. "Which reminds me... I have to make dinner! Sorry Eliza, I can't stay out more. I'll see you tomorrow for that thing with the Schumanns! Bye!"
With that, she got out of her chair, gathered eher bags and went home.
She hummed all the way there, thinking of ways to tell him. She couldn't wait to see his face when she told him. He would be so happy.
Or such were her thoughts when she got home. As soon as she opened the door, she heard a strange noise, like wood being chopped. She worried, put her shopping bags on the kitchen table and asked "Ludwig? What's going on?"
The sound stopped abruptly. Then Ludwig came rushing down the stairs.
Felicia had never seen him look the way he did that moment. His hair was tousled, his breath was laboured, his face was red and he was sweating bullets, but what really scared her were his eyes. He looked like he could murder someone with his bare hands. His clear blue eyes were full of hatred. She backed away against the kitchen door and before she could say anything, Ludwig pinned her against the doorframe and shouted in her face. He said just one word.
"SLUT!"