Together in Another Place Read Free Page A

nodded then bowed his head.
    ‘Yes,
my wife and children were taken…today,’ he confided over the din of the music.
‘The SS have their ways…and the OD people act them out or…’
    ‘They’re
put on the train too?’ It seemed devilishly cruel to have separated them here.
How could they possibly know where a reunion might be held?
    ‘Yes.
One way or the other…we’re in this together, every one of us.’
    The
confession was said on a sorrowful voice that ended the brief conversation
between them; it left Simon to reflect on the devastating consequences of his enquiry
but he did not have to do so for long.
    Harriette
appeared before a simple set, a homely scene that was revealed as a curtain was
drawn away and the orchestra played the introduction to a song that he had come
to know well. He was soon captivated by her softly modulated voice, the
comforting lilt as she sang out the words of a piece that lasted for only a
moment. Thoughts would turn to home in all who listened, to scenes at bedtime,
perhaps, or of people who were at one with their surroundings and circumstances
and not of a place where boundaries were rigorously enforced.
    Harriette
danced in graceful joyous steps, a brightly coloured package clutched to her
bosom as if it had long been awaited.
    ‘Tralala...tralala...tralala,’
she sang as the tempo of the orchestra’s introduction set the mood.
    ‘At last a little package comes,
    And all are glad...both young and
old,
    What I hold near I’ll soon
unfold...
    How glad all are...when a lovely
package comes,
    For the cloudy skies give way to
sun,
    It’s wrapped real tight...tralala...tralala,
    It’s hard to see how it can be
undone,
    We can’t open it soon
enough...tralala...tralala,
    When that little package comes...tralala...tralala,
    For when we do the sick are
healed...quick as a jot,
    And
on a card we will write our thanks to you, a lot! ’
    Still
clutching the package Harriette waved and smiled happily as she skipped off the
stage.
    ‘Bravo!’
Simon called out but she paid no heed to that.
    Simon
went outside and walked in the gathering gloom to what passed for a stage door.
He would chance it; he’d seek out the girl who possessed his thoughts. The
orchestra had struck up again with another familiar tune and cabaret stars took
their turns to entertain the audience.
    ‘Where
do you think you’re going?’ a hard voice called out. An orderly soon barred his
way as Simon opened the door and chose to step inside.
    ‘I’ll
be glad to see...and speak, to Harriette. She’s finished...I presume?’
    ‘You
presume too much walking in here like this.’
    ‘Maybe...’
    ‘You’re
insolent too...’
    ‘No...I’m
just curious about her. I wanted to say thank you...just to tell her that.’
    ‘Wait
here,’ the orderly instructed and Simon was surprised to hear it said. ‘Do you
think you can manage that?’
    The
man tilted his head in enquiry and his stare upon him made Simon hesitate.
    ‘Yes,
certainly...I can do that,’ Simon assured him, and then he paused. ‘I can do
that as long as I have your word that she’ll be told that I’m here. I’m Simon...’
    ‘Let’s
see if she’s as keen to see you...’
    ‘Thank
you...’
    ‘I’ll
do it this one time...’
    ‘I
can’t ask any more...I live for the day.’
    ‘As
we all do...’
    The
man was gone. His unremarkable overall, with its star, was in bleak contrast to
the colourful costumes of the women on the stage he had seen before and again tonight,
especially Harriette’s.
    Simon
tapped his feet impatiently on the boarded floor, wondering if the young woman
he longed to be with again had gone on stage for another act. The cast, on
nights like this, were usually made of well-known stars, or troupers; Harriette
would only be in a supporting role if called for, he could only assume now.
    The
noise was deafening even in the confined space of the back stage area where he had
been ordered to wait. The little jigs he soon chose