Remembering the Ghost of You

May 4th, 1945

I was finishing drawing my picture for Esmerie’s birthday today. She was upstairs taking a nap with Greta and Mrs. Dupont was finishing the cake she was baking. She’d been saving the ingredients for a very long time and thought this was the prefect occasion. Not to mention we’d just gotten conformation that Hitler was dead and this war was ending. Most soldiers were being sent back here or to help with camps or given the choice to go help fight the Japanese. I had no desire to do that. I was content here.
“You are such an amazing artist Gerard,” Mrs. Dupont mused as she hovered behind me. I was drawing Esmerie and Greta smiling and playing with the dolls Esmerie had although she’d given two of them two Greta officially. She’d told me Greta was her sister and needed toys too.
“Gerard we are coming downstairs!” I heard Esmerie scream from upstairs. I then heard her race across the upstairs and down. She was wearing a dark blue dress that was a little too big for her and her hair had been braided and tied with red ribbons. “Greta did my hair!” she exclaimed to me.
“I can see that, but there is no need to be so loud Esmerie,” I told her and she smiled before running back to the stairs. Since we’d gotten here Greta had been starting to walk around more. She was weak and used a crutch, but she told me being able to walk around on her own again made her happier. Esmerie loved it too and told her all about how she broke her leg. At night, before they fell asleep I’d hear Greta teaching Esmerie words in German and Yiddish. I’d come to learn that Greta’s father was a scholar and knew many languages. They spent four years in hiding and in that time he’d taught her French and English to pass the time. In the end it just gave Esmerie more words to run around shouting. Even Greta told me she didn’t know where the energy in the little girl came from.
Esmerie came back into the kitchen with Greta in tow. Greta wore a pink dress and bows in her short hair. She smiled sheepishly. “I haven’t worn something this nice ever,” she told me running her fingers over the lace and satin of the dress. Mrs. Dupont had a huge chest of girls clothing of all sizes. The two would dress up in it most times. It was clothing that had belonged to Mrs. Dupont’s two daughters who now lived in Canada.
“That was a dress I had made for Adele, my youngest. I’d almost forgotten about it, but you look beautiful in it,” Mrs. Dupont said making Greta blush.
“I think you both look wonderful and I think I’m going to take you both with me to the hospital and show you off!” I said and scooped both the girls up. They giggled and I turned to Mrs. Dupont. “We will be back for dinner!” I said and headed to the front door. It was a nice spring day out too and the second we were outside Esmerie demanded she be let down. Greta told me she’d walk too. So we walked down the street slowly, well Esmerie was basically running circles around us.
“I heard you say Hitler was dead. Is he really?” Greta asked as we walked. I nodded.
“His body was found and everything. He’s officially gone and this war is just about over,” I told her. She started to cry and I crouched down. “What’s wrong?!” I asked afraid that I’d sad something wrong. She shook her head.
“No it’s just he’s finally gone. I thought he’d be ruling forever, but to hear that he is finially gone …” she trailed off and smiled.
“Why are you crying?” Esmerie asked and wrapped her tiny arms around Greta.
“A bad man is gone and he can’t hurt anyone anymore,” she told Esmerie.
“That is good! No need to cry!” she said and smiled at Greta.
“Esmerie is right. Today is a happy day and it’s Esmerie’s birthday too!” I said and the girls smiled at me.
“Sing a song Gerard, por favor?” Esmerie asked and I smiled. A song that I’d heard a few years ago crossed into my mind. I’d taken Mikey, Rebecca and Samantha to the theater to see this movie and it was amazing. It was so weird to see a movie in color. I hadn’t seen it since, but the music was always on the radio.
“Ding dong the witch is dead. Which old witch? The wicked witch! Ding dong the wicked witch is dead!” I sang and they laughed.
“What is that?” Esmerie asked.
“It’s from a movie I saw a few years ago,” I told her and picked both girls up again and started dancing around while I sang.
“Wake up you sleepy heads. Rub your eyes, get out of bed! Wake up the wicked witch is dead! He’s gone where the goblins go below, below, below. Yo ho! Let’s all get up and sing and ring the bells out! Ding dong the merry-o! sing it high! Sing it low. Let them know the wicked witch is dead!”
By the time we got to the hospital I’d sang the song six times through and they were now joining in. “Well aren’t you just the picture perfect father,” Frank laughed as we rounded the corner. I smiled at him. I couldn’t help it. Being with these two made me so happy and then to see Frank back in Paris made it better.
“FRANK!” Esmerie bellowed and he lifted her from my arms. “I’m four now,” she told him and he smiled.
“Are you sure? I thought you were one hundred!” Frank said and tickled her belly.
“No I’m four! Someone lied to you!” she giggled and held up four fingers. “Just four.”
“Well isn’t that something,” he said and she hugged his neck tightly.
“I have a sister now too. Gerard got her for me,” she said and I laughed. That’s what she’d been telling everyone since Greta arrived.
“I know I met Greta. But there is someone you haven’t met yet,” he said and Esmerie’s brows furrowed in confusion. Greta smiled though. She knew, and I knew, who Frank was talking about. He whistled and seconds later Fighter came running over producing a squeal of delight from Esmerie. He set her down and she immediately started hugging the puppy.
“Greta told me about you!” she said happily to Fighter. I set Greta down too and they both pet the extremely happy Fighter.
“He’s such an attention whore,” Frank said to me and offered me a cigarette. I laughed. “She’s doing better too,” he commented and I nodded.
“Not as good as I’d like though. She’s getting stronger, but she’s still really sick,” I told him thinking to the nights when she’d wake up unable to stop coughing and the way she’d hide the blood from Esmerie.
“It’ll be okay,” Frank said.
“I hope so,” I said and exhaled. “So how long are you here for?” I asked hoping he’d say until his service was up.
“In a few days I’m going back to Dachau. I came here to see all of you, but I’m also here getting supplies. Most people had decided to go off to Japan so I offered to stay and help in the hospitals and stuff with Ray. Samantha actually convinced me to go back there and help,” he said and I nodded. At least he wasn’t going to fight the Japanese.
“Is Ray still up there?” I asked.
“Yeah the guy has basically swamped himself in helping people. He’s going to work himself to death at this rate, but after hearing that the bastard was finally dead it’s like everyone is even more determined to save as many people as possible,” he told me.
“Make’s sense,” I said and he nodded. “So you going to come back with us for cake?” I asked and his eyes almost bugged out of his head.
“Like a real cake?” he asked me excitedly and I nodded.
“Fuck wow. I’ve been living off shit so of course I want cake! Oh god I can like taste it!” he said and I laughed. “I think my taste buds are crying with happiness right now Gee.”
“Trust me it’s going to taste a hundred times better then ever now,” I said thinking about when I’d first gotten back here and everything that was cooked automatically tasted so much better then anything I’d ever eaten before.
“Oh god I can’t wait!” he cried and I laughed some more. I’d have to say that days like this made me glad that I’d actually made it through this damn war.