Chocolate Lies Part 2

The day was going to be grand, no doubt about it. The sun was shining and the cloudless sky was a luscious blue, inviting every citizen of Hershey to enjoy the grand weather. The always-present smell of chocolate from the factory was especially delicious today, and the pleasant warmth on Marie’s face made her forget the worries that pestered every civilian during wartime. The day stretched out luxuriously, starting with Marie’s visit to her mother’s workplace at the Illusion candy shop and continuing with a stroll through Hershey Park. Her grandfather had been especially kind and had given Marie a handful of nickels and dimes so that she could ride practically any park ride she wished, including the beautiful carousel overlooking the winding stream dotted with ducks and swans. Marie rode the carousel three times in row, joking and laughing with her mother and feeling as if the reality of war were a million miles away.

"I like it, Mom, " said Marie, popping a piece of popcorn in her mouth and holding the reins of the carousel horse jauntily.

"You mean the whole day at the park? Yes, I like the way Mr. Hershey built this park. Such a nice place for everyone in town," her mother said, patting the oversized marry-go-round rabbit she was riding.

"No, no." said Marie."I mean, I like the name of your candy shop. ‘Illusions’ is a nice name, because it’s what takes us away from all the ugliness. For just this day we can forget all this rationing and all of those horrible headlines about boys getting killed on ships and in Europe."
She finished the last piece of popcorn and crumpled the bag. "I’d like things to remain an illusion forever, you know?"

Her mother coughed lightly and listened to the organ music for a moment before answering. "Well, honey, that would be nice, but the fact is we live in the real world. This war is life in all of its ugliness. Your father is in a foxhole somewhere – only the Lord and the U.S. Army knows - and I could never forget that, no matter how nice things are right now for us."

Her mother looked away just as the carousel slowed down. "Yes, Marie, pretty illusions and childhood fantasies are nice for a while, but the fact is that until the Lord comes back and straightens things out, well, we deal with reality the best way we can."
She got off the wooden animal as the carousel stopped. "Listen, I’m going to go see if I can get some cotton candy. You want to ride some more?"

Marie nodded. "If that’s okay with you."
Her mother smiled. "I’ll join you on the next ride. You’ll be all right here by yourself?" She stepped down onto the pavement.

"I will do my best to watch over her," said a voice behind Marie. She recognized that German accent.
"Dietrich! So good to see you!" She turned around in her seat as the tall young man straddled a gigantic hen and clutched the pole. The scar running down his face was plain to see, but Marie noticed that her mother paid no attention to it. Her mom gave him a wide grin and waved to him. He looked puzzled at the animal, causing both Marie and her mother burst out laughing.

"I had no idea that America grew chickens so big," he joked as Marie’s mother turned and headed toward the concession stand. The music grew louder and the carousel started to move.
"Here, I bought you something, to apologize for my bad behavior yesterday." Dietrich clumsily held out a gold-and-white striped bag. Marie took it and opened it - a bag filled with Hershey bars.

"Dietrich, this is very kind of you. Please don’t feel bad about yesterday. Perhaps I was being too nosey, I tend to be that way sometimes, you know? I ask too much and I talk too much, my dad always says. Anyway, this is wonderful, really it is. I absolutely love chocolate and, well…"
She threw her head back and took a deep breath, "Well, today I’m going to do what I want, and that means eating every bar inside this bag! I’m going to pretend all day, and I’ll pretend the war has ended and everyone is happy, okay? So let’s start celebrating! Will you have some with me?"

Marie held the open bag for the young German. He broke into a grin and took a candy bar.As he took a huge bite and close his eyes in mock joy, Marie took a quick glance at his tortured features. What could have created such a hideous injury? That thick purplish scar snaking across his left eyebrow and through his eyelid. That mangled part of his nose, mocking his otherwise handsome face. She glanced away just as he opened his eyes. What would he have looked like had not this accident happened, she wondered. But even more so, what terrible thing happened to destroy his features? An accident? A beating? "Well, Miss Marie, I hope this karussell is not the only ride for you all day. You don’t need to keep riding it. There are much more rides across the park," Dietrich said, wiping his mouth with a handkerchief. "I really enjoy riding the merry-go-round a lot, but…" Marie stopped. "Say, how did you know I’ve been riding it so much?"Dietrich blushed. "Um, well…I have watched you for a bit of time." He looked away. "I came over to see you and saw you and your mother, but did not want to interfere. Your mother, she is nice, and she is also honorable, working to help out your family. Your opa told me about it."Marie smiled. "Yes, my Grandad is proud of her as well. I guess, you’re right – she is honorable. I guess I hadn’t thought of it that way." The ride slowed to a stop. "And there she is, coming this way." Marie’s mother came over, a concerned look on her face. "Uh, Marie, I’m going to have to head back to the candy shop. A messenger just came to me and told me that the owner’s wife is sick and they’re short-handed. I can make time-and-a half if I go in and work a few hours. This is a pretty good chance for us to make some extra money. Do you mind? I can walk from here."Marie’s face fell. "Aw, Mom, now what will I do? We still had the rest of the afternoon at the Park!"Her mother smiled. "I think you have a capable escort with you right now." She nodded toward Dietrich, who looked away in embarrassment. Her mother trotted off, leaving the two together. "Shall I show you more of the Park?" Dietrich asked, helping her off of the carousel. "Or, that might not work because I am new to the town … maybe since you have been here more times, would you show me?""Glad to," said Marie. "I’ve been here for the past three summers. I’ll be the guide." She ate another portion of a chocolate bar. The afternoon flew by quickly, as the teens traversed the entire Park, from the Penny Arcade to the canoe rides to the roller coasters. The weather was pleasant and the crowds friendly, making it a cozy little respite from the fatiguing war effort that carried on outside the gates. "If you don’t mind, I need to call Grandad and let him know about Mom going back to work, okay?" Marie had stepped away from Dietrich in order to find a telephone, heading toward the side entrance to the Information Booth. "Say, girlie-girl, you out here alone on a day like this?"Marie turned around and squinted. It was Bennett, a boy she recognized from last summer. He was one of the boys she chose to forget. Arrogant, pushy… a teen guy with a shock of blonde hair and a cocky demeanor that either made you like him immensely or avoid him at all costs. Marie chose to avoid him this year, remembering the trouble he caused her last summer. She turned toward the boat rides, leaning against the fence and avoiding his eyes. Once he got his mind on something, he wouldn’t let go until he got it. This guy was bad news…He didn’t wait for her to answer his question. "Girl, you look even better than last summer." He moved in close to her. "And for that matter, so do I. ""The only thing worse than your ego is your breath. Back off, Bennett," Marie replied, sidling along a fence in order to get around him. "Find another adventure.""Hey! Hey! I was only going to ask you to join us at youth group this Wednesday night," said Bennett, leaning against her and pinning her against the fence. "I mean, you’re a church girl, after all, so what could happen? And last summer, we had some pretty good times, didn’t we?""None that I’m proud of. And quit calling me ‘church girl.’ You know it’s more than that," said Marie, pushing away his hand. "That was last summer, and I’m not like that anymore."Bennett’s face drew near. "Yeah? Well, there are plenty of church activities for us to find out if we can get that spark back again. Look, we could go on a canoe ride…"

Marie pushed at him with both hands. "I told you. I’m not like that anymore. Get away!"
A few teens from the youth group came over to see what was happening.Bennett chuckled and started to move forward again but was restrained by a large hand on his shoulder. "Marie, is there schwierigkeiten? Trouble?"
Dietrich stood a full head above Bennett. Bennett turned and looked at Dietrich with a sneer. "Oh, so this is your knight in shining armor? Ugly one, at that. Man, whoever slashed your face didn’t finish the job."

Some other teens gathered at the scene, and Marie recognized some of them from church last summer.

Bennett gestured with his head. "Hey girls, get this. Marie needs a Nazi bodyguard to keep her safe."

"That’s enough, Ben," said a short girl with glasses. "Leave him alone," said a blonde girl.

Bennett turned to Dietrich. "Say, Mister Kommandant, you want to remove your hand from my shoulder before I break it in two? "

Dietrich ignored the insults. "Marie, I ask you: is this young man bothering you?"

Bennett shook his head. "Buddy, you don’t know what you’re getting into…"

"Quit showing off, Ben!" yelled the girl in glasses. By now a small crowd had gathered.

The next moments were frozen into slow motion in Marie’s mind, one that would be replayed over and over in her memory. Bennett cocked his fist and swung with all his might as the girls screamed. With a minimum of effort, Dietrich dodged the blow and moved in quickly.
Before Bennett knew what happened, Dietrich had grabbed him with one hand at the collar and the other grabbing the back of his pants at the belt. In one superhuman effort, he lifted Bennett fully off the ground and heaved him over the fence into the lake. Bennett landed with a resounding splash and spluttered to the surface to see the crowd clapping and laughing.

Marie stood open-mouthed in amazement. Dietrich touched her shoulder lightly. "Are you okay, Marie?" Dumbly, she nodded. "Then I suggest we go now," he said briskly.

-----

It had been a day to remember, and Marie glanced up happy but tired as the two stood on the front steps in the quiet orchard that night. Dietrich bowed his head slightly. "Gute Nacht , Marie. You have been most kind." As he walked quietly toward the worker’s hut at the far end of the orchard, she realized that even though they had spent the whole day together, she knew very little about his background. Why, I don’t even know his last name. She looked down at the many prizes he had won for her: a small stuffed cow, a paper fan, a metal airplane, a necklace …oops. He forgot to get his wallet, she realized. He gave it to me when he was paying for the baseball throw. Quickly Marie dropped the small pile of items on the porch and ran toward the worker’s huts. Which one was it? It’s too dark to tell. Feeling guilty, she stole a glance through the windows, trying to get a bearing on which hut would house Dietrich. She looked through a window and saw him, but he was not alone. There was that little man once again, bent over and smiling as Dietrich gave him a chocolate bar and a pennant. The man nodded and sat down on the edge of a bed. Dietrich glanced out the window and quickly shut the curtain.------"Marie, you’ve been with that worker of mine all week. That German boy. He’s a hard worker, and I don’t want you distracting him during work time, you hear?" Her grandfather looked over his newspaper as he sat on the old wooden chair near the stove, waiting for the coffee pot to boil.Marie shook her head as she set the table. "Never bothered him at his job, Grandad. I know the rules. In fact, I steer clear of the work site altogether, " she said, turning and checking the stove. "Dietrich’s been a wonderful gentlemen in everything he does, and he’s taken me to the town’s rose gardens, the museum, and even to a tour through the factory just before it closed yesterday. He’s a very dear friend, Grandad. But I do have one question … or maybe two. Grandad, I asked Dietrich his last name the other day, and he got quite upset. Do you know why he would act that way?"Her grandfather scowled at the ceiling as he thought. "Nope. Can’t say I know his last name, either. He’s a hard worker, does the work of two men. Always pay him in cash and apples, and other than seeing you, he spends time in his hut, with his family. I think his mom is with him. They’re immigrants, moved to America when the Nazis started getting nasty. They had to up and run for it. They lost everything and had to start again. They all squeezed into the hut at the end. He’s a good worker and I don’t ask any questions. But every once in awhile I hear him talk about how bad the Nazis were.""Is that what happened to his face – the Nazis beat him?""Can’t say that I know, Marie. It’s not the sort of thing you ask a man.""That’s true," Marie admitted, lifting the coffee pot. "But … the little old man with him, the one who hardly ever comes outside… seems like they try to hide him.""Marie," Grandad said sternly as he lowered the newspaper. "Now I’m going to tell you once again about a Christian’s behavior. You leave things alone, understand? All I know is that for a summer’s contract of work in the orchard, I let Dietrich have a house for his family – I don’t care if there are three or thirteen of them squeezed in there – and I let them be. He only told me that they had it bad in Germany with the Nazis sniffing at their every move, and they barely made it out alive. We will give them their space, you hear?""Yes, Grandad, but I wish I knew why he was so secretive about his last name and all," she said as she poured him a mug of coffee. "What a day!" her mother breezed into the room. "I’m tired but not too worn out. Is there dinner yet? You know, the candy store actually delivered a chocolate cake that was seven layers. I never saw such a thing! And get this – the owners are giving me a raise! I’ll be making 36 cents an hour, now. How about that?" She took off her hat and turned toward Marie. "Well, it certainly is a surprise to see you here for once this week," she teased. "It’s like you and Dietrich have been together every evening since the day at the amusement park. Oh, I forgot to tell you, some of the girls from church came by and wanted me to remind you about meeting them for ice cream at the dairy later on this evening. ""I was planning on going, Mom, if it’s okay with you.""Sure, it’s okay. But why aren’t you taking Dietrich with you?" "Well, the girls wanted to get together and plan a picnic for the church. No boys allowed, you know? We want it that way. The pastor gave us permission, and all the girls seemed pretty excited about it. Get this - we even get a budget. The pastor said that we could have $20 to spend on food and other things that people don’t donate." She poured the last cup of coffee. "He said this picnic is to welcome some of the wounded servicemen back, but also for the church just to get together and socialize, kind of bond a little closer together.""Well, that’s okay with me," said her mother, placing napkins on the tables and glancing out the window, " just let me know when I can pick you up, because I don’t want you walking home - why there’s Dietrich with the little old man, walking along the edge of the orchard, next to the barn!"

Marie turned to squint through the window in the sunset light, and sure enough, there was the little old man limping along with Dietrich, both of them looking about and holding something between them. Why is he hiding something?
Why do the two of them try to sneak about? Marie wondered. Grandad never looked up from the newspaper. "Well, get this! I never knew such a thing. Says that Hitler’s got relatives in other countries! Some are in Austria, sure, but listen - some are here in the United States. Long Island, New York is one place...a Brigid and a Willie Hitler...""Are you serious?" asked Marie. "A Hitler relative? Here? In America?""That’s not all," said Grandad. "There’s an Alois Hitler whom they’ve lost contact with...says he’s traveling with maybe one or two of his family...old geezer by now, and he probably has a son or two."

Marie dropped the coffee pot.
--------

Within the hour, Marie met the girls at the dairy’s ice cream shop. Looking through the glass window at the milk being churned, poured and bottled, the five girls chatted lightly about the war news and about the upcoming social event at the church.

"We’ve even got people to donate some of their meat ration coupons so we can have a little extra for the meal," said a blonde girl named Cathy. "Annie, you know the way you decorate, that you and Shirley could drape the ceiling like you did at Christmas.""And then Paulette could make that white cake, couldn’t you, Paulette?" added Annie. "And Marie, you can make some cakes, too.""Oh, I don’t think Marie will be able to," said Paulette cattily. "She’s got her mind on Germany, and I don’t mean overseas either.""What? A boy?" asked Shirley. "A German boy at church? We don’t have any Krauts in our church. What’s going on here?""Well, all I know, " said Paulette, seizing on the attention, "is that people have been saying that Marie has been seen at the Rose Garden and with a pretty stiff-walking Aryan gentleman who has been especially attentive to her every whim.""My dad said he’s shoot any German that wasn’t born and raised here, right here in Dauphin County," declared Annie. "Shoot ‘em all."The four girls stared at Marie in a mixture of fascination, disgust and evil delight, waiting for her response. She knew about anti-German sentiment in the many communities across the country, and how vicious people could be to sympathizers. She had to think fast. She was the outsider, after all, visiting from Philadelphia.Marie lifted her eyes to them and assumed a self-important look. "You might say I’ve been doing a bit of spying, trying to find proof about something. And," she leaned closer to the girls, who became wide-eyed, "I believe I’ve discovered something pretty shocking."