SWING
Chapter Fourteen

The next day, in order to dodge Cal and her mother, Rose started out early. She was walking across the bridge she had tried to jump from the night before last when she spotted Jack intently drawing in his portfolio. Looking at him, she knew he wasn’t very happy.

"Jack?" She walked up behind him, making sure that she didn’t startled him into dropping the portfolio into the rushing river.

"Rose, hey." Jack smiled, but she noticed the smile didn’t reach his eyes. "What are you doing out so early?"

"Avoiding my mother and Cal." Rose shrugged, leaning on the railing next to him. "How about you? I’ve never seen you so intent on drawing."

"The same thing. Avoiding my oh so loving mother." Jack sighed, staring out over the river. "I’m telling you, Rose. It’s like I never knew her."

Rose frowned. She had never heard Jack talk like this before, but of course she hadn’t known him for long, either. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"She wants me to give up swing dancing, Rose. Can you believe her? And do you know what she says she’ll do if I don’t give it up? Do you?"

Rose shook her head. She was going to be Jack’s sounding board, just like he was hers. That was at least something she could do for him, after all he’d done for her.

"She says if I don’t give up swing dancing, she’s going to sign me up for the Youths! Can you believe her? She thinks she can make me be a sellout like Tommy! How dare she?"

"What are you going to do, Jack?"

"I’m going to have to give up Swing. Or at least act like it. I’m still going to dance, but I’m going to take down my posters and act like I’m the proper German teenager." Jack rolled his eyes. "All for that stinking Nazi!"

"Jack…I wish I could do something to help you." Rose sighed.

"You are, Rose. Just standing here listening to me rant about my mother is enough. I’m sorry for dumping all of this on you."

"Hey, with all the garbage I dump on you, I’m glad to be of some help." Rose smiled, reaching up to pull a blond strand out of his eyes.

"You really are beautiful. You know that?"

Rose blushed. She really couldn’t get used to his compliments. She knew then that she would always be perfect in his eyes. "Jack…I like you a lot."

"I like you, too, Rose." He leaned in and kissed her. They were interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Jack and Rose turned to find Tommy sheepishly looking at them. Jack pulled Rose behind him and glared at his former friend. He noticed Fabrizio approaching.

"Jack, Tommy, hi," Fabrizio greeted, but frowned when he noticed the tension.

"You better get away from Tommy, Fabri. He’s sold out." Jack crossed his arms.

"What?" Fabrizio asked, taking a step away from Tommy, confusion in his eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"He’s a Nazi in training."

"Jack, that’s not fair!" Tommy protested. "Last night…I…"

"Was it or was it not you that helped drag Rose and I out of the diner, Tommy?"

"I begged you to cooperate. Besides, you’re not hurt, and neither is Rose. You both escaped."

"That’s not the point! You helped them! You were chasing after us just like they were! What are you here for now? To drag Rose and Fabri off to a camp? Because if you do, I’ll kill you before I let you take either one of them."

"I would never do such a thing," Tommy practically whispered. He knew he was going to get it from Jack, but he didn’t expect such bitterness and hostility.

"Yeah, right. Listen, go hang with your new friends and leave us alone. We don’t like Nazis around here."

"You’re one to talk, Jack." Tommy sighed, crossing his arms. "Word has it that your soon-to-be new stepfather is a full-grown Nazi and he’s planning to have you join the Youths. So I wouldn’t be so high and mighty if I were you."

"I’d die before joining the Youths," Jack growled.

"You say that now." Tommy snorted before walking away, hoping that someday Jack could forgive him.

"Ignore him, Jack." Rose placed a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah, Jack. I know you’d never become a Nazi." Fabrizio nodded. "I’m just so disappointed in Tommy. I thought he was our friend."

"So did I. But we thought wrong." Jack bowed his head. "Tommy was never our friend."

"Jack…what do you want to do now?" Rose asked, placing her hand in his.

"We can swing by the music store. I’m sure Fievil has some new records in. He’ll at least let us listen to his stash, if nothing else." Jack shrugged. "Rest assured, Fabri, no matter what…I’ll never give up swing. Never."

"Jack?" A voice spoke up from behind. Jack turned around to see his mother’s Nazi boyfriend. "Fancy running into you here. Are these your friends?" He looked at Rose, and especially Fabrizio, with distaste.

"Yes, they are." Jack got on the defensive.

"I see." The older man nodded. He looked at Rose closely, making her feel like she was a specimen under a microscope. "What is your name, girl?"

"Rose DeWitt…"

"That is none of your damn business," Jack growled. "Why don’t you go and find someone else to harass? We’re only taking a walk through the park to get to school."

"School, huh?" The nazi just looked at Fabrizio as if he were a foreign object. "Somehow I doubt that. But carry on. And Jack, consider joining the Youths. You’ll come in contact with proper association."

Jack just glared at the man as he continued down the street. "Can you believe him?"

"I think I better get home." Fabrizio swallowed, shaken up by the encounter. "My parents may have plans they need to discuss with me."

"You don’t think they’ll force your family to leave, do you?" Rose gasped, realizing what might happen to her new friend.

"I know they will. If not now…soon. My papa says we’re being watched. He sees strange SS men following us and standing in front of the house. We’re all afraid for our lives."

"Damn them. They can’t get away with this," Jack growled. "There has to be a way to stop them."

"But how, Jack? I mean, we’re talking about the government here, and a quite mad one at that. How can we possibly stop them from tearing people away from their homes? We’re just three people."

"We’ll find more people who believe in the same thing. My father always said that if you look hard enough, you’ll find a solution. All we have to do is look hard."

They lapse into a comfortable silence as the trio continued to the record store. It was Rose who spoke first.

"What do you suppose they do with the people they take away, Jack? I heard that once they take you away, you’re never seen again."

"There’s a rumor that they’re killing those people in the camps. That they're putting them in gas chambers and incinerating the bodies…" Fabrizio answered, his eyes wide with fear. What if that happened to his family? Or any of his friends?

"No way. That has to be a rumor." Jack shook his head. "I mean…that’s mass murder…they wouldn’t be able to get away with that, would they?" Jack knew it was naïve, but a part of him was hoping that there was a limit to the government’s actions. To think of so many people being put to death, just because they were different from the average German, was too much for him to handle.

"They can get away with whatever they want to," Rose said. "Oh, my, this is too awful…why are we talking about such things?"

"It’s a fact of life, sweetie. It’s the world we live in," Jack somberly replied. "This makes me want to take off for America right now."

"You want to go to America?" Rose looked at him in shock. She had no idea that he even wanted to leave Germany.

"We both do. It’s safer over there. Here…anything could happen. You can disappear…like Jack’s father did…" Fabrizio slipped, forgetting that Jack wasn’t aware of the rumors that were floating around about his father. Albert Dawson was an outspoken American who had come to Germany to see more of the horizon. He had fallen in love with a German girl and had made his home in Germany. But he had disappeared when Jack was fifteen, never to be seen again. Fabrizio’s parents especially found it odd that his wife was acting like he was already dead, but never questioned them.

"It’s okay, Fabri. My mother came out with the truth today. He didn’t die. He disappeared. I wonder what happened to him."

"No one knows, Jack." Fabrizio shrugged, not voicing his idea or what he had witnessed the last time he had seen Jack’s father. The last time he had seen Albert Dawson was when the man had come to the defense of a young Jewish boy. He had directly stood between the SS officers and the boy. To the di Rossi’s horror, Albert was arrested and that was the last anyone ever saw of him.

"Fabrizio?" Rose noticed how he was looking at Jack, as if he knew something but didn’t want to say. "What is it? Do you know what happened to Jack’s father?"

"…not really…but I did see him get arrested and that’s the last we saw of him…listen, let’s stop talking about this. It’s not safe." Fabrizio’s eyes widened with fear. "I’m going home. Bye." He broke off into a run, disappearing behind a corner.

Jack shook his head. "I don’t know whether to believe him or not." Jack sighed. "Fabri’s my best friend, but he has a tendency to blow things out of proportion. Hey, are you okay? You’re looking a bit pale."

"I’m fine. Just…scared. For the first time, I’m afraid, Jack. What if they find out about my father? What if they send me to one of those camps where they’re incinerating people?"

"Shh, Rosie. I’m not going to let that happen. I promise. We’ll both go to America, and then we can go to the pier they have in Santa Monica. We’re going to be okay." Jack wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. She smiled up at him, finding herself believing in what he said, when they hear a voice cry out in pain. They pulled apart and followed the sounds of the scream . They both gasped in horror as they saw a Hitler Youth attacking Fabrizio.

"Damn Gypsy!" The boy sent a boot into Fabrizio’s midsection.

"Jack!" Rose gasped in horror, stuck in one place, not knowing what to do to help Fabrizio, but obviously Jack did. He ran up and smashed his fist into the older boy’s face.

"Leave him alone." Jack stood between Fabrizio and the youth.

"What do you care? He’s just a gypsy!" the other boy snarled.

"He’s my friend." Jack crossed his arms as Rose went to help Fabrizio to his feet.

"You’re asking for trouble, sticking up for this." The boy nodded towards Fabrizio.

"I’m not afraid of you, or your gang of little Nazis." Jack stood his ground. "Now get out of here, before I break more than your nose."

"You’re going to get it, swing kid," the boy growled, before taking off down the street.

Jack turned to his friend, who was looking at him with worry. "What? What’s wrong?"

"Be careful, Jack," Fabrizio warned. "Be very careful."

"Come on. Let’s get you to a doctor." Jack grinned.

*****

That night, after walking Rose back home, Jack found his mother and her fiancé waiting for him. Neither of them looked too happy.

"It’s about time you got in." His mother somberly crossed her arms. "Where were you?"

"Walking Rose home." Jack shrugged. "Why?"

"Hansel here tells me some disturbing news. That you’re still associating with that gypsy boy…"

"You never told me not to." Jack shrugged.

"Well, I am now, and I’m not finished. He tells me that you broke the nose of a top Youth when he tried to discipline the boy."

"Discipline? Is that what they’re calling beating up on a defenseless kid, just because he’s a gypsy, now?"

"Don’t get smart with me, young man," Gretel warned. "I am your mother, and I will not have you forget that. Now, first of all, Hansel has been kind enough to sign you up for the Youths himself."

"What?"

"And I’ve given him my permission to punish you for your actions today. You are going to behave like a proper German teenager if it kills you."

"But, Mom!"

"Enough. I won’t hear anything else from you. Now go to your room and wait for Hansel in there. You’re going to be taught respect, Jack. Whether you like it or not." Greta turned away from her son, not wanting to see the betrayal in his eyes.

"Fine, then. Good night, Mother." Jack barged off to his room.

"Don’t worry. I won’t be too hard on him." Hansel smiled at his fiancée and entered Jack’s room, his fists clenched.

Greta winced each time she heard her son cry out in pain and sometimes call for her. But she closed her eyes and pretended like he wasn’t calling her. After two hours, the cries turned to silence and Hansel exited the room.

"That’s a tough kid you have in there." Hansel pulled her into his arms.

"He takes after his father, I’m afraid. I’m so sorry, Hansel…this shouldn’t be your job…"

"But it is. And I’m sorry this needs to be done, but Jack’s going to have to learn that he can no longer do what he pleases, and it’s time to act like a responsible adult."

"I heard him calling for me…"

"Shh. He’ll forgive you, darling. He’ll see that this was all for the best."

Jack’s mother sighed contentedly as Hansel led her to the bedroom, confident that he was right. That Jack would see that this was for his own good.

Jack waited until everyone went to sleep before painfully dragging himself out of bed. He grabbed his portfolio, a picture of his father, and a few other items. He couldn’t stay in that apartment another night. He saw that now. His mother was someone entirely different now, and he no longer trusted her. Plus, his father’s presence was no longer there. It had left the minute she brought Hansel the Punisher home.

Taking one last look at the apartment, and pushing back the dizziness that threatened to overtake him, Jack slipped out into the dark night. He hoped that someday he would see his mother again, but for right now he hoped that day was far away.

Chapter Fifteen
Stories