“Here comes Eva to congratulate you.”
The spell was broken.
“Congratulate me? I don’t think so. I should join my father.” She scurried across the floor, away from Lieutenant Philipp and his witch of a girlfriend.
November 1940
Three months after the accident, Gabi returned to the academy to complete her training. She had studied diligently during her convalescence and only needed to rack up flying hours to obtain her pilot licence and wings.
Unfortunately, Heinz struggled with all things academic and was informed that if he did not pass his final exam, he would be transferred elsewhere in the Wehrmacht. He moped about the base in his despair, hoping for a miracle but settling on a sympathetic ear to listen to his tale of woe.
“Did you hear I won’t be graduating with you?”
With crossed brow and vexed eyes, Gabi put on her most concerned face. She lowered her voice to a tone deep with worry and seated herself on a bench beside him.
“What do you mean? Graduation’s at the end of the month. What’s wrong?”
“If I don’t pass the finals, I’m off to infantry as trench fodder and there’s no way I’m going to pass.”
Gabi felt sorry for Heinz. He was a good pilot and marksman. She knew that he didn’t really follow most of the theory, but it didn’t affect his performance in the sky—the accident was due to a mechanical problem and not his flying ability.
“I can tutor you. The exam isn’t until the end of the week; I’m sure I can get you through,” she said.
Heinz slid closer to Gabi. “Really? You would do that for me?”
The bench tilted and Gabi quickly stood to stop herself from sliding to the ground, but Heinz’s reflexes were not so sharp and he tumbled into the dust. Gabi couldn’t help but laugh. As much as she liked him, her father had been right: he was a clumsy fellow.
“Come, lets’ get started.” Gabi grabbed Heinz by the arm and hauled him to the library, seating him behind a desk, hidden from view at the back of the building. It was her special place, tucked away behind a compendium of philosophical works considered irrelevant and therefore never referenced, giving her the solitude and privacy she needed every now and again.
“Wait here, I’ll be back.”
She returned sometime later with books and manuals, paper and pencils and set to work quizzing Heinz on his level of knowledge. Sadly, the prognosis did not look good for Heinz, his blank expression confirming the enormity of the challenge ahead.
They worked on the fundamentals, studying for hours until both Heinz and Gabi could focus no more.
“No, no, no… you’ve got it the wrong way around. Kinetic energy is speed and potential energy is altitude.”
Gabi ran her fingers through her hair, feeling the frustration that accompanies futile effort. Heinz leaned back in his chair oblivious to her stress.
“God, you’re mellow. I wish I could switch off like you,” she said.
“I can only take in so much—no point flogging a dead horse or even a dumb one.”
Gabi closed the journal in front of her. “Okay, I get it—enough for today.” She gathered their books and stationery together. It had been a long, exhausting day and Gabi was looking forward to a shower and sleep. She glanced up at Heinz who was rocking on his chair, smiling. “What’s up with you?”
“Oh, nothing, I only just realised that your eyes are green.”
“My eye colour? Is that what you’ve been thinking about? You need to get focused if you want to pass the finals.”
“You’re right, but did you know that green eyes are the rarest eye colour?”
She drew her brows together over her rare green eyes. Was Heinz always this easily distracted? He had a wealth of trivia in his head, but no sense of consequence. “No, I didn’t and I don’t think it’s that important right now, do you?”
He ignored her question and continued his rambling. “My brother has really light blue eyes which is strange because he is the only one in the family with an eye colour like that.” Heinz leaned forward and lowered his voice. “I sometimes stir him up by reminding him that our local butcher has exactly the same ice-blue eyes and that Mama always seems to get the best cuts of meat.”
With a knowing smirk, she called an end to the prattle “Come on, let’s go. We can have another crack at aero-physics tomorrow.”
Heinz flinched as though he had stood on broken glass, lumbering after Gabi with the enthusiasm of an undertaker.
The results were posted on the board the day after the test. Heinz raced over on hearing that they were out, anxiously running his finger down the list.
‘Heinz Dorfmann—sixty-eight percent’
His heart jumped. Not only had he passed, but it was a respectable result. Elated and relieved, he turned to Klaus to share his excitement, slapping him hard on the ridge of his back.
“Ouch, that hurt! But how lucky are you?” Klaus said. “God only knows how Gabi managed this miracle.”
“Have you seen her?”
Klaus pointed to the far end of the corridor where Gabi stood chatting with Josef. Heinz whacked Klaus on his back again, sending him tumbling before barrelling down the passage, scooping Gabi up in his arms and whisking her around.
She squealed with surprise and her heart leapt with joy at Heinz’s display of affection while Josef stepped back to avoid a collision, toppling over a bench and landing heavily.
“Heinz—put me down… Josef—are you hurt?”
Josef’s faced reddened. He brushed himself off and scurried outside and away from the source of his embarrassment.
Heinz, totally oblivious to Josef and his tumble, blurted his excitement. “Gabi, Gabi… I’ve passed. We did it. Sixty-eight percent! I’ve never scored that high before!”
“I’m so happy for you, Heinz. Now put me down; I have to check on Josef.”
She found him sitting on a rail at the far side of a sports ground looking drearily at his hand, picking at calluses.
“Are you okay?” she asked, leaning on the rail beside him.
Josef stood quietly, looking across the field as if waiting for a game to start. “You like him, don’t you?”
“You’re my best friend.”
“But you like him, don’t you?”
Gabi nodded.
Josef looked away, unwilling to show the hurt. “You know those pilots will break your heart every time.”
Gabi stretched her arm across Josef’s shoulder and squeezed. “Oh Josef, you deserve a girl that’s a little more grounded than me—I’ll break your heart every time.”
He forced a smile. “You’re a good friend, Gabi. But that’s all you’ll ever be, isn’t it?”
She turned away and gazed out over the deserted field. Yes, she thought but she could not bring herself to say it.
“Come with me.” Heinz took Gabi by the hand and pulled her along behind him. “I’ve got something to show you.”
It was the week before graduation and the academy buzzed with excitement, cadets busying themselves with ceremony rehearsals and transfer arrangements. But not all cadets were focussed on graduation.
“Isn’t she sweet? I won her in a card game. Not as good as my BMW back home but nice just the same,” Heinz said proudly.
Gabi eyed the Zündapp KKS500 motorcycle, squatting low to inspect the engine. “Two cylinders… is it fast?”