But it was too late for dignity. The ring sat in my palm, small and accusing, and all I could think was that I had shared a bed, a house, a daughter, bills, winters, grief, and laughter with that man for seventy-two years.
Walter had always been a private man.
If there had been another woman tucked somewhere inside all that time, then I didn’t know what part of my life belonged to me anymore.
“Paul,” I said. “You had better tell me everything.”
Paul swallowed hard. “Edith… I promised Walter I’d deliver it if the time ever came. I wish it had never fallen to me.”
Ruth whispered, “Mama, please sit down.”
“No, I stood beside that man my whole life. I can stand a little longer.”
“You had better tell me everything.”
Paul nodded. His hands curled tight, knuckles white with memory. He looked down before he spoke, and for a moment I saw not an old man, but someone bracing himself for old grief.
“It was from 1945, outside Reims. Most of us…” He let out a breath, shaking his head. “We tried not to look for people when we got back. We were tired. And scared, if I’m honest. But your Walter, he noticed everyone.”
Of course he did, I thought to myself.
“There was a young woman, Elena. She kept coming to the gates every morning. She always asked about her husband, Anton. He’d gone missing in all the fighting. She just wouldn’t leave.”
“She kept coming to the gates every morning.”
Ruth squeezed my hand. “Did Dad ever talk about her?”
“I don’t know,” I said, studying Paul. “I can’t remember.”
Paul nodded. “He shared his rations, helped her write letters in broken French, and kept asking after Anton. Some days, Walter could even get her to laugh. He promised he’d keep asking.”
Toby spoke up. “Did they ever find him?”
Paul’s shoulders dropped.
“Did Dad ever talk about her?”
“No, they never did. One day, Elena was told she’d be evacuated. She pressed this ring into Walter’s hand and begged him, ‘If you find my husband, give him this. Tell him I waited.'” He paused, his voice thick. “A few weeks later, we learned that there were casualties in the area she was moved.”
I stared at the ring in my palm, the weight of seventy-two years suddenly heavier.
“But why did you have it?” I asked.
Paul met my eyes.
