“We are pleased to get to know you better. Piotr speaks so highly of you.”

The faintest of flushes stole over Sara’s cheeks, and it struck me for the first time that she often blushed when Piotr’s name came up. I tucked the observation away in the back of my mind, something to ponder later.

“He is a good friend. But I have to confess, I do have something to ask of you tonight. I’m not sure if you are aware that I work for the Department of Social Welfare and Public Health, for the Warsaw Council. We are very busy, with so many struggling and suffering. It is hard but noble work, managing and organizing a series of soup kitchens around the city. And I was thinking about Elz·bieta here, and how clever she is and how it is such a waste to have a bright young mind sitting idle when there is so much to be done. So I spoke with my supervisor, and we wondered if perhaps Elz·bieta would consider coming aboard our team in some capacity. After all, were it not for the occupation, she would be studying at high school right now. But it would not break any rules for her to undertake, say, an apprenticeship with my team.” There was a stunned moment of silence as Truda and Mateusz glanced from Sara to me, and Truda’s eyes narrowed further. Sara continued, undaunted. “There is no rule which says that bright young women cannot learn at work. I myself got my start through a nursing apprenticeship when I was not much older than Elz·bieta is now. I know that she has perhaps not made the wisest choices of late due to her boredom, and I do trust that you know what is best for her. However, I wondered if, rather than punishing the behavior, you would consider some meaningful work as a strategy to address the root of it...a strategy to mitigate her boredom, perhaps.”

“I don’t think this is a good idea,” Truda said firmly, her tone low and directed only to Mateusz.

He was watching me closely, thoughtfully, and then he turned to Sara and asked, “What exactly would Elz·bieta be doing?”

“There is a mountain of paperwork on my desk that needs filing, for a start, and then maybe after that she can help answer the phones. If we clear the backlog, I thought I would have one of the typing-pool girls come in to show her how to use the typewriter so she can help me with my notes. There is much to be done from the safe confines of my office while she will be learning about public health and about how the city cares for our citizens. It’s not quite the same as a nursing position, but it will lay a great foundation for her if she chooses to pursue nursing as a job once the war is over.” Sara paused, then grimaced self-consciously. “I could really do with the help. The typing pool is so far behind. It’s months before they get to my work, and often by the time they do I’ve forgotten what my scrawls were supposed to mean.”

“That seems innocuous enough,” Mateusz said, but he was still frowning. “Still, she would need to get to and from your office, and I don’t like the idea of her traveling alone around the city.”

“Actually, she would travel with me on the tram. There’s no danger, provided she carries her papers. And I can assure you that working in my office would be every bit as safe as staying inside your apartment all day—perhaps even more so, because she would be less inclined to make mischief.”

I’d have protested at the way they were speaking about me, but I wanted this so badly I could taste it. I had come to understand that my days at Sara’s office would only marginally be more interesting than my days staring out the apartment window, but the idea of contributing to something bigger than myself had sparked an excitement in me that I hadn’t known I was capable of feeling. If me typing would free up some of Sara’s time to help the Jewish children, then I’d be the best typist she’d ever had.

“We will need to discuss this,” Truda said stiffly. She watched me closely as she took a sip of her coffee, her gaze sharp.

“Of course,” Sara said, her tone mild. She glanced at me, and then she added, “And, of course, I’ll understand if this isn’t right for Elz·bieta. It was my friendship with your daughter that inspired this idea; however, there is a whole city of bright young women underutilized at the moment, so I can always find someone else to assist me. Now, that is enough of the business talk. Tell me about your home—you were originally from Morowice?”

We weren’t from Morowice, but that was the story we’d decided to tell people when we arrived in Warsaw, and so Mateusz took it from there, providing Sara with our fictitious backstory. We stayed until the coffee was gone, but I sat in silence while the adults made small talk, and then I held my breath as I walked along the hallway with Truda and Mateusz, waiting for their reaction to Sara’s proposal. As we slipped into the foyer of our own apartment, Mateusz gave me a look.

“Do you want to do it?”

“More than anything,” I answered him honestly, and then I added, “I’m so bored. I know I don’t deserve your trust after what I did, but I’ll be so grateful if you let me do this.”

He nodded, and I knew that he was ready to consent, just from the softening in his gaze. Truda was going to be a much harder sell, but I could only hope that Mateusz would convince her. She gave me a hard look and pointed to the stairs. “You should go to bed.”

I wasn’t even close to sleep when Mateusz pushed the door to my bedroom open half an hour later.

“Are you still awake?” he whispered.

“I am,” I said, and I sat up expectantly.

“You may go to work with Sara.”

“Really?”

“A smart girl like you deserves the chance to learn and to contribute. Just don’t let us down.”

* * *

Sara’s office in the Warsaw City Hall was on the ground floor at the very back of the building, deep within a rabbit warren of offices bustling with social workers and public-health staff. Her team was entirely female and was presided over by the utterly terrifying Matylda Mazur. Matylda was less than five feet tall, but she somehow possessed a presence much larger than her diminutive stature. I had only just arrived at Sara’s office when Matylda stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

“You,” she greeted me, pointing her finger as if in accusation. “You caught Sara with Jewish children.”

Her bluntness startled me. I had no idea what to say.

“She did,” Sara answered for me. She was on the other side of the huge cherrywood desk, removing her hat to hang it on a hook on the wall. I could barely see Sara over the piles of paperwork on her desk. She had not exaggerated.

“So you know that there is more to our work than soup kitchens and welfare checks,” Matylda continued, when I only managed to stare at her with my jaw open. “That means you are in our circle of trust now. You betray us, people will die. Do you understand that?”

“I do,” I croaked, wide-eyed.