THE BOYS IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS

Mother Gets Her Own Way

Over the course of the next few weeks Mother seemed increasingly

unhappy with life at Out-With and Bruno understood perfectly well why that

might be. After all, when they'd first arrived he had hated it, due to the fact

that it was nothing like home and lacked such things as three best friends for

life. But that had changed for him over time, mostly due to Shmuel, who had

become more important to him than Karl or Daniel or Martin had ever been.

But Mother didn't have a Shmuel of her own. There was no one for her to talk

to, and the only person who she had been remotely friendly with-the young

Lieutenant Kotler-had been transferred somewhere else.

Although he tried not to be one of those boys who spends his time

listening at keyholes and down chimneys, Bruno was passing by Father's

office one afternoon while Mother and Father were inside having one of their

conversations. He didn't mean to eavesdrop, but they were talking quite

loudly and he couldn't help but overhear.

'It's horrible,' Mother was saying. 'Just horrible. I can't stand it any more.'

'We don't have any choice,' said Father. 'This is our assignment and-'

'No, this is your assignment,' said Mother. 'Your assignment, not ours.

You stay if you want to.'

'And what will people think,' asked Father, 'if I permit you and the

children to return to Berlin without me? They will ask questions about my

commitment to the work here.'

'Work?' shouted Mother. 'You call this work?'

Bruno didn't hear much more because the voices were getting closer to

the door and there was always a chance that Mother would come storming

out in search of a medicinal sherry, so he ran back upstairs instead. Still, he

had heard enough to know that there was a chance they might be returning to

Berlin, and to his surprise he didn't know how to feel about that.

There was one part of him that remembered that he had loved his own

life back there, but so many things would have changed by now. Karl and the

other two best friends whose names he couldn't remember would probably

have forgotten about him by now. Grandmother was dead and they almost

never heard from Grandfather, who Father said had gone senile.

But on the other hand he'd grown used to life at Out-With: he didn't mind

Herr Liszt, he'd become much friendlier with Maria than he ever had been

back in Berlin, Gretel was still going through a phase and keeping out of his

way (and she didn't seem to be quite so much of a Hopeless Case any more)

and his afternoon conversations with Shmuel filled him with happiness.

Bruno didn't know how to feel and decided that whatever happened, he

would accept the decision without complaint.

Nothing at all changed for a few weeks; life went on as normal. Father

spent most of his time either in his office or on the other side of the fence.

Mother kept very quiet during the day and was having an awful lot more of

her afternoon naps, some of them not even in the afternoon but before lunch,

and Bruno was worried for her health because he'd never known anyone need

quite so many medicinal sherries. Gretel stayed in her room concentrating on

the various maps she had pasted on the walls and consulting the newspapers

for hours at a time before moving the pins around a little. (Herr Liszt was

particularly pleased with her for doing this.)

And Bruno did exactly what was asked of him and caused no chaos at all

and enjoyed the fact that he had one secret friend whom no one knew about.

Then one day Father summoned Bruno and Gretel into his office and

informed them of the changes that were to come.

'Sit down, children,' he said, indicating the two large leather armchairs

that they were usually told not to sit in when they had occasion to visit

Father's office because of their grubby mitts. Father sat down behind his

desk. 'We've decided to make a few changes,' he continued, looking a little

sad as he spoke. 'Tell me this: are you happy here?'

'Yes, Father, of course,' said Gretel.

'Certainly, Father,' said Bruno.

'And you don't miss Berlin at all?'

which one of them was going to commit to an answer. 'Well, I miss it

terribly,' said Gretel eventually. 'I wouldn't mind having some friends again.'

Bruno smiled, thinking about his secret.

'Friends,' said Father, nodding his head. 'Yes, I've often thought of that. It

must have been lonely for you at times.'

'Very lonely,' said Gretel in a determined voice.

'And you, Bruno,' asked Father, looking at him now. 'Do you miss your

friends?

Well, yes,' he replied, considering his answer carefully. 'But I think I'd

miss people no matter where I went.' That was an indirect reference to

Shmuel but he didn't want to make it any more explicit than that.

'But would you like to go back to Berlin?' asked Father. 'If the chance

was there?' 'All of us?' asked Bruno.

Father gave a deep sigh and shook his head. 'Mother and Gretel and you.

Back to our old house in Berlin. Would you like that?'

Bruno thought about it. 'Well, I wouldn't like it if you weren't there,' he

said, because that was the truth.

'So you'd prefer to stay here with me?'

'I'd prefer all four of us to stay together,' he said, reluctantly including

Gretel in that. 'Whether that was in Berlin or Out-With.'

'Oh, Bruno!' said Gretel in an exasperated voice, and he didn't know

whether that was because he might be spoiling the plans for their return or

because (according to her) he continued to mispronounce the name of their

home.

'Well, for the moment I'm afraid that's going to be impossible,' said

Father. 'I'm afraid that the Fury will not relieve me of my command just yet.

Mother, on the other hand, thinks this would be a good time for the three of

you to return home and reopen the house, and when I think about it...' He

paused for a moment and looked out of the window to his left-the window

that led off to a view of the camp on the other side of the fence. 'When I think

about it, perhaps she is right. Perhaps this is not a place for children.'

'There are hundreds of children here,' said Bruno, without really thinking

about his words before saying them. 'Only they're on the other side of the

fence.'

A silence followed this remark, but it wasn't like a normal silence where

it just happens that no one is talking. It was like a silence that was very noisy.

Father and Gretel stared at him and he blinked in surprise.

'What do you mean there are hundreds of children over there?' asked

Father. 'What do you know of what goes on over there?'

Bruno opened his mouth to speak but worried that he would get himself

into trouble if he revealed too much. 'I can see them from my bedroom

window,' he said finally. 'They're very far away of course, but it looks like

there are hundreds. All wearing the striped pyjamas.'

'The striped pyjamas, yes,' said Father, nodding his head. 'And you've

been watching, have you?

Well, I've seen them,' said Bruno. 'I'm not sure if that's the same thing.'

Father smiled. 'Very good, Bruno,' he said. 'And you're right, it's not quite

the same thing.' He hesitated again and then nodded his head, as if he had

made a final decision.

'No, she's right,' he said, speaking out loud but not looking at either

Gretel or Bruno. 'She's absolutely right. You've been here long enough as it

is. It's time for you to go home.'

And so the decision was made. Word was sent ahead that the house

should be cleaned, the windows washed, the banister varnished, the linen

pressed, the beds made, and Father announced that Mother, Gretel and Bruno

would be returning to Berlin within the week.

Bruno found that he was not looking forward to this as much as he would

have expected and he dreaded having to tell Shmuel the news.