Wednesday, July 1, 1942
Dearest Kitty,
Until today I honestly couldnāt find the time to write you. I was with friends all day Thursday, we had company on Friday, and thatās how it went until today.
Hello and I have gotten to know each other very well this past week, and heās told me a lot about his life. He comes from Gelsenkirchen and is living with his grandparents. His parents are in Belgium, but thereās no way he can get there. Hello used to have a girlfriend named Ursula. I know her too. Sheās perfectly sweet and perfectly boring. Ever since he met me, Hello has realized that heās been falling asleep at Ursulās side. So Iām kind of a pep tonic. You never know what youāre good for!
Jacque spent Saturday night here. Sunday afternoon she was at Hanneliās, and I was bored stiff.
Hello was supposed to come over that evening, but he called around six. I answered the phone, and he said, āThis is Helmuth Silberberg. May I please speak to Anne?ā
āOh, Hello. This is Anne.ā
āOh, hi, Anne. How are you?ā
āFine, thanks.ā
āI just wanted to say Iām sorry but I canāt come tonight, though I would like to have a word with you. Is it all right if I come by and pick you up in about ten minutes.ā
āYes, thatās fine. Bye-bye!ā
āOkay, Iāll be right over. Bye-bye!ā
I hung up, quickly changed my clothes and fixed my hair. I was so nervous I leaned out the window to watch for him. He finally showed up. Miracle of miracles, I didnāt rush down the stairs, but waited quietly until he rang the bell. I went down to open the door, and he got right to the point.
āAnne, my grandmother thinks youāre too young for me to be seeing you on a regular basis. She says I should be going to the Lowenbachsā, but you probably know that Iām not going out with Ursul anymore.ā
āNo, I didnāt know. What happened? Did you two have a fight?ā
āNo, nothing like that. I told Ursul that we werenāt suited to each other and so it was better for us not to go together anymore, but that she was welcome at my house and I hoped I would be welcome at hers. Actually, I thought Ursul was hanging around with another boy, and I treated her as if she were. But that wasnāt true. And then my uncle said I should apologize to her, but of course I didnāt feel like it, and thatās why I broke up with her. But that was just one of the reasons.
āNow my grandmother wants me to see Ursul and not you, but I donāt agree and Iām not going to. Sometimes old people have really old-fashioned ideas, but that doesnāt mean I have to go along with them. I need my grandparents, but in a certain sense they need me too. From now on Iāll be free on Wednesday evenings. You see, my grandparents made me sign up for a wood-carving class, but actually I go to a club organized by the Zionists. My grandparents donāt want me to go, because theyāre anti-Zionists. Iām not a fanatic Zionist, but it interests me. Anyway, itās been such a mess lately that Iām planning to quit. So next Wednesday will be my last meeting. That means I can see you Wednesday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, Sunday afternoon and maybe even more.ā
āBut if your grandparents donāt want you to, you? shouldnāt go behind their backs.ā
āAllās fair in love and war.ā
Just then we passed Blankevoortās Bookstore and there was Peter Schiff with two other boys; it was the first time heād said hello to me in ages, and it really made me feel good.
Monday evening Hello came over to meet Father and Mother. I had bought a cake and some candy, and we had tea and cookies, the works, but neither Hello nor I felt like sitting stiffly on our chairs. So we went out for a walk, and he didnāt deliver me to my door until ten past eight. Father was furious. He said it was very wrong of me not to get home on time. I had to promise to be home by ten to eight in the future. Iāve been asked to Helloās on Saturday.
Wilma told me that one night when Hello was at her house, she asked him, āWho do you like best, Ursul or Anne?ā
He said, āItās none of yo...