Once We Were Brothers (8 page)

“You do me a disservice, Miss Lockhart. I
am
filling in the blanks. I know what the blanks are, you don’t.”

“I have time pressures, Ben. Please understand.”

“Hannah’s important to my story.”

Catherine slowly lifted her hands in a defensive posture. “Very well. Tell me about Hannah.”

Ben nodded and smiled. “All right then. I know you’ll be quite fond of Hannah when I tell you about her. Everyone who’s ever met her has fallen in love with her. Hannah’s family moved to Zamość when I was almost sixteen. I was in secondary school and immersed in my studies. My parents expected me to go to the university and be a professional. I was a top student, you know.”

He tilted back in his chair with a smile.

“One day, there she is, a new student taking a seat in the back of the classroom. I think to myself she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, but of course, I’m way too shy to speak to her. Days go by. I watch her out of the corner of my eye. She sits a few rows behind me, so I look for excuses to turn around in my seat. Sometimes I think she catches me and my face turns red. I smile. She smiles back. Whenever other boys talk to her or make her laugh, I’m ravaged by jealousy but, again, I’m too shy to do a darn thing about it. I curse myself for my weakness and my social clumsiness.

“Otto, on the other hand, is just the opposite. He’s mister popularity at his school. He’s a big handsome, blonde kid and he knows how to talk to girls. He goes to all the school parties and he always has a girlfriend.

“One Sunday afternoon, when I’m being exceptionally lazy, lounging on my bed and bouncing a ball off the wall, my mother walks in and announces that she has invited the new doctor and his family to dinner. When she says it’s the Weissbaums, I nearly have a heart attack.

“‘I hear they have a daughter Hannah and she’s in your class,’ my mother says. ‘Do you know her?’

“I try to be nonchalant. ‘Maybe. I think so.’

“All day long I work, helping my mother clean the house. I polish the silver. I dust her antiques and vacuum her oriental rugs. I cut flowers for the vases and prune the window boxes. She’s never seen me so enthusiastic and it doesn’t take long before she gets the idea.

“‘I thought you were tired today, Benjamin,’ she says. ‘This Hannah, is she somebody special?’

“I must have blushed because my mother has a mischievous twinkle in her eye before she turns to go into the other room.

“When the Weissbaums arrive, I rush to open the door. Hannah smiles so confidently. She’s dazzling. Otto, of course, instantly engages her in conversation and I am hopelessly jealous. How does he do that? Damn him, he has enough girlfriends. This is
my
secret love!

“My mother serves hors d’oeuvres in the living room, cocktails for the adults, punch for the kids, and while everyone is milling about, Hannah says to me, ‘Ben, did you understand this week’s math lesson?’

“‘Of course,’ I say. ‘It was easy.’

“She asks if I would help her – she’s lost and can’t follow the assignment. This is too good to be true! I dash into my room and grab my math book. Now I have something to talk about. I’ll teach her all about geometry. Months later, she confessed to me that it was just her way of breaking the ice. In fact, she understood the lesson just fine. She’d wondered why I didn’t want to talk to her in school.

“Mother seats the Weissbaums around the dinner table and makes sure that Hannah sits next to me. I’m mid-way through the dinner when I realize that I’ve been talking to Hannah all night. She’s so easy to talk to. But now she must think I’m a jabber-mouth.”

“I think I know how she feels,” said Catherine with a smile.

“During dessert my mother drops a bombshell. ‘There’s a dance at the school next weekend, Hannah, and I’m on the organizing committee. Your mother says you don’t have plans to go. Neither does Benjamin and I’m certain he’d be happy to escort you, wouldn’t you Ben?’

“I want to crawl under the table. Hannah looks at my face, which must be frozen in shock. The rest of the table stares at me. Otto’s biting his lip to keep from laughing.

“I stammer. ‘S-Sure. That’d be fine. I’d love to take Hannah to the dance.’

“‘Oh, that’s wonderful,’ Hannah says.

“After the Weissbaums leave, I grouse to my mother that she’s set me up for failure. ‘I don’t know how to dance, Mom. I’m going to spoil my only chance with Hannah and she’ll never want to talk to me again.’

“But Otto ends up coming to the rescue. Elzbieta, his girlfriend, who is a very good dancer, will teach me. According to her, in seven days they will transform me from Stumbling Ben to Fred Astaire.

“Every afternoon, I come home from school and practice dancing with Elzie while Otto plays records on the Victrola and laughs until his sides hurt. By the end of the week I know all the steps, I just can’t get my feet to do them.

“The night of the dance, I take a pretty corsage and walk to Hannah’s. I am so sure this will be the worst night of my life. I curse the muses for making me such a
klutz
.”

Catherine smiled. “What kind of dances did you learn, Ben? Were they traditional Polish dances?”

“Lord, no. We listened to the big band music coming out of America. Tommy Dorsey Band. Benny Goodman. Ray Noble and his orchestra. They were playing swing music and it was very popular with the Polish kids. The school had hired a swing band for the dance and it played all the latest songs.

“What a dance that was.” Ben’s eyes glazed over. His face softened and Catherine realized that Ben was back in Zamość and it was 1937 and he was young again. His eyes saw the dance floor, his ears heard the music and his arms held the prettiest girl in Zamość.

Ben continued his narrative, barely audible, staring straight ahead, describing what he saw. Catherine strained to listen.

“She’s wearing a beautiful blue dress, square shouldered, tight at the waist. That’s the fashion, you know. We dance all night long. We don’t sit a single dance, not even one. My Hannah, she’s light as a feather. So easy to lead. So soft to hold. Her flowers, her perfume, her hair, they fill my senses. The warmth of her face next to mine – it’s intoxicating. In the blink of an eye, the evening is over. The band is playing their final song,
The Very Thought of You,
and she whispers in my ear, ‘Ben, you are such a good dancer.’”

Ben returned from his reverie and looked directly at Catherine. “I fell in love that night for the rest of my life and if my faith is correct, Miss Lockhart, for all eternity.”

Catherine’s eyes glistened and a lump formed in her throat. “That’s so sweet. I’m sure you’re right.”

Chapter Twelve

Zamość, Poland 1938

“You described your friendship as a triumvirate: you, Otto and Hannah.” said Catherine following a break. “What did you mean by that?”

“We were in our teens - sixteen, seventeen – and we were always together, the three of us. We did our homework together, we double dated, and generally, we just spent time together. Otto went through many girlfriends: Elzbieta, Anna, Karolina, Jolanta. I can’t remember them all. But the three constants were Ben, Hannah and Otto.

“Otto was a ladies’ man, good looking, gallant and charming. But he never cultivated a deep relationship with any of his girlfriends, except for Elzbieta. He preferred conquest to commitment. The perfect Nazi.”

“But ultimately the triumvirate dissolved, right?” Catherine said.

“Miss Lockhart, I get the feeling you’re trying to steer me again. Please let me tell my story my way. You’ll come to know why I spend time on the background.”

“I’ll respect your wishes, Ben, but by the same token, I ask that you appreciate the daily demands that my law firm imposes. I have time constraints. I’m responsible to the firm for my hours. And Ben, since we’re spending so much time together, why don’t you stop calling me Miss Lockhart. I’m Catherine.”

Ben smiled. “Catherine it is. And I promise to be mindful of your time. One afternoon in early 1938, while the three of us were in the living room, finishing our homework, there was a knock on the door. It was Cousin Ziggy and he was frantic. He gripped my arms. ‘Your Uncle Joseph is in great danger in Vienna. Find your father, Ben. I need to talk to him.’

“I grabbed my jacket and ran to the plant. It was still winter and the streets were filled with slush and snow. The cuffs of my pants got soaking wet. I found my father on the second floor in his office, in the middle of a new design and he didn’t want to be disturbed. ‘Not now, Ben,’ he said.

“‘Cousin Ziggy’s at the house,’ I blurted. ‘He says come home immediately.’

“‘What’s the emergency?’

“‘I don’t know, it has something to do with Uncle Joseph and I think it’s real urgent.’

“My father snatched his long woolen coat from the rack and we hurried home. Ziggy met us at the door and pulled my father by his coat sleeves into the living room. The family all gathered to hear the news.

“‘War is coming, Abraham. It’s coming
now
. Last year Hitler grabbed portions of the Rhineland. Now he’s been screaming about the mistreatment of German-speaking people in the Sudeten mountains. Everyone expects that he will move against Czechoslovakia soon.’ Ziggy spoke as though he were out of breath.

“‘Ziggy, we know that – we’ve heard it all on the radio,’ my father answered. He was perturbed. ‘Is that why you pulled me out of the factory?’

“Ziggy shook his head. ‘You know Hitler’s Austrian and he’s long had his sights on Austria. Well, now we’re hearing the same old refrain. Protect the German people from persecution. Reunite the German people.’

“‘We know,’ echoed my mother. ‘We listen too, Ziggy, but such reunification is prohibited by the Treaty of Versailles.’

“‘Treaties? What does Hitler care for treaties? And who’ll stop him? The League of Nations? France? England? No, Leah, mark my words, he
will
take over Austria – and soon. Chancellor von Schuschnigg is in Berchtesgaden right now trying to make peace with Hitler, but that’s a pipe dream. I told your brother to get out now, while he still can.’

“‘Joseph won’t leave Vienna; he’s lived there for years,’ Father said.

“‘Now you know why I’m here. You must prevail on him, Abraham. This minute. He’ll listen to you. You must convince him to come home to Zamość. Now. While the roads are still open.’

“‘Of course he’s welcome here, Ziggy. But maybe you’re panicking a little too much. Maybe such a move is premature.’

“‘When the Nazis roll into Austria, and they will Abraham, they’ll brutalize the Jews the same way they do in Germany, or worse. They’ll confiscate everything. Call Joseph and tell him to gather up his things and come here to Zamość. When the family is all together, we must make plans to leave Europe.’

“‘Leave Europe?’ Mother said. ‘Where would we go?’

“‘America. I’ve already applied for a visa and I have a sponsor.’

“Father put his hand on Ziggy’s shoulder to calm him down. ‘I agree the situation is serious, Ziggy, but we’re in no danger yet. Maybe you’re right about Austria, and I will call Joseph, but Poland is secure. We have a large army and I’ve heard no talk of invading Poland. In fact, Hitler just gave his word to Minister Beck that he will guarantee our borders. He doesn’t want to risk a fight with Poland.’

“‘Risk a fight? Large army? We have
no
army compared to Germany,’ Ziggy said with a wave of his hand. ‘Hitler’s been arming for years; there’s no stronger army in the world. He invents excuses to invade. You think there’s no talk of invading Poland? He screams about Gdansk; the free city of Danzig. He screams about the Polish corridor. Right now, Abraham, he’s building roads to Poland. Maybe you can answer me. Why would he build roads to the Polish border?’

“My father just shook his head. The talk went on well into the night. Otto and I walked Hannah home, came back, got ready for bed and they were still talking. My father wired his brother late that night, but Uncle Joseph only said he’d think about it. A few days later we learned that Chancellor von Schuschnigg had resigned, and that a new chancellor, a National Socialist, had taken over in Austria. On March 12, 1938, the German troops marched into Vienna to a great celebration. This was known as the Anschluss.”

“Did your Uncle Joseph get out of Vienna?” Catherine said.

“Eventually, but not in time. He came to us the following May with nothing but a suitcase full of clothes and a few pieces of hidden jewelry. His leg was broken. My Aunt Hilda had to help him walk.”

The afternoon was waning, and Ben was tiring when Liam arrived.

“We’re just wrapping up,” Catherine said.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t get here any sooner. Can I take you both to dinner?”

“Ben is probably very tired – we’ve worked all afternoon,” Catherine said, poking Liam with a hidden elbow. “We should let him go home.”

“What kind of dinner did you have in mind, Liam?” Ben said.

“I thought maybe we’d grab a steak at the Chop House.”

“Oh, that’s perfect. I could eat a horse,” Ben said.