The Day the Flowers Died (19 page)

“You did this for me?”

“It is your birthday, isn’t it? You mentioned it a few months
back.”

Eli stood and stretched over the table to kiss her on the lips
twice, his tie dangling unnoticed in the center plate, and then he
returned to his seat.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, and I’m not finished,” she said in a sensual
tone.  “I also have a gift for you.  Its small, but I
think you’ll like it.”

Eli smiled, the corners of his lips almost found their way to
his eyes.  He dug his fork into the mashed potatoes, broiled
beef and corn.  “It’s delicious.”

“Thank you.”

Upon finishing the meal, she carried out a small rectangular
package encased with silver wrapping paper and handed it to him
before kissing him on the lips.  He unwrapped the gift and
found a book of poetry from Penina Moise, an American Jewish poet
of the eighteen hundreds.  His eyes glanced over it with a mix
of tears and enthusiasm and then he stood to hug her.

“Where did you find this?”

“My father bought a collection of poetry books on a visit to
England when I was young.  He gave me a few, which I brought
with me to Munich.  But I didn’t remember I had it until I was
weeding through my closet to find clothes for the poor.  I
knew you would appreciate it so consider it yours.”

“I am so elated.  I’ve been looking for this and can’t find
it anywhere.  Most Jewish books aren’t stocked anymore in
Munich.”

“I knew you were looking for it.” Rebecca grinned, “which is why
I was so excited to find it for you.”

He put the book on the table, running his hand over the cover,
then turned to her.  “You are too good to me.  With all
the insanity around us, you are my one bright light.”

“Sshhh.”  She raised a finger to his lips, the falling sun
wrapping their bodies in shadow.  “Let’s not worry about
anything outside my door…not tonight.”

Rebecca laced her arms around Eli and he whisked her off into
her bedroom.

* * *

Towards the end of the month, the radio reported that Eva Braun,
Hitler’s girlfriend, had attempted to commit suicide by shooting
herself in the neck.  The attention starved young woman craved
spending time with the Nazi leader consumed with leading a
political party.  Upon hearing the news, Hitler rushed to the
hospital and sat by her side until her recovery.

The distraction slowed the Nazi party further which was already
losing momentum from a constant demand of re-elections, a siding
with the Communist party to attack transport workers, and the
violence of the SA.  The party alienated much of the middle
class.

Eli’s room filled with delight at the news of it all, knowing it
would affect the number of votes for the Nazis in the upcoming
election in early November.  Frail hopes grew and people
started to believe that the National Socialist and Nazi parties
might collapse. For the Social Democrats or Centre Party, both more
supportive of Jewish people, a win became possible.

Saturday, October 1, 1932

Rosh Hashanah, Jewish New Year: Eli told Rebecca a week in
advance about the upcoming Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah, the
beginning of their New Year.  He invited her to participate in
it with him at his family’s home.

Ezekiel, though disapproving of their relationship, was proud to
see his son remember his heritage and invite Rebecca.  Ezekiel
was also glad to see Rebecca willing to observe and learn a new
tradition.

Last year on Rosh Hashanah after synagogue, groups of Nazis
waited outside to brutalize the Jewish fellowship.  Brawls
broke out, wounding many.  This year, Eli and Ezekiel worried
something like that would also occur.

Rebecca rode with Eli to the Levin home on Saturday afternoon
after they ate in Munich.

Ada opened the door, welcoming both Eli and Rebecca inside and
then, out of social decorum, guided them to the living room where
Eli’s family awaited.

When Rebecca turned the corner after a long walk through the
corridor, she saw Miriam’s bright eyes shine out from under her
mama’s arm where they sat on the sofa.  Sarah sat on the far
sofa with her posture upright as Rebecca had been shown many times
by her own mother.

“Welcome Eli and Rebecca,” Deborah said with warm affection and
rose to hug her son and then Rebecca. The hospitality surprised
Rebecca since their last visit ended after an argument between Eli
and his father.  Rebecca accepted the hug and followed Eli to
the sofa across from Deborah.  After Leah’s big brown eyes
became bored of staring at the new guest, she returned her focus to
the game on the floor.

“How was your trip, Eli?” Deborah asked in a curt tone, her
attention divided between him and Miriam.  The girl put her
fingers inside her mouth and wiggled them around until Deborah
pulled her hand away from her face and held it down on her lap.

“It was good, Mama, always a pleasant journey.  Rebecca
enjoys the scenery too.  It’s quite different from the busy
city of Munich.”

“Which is why your father and I chose to live in this house,
away from all the hustle.” Deborah’s words carried an air of
sagacity.

Eli told Rebecca a couple months back that his mama was a soft
hearted woman and did not much disapprove of him with her, but that
his father, the strict center of the family, would rather Eli date
a Jewish woman.  This soothed Rebecca’s nerves while she sat
in the room with Deborah.  In fact, Rebecca began to feel more
acquainted with Eli’s family than with her own.

Compared to this, her own home felt quite barren and, besides
Mildred, who mostly raised her, and Rueben the chef, she did not
have much of a childhood.  The time spent with her mother
involved formal classes and direction, teaching her to be a lady, a
German woman of sophistication. On occasion, she could steal a few
laughs from her father when she managed to escape her mother’s
rigid grip.

Rebecca rose from the sofa and sat on the floor with Leah,
familiar with the game, one of the few she played as a young
girl.  Leah looked up with her short bob swaying and
smiled.

Rebecca reached her hand towards the jacks. “May I play?” At
Leah’s nod, Rebecca lifted the jacks up high and then released
them, letting them dribble to the wood floor.  Leah bounced
the ball once and lifted one of the scattered jacks into her hands
before the ball hit the floor again. They played this game for a
few moments with concentrated efforts while Sarah, Eli and Deborah
watched in amusement. Eli even saw Sarah sneak a smile at Rebecca
and her childlike demeanor.

The entire Levin family planned to attend the evening service
for Rosh Hashanah.  Eli had warned Rebecca about the violence
from the Nazis the previous year, but she insisted on going,
explaining, if he was going to put himself in harms way, she wanted
to be there by his side.

Ezekiel made an appearance, wearing a traditional Jewish garb, a
kippah, on his head and Eli pulled his kippah out of his pocket and
dressed his head.  The family, along with Rebecca, walked to
the nearby creek and tossed bread crumbs from their pockets into
the water to symbolize the casting of sins.  Knowing what to
do from Eli, Rebecca took crumbs from him and threw them in. They
then walked to the nearby synagogue.  Deborah had folded over
her arms a few shawls of white with the blue Star of David
embroidered on them for covering her and her daughter’s heads
during the service. Eli brought a shawl for Rebecca and handed it
to her upon entering.

When they entered the large room, Deborah helped Rebecca place
the shawl over her head and then aided Miriam before leading them
to wooden benches on the right separated from the men and
boys.  Women greeted Rebecca with shalom and L’shanah tovah,
peace and good year. Eli and Ezekiel departed to another area in
front of the room where all the men stood.

The Shofar, the ram’s horn, sounded like air filled with all the
souls it passed over. Rebecca enjoyed the softness it made,
especially in contrast to the clamorous noise and shouting on the
streets of Munich.

Rebecca sat in awe at Miriam and Leah, sitting upright in their
seats and keeping their mouths closed.  She could never
achieve that type of discipline as a young girl growing up in
Catholic Church.

When the family left the building, a small but determined group
of Nazis waited for members underneath a tree on the lawn. 
The members ignored the ill minded youth, the disregard bothering
the privileged boys. Two of the young men ran up to a tall Jewish
man, with a long beard and the kippah over his head, and hit him
from behind as he walked down a sidewalk.

Eli jerked in reaction and darted across the lawn and street in
defense of the innocent man.  Ezekiel called out, Eli, hoping
to draw his son back into safety, but Eli didn’t hear him and
pressed forward.  He leapt onto one of the Nazis and pulled
him to the ground while the other hit Eli in the face.

The tall man stood back, stunned and unsure of how to
fight.  Two more blond Nazis in their early twenties pushed
through the Jewish crowd to get to the fight.  They dragged
Eli away from their wounded compatriot and continued to punch him
in the face, kicking and spitting on him even when he fell to the
ground.

Jacob and Aaron exited the synagogue, noticed the fight and
dropped their books to rush to Eli’s aid.  The three fought
hand and foot, fist and spit against the four Nazi men, scraping
their skin, blooding their noses and mouths until more Jewish men,
including Ezekiel, ran to the sidewalk and pulled the Nazis
away.  Kicking and shouting, the four young Nazis did not go
quietly, but they eventually left, realizing they were
outnumbered.  It left Rebecca in a silent hysteria at the
cruelty of the country and unfair treatment of the people living
there.

The Levin family briskly walked to their home with Ezekiel on
one side of Eli and Rebecca on the other, holding him up with his
arms around their shoulders.  Of the three, he was the most
badly wounded.  Jacob and Aaron wobbled with Eli’s three
sisters and Deborah until they reached the Levin home.

The family, along with Jacob and Aaron, plodded up the driveway
to the front door where Ada, peeping through the window, saw them
coming.  She opened the door with a few wet towels in her
hands and pressed them to the faces of the bruised, shaking her
head and whispering audibly to herself, “Just like last year. 
What has gotten into the German youth these days?” The family
followed behind Ada, and Ezekiel helped Eli to the living room
where he laid down on the far sofa.  Jacob and Aaron only had
a few scratches on their faces, and blood from their noses ran
across their mouths.

They entered the kitchen to wash it off and returned to the
living room. Miriam shouted and cried, clinging to Ada. At first
glance, Sarah seemed calm, but closer inspection showed her jaws
clenched and her eyes locking up tears.  Leah sat next to her
brother, stroking his hair while Sarah washed his face with the wet
towels Ada provided.

Deborah shook her head and exited the room to talk with
Ezekiel.  Eli and Rebecca heard discord between his parents in
the next room, but couldn’t distinguish the words. At that moment,
Eli’s health concerned Rebecca more than the approving or
disapproving parents and she helped his sister tend to his
needs.

Rebecca brought in a glass of water and when she returned, Eli’s
face looked much better cleaned of the blood and dirt.  When
Rebecca tried to lift his shirt to look at his abrasions, her soft
hands gently brushed against his skin.

“Rebecca, don’t,” Eli responded, blocking her with his hand.

“Eli.” Rebecca pushed his hand away, “this is my job.  I’m
good at it.  Let me do it.” Eli nodded and looked away while
Rebecca curled his shirt up and gasped at the extensive red and
blue she knew would bruise blue-black.  She prepared ice
wrapped in towels and requested help from the sisters. 
“Sarah, could you please get me some ointment.  Leah, if you
have alcohol?”

The sisters followed the simple instructions while Miriam sat on
Jacob’s lap in the next room.  Aaron entered the living room
to check on Eli, but his stern expression and shake of his head
told Rebecca he had seen enough for today, and after Aaron aided
Eli’s injured jaw, Rebecca gestured for him to return to Jacob and
help Miriam find comfort.

The sisters eventually went to bed and Aaron and Jacob returned
to their homes.  Rebecca rested on one sofa while Eli
recuperated with bandages and medicines dressing his body on
another in the living room.  Almost asleep, Rebecca saw
Ezekiel watching them from the hall, then turn away to go back to
his room to join his wife.

* * *

Monday, October tenth, Eli observed Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day
of Atonement, another important holiday ten days after Rosh
Hashanah.  Rebecca had to work at the hospital, so Eli
attended the occasion alone with his family.  But Saturday,
October fifteenth, she took the day off for the final Jewish feast
of that month, much like Passover with food and drink.  Eli
had enticed her with his mama’s elaborate menu.

Rebecca wanted to spend more time with Eli’s family and
demonstrate her commitment to this relationship between them. 
She hoped with a fragile hope that her participation in Eli’s
traditions would open the emotional doors into his family. 
Eli called it the Sukkos, but Rebecca had a hard time remembering
all the Hebrew names and simply called it the feast.

Every time she tried to pronounce the name Sukkos, her German
accent spoiled it and Eli giggled at her diligent determination.
She could not say the word without mispronouncing it and so had
resorted to sticking with feast, a word she knew well.  Eli
told her she could call it the feast of tabernacles or booths if
she was more comfortable with that terminology and she nodded her
head in exasperation, all the while knowing feast was all she could
muster for the moment. Upon approaching the house toward the
evening, Eli reminded her of the nature of Hebrew tradition.