The Jewish Dog (8 page)

CHAPTER 10

K
alman came home when the rest of the family was already in the middle of dinner
.
He had a sour look on his face
,
and his presence filled the room with tension
.
I knew it was a bad time to beg for leftovers.

“The meeting was unsuccessful?” Shoshana asked.

“Fifty minutes he kept me waiting,” Kalman said as he removed his coat
.
“Fifty minutes
,
and in the end I was barely in his office for five
.
You should have seen the pictures he has hanging on the wall across from the waiting area
.
Faces and profiles of various races
,
with a list of characteristics
.
We're not portrayed in the best way
,
no surprise there. . . .”

“What did he say about me?” Joshua wanted to know.

Shoshana also asked
,
“What did he say about Joshua?”

“He didn't call me in to discuss his literary talent
.
He called me in to relay a message
.
I'm afraid that it's not good news
.
He learned that Joshua had been passing a flirtatious note to his classmate
.
‘Astrid Lingenmaier is the daughter of an SS officer
,
therefore the disgrace is doubly inexcusable
.
For the benefit of all the parties
 . .
 .' so he said
,
‘it has been decided that Joshua
,
Reizel
,
and Herschel will not attend school anymore.'”

“What does that mean? We'll never ever go back to school?” Herschel asked.

“I don't know,” his father replied
,
unable to meet his eyes.

“And if I go back next year
,
will I be in second grade again
,
or can I continue with my friends in third grade?” Reizel asked.

Kalman and Shoshana exchanged glances and didn't answer.

“I don't like school anyway,” Herschel declared
.
“I don't even mind staying home.”

Kalman gave him a look and Herschel fell silent.

“In other news,” Kalman said
,
“I ran into Baruch
.
He said there are rumors that prisoners in the labor camps have been instructed to sew yellow Stars of David onto prison uniforms.”

“What does that mean?” Joshua asked.

“It's possible,” Kalman said
,
“that the evil Hitlerites have plans to imprison Jews and have them do manual labor.”

“Pharaoh had us do manual labor too,” Reizel recalled
.
“Why does everyone make us do manual labor?”

“I don't know why,” Shoshana admitted
.
“But I do know what the end of all the evil people will be
.
Do you remember what happened to Pharaoh and the Egyptians?”

“God punished them – He smote them with ten plagues and then cast them into the sea.”

“That's right,” Joshua said
.
“God punished Pharaoh and the Egyptians
,
and He'll punish Hitler
,
may his name be blotted out
,
and all his Nazi cronies.”

“Look,” Herschel said
,
pointing at me
.
“Every time we're sad
,
Caleb is sad too.”

“Look how he's lying there,” Shoshana said
,
“with those droopy ears
.
He's really empathizing with us.”

“And if we're happy
,
will he be happy with us?”

“Of course!” Herschel cried
,
and stood
,
clapping and rejoicing
.
I rose with him
,
wagging my tail and barking joyously
.
Herschel smirked
,
his point proven.

After these things had come to pass
,
Kalman hooked the leash to my collar
,
apparently hoping that an evening walk would calm his spirits
.
We walked at the same pace
,
leaving my leash limp
.
Kalman was lost in his thoughts
.
I tried to guess what was going on in his head
,
but I was soon distracted by the urine messages left by my friends on the lampposts
,
walls
,
and trees we passed
:
Spitz was claiming the title of dominant male of south-west Stuttgart
,
Heidi was spreading the news that she had begun to discover her sexuality
,
and a new dog
,
old and sick
,
had joined the neighborhood.

I could hear barks and cheers coming from the direction of the Rosenpark
,
drawing my attention
.
I glanced at Kalman
,
who looked curious as well
.
I shot forward
,
stretching my leash
.
I said to myself
,
I shall go down and see what is the matter.
Kalman was dragged in my footsteps to see what was going on
.
In the center of a circle of spectators and curiosity-seekers
,
Karl Gustav and a Rottweiler female were busy getting busy
.
The owners of the two dogs
,
like the rest of the onlookers
,
were encouraging the couple.

“Look,” Karl Gustav's hunchbacked owner said
,
presenting documents to Kalman
.
“Karl Gustav is the ­epitome of Rottweiler purity
.
These documents present his spotless pedigree
,
all the way back to the forefathers of the Rottweiler dynasty
.
His mate has certificates
,
too
.
A German Rottweiler champion.”

Kalman faked a look of enthusiasm so as not to damper the proud father's excitement
.
I surprised even myself with my ability to notice such subtleties in human behavior.

“This is no regular pairing up,” the hunched German said
.
“This is eugenics.” Excited by the thought
,
he added with verve
,
“Behold
,
a daring and ruling race rises. . . .”

Karl Gustav climbed with his upper body onto the female
,
who was giving off a scent that made me feel naked
.
He squeezed her hips with his hind legs and moved his rump with lustful convulsions
.
A pink and fleshy carrot emerged from its hiding place and poked out between his legs
.
The female barked and whimpered
,
excited and nervous
.
I watched them with great interest
,
virginal and embarrassed to the bone
.
A disorienting tickling sensation swept through my loins
.
Kalman pulled me back
.
I tried to anchor my legs to the ground
,
but Kalman was too strong as he said with a fatherly tone
,
“Come
,
Caleb
,
come
.
You're still too young for such sights.”

In the middle of the night
,
I heard voices coming from Shoshana and Kalman's room
.
I went to lie down at their door.

“What's on your mind?” I heard Shoshana ask her husband
.
“Why can't you sleep?”

“It's eating me up inside
,
I can't stop thinking about it
.
Somehow I kept denying it
.
I can't believe that they would make us give up the dogs.” His voice cracked
.
“How can we give them away? It's almost like giving away children
.
You know how hard it will be to find them a good home
.
Caleb is so attached to Bruriah
,
and she's so attached to him. . . 
.
It'll be a crime to separate them.”

“We need to be realistic,” Shoshana said
.
“We're not going to find anyone who will agree to adopt them both
,
certainly not within a month
.
Matilda loved Bruriah very much
.
I'll talk to her tomorrow morning
.
I think she may agree to adopt her.”

“All right,” Kalman tried to joke
.
“It's only fair that Matilda find a home for Bruriah
,
since Bruriah and her puppies were devoted to creating so much filth
,
thereby ensuring a full time job for a fine daughter of the German people
,
who
,
as you know
,
cherish work above all else.”

Shoshana didn't respond.

“I really hope they retract that damn law.”

“I went to a pawnshop today,” Shoshana changed the subject
.
“I asked how much we can get for the candlesticks and the watches.”

“Forget it
!
That's not on the table right now
.
At this point
,
we aren't pawning a thing.”

“You needn't be angry
.
I just wanted to find out how much the things are worth
.
You know
,
just in case. . . .”

They fell asleep
,
and so did I
.
But the dark of the night was nothing compared to the dark day I was to wake up to in mere hours.

CHAPTER 11

K
alman went over to the telephone and turned the dial several times.

“Bruriah isn't a puppy,” he explained to the phone
.
“She's completely house trained and only relieves herself outside
.
Financially
,
she'll be no burden at all
.
I promise to pay for her food expenses for the entire year.”

Mother
,
who was listening to the conversation along with the rest of us
,
looked at me with doleful eyes
.
I assume that
,
like me
,
Mother understood almost every word.

“They're on their way,” Kalman announced
,
setting down the receiver
.
“She's coming with her husband.”

Shoshana arranged the chairs around the table
,
setting everything perfectly in place
.
She put out some refreshments
.
Mother and I knew that we were forbidden to taste the food
.
My mother came close to me
.
If I could translate the rubbing of her neck against mine and the slow licking of her tongue on my face into human talk
,
it would read something like this
:
Take care
,
my little pup
.
I hope we will see each other again.

We cuddled together one last time.

The time passed too quickly
.
I tried to make the most of every moment
,
to imprint in my heart the feeling of Mother's large paws
,
the roughness of her tongue
,
the loving look in her eye
,
her grief
.
I closed my eyes
,
trying to absorb the experience in its entirety
.
And then
,
through my closed eyes
,
for a moment
,
just a split second
,
a blink of the eye
,
I saw a vision
.
Her paw held a piece of chalk and was writing on the wall:

Werd ich zum Augenblicke sagen:

Verweile doch du bist schön

Dann magst du mich in Fesseln schlagen

Dann will ich gern zugrunde gehen!

If ever I to the moment shall say:

beautiful moment
,
do not pass away!

Then you may tie your leash to bind me,

then I will put my life behind me.

Hesitant knocks on the door announced the guests we were apprehensively anticipating
.
Matilda stood in the doorway
,
a strained smile on her face and her husband at her side
.
He was a short man
,
with glasses set low on his nose and a strand of hair hanging down his forehead.

“Come on in,” Shoshana said
,
motioning with her arm.

“This is my husband
,
Gabriel.” Matilda introduced her companion and walked with him toward the living room.

“Hello
,
Herr Schwartzschpiln,” Shoshana and Kalman greeted him.

I was a little surprised
.
The human counterpart to hind-­sniffing was supposed to be hand-shaking
.
Now they sufficed with a curt nod of the head.

Following Shoshana and Kalman's lead
,
my mother and I refrained from excessive leaps of joy
.
Some situations
,
so I've discovered
,
require restraint and discipline.

Herr Schwartzschpiln looked around the house
,
nodding his head as though trying to assess the value of the property
.
Matilda called Mother's name
,
and she subsequently stood tall
,
showing off the full power of her Caucasian prowess.

“Nice dog,” the husband said
,
nodding his head.

“I told you so!” Matilda said.

“And what does this name
,
Bruriah
,
mean?” he inquired.

“It's just a name
 . .
 .” Shoshana said
.
“It means that she's a very smart dog.”

Herr Schwartzschpiln nodded
.
He interrogated Shoshana and Kalman about my mother's pedigree and the virtues of her breed
.
He seemed pleased.

“I think I know a family who has a male dog of the exact same breed. . . .”

Within a few short minutes
,
my mother was already on her way to the Schwartzschpiln home.

She didn't bark.

Who knows what lurks in the heart of a Hebrew canine?