The Voyage (10 page)

Chapter 35

If Alex lost this job, they would be on the street in no time at all. He had to learn this business. It was imperative. He began taking the tobacco home with him, and spent many a night rolling the cigars, until he was able to do it correctly. One morning he brought a pile of rolled cigars into the shop with him. Raul was sitting on his bench. He looked up at Alex and frowned. Alex knew Raul wanted to let him go. With hope that he’d done well, Alex laid the box of cigars in front of his boss.

Carefully Raul picked each one up and turned it over in his fingers.

“Not bad, not bad at all,” Raul said a bright smile coming over his face.

Alex heard the relief in his voice. He knew Raul was glad not to have to fire him.

“I think you are going to make it as a cigar roller,” Raul said, smiling so widely that his oversized yellow horse teeth jutted out of his mouth “Looks to me like you have a job here.”

Alex said a silent prayer. He’d mastered the art of rolling Cuban cigars, and for now he and his wife would be all right.

Chapter 36

It was almost
Rosh Hashanah
, the Jewish New Year, followed by
Yom Kippur
, the highest holy day in the Jewish calendar. Anna searched for a synagogue where they could attend High Holiday services. She found a small Jewish temple off the main street, and went in to talk with the rabbi. Anna explained that she and Alex could not afford to buy tickets, but they longed for the camaraderie of other Jews, and to hear the
shofar
blown to welcome the New Year. 

“Of course you are welcome in our temple,” the rabbi said. “You and your husband will come to my house for
Yom Kippur
and break the fast there. My wife will be very pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, Rabbi, you don’t have to do that…”

“Ahh, my child, I want to. Besides, the book will be open, and it is a wonderful
mitzvah
that you give me the honor of performing. Both my wife and I would love to spend the High Holidays with such lovely young Jewish newlyweds.”

“Are you from Europe?”

“Yes, I am from Germany,” the rabbi said.

“I thought I recognized your accent,” Anna smiled.

“You speak Yiddish?” the rabbi asked.

“A
bissel
,” Anna smiled.

“Good, for you know that Yiddish is the language of God.”

She smiled at him again. “Thank you, Rabbi, for all of your kindness.”

In the Jewish religion, it is believed that God has a book where he determines the fate of all of his people. On
the first day of Rosh Hashanah
, which is the Jewish New Year, God opens the book. He looks at the behavior of every living thing over the previous year. It is at this time that God will decide who will live to see the New Year the following year and who will not. Over the week between
Rosh Hashanah
and
Yom Kippur
, the assessments are made. From sundown the night before until sundown on the night of
Yom Kippur
, Jews will fast for their sins. Once the sun sets, the book is closed, all decisions have been determined, and the Jewish people celebrate with food, music, and the joy of life.

When Alex arrived home, Anna was excited to tell him about the invitation from the rabbi, but when she looked at Alex, he seemed nervous, anxious. She waited. Something was wrong.

Chapter 37

Alex did not speak, he didn’t kiss her they way he always did when he entered the house; instead he went to the sink and began to wash up. Anna watched as Alex continually splashed cold water on his face. He bent over the sink and took deep breaths, holding his temples.

Alex’s behavior frightened Anna. It was true that Alex could be overly sensitive, even moody, but she had never seen him like this.

Finally, she could no longer bear his silence.  The sun began to set on a golden September day, a warm breeze drifted off the ocean. Everything should have been perfect. She had been waiting for him to come home so that she could tell him about the services for the high holidays, and now...  Did she do something to offend him?

“Alex?”

“Yes…” he answered, distracted.

She saw his hands trembling, white, pale, and colorless.

“Alex, look at me please,” she said.

He turned around to face her. “What?”

“Alex, did something happen at work?” she asked. He may have lost his job. The crevice cut between his brows as deep as a river.

“No, for now I have a job. Thank God,” he said.

“What’s wrong? Have I done something? Did something happen?”

He realized that he’d upset her. How foolish of him, how inconsiderate. He’d come home in a foul mood, and he’d put it all upon her. Alex took a deep breath. He realized that often he was lost in his own emotions and forgot to consider the feelings of others. Before he’d married it had not mattered, he could go inside of himself and think, but now he must watch this behavior more carefully.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to upset you. Yes. Something happened. I’d rather not discuss it.”

“How can you say that to me? You don’t want to discuss it? Alex please if it is distressing you, I need to know.”

“I will be all right. Just give me a few minutes.”

Alex went outside on the patio. Anna did not follow him. She just stood there, watching. What was troubling him? What could it be?

Chapter 38

Alex didn’t touch her that night as they lay in bed. This was the first night since they had been married that he had not made love to her. He lay beside her without speaking. His breathing pattern told her that he hadn’t fallen asleep. Anna did not know what to ask him, what to say, so she curled up, held her pillow, awake, and filled with worry. At close to four that morning Anna drifted off to sleep, only to awaken three hours later to the sound of the alarm. Alex was not in bed beside her.

Her head ached from lack of sleep and she felt dizzy, but she must find her husband. So Anna ran outside and searched for Alex, but he was not to be found. She didn’t want to go to work; she was too upset. She wanted to go and find Alex; he must be at his job, to yell at him, to shake him, to demand to know what was bothering him.

But she didn’t. She went to work.

Chapter 39

Anna couldn’t concentrate. She had no idea what had sent Alex into this strange silence and caused him to distance himself from her. The clients chattered at her, telling her about their lives, their husbands, the families, complaining, bragging, joking, but Anna could not hear them. Instead she just continued to nod with a frozen smile on her face.

It seemed as if the day would never end, but it did. Anna decided that she would stop and pick something up to make for dinner, something special that Alex would really like. Perhaps if she put together a romantic candlelight dinner he would open up to her.  She went to the butcher and bought a roast. Then, she went to one of the street vendors and bought some potatoes. He would love this meal.  Anna splurged and bought a bottle of wine and two white candles.   She went home and unlocked the door. When she entered, she stood at the door stunned; the entire apartment had been ransacked. They had been robbed. Anna dropped the bags and ran through the rooms to see what the thieves took. The little bit of money that she and Alex had saved was gone, and so were the few pieces of jewelry that Anna had been given by her mother. She picked up the bag of groceries and put it down on the table. Then she sat down and wept.

After a few minutes, she shook her head. What good would it do to sit and cry? What was done was done; no use in dwelling on it. She got up, steeled herself, and began to clean up the mess the burglars had left. Then she put the roast in the oven and the potatoes too. She set the table, and lit the candles. Then she waited for Alex.

He didn’t come directly home from work. Anna opened the wine and poured herself a glass, then another. She waited until well past dark before she put the food away and went to bed, wondering if Alex would ever return.

Chapter 40

As tired, as she was she still could not sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt strong anxiety grip her entire being. Where had Alex gone, and why? She sat up in bed and watched the sunrise. Alex still had not returned.

In the morning, she dressed for work, her heart heavy and her head aching. She took her handbag, and then she went to the landlady’s apartment. The locks would have to be changed. Someone had broken in. She told Rosita.

The landlady agreed to take care of the problem that day.

As Anna was walking down the boulevard toward her job, Alex passed her walking toward home.

“Where have you been?”

“Walking, worrying...”

“Alex…” She shook him. “Talk to me. Tell me what happened.”

“I didn’t want to tell you I wanted to protect you, but I suppose you should know. I saw the news in the German newspaper. Hitler has invaded Poland.”

Her hand went to cover her mouth in shock and horror.

Alex took Anna in his arms and held her tight.  They stood like that for a long time. Then Anna asked, “Are you hungry? I have food from last night in the ice box.”

“No, I can’t eat.”

“Neither can I,” she answered.

“Alex…”

“Yes.”

She was going to tell him that they had been robbed, but he was far too upset. Anna knew how delicate Alex could be; best to keep bad news from him right now.

“Never mind,” she said reaching up and touching his face. “I will see you tonight when I get home?”

“Yes.  I’ll be here. Anna…I’m sorry, I only wanted to protect you.”

Thank God he’d come home safely, she whispered to herself as she smiled at him and squeezed his hand. “It will be all right, Alex. It will be all right.”

Two days later, on the third of September, France and Great Britain, in honor of their pact with Poland, declared war on Germany.  Alex was obsessed with the German newspapers. Every morning on his way to work, and on his way home in the evening, he checked the headlines. When he arrived at home, his shoulders slumped and he sat quietly staring out the window.  Anna sat beside him and took his hand.

“Do you have family in Poland?” she asked, carefully.

“Friends, people I used to know. God, how my heart goes out to them.” he said. “But that’s not even the point. “First the Studenland, now Poland? We were hoping they would fade away, but from what I can see, the Nazis are becoming even more powerful. And that is dangerous for Jews everywhere, all over the world. Who knows? Maybe here, maybe even in America.”

“I don’t understand why he invaded Poland. I thought I remembered my father saying that Hitler gave Poland a promise that he would never invade them.”

“Yes, well, a man’s word is as good as his character. And Hitler’s character is one that leaves a lot to be desired,” Alex said.

“What do you think he will do next?”

“There’s no telling. But I feel we would be the safest in the United States. And even in America, we are never completely safe. Still, I think it’s the best place. I don’t know how to get our visas, but we must get there as quickly as possible.” His eyes were wide with fear. “You can’t imagine what the Nazis can do, how cruel they can be…”

Anna had always known that whatever had happened to Alex in Dachau had made him unstable. Bad things had a more intense effect on him than they did on the average person. And once he got an idea in his head, there was no changing his mind. Right now, he was certain that they must find a way to go to America, and she knew that he was determined to do this.

Because she loved him, and longed to banish all of his demons, Anna would find a way. Whatever it took, she would get them to America.

Chapter 41

Even as a child, Anna’s parents’ friends had called her refined. She knew when to speak, and what to say. She also knew when not speak, and this won her many friends at her job at the salon.

One of the manicurists was a young woman striving to become a dancer at a posh nightclub on the Calle 23 in the
Veado
district. When she was hired as a chorus girl, she left the salon without notice. There was no one to cover her appointments and Claudia was distraught.  She sent her daughter, a hairdresser, to the manicurist’s apartment to see why she had not come to work. When Lucia returned, she explained what had happened.

“What are we going to do?  All of her customers will go to our competitor. There are a hundred other salons right here in this area; they don’t need to come here.” Claudia ran her fingers through her hair nervously. She shook her head and bit a nail.

“Mama, do you think Anna could do it? She is very neat and precise,” Lucia asked.

“Anna? But then who will do the shampoos? I have a full book of clients today, too,” Claudia said.

“We will all have to shampoo our own customers.”

Claudia considered the idea.

“I could teach her, quickly,” Lucia said.

“You think you could teach her before your own customers start coming in?”

“I think so. But maybe we should ask her.”

“Anna…” Claudia called.

And it was that day in early September when Anna became the most popular manicurist in the salon.

From her customers, she learned English and Spanish. She polished the fingers and toes of showgirls and wives of political officials, of Americans and Europeans, as well as natives of the island.  They loved her. Anna was a good listener; she never repeated what was told to her, and for that she became their confidant.

That December, the couple who had grown up in Germany with cold winters sat outside, lighting the inexpensive
menorah
that Alex had bought. It was 70 degrees outside, on their first
Hanukah
together.

They clasped hands as Alex said the prayers.

“Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe,
who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and has commanded us to kindle the lights of
Hanukkah
...”

She looked over at her handsome husband wearing the
yarmulke
she’d made for him.

Anna squeezed Alex’s hand and he looked at her, his eyes shining with gratitude for all he’d been given.

After the candles had been, lit Anna served a dinner of potato
latkes
. It had been such a long time since they’d eaten Jewish food.

“You even got apple sauce,” Alex said.

“I made it from apples and sugar.”

“It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it. I’ve been serving you so much rice and beans that I almost forgot how to prepare our food.”

“Well, you remembered quite well…and by the way…”

“Yes?” She ate a forkful of applesauce and potato pancake.

“Wait here.”

Alex got up and went to the other room. He took a small box out of his pants pocket, “Happy
Hanukkah
, my sweetheart.”

“Alex, we agreed we were not going to buy gifts. We agreed that we were going to save our money.” She held the box.

“This is from my lunch money. I saved it to buy this for you.”

She felt the tears. “Oh Alex. I wish I had gotten you something too.”

“You give me something every day. You give me a reason to live,” he said.

She looked at him and shook her head, smiling through her tears. “Alex...”

“Open it…come on. I’ve been waiting for two weeks to give this to you. It was hard to keep the surprise. I was so excited that I wanted to give it to you as soon as I got it.”

She pulled the lid off the small white box. Inside was a thin gold band, encased in black velvet.

“I had it engraved,” he said. “Look inside.”

She felt the tears running down her cheeks as she read the script “For Anna, my love, my life, my salvation.”

“Alex…”

“Here give it me. Let me put it on you.”

She handed him the band. “Are you sure we can afford this?” she asked.

He didn’t answer.

“With this ring, I thee wed,” he said, his hand trembling as he slipped the ring on her small finger, “For richer or poorer.”

“In sickness and in health,” she said, the words catching in her throat with emotion.

“For ever and for always…till death do us part.” Alex kissed her hand and held it to his cheek. “Happy
Hanukah
, Anna, my Anna…”

“Happy
Hanukah
.” She kissed him.