Yesterday Was Long Ago: Part One

by Hedy Thalberg James

  “I was already on the boat when General Lee surrendered to the North, and still on the boat when Lincoln was shot. It was in London that I read the shocking news.” They all listened quietly to hear Robert recount the sad stories.

  “They are both still engrossed in their talks,” Karl whispered. First Mother questions him and now Alex! The poor man must be exhausted. His thoughts went back to the courtroom where he only remembered Robert Eckhardt as being a very nasty boy.

  “I myself am quite anxious to find out more about those long-lost relatives,” Karl assured both Rombergs. “In any case I have a very good feeling about him.” The Rombergs agreed, and after some more discussions, they too went to their guest rooms to enjoy a good night’s sleep.

  Before Karl did the same, he had no choice but to interrupt Robert’s and Alex’s conversation. “Still fighting America’s civil war? Both of you must be exhausted!”

  “Not at all. Rather pleasantly tired,” Robert replied.

  “Same here,” an elated Alex agreed. “but we’d better get a few hours rest, Uncle Robert. We still have plenty of time to talk some more, as I have until tomorrow at midnight to be at the garrison.”

  “That would be today, actually,” Karl smiled. “It’s one in the morning.” Both looked shocked and laughed. Karl had never seen his son happier.

  “Then Alex, you and I had better get some sleep as we will see each other shortly,” Robert replied, still laughing. “But before I forget, I must pay you a great compliment!”

  “Such as?” Karl responded, feeling rather pleased, though Alex tried to leave, feeling that he was not worthy of anything, let alone a compliment.

  “That goes for you too Alex. It will only take a minute.” Alex had no choice but to stay and listen.

  “I had a chance at the Imperial the last few days to talk with some well-informed people and, observing today your family’s behavior towards me and everyone else—by that I mean even a servant—it became clear to me that despite your prominent position, you never make anyone feel less important or unequal. When I remember how I used to be so jealous to the point of hating all of you and your poor late sister, Christina, who, according to Aunt Stephany was mentally tortured and brutally murdered by her own husband—” He shook his head while Alex began to squirm, thinking of Clarissa von Walden. “But Grandfather Albert always bragged about his family, while ignoring the rest of us. Little did I know the reason behind it until my late mother told me the truth. Now that I am fifty-two, I not only understand it, but fully agree with him. My family referred to him only as a nasty, old man. I say he was a saint!”

  “Thank you for telling me,” Karl answered, moved. “I am so glad that you came to see us and decided for yourself. “

  “And as for Aunt Stephany, she is the finest lady I ever met, making me feel so welcome in spite of my sorry family.”

  Alex’s reaction was more from impulse than anything else, shaking Robert’s hand vigorously while trying to embrace him. He turned to his father and, giving him a strong hug said, “I love you father and I mean it.” He took off running, being too embarrassed to hear an answer. Karl was almost in tears, as it was the very first time he had heard his son use the word “love” toward anyone in the family.

  “Just like my late son Alfonso; he never missed a day without telling his mother and me how much he loved us. I’ll bet they were his last thoughts before dying,” Robert lamented, wishing Karl a good night.

  “If Robert only knew,” Karl thought, barely believing what he had just heard.

  ∼

  Anette was tossing restlessly, not being able to sleep. She hoped her father would let her return for one more day of festivities. She realized that she had hopelessly fallen in love with Alex, and hopeless or not, she vowed to herself that she would get him one way or another.

  Her father, too, was sleeping restlessly, not because he was in love, but because he had once more been mortified by his wife’s unladylike behavior. She had been delivered via one of the Reinhardts’ carriages, Benedict and Father Hugo leading her, lest she should fall. While he knew that he could count on the Reinhardts’ people’s discretion, he was not at all aware of how she had behaved before she had been brought home, which was his main concern. Still she was chatting with herself while cursing the day of her betrothal to Baron von Essler, then only a First Lieutenant. “I, the beautiful Countess!” she lamented loud enough for him to hear before the countless glasses of wine and champagne she had consumed took their toll and made her finally fall asleep.

  Alex was also sleeping fitfully, hoping that the incident with Clarissa would not go any further. He was earnestly sorry and had meant every kind word of what he had told his family. He still shuddered at the thought of what would have happened without the Colonel’s intervention and promised himself that he would have a frank and candid talk with his father the next time he was on leave.

  Father Christopher did not have a good night’s sleep either after countless prayers to a number of saints. He had visited Baron von Walden on Alex’s behalf, who was sympathetic to Alex’s plight, though he was unforgiving towards the Reinhardts, the visit devolving into a rather unpleasant outburst, calling them evil-minded trash held together only by their great wealth. He made it perfectly clear that he considered Karl and Stephany nothing more than bastards. “Stephany Reinhardt, Vienna’s first lady!” he laughed maliciously. “She is the illegitimate daughter of Baron Leibnitz, who had taken her mother to Prague with him. And her so-called son Karl is either the son of General von Dorn’s blacksmith or one of the many diplomats we had in Vienna. But whoever it was, it would still make him a bastard just like his adoptive mother. The only difference with these people is money, which lets them rise above others who probably did not have morals any lower than they have.” He sighed deeply, walking the priest to the door.

  17

  Stephany arose early and was busy at her desk, surprising even her servants who were still on night duty. When her maid, Elsa, brought her breakfast later, she claimed that five hours of sleep would be enough for a woman of seventy-five. But Elsa knew better and noticed she glowed with excitement. Her missing diaries and hand-painted book covers were found! She was overloaded with mail, mostly directed to the young married couple, already well on their way to Salzburg. First on her agenda were her re-opened diaries dating back to 1828. She tried to recall in detail all the occurrences Robert related to her after leaving Vienna with Otto’s two coaches to Milan. After two days of living it up in a fine hotel with good food, they had taken a coach to Genoa’s harbor, where a large, lopsided vessel awaited them.

  At the first sight of that so-called “ocean liner” that had been promised in Milan, the family, aside from Robert Sr., was ready to exchange their tickets for a return coach to Vienna. However, with his usual forceful influence and their lack of talent under any circumstances, they had no choice but to oblige, though very reluctantly. After almost two months of the most treacherous travel, with the vessel carried by wind and storm, aside from a meager food supply and non-existing privacy, they finally arrived in New York rather than their promised New Orleans. There, the already exhausted and hungry passengers, along with their children, were dumped like unwanted cargo, with the crew throwing their baggage on the pier, letting each one fend for themselves. They could only watch the vessel preparing to leave.

  Once it became apparent that their destination had been botched, tempers started to flare, resulting in fist fights among the families. “I can still vividly remember the fearful and distorted faces of Mother and her sisters, while my father fought their husbands Gustav and Daniel,” Robert said with a peculiar smile. “We three brothers wanted to run away, but didn’t know where, while Claudia was wailing about her priceless ruby necklace which paid for the ill-fated trip.” Stephany could have told him that her late husband Otto had paid for the passage in exchange for the ruby necklace. She was considering giving it to Robert for his depressed wife.

&n
bsp; “Father, who was hurt the most, physically and mentally, got up, still bleeding, and gave each of his relatives some money, telling all of them he never wanted to see them again—in good or bad times—and we all left. Believe it or not, my family felt very relieved. As for myself, I never looked back. I imagine the bloody fight just did it.” Stephany looked aghast, knowing that they were never separated. “To tell you the truth until this day, I never even talked about it. Neither did the rest of the family.”

  “And I thought I heard it all!” Stephany sighed, ready to hear more.

  “Anyway, my father obviously kept most of the money and looked temporarily for a cheap apartment until he knew the city better. It was a traumatic experience but, after the boat ride, anything was acceptable. He spoke some English—Mother and the rest of us not a word—so he looked for a German-speaking section, got a nicer place, and went gambling, which paid off royally. This man was all about cheating.”

  Stephany only smiled, nodding in agreement. All of us had to attend private schools to learn English, but I was the one making the poorest grades and had to leave, while my two brothers went on, passing not only with straight As, but graduated in later years with high honors! I found myself, obviously, the black sheep in the family and decided I had to look for a job. An Eckhardt worked with his hands for the first time, other than to hold gambling cards! I was just turning eighteen and found a large foundry right in the inner city which offered its apprentice a small salary with room and board. Aside from the regular ten hours, I attended night classes with other immigrants who were looking to better themselves. Strange as it seems, the owner was an Italian by the name of Luigi Pierelli, who was, in comparison to most other immigrants, very nice. His parents had emigrated and his English was fluent although his family spoke only Italian and stayed in an Italian neighborhood. Like me, he wanted to get ahead and understood my plans.”

  Stephany had no choice but to glow with pride as he told her about their first encounter. He was in Europe looking at factories and foundries to compare the progress, possibly to see new inventions. “Well I got my apprenticeship four years later and stayed on to become a master, as he had put me one year later in his machine shop, feeling I was better qualified for it. In the meantime, Father and my two brothers left for Baltimore and I stayed with Mother.”

  “Left for Baltimore? Why?”

  “No idea. She told me their marriage was crumbling because of gambling and women. Mother became very ill and died shortly thereafter. I was twenty-four, all alone, but I felt I could make it, having by then enrolled in a city college with my saved-up money, while working my extra hours at Pierelli’s.”

  Just as Stephany was about to ask if he would tell her how he met his wife, some guests appeared, and after the proper introduction they stayed on, having never met anyone from America. The crowd became larger and larger, and Karl and Alex arrived too, ending their private talk. She closed her diary again, hoping after everyone’s departure she would find out about the rest of his unusual life.

  ∼

  Alex stood next to his father and Robert, greeting the descending overnight guests, while simultaneously introducing Robert to some friends who didn’t have the pleasure of meeting him the previous day. Chatter started all over again as they were trying to take their seats as close as possible to the gentleman from America. And then Anette asked to speak to Alex. He didn’t know if he should be glad or sad! But the way he saw it, there was no chance to be with Robert alone until the announced departure of Dr. Kramer’s daughter, Madeleine, and all the remaining guests who would say their farewells right after breakfast, having a long journey ahead of them. Only then would he have Robert again for himself, and no time for Anette. To his great relief, she only had time to thank the Reinhardts for the wonderful celebration the night before and wish Alex a safe trip to Venice. “Alex, I hope we will write to each other and that I’ll see you on your next furlough.” She never acknowledged any other nearby friends of the Esslers and Reinhardts, but then again no one expected anything else from her either.

  ∼

  “Robert still has four days left with us!” Stephany exclaimed delightedly to Karl after all the good-byes came to an end. “Alex has him until his departure, then he is all mine!” she laughed.

  “Fine with me, Mother. I am still in bewilderment about Alex. Would you believe it if I told you he gave me a hug and told me he loved me?”

  “Something got into this boy!” she replied, very pleased.

  “Maybe it is his transfer to Venice. Whatever it is, military or the wedding, it made me extremely happy!” Karl concluded.

  And there they were again, Stephany and Robert all alone. He was elated to have met so many people of Vienna’s society and had enjoyed the conversation with Alex enormously. Alex was forced to depart somewhat earlier, and for the first time did so reluctantly. Now Stephany had a chance to ask Robert if he felt exhausted. “Lord, no! I am having the time of my life,” he replied. “I told you about my two years in college, right?”

  “Right. Then what happened!”

  “Then Luigi Pierelli took me for the first time to his large house outside of the city to meet his family for dinner. He had four sons and three daughters. Angelina, who was on vacation from the Oberlin College in Ohio, and I fell in love!”

  Stephany just smiled and asked for a better explanation about the college, ready to put it in her diary.

  “Well, what made it so special was that in 1835 it was the first to admit women . . . and the first to admit Africans.”

  “You don’t say? I thought they were only slaves.”

  “I’ll tell you more about it later, okay. I got off my main subject, as is my habit, as you may have already noticed,” he mused. “So, coming back to me and Angelina falling in love. Her parents were strictly against us as a couple, since they only saw me as an Austrian with an engineering degree. They liked my work ethic and considered me one of their best workers, but not worthy as a son-in-law. Within two years, Angelina finished her education, I got my diploma, and we got married without their consent. I took a loan from a bank, bought a small foundry, and had a little house built after our first and only son was born in June of 1841. The Pierellies were angry for all the reasons I mentioned, not only at me but at Angelina as well, and they disinherited her, which was fine with us as my foundry did better than his. In no time, I bought a machine shop, hired the best available Germans as engineers and supervisors, and was on my way to become, let’s say, quite well to do. Though my wife couldn’t bear any more children, I still bought a large house, hired a married couple from Finland, and we both lived very happily, though she envied anyone with more than one child but refused to adopt.”

  “Poor thing!” Stephany replied. “Did the Pierellies ever make a trip to see how well you were doing or see at least their grandson?”

  “We both tried to convince them, but to no avail.”

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” she sighed sadly.

  “They were not only angry I married their daughter, but considered me a rival in their sagging business once two of their lazy sons took over, letting all the things their father worked for fall apart. I think the old man’s death was caused much by his grief upon realizing that all his effort would be slowly coming to an end. We went to his funeral, but not one of her family even acknowledged us, even after twenty-five years of marriage.”

  “How terribly sad!”

  “Yes, it is. As my wife went from time to time into depressions after Alfonso’s death, I had no choice but to put her in a sanitorium, to which she agreed. After the psychiatrists—and I conferred with several of the best available—told me she had to be in therapy for at least six months with as few visitors as possible, I asked my wife about a trip to Europe. I gave her several reasons, one of them to look for an excellent health spa, or a second home at any place she would feel comfortable, as I made lots of money during the Civil War.” He sighed deeply. “I would gladly return eve
ry penny if I could get my son back and my wife well again.”

  “God knows I believe you, Robert. What else is there that matters in life?”

  ∼

  The day of his departure arrived much too soon as far as the Reinhardts were concerned. All were visibly saddened.

  “Now, dear Robert, that you have seen for yourself how your relatives love you, will you promise us to visit again?” A teary-eyed Stephany embraced Robert. “And bring your wife along!”

  Karl, too, appeared moved, having become very fond of him. Besides having so much in common—the same year of marriage, the birth of their sons, Alex and Alfonso, only two months apart, along with many collective interests—he was especially grateful for Robert’s time with Alex, seeing his son finally enjoying himself.

  “Not only next year, Aunt Stephany, but every year thereafter. I may even think about a business in Vienna. After all, it is my birthplace, and after days of touring the city, I know my wife would enjoy it equally,” Robert stated very sincerely.

  “That would be the greatest thing for all of us,” Karl replied, embracing him.

  “Until next year!” Robert shouted, waving until the coach slowly disappeared.

  ∼

  When the Captain of the vessel cheerfully announced that the ocean liner would arrive one day ahead of schedule, the passengers applauded, as quite a few of them had experienced sea sickness. Robert was, thankfully, not one of them and planned after a hot bath to see his wife at once. However, upon ringing his own home’s doorbell, he did get a cheerful “Hello and glad to see you back sir,” but it had a peculiar ring to it.

  “How is my wife?” was his very first question as Ingmar ran in helping the old coachman with the trunks.

  “Not so well, sir.”

  Helen, his wife, elaborated. “They took Mrs. Eckhardt from the sanatorium to the hospital.”

  “Oh, dear God! When?”

  “Last week, sir.”