The Day the Flowers Died

by Ami Blackwelder

  My dear Papen, you will not think much of me if I change my mind. But I am too old and have been through too much to accept the responsibility for a civil war. Our only hope is to let Schleicher try his luck.

  - President Hindenburg.

  Schleicher made a better choice than Hitler for Hindenburg, and Papen did not have enough power to gain a majority in parliament or retain the Chancellorship. It was the only decision the President could see with the military in Schleicher’s pocket. Hindenburg preferred Papen to Schleicher, though. When Schleicher still offered no movement within the standstill government, behind the scenes, Hindenburg encouraged negotiations between Papen and Hitler to find a resolution.

  * * *

  At the end of November, on Saturday the twenty-sixth, after all the political intrigue, Ralph and Deseire drove through the city to arrive at Rebecca’s undersized apartment. Rebecca expected them early and prepared a few soft muffins and tea for their arrival.

  The previous night, she tidied up her room, hanging clothes which had been ignored and giving Eli back some of his garb which had found its way into her closet. She spent much of the last night washing and dusting her tables and cabinets, refusing to settle for clean. Immaculate. It had to be immaculate or she would never hear the end of it from her mother.

  Rebecca clad herself in a long flowery dress of purple and pink and wrapped a heavy pink scarf around her neck because of the cold November chills passing through her window.

  Ralph pulled up into the parking lot in his expensive vehicle. Next to the other cars, it sparkled in elegance, yet with haughty contrast. Ralph walked alongside his wife to the front door with its broken latch. Deseire fiddled with it before they stepped through, rolling her eyes at the condition of the place. Though not unsuitable for Munich, she didn’t want to be seen someplace like this: unkempt, common.

  Their knock startled Rebecca in her seat near the kitchen table which she decorated with a vase of lilies. Deseire slid the door open and Ralph lifted out his arms to embrace Rebecca.

  “Becky! Come here.” Ralph rushed toward her and she leapt into her father’s arms.

  “Papa, it’s so good to see you!” It had been years since their only other visit when Rebecca first moved to Munich. Their arrival now strained her words.

  “The place looks much different from what I remember. You have so many more flowers around your room.”

  “I’ve bought a few new pieces of furniture and have decorated it. I have Marigolds, Edelweiss, Cornflowers, Roses and many more.” As Rebecca mentioned each flower, she showed them off with a gesture of her hands. Ralph followed her, admiring all the varieties she had taken care of in winter. “When you first visited, I didn’t have any time to do anything to the place.”

  “Well, it looks pleasant,” Ralph complimented. Deseire’s eyes darted around the room, partly disapproving and partly suspicious, looking for any sign of Eli.

  Ralph walked up to the unique box along one living room wall. “Does the television still work?” He rubbed his hands over the top and played with the knobs.

  “Yes, thank you, Papa. It works quite well. Everyone enjoys it.”

  “And your Jewish friend…Eli…he enjoys watching it too?” Deseire questioned, but her tone was not rough and displeased, but rather surprisingly curious.

  “Yes, sometimes, he and his friends come over and we all watch it or just listen to the radio…or talk.” Rebecca answered, remembering the many lovely evenings she spent here with Eli and his friends.

  “That sounds nice, dear,” Ralph commented.

  “Please, sit down for tea. I made some muffins for you two. I wasn’t sure how hungry you’d be but I know how you get, Papa, when you travel.” Rebecca scurried to the kitchen and arranged two plates on the table while Ralph took off his heavy brown winter coat and hung it by the door. Deseire lifted her white wool scarf off her neck and let it dangle in her hands over her shoulders and cream colored lace dress which wrapped around her slim arms.

  “There’s a chill in your room, Rebecca.” Deseire grimaced and adjusted the cold pearls around her neck, “I feel it over my body.” A gust passed the window.

  “Sorry about that, Mama, but the landlord hasn’t fixed the crack in the window yet and some of the cold air from outside seeps in.”

  “I’ll talk to the landlord before I leave,” Ralph said in protective pride. He and Deseire sat at the small table, sipping their hot tea, the only item besides the temperamental heater that gave off any kind of warmth in Rebecca’s room. Deseire returned her scarf to her chilled neck.

  “Thank you, Papa.” Rebecca kissed her father on the cheek with sincere gratitude and then kissed her mother on the cheek more out of obligatory observance. “It’s nice to have the two of you finally come down to visit me.” Rebecca said, feeling like a child again.

  Deseire cleared her throat. “Well, we wanted to talk to you and thought this would be the best way.”

  Rebecca’s lips tightened at her mother’s tone and she fidgeted with her hands, walking to the kitchen sink to wash a few dishes and to keep her mind busy. She knew her mother wouldn’t come all this way without declaring her opinions. The sound of Deseire’s voice echoed through the room, over the still table and over the quiet air like an avalanche about to crumble over Rebecca’s fragile demeanor.

  “I know you love Eli,” her mother began, straight to the point, and at the sound of his name, Rebecca whisked herself around and faced her mother. “But the country is at a very delicate time. Parliament has been divided in the hands of Hindenburg, Papen, Schleicher and Hitler. Schleicher has been declared Chancellor by Hindenburg himself, followed by Papen’s resignation.”

  “I know, Mutti. I’ve read the papers.” She tried to keep the edge out of her voice.

  “Then, you must know Schleicher is sympathetic towards many Nazi players and ideas. If he’s going to be in charge of the country, your relationship with Eli will not get easier and, with the Nazis roaming the streets, it will become worse.” Deseire stood and held her daughter’s shoulders. “I don’t want to see my only child fall to the wayside in the midst of all this disorder.”

  With Deseire not acting as a dictator ruling her life, but as a concerned mother, Rebecca softened her stance for a moment. She searched Deseire’s face and recognized the motherly façade for what it was, knowing what her mother would ask next.

  “Where will you be in the middle of all of this?”

  Rebecca shrugged her shoulders out of her mother’s hands, knowing in that moment there would only be one place she ever could be. “At Eli’s side.”

  For the first time, Ralph spoke up in the middle of the argument between them, the two women in his life. “Rebecca,” he stood to hold his daughter’s hand, “you must learn to conceal your feelings. You wear your emotions on your sleeve. It’s not safe in these times to be so transparent.”

  Deseire’s demeanor became forceful. “Rebecca, if you aren’t going to heed our words then, for your own sake, we have to take more drastic measures to show you we are serious. We will cut you off financially if you stay with that Jewish man.”

  “You mean for your own sake, don’t you, Mutti? You wouldn’t want me to put shame upon you.” Rebecca straightened her posture, not out of aristocratic habit, but out of inner strength, willing herself to separate from her need of her mother’s approval; knowing she no longer needed it. “I won’t leave him, so if you can’t accept he is a part of my life, then it may be best that you leave.”

  Deseire’s face flushed with disappointment, but Ralph’s face crushed with sadness. He hesitantly smiled at Rebecca as he put on his heavy coat.

  “Papa?” Rebecca’s heart broke at his expression.

  His eyes reddened, but he squared his shoulders and whispered, “Goodbye,” before walking out.

  Deseire tightened her scarf around her neck and stepped into the hallway beside her husband. “Rebecca, you never know what is best for you. We love you. We are your paren
ts. I wish you could just see that.”

  “I know you love me, but sometimes love means letting go,” Rebecca said with soft intonation and initiated a final kiss on her father’s cheeks before shutting the door, dividing them. Rebecca let go of all her hopes for her parents’ acceptance of Eli. She let go of all the angst between her mother and herself. Rebecca collapsed on her sofa in almost a faint. Curling her legs beneath her, she held her head in her hands, tears falling without restraint.

  Her father siding with her mother weighed heavily on her mind and that bothered her more than cutting off her inheritance, more than the Nazi’s violence against Eli, more than anything else. She would have to adjust to a new life: a life where secrets became a part of the everyday, a life where love hid, and the friends and family once relied on now stood distant and unreachable. The life she grew up knowing ended when she closed that door.

  Friday, December 16, 1932

  Kurt von Schleicher became Chancellor of Germany on December 2, 1932, with Hitler and Papen negotiating behind his back. The country didn’t know it at the time, but a Hitler-Papen government would eventually change the face of the country in a second World War that included deliberate mass human extermination.

  But, despite the uncertainty the country faced even after elections, Eli woke up excited today, Friday, which meant Rebecca had this weekend off. The heavy drizzle pounded like beads on Eli’s umbrella as he walked Rebecca out of the apartment. He tucked his pale blue tie under his light brown suit coat and then held her hand. They stood on the sidewalk with rain sliding over Eli’s nose as he held most of the umbrella over Rebecca.

  The crowds of people, moving, marching, breathing, shouting, kept the streets noisy with vibrations. Nothing was still in Munich anymore. Nothing was quiet. Whenever they walked on the streets, alone or together, the sense of fear hung like a cloud in the storm-filled sky pouring over them.

  Raindrops bounced on the sidewalk and splattered against shop windows. People pressed to the sides of buildings, trying to afford their shelter. A stooped over elderly woman, dressed in dark gray, approached Eli and Rebecca who stepped away from the wall to allow her to continue on. Rebecca smiled and nodded a silent greeting into the woman’s sharp brown eyes.

  “Jew lover!” The woman hissed then, passing behind the couple, spat on Eli’s coat. He clenched his eyes shut and felt Rebecca’s hand tighten on his.

  “Honey?” She whispered to him.

  “Let it go. Just let it go.”

  They strolled to a small shop he found down the block. Eli opened the door and gestured her in.

  “Have you found some new swing records?” she asked, scanning the store.

  “No. Christmas is coming and this year it will be just the two of us, so I’ve made a ruling.”

  “A ruling?” Her eyes widened. “Are we in court?”

  “Perhaps. Depends on your behavior this afternoon.”

  “Ah, I see. Then what is your ruling?”

  “We need our own traditions and it starts with Christmas music.”

  “Sweetheart, how did you know I was feeling melancholy about this holiday?”

  “I see your eyes staring at the window displays, your mouth watering at the hams hanging in the butcher’s window, and sighing at the Christmas tree in the toy store.”

  “You are perfect, Eli. Just perfect.”

  “Yes, I know. Now, come on.”

  Eli walked Rebecca to the empty listening station and slipped on the earphones for her. He slid in the Christmas recording by Shumann Heink singing Silent Night and Rebecca’s eyes lit up as her cheeks lost their pinked hue in the warmth of the store and Eli’s wool coat. While Eli searched the counters, she found The First Noel and Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord on a record and clicked it into the record box.

  The two sat side by side, their expressions serene, with Rebecca listening and Eli watching until she tossed off one of the ear phones from her right ear for him to put up to his own. Eli swayed to the soft melodies of a reminiscent time which seemed like ages ago. Somehow in this closed room, with a wooden record player and earphones, they transcended from a time where racism and hate dominated the streets to a place of peace and liberty, hoping this future would become their own.

  The music faded and they jolted back to Munich, 1932. Rebecca tilted her head and kissed Eli’s lips with a small innocent peck. “Thank you, Eli.” Her voice was sturdy and her hands no longer trembled from the fear she felt on the streets.

  Eli never practiced Christmas in his strict Jewish home; his father Ezekiel would have forbid the trees and foreign traditions, but Eli knew its importance to Rebecca and her traditions became important to him; after all, Eli reasoned, she has done the same for me.

  * * *

  Sunday, December 25, Christmas, was Rebecca’s birthday and, though her parents usually blended the two dates into one, Eli had promised her this year he would do something special. Both were free from work, Eli because of the chaos of the country and Rebecca because she had asked for time off. Rebecca waited with eager delight at Eli’s arrival. Her phone rang and she answered it with anticipation, believing it to be Eli.

  “Rebecca?”

  She recognized the rough voice. “Father?”

  “I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and Merry Christmas.” He rushed his words, then cleared his throat.

  “Oh, Papa, Merry Christmas to you too.” Her tone softened.

  Her father cleared his throat again. “I have to go now, but I love you…we both do.”

  “I love you too, so very much.” The line went dead, leaving her staring at her phone, tears welling up in her eyes.

  The knock at the door startled her and she patted her cheeks dry. When she opened it, her low cut red dress which fell above the knees, swayed when she swirled into Eli’s arms. Her dark hair curled over her left shoulder and hung just below her left breast.

  Coughing, he raised his arm and looked expectantly at her. “Well?”

  “Well, what?” She glanced up and saw mistletoe dangling from his fingers above her head. “Ooohh.” Pursing her crimson tinged lips, she kissed him once and leaned in for another when he pulled back.

  “No. There’s no time. Come on.”

  He accompanied her to his apartment and made a show of opening the door. Candles placed on top of tables and bureaus brightened the room. Next to the window stood a Christmas tree decorated with silver tinsel, red ribbons, green and red glass ornaments, and a big gold star on top.

  On the windowsill she could see the outline of his golden Menorah for Chanukah holding eight white candles with the center candle being the longest. Rebecca stopped in the doorway, stunned at the attention to detail.

  “It’s…it’s like a fairy tale.” She motioned her hand in the direction of the tree. “Breathtaking.” The moon hung through Eli’s window behind the Christmas tree, it also shone of reflective light from the evening stars. The winter sky became dense and hail started to fall. Bit by bit, the scene reminded Rebecca of a story her father used to read to her when she was a child on Christmas Eve and, for a brief moment, she missed him. Presents nested underneath the tree and food covered the table: two plates of roasted ham and turkey, mashed potatoes, peas and corn.

  “Cranberry sauce! You remembered!” She clapped her hands in delight. “How…when did you have time to do all of this?” Rebecca pointed to the table, admiration on her face.

  “Rosalyn and Robert helped me last night.” Picking up a small piece of turkey, he fed it to her. “Good, huh?”

  “It’s delicious!”

  Rebecca curled into Eli’s chest after they enjoyed the meal and the two hung like Christmas lights in each other’s embrace, beaming, circling around the room in a slow dance without music. When they circled the room once, Rebecca took Eli’s hand and guided him to the sofa.

  “I was thinking, your lease is up at the end of the year and, instead of renewing it,” she pulled his hand close, “why don’t you move
in with me?” Her eyes tickled with delight. “It would make more sense, with everything going on. We would save on rent and could keep a close eye on each other.”

  Eli’s disposition lightened even more, and he held her hands in his. “I’m glad you have a question for me, because I have a proposal of my own.” Eli lifted the small gift wrapped in silver paper from under the tree and handed it to her. He sat next to her while she unwrapped her Christmas gift.

  The box was square and small, smaller than the box her father had given to her when she received the keys to her new Audi. Lifting the top off, she found a silver band with a diamond at its center. Her blue eyes widened and her rose lips opened in awe.

  “Eli… ” She said his name with tender appreciation and approval. He bent on one knee and held the tiny ring in his manicured hands.

  “Will you marry me?” Eli’s words brought tears to Rebecca’s face, tears of euphoria. She grabbed his hand holding the ring, “Yes,” she kissed his hand and pulled the ring to her, “yes.” Eli slipped it on her ring finger.

  “We’re officially engaged.” Eli stood and pulled Rebecca to him in one motion, lifting her over the floor. Her body slowly slid down his while their lips locked, their hands caressed each other’s hair, and Rebecca’s legs saddled around Eli’s waist until they fell backward onto the sofa. Breathing for a moment, Rebecca pulled away a bit.

  “Did you… do your parents approve?” Rebecca asked in a coy manner.

  “My mama is elated… but my papa told me you would have to convert to Judaism for him to wholly accept you into his family.” Eli confessed and Rebecca’s elevated spirit descended. “But he will learn to love you all the same.” Eli brushed his fingers over her chin. “I told him you would think about converting.” Eli answered with a tinge of hope in his own voice.