The Day the Flowers Died

by Ami Blackwelder

  “I will think about it. I want to be a part of your family in every way I can… to be close to you.” Rebecca’s soft eyes met Eli’s. “But this will take time. The country. My family. My mama will never approve. When she hears about this wedding… she will be furious.”

  The next day they used the time off of work to move items from Eli’s place into her own. They combined both their sofas to form an L-shape in Rebecca’s living room, put his radio beside the television, and moved his wooden table to her porch next to the banister.

  With the table moved, Rebecca twirled on the porch floor on her tiptoes in ballet motion, holding onto the banister. She emulated the ballet dancers she had observed growing up, and remembered a few of the steps from her early ballet classes. Holding one leg up horizontal to her vertical body, she drew her leg back in a circle, reconnecting her toes to the floor and beside her other foot. Her blue skirt whirled with her and with the breeze.

  Sunday, January 1 1933

  Eli arranged the wedding to be held at the synagogue near his parent’s home with Rabbi Yosef on a Sunday. Neither Rebecca nor he wanted an extravagant wedding and chose something quaint and simple.

  Saturday evening after Shabbos, prior to the wedding, Eli took Rebecca to the synagogue to meet Rabbi Yosef and, with her acceptance, the rabbi gave a blessing by the Torah for their future. Eli then performed the Mikveh, washing and preparing his body for marriage, followed by Rebecca who became more comfortable with his traditions.

  Aaron acted as Eli’s shomer, or best man, and Rosalyn as Rebecca’s shomeret, or maid of honor. They assisted the bride and groom in every way they could with arrangements, but since the wedding was small and hurried, they only needed to arrange the quick construction of the canopy, the simple décor and the reception.

  Sunday, Rebecca sat in front of the dresser, its round mirror reflecting her thoughtful expression. Deborah put the finishing touches on her hair and Rosalyn stood beside them.

  “You look beautiful,” Deborah smiled into the mirror. “I only wish your parents could be here.”

  Rebecca flicked a sad smile at her and shrugged. “I know. I’d always dreamed they’d be here for my wedding day. But…things change.” In silent reflection, she recalled those girlhood dreams of wearing an elegant long white dress with its lace train. The flowers would be voluminous and abundant and the chairs would be filled with over two hundred guests.

  She turned to look directly at Deborah. “Thank you so much for helping me today, for making me a welcomed part of your family. I don’t just love your son. I love all of you.”

  “Stop it!” Rosalyn protested. “You’re going to make me cry.”

  Deborah leaned forward and kissed Rebecca’s cheek. “You are a beautiful bride and a welcomed daughter.” Straightening, she stepped back. “I must take my place out front now.” With a wave, she left the room.

  Rebecca stood and nodded to Rosalyn. “I’m ready for my dress.”

  Rosalyn took it from the garment bag and helped her into it, then went to tell the rabbi the bride was ready.

  Eli’s parents sat in the front next to Miriam, Sarah, and Leah in chairs on the left side. Behind them sat many of Eli’s friends from synagogue, including Aaron and Jacob. Robert and Rosalyn sat on the right side in support of the bride, along with a friend from the hospital Rebecca knew she could trust.

  The synagogue members decorated the outside with a variety of foliage: Orchids, Roses, Marigolds, Edelweiss, and common mosses, since Eli had informed them of Rebecca’s adoration of gardening and flower décor. The stained glass of the synagogue in the background sparkled in winter sunlight. The chairs were adorned with white and green plastic vines a few of the members had in a box at home. The chairs lined up on either side of the center aisle covered with a long white cloth leading up to Rabbi Yosef under a canopy. The musicians of the synagogue played their instruments with slow elocution.

  Eli waited in a white tux with a white kippah dressed over his dark short wavy hair, standing next to Rabbi Yosef. His palms grew sweaty and the words he memorized to say over and over again had muddled in his brain and he struggled to remember each word.

  Rebecca stepped toward him over the white cloth in a simple white gown she had worn once for a business dinner a few years ago and the sight of her drew every memorized sentence to his lips. Keeping her eyes locked on the handsome man before her, she walked to her future and everything from her past washed away. The soft music moved her towards him in each romantic step of vocal silence, a sacred silence, until she found herself face to face with Eli.

  They stood in the midst of a cool breeze surrounded by winter white and barren trees. Rebecca’s lace veil had been interwoven with white lilies and covered her face. Her hair dangled in a braid with white silk interlaced and tied at the end.

  They stood together under the assembled canopy ready to be joined in this union.

  “Now that the bride and groom are together under the huppah, I will begin,” the rabbi intoned, then scratched his heavy beard before taking the ketubah, marriage contract, into his hands for Eli and Rebecca to sign. Rosalyn and Aaron stood at their side to sign it as witnesses.

  Eli opened his palms outward and Rebecca mimicked his gesture. The rabbi recited the kiddush, the blessing for the wine, while holding the cup in his hand. “Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech haolam borei p'ri hagafen' (Blessed are you Lord our God King of the universe Creator of the fruit of the vine),” and sipped before giving it to Eli and then to Rebecca.

  Deborah aided Rebecca in holding the glass as was custom. Eli and Rebecca gazed into each other’s eyes, knowing every moment which preceded them led them to this fated event. Eli held the silver ring up for Rebecca’s hands to grasp and they both clung onto it as Rebecca circled around Eli three times in Hebrew ritual. Eli then slipped the silver band with a small diamond over Rebecca’s index finger, tears welling up in his eyes. Rebecca whispered, “I love you.” After Eli said each phrase of the vow, Rebecca repeated it.

  “Behold you are made Holy to me. Through this symbol, in accordance with the customs of the Jewish people, I commit myself on every level. I commit myself to share both challenges and resources. I will try my best to be just. I will flow loving kindness your way without judgment. I will be faithful to you so that you will know God.”

  The rabbi gave seven blessings before sipping from the wine glass again shared by both Eli and Rebecca. Ezekiel’s face lit up when Eli took the glass wrapped in cloth and laid it on the floor to be stomped with his feet. When the glass broke, thunder crackled and grey storm clouds rolled through the winter sky. Before the rain fell, Eli, Rebecca and the crowd escaped to the inside of the synagogue where the reception waited.

  When Eli pulled Rebecca to him and kissed her, neither one expected this new emotion. A spark ran through both their bodies simultaneously and unapologetically, uniting them to each other like Adam’s eyes fell on Eve. This love, this wedded love, would not be ripped apart, would not be threatened and would not be told it couldn’t exist.

  Eli stepped back, whispering, “I’ll only be a few moments.” Then he departed to a private room separate from his new bride to take time to contemplate, a time he called yikhud. Eli spent time alone with his thoughts, in partial disbelief they had preformed the ceremony without interruption from Nazis patrolling the area. Their union to the rest of the country was a secret he and his wife would have to keep, even from her parents.

  In spite of the necessary secrecy, Eli beamed for what the day had given him.

  Rebecca knew she could rely on Rosalyn like a sister. Though Rebecca loved both her parents, she did not fully trust Deseire to keep such news quiet. Rosalyn sat by her side in a room outside the reception hall. The two hugged each other with an embrace Rebecca once longed to receive from her mother. Then she sighed.

  “Are we going to make it?”

  Rosalyn knew what Rebecca meant, not just her and Eli, but the entire country.

  “I
don’t know.” Rosalyn shook her head once and then looked into Rebecca’s eyes with a hint of inspiration, “But we have today.”

  Rebecca saw Eli from the corner of her eye walk down the stairs to the reception. She scurried to him, holding the white used gown so that she didn’t trip, and fell into his outstretched arms.

  Monday, January 2, 1933

  Eli whisked Rebecca away for a romantic honeymoon outside of Munich, passing through Nuremburg in its elegant Bavarian architecture and then to Frankfurt. They caught a boat traveling on the Rhine River through Germany’s Reign Castle District.

  The medieval designs once owned by feudal landlords in the nineteenth century left them both nostalgic of German history. The variety of castles adorning the mountain tops clouded the landscape with mystery and splendor, forgetting the strategic war-bent functions of the castles along ago. They circled around the Schloss Stolsenfel castle which stood magnificent with a terrace bordering the outside mountain, offering a view of the Rhine River. Holding hands, fingers interlocked, they gazed over the terrace and watched the white blue waves crashing onto the shoreline.

  They sojourned on the boat to another castle called the Marksburg. Its structure, thick and rounded, provided a solid military defense. Light grey fog swirled in an eerie formation as they peeked at the castle from the boat. Rebecca leaned forward on the boat’s railing for a better view while Eli held her sturdy with his hands snug around her waist.

  Continuing onward to the Burg Katz castle which sat like a crown of jewels for a queen and provided one of the best views of the Rhine, they exited the boat. They sauntered up the steps to the castle and stared at the Rhine River for twenty minutes before for Eli and Rebecca departed to find a nearby lodge to stay the night. Despite various inauspicious glares upon their jubilant faces from hotel guests and passersby, they forgot for a blissful moment they lived in a country divided.

  They headed out of Kohn the morning of January second to catch the boat back to Frankfurt. Rebecca snapped photos with the camera Eli taught her to use. She didn’t want to forget anything about their honeymoon, however brief. In Frankfurt, Eli drove to where the countryside stretched to the horizon and the sky bled into yellow-green grass.

  The tall trees hung high in the blue sky, dropping their branches and leaves to the earth as a blanket. Light and dark hues filled the countryside as Eli swooshed down the winding street in his car. He drove off the road to an isolated location which provided transcendence to another time, another place far from where they had been.

  Eli laid a wide chocolate brown blanket over a plot of grass underneath elongated trees of evergreen fanning above them. This peaceful place reminded them that the nature of Germany was still alive and untainted by the terrible violence of the Nazis. They’d found an oasis. Hidden. Secluded. Private.

  Rebecca in curtsey-like fashion dropped to the center of the blanket with her legs underneath her puffed up skirt and awaited the surprise behind Eli’s jaunty smile. He lifted a basket from the backseat, carried it to the blanket and plopped next to Rebecca with his legs crossed.

  Rebecca smiled out of the right corner of her mouth, lifting the basket open and finding a variety of cheeses, meats, breads and a bottle of red wine. Eli ran his fingers through the grass.

  “Eli, this is perfect,” Rebecca gushed. This location provided them the unadulterated time they longed for since the wedding.

  Rebecca broke the rye bread and filled it with goat cheese and salami. Eli broke the wheat bread and stuffed in chicken, goat cheese and rolled it.

  The delectable sandwiches were only surpassed by the hidden box of strawberries Eli had at the bottom, which he revealed after they both finished eating. Rebecca wiped Eli’s face of crumbs at the corners of his mouth and he pulled out a strawberry for her. She opened her lips and let him place it between her teeth. He watched her savor the flavor before she bit down and pulled it into her mouth.

  The next strawberry Rebecca placed into her mouth herself, but not without temptation from Eli. He pressed his lips on the other end of the strawberry and they bit the fruit at each end until their lips touched. They could feel the strawberry seeds brush up against their lips as they kissed. Eli poured the red wine into one tall glass while his eyes caressed her skin. He balanced the glass next to her mouth while she sipped and then he sipped himself, reminding her of their wedding.

  Eli declared in whisper, “I’ve loved falling in love with you, every morning, every hour. Every day you become more of my life and I can’t wait for our life together to begin.” Eli had a way with words, perhaps from the years of training in law school and debating in court, but next to Rebecca, they became passionate and full of emotion.

  Their lips lingered in quiet spaces for moments, before Rebecca didn’t feel anything but his lips chasing away everything that hurt inside of her until passion compelled her to lunge toward him, knocking him back onto the blanket. His hands caressed her arms; her fingers outlined his eyes, his nose, his lips. His fingers brushed her long dark hair dangling over her shoulders and then they brushed her high collar bone and the white lace of her pale blue silk blouse until he found her supple breasts.

  Her lean legs wrapped themselves around his body and Eli rolled her over so that they lay side by side. A breeze blew through the trees, ruffling the leaves and tousling their hair. Rebecca’s orange scented perfume filled Eli’s sensations and he drew a breath of ecstasy before Rebecca delighted him with her lips on his chest. His hands moved up her legs under her fluffy white skirt. Her stomach rose and dropped, rose and dropped in anticipation. Their bodies twisted in configurations the trunks and roots of trees had only ever seen.

  The prudish upbringing of Rebecca’s life disappeared. When she lay next to Eli on the brown blanket she felt anew. A part of her sank when her mother and father left her that day from the Munich apartment, but within Eli’s arms, a new piece of her grew and at the wedding she could feel all the pieces inside of her making sense. Here with him sharing this picnic, she felt whole again.

  Fate brought all the pains to her for a reason, for this reason, to be with him now. They held each other as the afternoon sky shifted its brilliant colors into darker shades of evening. They needed no conversation between them. They needed no other sounds. They only needed to be close to one another, to feel each other’s touch and rest under the peaceful German sky.

  * * *

  A new fervor in the air of German streets came from many Nazis hoping for the success of their party in Reichstag.

  Schleicher’s inability to offer the answers needed in parliament sent the desperate public searching for new leadership. Reichstag was a teetering canoe in a stormy sea. Throughout December and January after Schleicher’s appointment as chancellor, Hindenburg wanted Papen in governmental office, trusting him above all the others. Consequently, in secret meetings, Hitler negotiated to have Papen share power with him if he was declared Chancellor.

  On the twenty-ninth, Hitler perpetuated a false rumor that Schleicher was about to arrest Hindenburg and stage a military coup. This pushed Hindenburg to give the chancellorship to Hitler. Schleicher’s inability to obtain dictatorial powers kept the country at the brink of anarchy. Hindenburg reluctantly accepted a Hitler Government on the contingency that Papen retained power in one of the eleven important cabinet posts, all dominated by conservative parties, thus balancing the Nazi’s power. The Nazis retained only three of those posts and Hindenburg hoped for the best.

  January thirtieth, 1933 a new face of German history began. Adolf Hitler, with tears rolling down his cheeks, emerged from the presidential palace as Chancellor of Germany. Admirers surrounded like a flock of seagulls all wanting a taste of him. The car drove away with Hitler shouting, “We've done it! We've done it!” The Nazis flaunted their troops and power in a sea of marches smashing into the country like a heavy storm.

  Days and nights of celebration continued with burning torches casting ominous light on red hooked cross symbols of raci
sm and terror clad on tan shirts. Red and gold Nazi banners reminded everyone Germany now belonged to them and, like shadows of darkness they stretched, covering the German country. The slow beating drums in the cities trembled in the minds of all those who opposed Hitler. He took an oath heard on the radio by all of Germany. Eli and Rebecca cringed at his insidious deceptions. His words would not fool the many already suffering discrimination and brutality by his hands and the hands of those he controlled.

  Adulation poured from the crowds when he vowed, “I will employ my strength for the welfare of the German people, protect the Constitution and laws of the German people, conscientiously discharge the duties imposed on me, and conduct my affairs of office impartially and with justice to everyone.” Hitler marched through the Brandenburg gate and along the Wilhelmstrasse to the Presidential palace.

  Cops, once his adversaries, wore swastika armbands like wielded weapons. The rhythmic pounding of jackboots, drums, and military parade music beat into the dizzy minds of everyone at the ceremony and everyone clinging to the radio.

  The month ended with words from various men denouncing Hitler as Chancellor, witnessing the sinister violence of the man. Strasser, a former leader alongside of Hitler, broke away from him, declaring, “Whatever happens, mark what I say. From now on Germany is in the hands of an Austrian, who is a congenital liar (Hitler), a former officer who is a pervert (Röhm), and a clubfoot (Goebbels). And I tell you the last is the worst of them all. This is Satan in human form. Göring is a brutal egotist who cares nothing for Germany as long as he becomes something.”

  A telegram delivered to Hindenburg from Ludendorff, who had been for Hitler in the military in the twenties and had since changed his mind, stated, “By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich, you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action.”