The Day the Flowers Died (18 page)

“So, how are things with Eli?” Rosalyn’s eyebrows rose in
anticipated gossip.  Rebecca smirked and her face flushed a
hue of pink.

“Very nice.”

“Because I heard you broke up in May and then, when I saw you at
the rally, we didn’t really have much time to talk.” Rosalyn
grinned and her cheeks puffed under her pursed lips.

“Yes, we broke up.” Rebecca recalled her decision to ask Eli to
leave, a decision she could not hold to emotionally.  “But
we’re fine now.  Better actually.” Rebecca spoke in a low
voice to ensure privacy, but over the loud music it would not have
mattered.

“I’m glad.  The two of you are so perfect together,”
Rosalyn said and Rebecca smiled with relief.  Aaron tapped his
foot near the table, bouncing his shoulders back and forth and
Rosalyn leapt and dragged him onto the wooden floors.  Eli
laughed and threw his head back at Rosalyn’s brazen attempts.

“Come on, Aaron.  It’s real easy.  You just gotta let
it all go.” Rosalyn wiggled her body, her hips swayed side to
side.  Her dark skirt and beige top caught the friction in the
wind and ruffled over her figure.  Aaron almost let out a
smile, trying to keep up with a girl who had been swinging for
seven years.  The two of them relaxed in each other’s
arms.  Robert strutted over to Eli and stood near the table,
watching his girlfriend swirl in the freedom of the room.

“She’s really something,” Robert said and his stare glistened at
the sight of her, patiently waiting for her to finish so that he
could have his dance.

“She is,” Eli agreed.

Not socially adept like his friends, Aaron rarely danced or
socialized with young woman.  His mind was astute and he spent
most of his time in his work and on the politics of the
country.  But Robert always told Aaron to take advantage of
his young age, to find someone he cared about and settle down
before time caught up to him and he found himself old.

Rosalyn and Robert believed everyone should be equal in
treatment and assets which is why they both joined the Communist
party.  Since the influx of racism, prejudice and brutal
treatment against many of the Jews, Gypsies, Africans, homosexuals,
and even the crippled of Germany, Robert and Rosalyn’s sympathies
grew even more for Aaron.

When the song ended, another one followed, but Rosalyn glided
back to the table with Aaron and sat next to Rebecca.  Robert
joined Rosalyn and sat across from her while Aaron stared off into
the dance floor, watching Jacob persuade his new lady.  Eli
laughed at the sight of Jacob swirling close to their table and
then to the dance floor.

“He meets someone new every time I go out with him,” Eli
chuckled.

“He’s got a spark the girls can’t resist.” Robert joked without
a hint of jealousy, because both of them came into the dance room
with the woman they wanted.

When the night slowed and the crowds dwindled from sixty to
twenty, Eli and Rebecca headed back to their apartment.  Jacob
road home with Aaron, and Robert drove Rosalyn home.

“Thank you for coming with me, Rebecca,” Eli said with great
pleasure.

“I had a good time.  I hope you did too.”

“I did.” Eli let the words escape like he couldn’t resist
them.  He slept in Rebecca’s room as most weekends they tried
to make their own.

After the good news of the two week hold on SA activity, towards
the end of the month, Hermann Goring was elected as chairman of the
German Senate.

This weighed heavily on Eli and his friends for it meant one
more man for the National Socialist party.  His nuances of
agreement would more likely fall under Hitler’s persuasions than
Schleicher’s, because he worked under Hitler’s orders in the
twenties.  Though more humane than Hitler, it was a faltered
sense of humanity.  But, Hindenburg now had two influential
members for National Socialism (Papen and Goring) who were
preferable still to the National Fascism of Hitler and so Eli hoped
like many, this would be good for the country.

Thursday, September 15, 1932

Rebecca called Eli as the morning broke through her window
because, after sitting down with a cup of tea and her morning
paper, violence covered the front page.  The two week hiatus
of the Nazi SA activity ended.  On September twelfth, messages
flew between Göring and Papen.  The Reichstag, under Göring’s
chairmanship, gave Papen’s government a no-confidence vote. 
In response, Papen dissolved the Reichstag, resulting in a call for
new elections.

The country grew tired of elections and campaigns, wanting
results rather than promises.  Added to this frustration, the
Nazi party’s fervor exploded.  Rebecca’s hands shook as she
put down the paper and picked up the phone.

“Eli,” her sweet voice woke him.

“Rebecca,” he didn’t have to wonder; he knew her voice like the
back of his own hands.

“I don’t want you to go into work today.  One hundred and
fifteen people have been killed in political riots.” She emphasized
the numbers.  “Violence is escalating.”

After a long pause, Eli spoke with a firm, soft tone. 
“Rebecca, I can’t hide because of the Nazis.  I’d be turning
my back on my father and the business.  I’d be giving into
them, telling them they’ve beaten me.  Forget my body.  I
won’t let them crush my spirit and mind.”  At Eli’s strong
words, Rebecca knew he was right, but couldn’t bear the thought of
him in danger.  She continued in her persuasions for her
lawyer to stay indoors, but Eli’s will dominated.

“I worry about you.  How will I be able to concentrate on
my patients when I’m worrying about you?” Her voice became
desperate.

“I’ll be inside my office the entire time.” His voice rose high
with his next sentence.  “I won’t even go out to lunch. 
I’ll bring it with me.  We all have so much to do to keep the
firm alive.  I can’t bail out on my father when he needs me.”
With the last words, my father needs me, Rebecca retracted her
desire for him to stay in his room.

“Alright, but, Eli, promise me you’ll stay in the building and
won’t leave for anything, not even to go to the courthouse. 
It’s crazy over there.”

“I promise.” Eli made the sound of kisses and Rebecca smiled and
hung up.  She had a day free from the hospital and, while Eli
tried to get back into the habit of work despite the violence, she
decided to meet up with her old friends from University.

Bernard and Louise waited at a coffee shop in downtown
Munich.  Traffic and people filled the busy streets even
though poverty and hunger saturated the overcrowded cities of
Germany.  The streets left Rebecca feeling guilty for the
affluent life style she was raised in and accustomed to.

She never lacked for food on the table or warm clothes to wear
and, even when she couldn’t afford something she desired, her
father on occasion would slip behind her mother’s back and buy her
the luxury.

Rebecca dropped her change into the hands of a poor man in
unwashed, ripped pants and tee shirt.  He thanked her as the
coins hit his worn, tired, outstretched hands.  Strolling to
the table where Bernard and Louise waved to her, she thought of
ways she could help the poor.  When she saw her friends, she
rushed to them, feeling like she’d returned to her days at
University.

“It’s been too long,” Bernard said, “where have you been
hiding?” He brushed his fingers through his stark blond hair.

“I’ve acquired a nursing position at the hospital near the
courthouse.  You know the one?”

“I do,” Louise interjected, “I pass it every day on my way to
the clinic.”

“You work at a clinic now?” Rebecca smiled wide, “So you’ve
accomplished what you wanted.”

“Well, not completely.” Louise rolled her eyes to Bernard. 
“I still haven’t been able to get him to ask me to marry him.”

Bernard laughed in a way that seemed calloused, and then
responded, “I will, Louise.  You know I want to get things
settled with work first.” Louise nodded, wiping the smudge from
Bernard’s mouth.

“Please, Rebecca, order something to eat.  I’m having a
chocolate croissant.  They are delectable.” Bernard waved the
waiter over.

Rebecca pointed to the croissant in front of Bernard and said,
“I’ll have one of those,” and just as the waiter turned around, she
finished with, “and a large coffee, please.” Rebecca looked at
Louise.  “I’m so glad to finally be doing this with you
two.”

“Yes, very glad,” Louise agreed.

“I was just thinking how sad it is that so many are on the
streets without food and shelter.  I thought maybe a few of us
could collect a pile of old clothes and donate them to those in
need.”

“What a splendid idea,” Louise responded.

Bernard rolled his eyes, “The unemployment rate is rising
because there are simply no more jobs.”

“Because businesses are running out of money to pay employees.”
Rebecca added, “so many unjustly.”

“There are no more jobs because the Jews have stolen them all.”
Bernard raised his glass of juice to his mouth.

“Some of the unemployed are Jewish, Bernard, fired for no
reason,” Rebecca implored, remembering her friend Aaron and the
name Ms. Eppes from the hospital.

“If you consider freeing up jobs for the hard working Germans no
reason.  The Jews are a crushing presence,” Bernard said with
his chin raised and his shoulders squared.

Rebecca bit her lip, trying to control the urge to smack
him.  The waiter set her croissant on a white plate in front
of her and she stared at it in loss of appetite.

Louise tugged on Bernard’s shirt to keep him from instigating an
argument.  Louise and Rebecca had been good friends at
University and, though they had drifted apart, she still enjoyed
Rebecca’s company.  Never one to cause strife, Louise followed
Bernard and his Nazi ideals without giving it too much
thought.  Bernard appreciated the Nazi’s growing influence and
the youth growing in rapid numbers toward their ideals. 
Louise appreciated Bernard.

Though the Nazis redefined what it was to be German, Louise
would not be troubled with semantics.  She would inevitably
follow without question what her country folk believed. But neither
her politics nor lack of them bound her to Rebecca. They shared a
compassion that led them both to the field of Nursing. 
Rebecca and Louise did not like to see others suffer and, on this
point, she vehemently differed with Bernard and the Nazis.

“You can’t think what is happening is good, all this violence
and prejudice. You can’t be on the side of the Nazis, Bernard?”
Rebecca asked in innocent naivety, unable to grasp a friend from
University could differ with her on such fundamental matters.

“I’m sorry to offend you.  Are you still dating the Jewish
lad I saw you with at the New Year’s Eve party?” Bernard’s words
simmered to courtesy.

“Yes, I am.” Rebecca folded her arms.

“Well, I’m not going to pretend to dislike the Nazi party just
because you do, Rebecca.  I voted for them.  You are a
German; you must be able to see their logic, the good they want to
bring to the German country?”

“What logic is there in hate?” Rebecca responded, pushing her
croissant away, her uncomfortable demeanor obvious.

Louise placed a hand on Rebecca’s arm.  “Do stay,
Rebecca.  Simply because we vary on politics doesn’t mean we
can’t hang out together.”

Rebecca offered a taut smile to Louise, knowing she was not at
least in thought a Nazi, but her actions kept her close to their
activities, which repulsed Rebecca.

“I’m sorry, Louise, but I don’t feel right speaking with the two
of you if you support the violent brutality and racism of the Nazi
party.  They’re destroying people’s livelihood and beating
innocent people on the streets.”

Bernard’s upper lip curled at her words and his brows pulled
back like a rabid dog about to bite.  “But consorting with
Jewish men is perfectly acceptable.” Bernard tore a chunk out of
his croissant.

Standing, Rebecca stared at the two of them and then darted her
eyes in Bernard’s direction.  “I’m sorry you’ve forgotten your
Catholic values, Bernard. I know our parents are members for the
Centre’s Party.  It’s a shame to see you lost in the fascism
of Hitler.”

“My father is weak. That’s why he can’t see the future of our
country rests in the hands of the Nazi party.  I pity him and
you.” His cheeks reddened with his flaring nostrils.

Rebecca smiled at Louise before turning away and walking to her
car.

* * *

Rebecca planned a special evening for September twenty-fifth,
Eli’s birthday.  She phoned him at the office to come back to
her place after work.  Eli’s forehead wrinkled in thought and
his eyes widened with anticipation.  She typically didn’t
contact him at his office to invite him to her room; they usually
only spent Friday and Saturday nights together.  But this
sudden interest in spending Sunday evening with her, excited him
and he wondered if it had anything to do with his birthday, though
he didn’t remember her talking about it.

“But what are we going to do Sunday?” Eli inquired.

“There is something I must share with you,” Rebecca
whispered.

“Must share with me? That sounds desperate.”

“It is desperate, because if I don’t get to see you Sunday, I
don’t think I will ever be the same again.”

“Well then, I’d better be there.”

“Yes, you’d better be.” Rebecca mimicked the smile Eli had on
his lips on the other end, both filled with anticipation.

After work at six, Eli locked his office and drove home in his
car, with its taped windshield cracked by the thrown bottle.
Eagerness hurried his feet up the stairs to her room and he knocked
a few times.

“Come in,” her sultry voice invited.

Eli slid the unlocked door open and stepped into a room lit only
by two candles on each end of her table. A meal she’d stayed home
to make sat in the center, its enticing aroma sharpening his hunger
and its decorative colors pleasing to his eyes.  Eli shut the
door behind him and embraced her with outstretched arms. 
Taking off his coat, he followed her to the table and sat down with
her.