The Day the Flowers Died (33 page)

The minutes felt like hours in Eli’s mind, afraid he’d be
recognized as a man wanted by the Gestapo.  The attendant
returned with a cup of tea and set it on the counter before handing
Eli his two tickets.  Eli sighed with relief.  Aaron
followed, purchasing two for his parents and another for
himself.  The tickets were contracted for the second of
September.

Friday, September 1, 1933

Rebecca was relieved to find out the tickets had been contracted
and that she and Eli would both be on the ship soon. She packed
four designer suitcases which her father had bought her before
leaving for University.  Eli managed to fit most everything he
cared to bring into two smaller pieces of black luggage.

Clothes could be replaced easily, he thought to himself while
packing the majority of his books in one of Rebecca’s
suitcases.  The ten day journey would be comfortable, Eli
explained, showing her brochures of the liner.  All the
necessary amenities would be aboard, along with a few
extra-curricular opportunities such as lying on deck in one of the
many reclining chairs provided, playing cards, and even deck
tennis.

On September second, Eli dressed in his custard colored top with
the top button undone and a pair of beige slacks and matching suit
jacket.

Rebecca wore a long crème skirt that swayed below her knees and
a matching blouse whose ruffles enveloped around her neck and
folded over her breasts.  She tightened the large black belt
around her waist, drawing in her stomach and accenting her womanly
figure.

Eli drove Rebecca early in the morning to the ship docks in
Hamburg in her vehicle, knowing Robert had agreed to buy his old
car during a phone call between the two of them after he had
purchased the tickets.  Eli left his car in the parking lot at
the apartment and told them he would bring the keys to the
dock.

As Eli drove up to the large building, trolley cars moved along
the roads and tall street lights governed its borders.  Thick
clouds hung over the building longer then the apartment building
Eli and Rebecca shared and almost as tall.  People scattered
over the paved floors leading to the doors, rushing to and fro,
carrying luggage which held their lives.  Eli pulled into the
parking lot and the two of them began to take their suitcases
out.  From the corner of her eye, Rebecca saw Robert and
Rosalyn approach from the right.

“Need some help with that?” Robert inquired from a block away in
casual garb and a loud voice.  Eli turned his head in Robert’s
direction.

“That would be most appreciated,” Eli spoke loudly until Robert
drew close.  “We have six pieces of luggage to bring
aboard.”

Robert reached his hand into the backseat and pulled out two
suitcases.

“Did you remember the keys?” Robert laid the luggage on the
floor.  “Here’s the cash I promised for it.  I hope it
helps.” Robert handed Eli a wad of money, not the price the vehicle
had been originally sold for, but enough to help Eli start a new
life in America.  Eli took out the keys to his car, the car
that had seen him through University, work at his father’s firm,
and a protest rally which ended in a broken windshield, and handed
them to Robert.  “I’ll take good care of it.” Robert finished
and put his hands over the luggage to help carry the bags to the
ship.

Rosalyn stood a few feet away in a pastel summer dress and a
white hat that wrapped around her face, her head tilted and her
eyes welled with tears, making her vision cloudy.  Rebecca
walked over and pulled Rosalyn into her arms for a long
embrace.

“I can’t believe you two are leaving.” Rosalyn wiped her tears,
“I mean you should, it’s best for the two of you.  It’s just I
am going to miss you both so much.”

“Me too.” Rebecca wiped her own tears beginning to fall at the
sight of Rosalyn.  “But I will write you and we can keep in
touch.” Rosalyn swung her arms around Rebecca and they hugged for a
second time before the two of them joined Eli and Robert and helped
carry the luggage to the ship.  The walk through the calm
building contrasted to the outside where everyone seemed to be in a
frantic frenzy.  Inside, an air of structure and certainty
prevailed, as if once inside, the dread of missing the ship
vanished.

The four of them waited on a long bench for the announcement to
board.  Aaron and his parents approached from the other door
and, as they walked into the building, Eli and Rebecca stood at the
sight of them in the distance.  Aaron and his father preferred
dark suits to Eli’s beige colors and Aaron’s mother clad herself in
a sky blue chiffon dress.  The delicate sleeves of the dress
covered her thick arms and her lioness grey blond curls fell around
her face, pinned up only over her forehead.  Her sea grey eyes
became apparent as Aaron and his parents approached. Eli
outstretched his hand in a proper handshake with Aaron’s father
before sitting back down.

Rebecca greeted Aaron’s mother with a warm smile and kiss on
each of her cheeks and then made room for her to sit before finding
another seat opposite Eli.  Aaron introduced his parents to
Rosalyn and Robert, the only two who had not met them yet. 
Eli and Rebecca had shared conversation with them on occasion at
the synagogue in Munich and out of social decorum, Rebecca felt the
weight of keeping the dialogue lively between Aaron’s parents and
her friends.

“This is my mama, Rachael, and my papa, Elijah,” Aaron said and
Rosalyn smiled while Robert shook their hands.

“Now that everyone is here, I should load Rebecca’s car onto the
ship,” Eli said and departed in dutiful hurry.  He made his
way back to the parked car and drove it to the ship where deckhands
secured the car behind a few others.  Upon his return,
Rebecca, Elijah and Rosalyn were laughing wildly at something
Elijah said.

Rebecca whisked her eyes up at Eli and in a flirtatious gesture
of her outstretched hand, wrapping itself around his and pulling
him to her, Eli imagined the conversation was about him. Before he
could ask Rebecca about it, the announcement for the boarding of
the Hamburg American Liner echoed through the hall. The group made
its way from inside the building to the ship.

Rosalyn grabbed Rebecca in an embrace again and tears welled in
her eyes.  “I keep telling myself to not cry, but I can’t help
it.”

Rebecca wiped one of the tears rolling off Rosalyn’s cheek onto
her own.  “I love you.  You are like my sister.  I
will miss you so much.” Rebecca started crying more.

Robert threw his arms around Eli and, in masculine expression,
refrained from tears, but the genuine pull on his emotions could be
seen in his sudden somber disposition.  “Take care of
yourself.  Take care of Rebecca.”

“I will,” Eli promised and they released from their hold. 
Rebecca and Rosalyn soon let go of each other and Eli grabbed
Rebecca’s hand to walk up the gangplank to the ship that held their
future. Aaron hugged each of them, the only two friends from his
firm who remained true to him after he was fired, and then he
boarded with his parents.

Eli, Rebecca and Aaron waved goodbye from the deck. The ship
horn sounded and the vessel drew away from Hamburg on the Elbe
River and toward the North Sea, then onto the Atlantic. As Eli and
Rebecca left Germany, they wondered if their fatherland would ever
become new again like freshly grown spring flowers, untouched and
full of promise.

They found the ten day journey comfortable between dining, deck
tennis, strolling along the decks and an occasional game of
cards.  There were a few other Jews like themselves fleeing
Germany in the hopes of reaching a country with a better promise
for a future.  Some still considered German citizens did not
agree with the new politics and laws of the country.

Beside a tussle that broke out at one of the card tables, the
journey was for the most part uneventful. Rebecca enjoyed tea in
the dining hall with Rachael while Eli, Aaron, and Elijah preferred
to play cards with the other men. Some days the rains from a storm
pelted against the ship’s sides.  Other days provided a canopy
of warmth from the sun.

Somewhere in the middle of the journey, Eli found Rebecca gazing
over the railing into the sea. Her crème skirt with all its heavy
ruffles blew up from a passing breeze. He caressed her shoulders
and drew his mouth to the lace of her blouse just over the nape of
her neck. He rested for several minutes still and quiet in her
essence.  Rebecca could feel the light discharge of air from
his nostrils over her blouse.  She slipped her hand into his
and passed him a small box with a white lace ribbon.

“Happy Early Birthday,” she whispered. “I couldn’t wait.” Her
smile widened, “And on this boat, viewing the ocean is the perfect
place.” Eli glanced down at the ship’s wooden decks as he opened
the box and found inside a pin plated in silver with a red rose and
green petals.  It shimmered under the sun and Rebecca helped
him attach it to his shirt.

“I’ll always wear it,” he said and kissed her cheek.

“Are you going to read to me tonight?” Rebecca asked in a loud
whisper and he lifted his head to see her eyes.

“Tonight and every night, my dearest.” As Eli said those words,
a tear fell from his left eye and he discreetly hid it from Rebecca
with a tuck of his head returning to her chest.  Rebecca raked
her fingers through Eli’s hair as his head gently rested on her
breasts.  She smiled, gazing into the wide ocean, and thought
about her life in America.

“I can take up nursing when we arrive. American must need
nurses.” She grinned and her left brow quirked.  “Will you
find work as a lawyer?” she asked and Eli’s eyes met hers with his
tear dried against the fabric of her dress.  A wrinkle
furrowed between his brows and his chin lowered.

“I’ll try,” he said.  Taking her hand into his, he guided
her over the wooden deck.  Other couples relaxed in lounging
chairs, soaking up the light when it peeked out from behind thick
clouds.  Women flipped pages in magazines and chatted about
the exquisite dining aboard the ship.  A few women wore large
hats, keeping their delicate pale complexions from the rays of the
sun.  Men closed their eyes on the lounge chairs or smoked
cigars.

That evening, Eli and Rebecca lay on the bed in their private
room.  Rebecca’s hand dangled over Eli’s chest in playful
strokes before he drew her fingers to his lips and kissed them
several times as he contemplated names for the baby.

“If it’s a girl, we can call her Sarah.  I’ve always adored
that name,” Eli stated.

“We should name her after your mother.  It would be an
honor to her,” Rebecca corrected.

“Deborah? I don’t know. It sounds too old fashioned for our
daughter.  She would need a modern name, a strong American
name,” Eli debated.

Rebecca mulled over the suggestion.  “Maybe you’re right.”
She hesitantly agreed.  “We could name her… ”

“Bernard,” Eli said.

“Bernard?” Rebecca’s eyes darted to his and her brows
furrowed.

“I mean if it is a boy.”

“Oh.” The name echoed in her mind and returned unpleasant
memories.  She shook her head.  “I detest that
name.  I cannot and will not call my son Bernard.”

“Ok, ok.” Eli stroked her arm. “We won’t call him Bernard.” As
Eli finished his counsel, Rebecca’s eyes widen.

“If it’s a boy, I know exactly what I’ll name him.” The name sat
frozen on her lips and she did not divulge it, but let it reside in
secret, untainted, and unused.

“You aren’t going to tell me?” Eli pouted.

“I don’t want to spoil the surprise in you eyes. He will be a
boy.  I just know it.”

Eli grinned at Rebecca’s thought. “We’ll have a big two story
house with a white picket fence, two boys and one girl to keep us
occupied,” Eli dreamed.

“Yes, that would be lovely, just lovely.” Rebecca rested in
Eli’s words and on his chest.  Eli wrapped his arms around
her, feeling that, if he let go, she might just float away.

* * *

As the ship drew near the shores of New York harbor, spectators
filled the dock to watch its arrival.  Floods of people
awaiting their friends or relatives pushed forward to greet the
passengers disembarking the ship.  The passengers queued and
took out their passports and immigration papers to await approval
at the immigration office before passing on to American soil. 
Sounds of the crowds on the shore grew loud in anticipation and
excitement.

Aaron and his parents stood in front of Rebecca and Eli and when
it was his turn, Aaron handed his documentation to the elderly
immigration officer.  After a couple of minutes of page
turning and eye scrutiny, the officer waved him and his parents
through.  Aaron let out a breath which he had been holding
during the inspection, and his parents grabbed hold of their son in
gratitude and relief.

Rebecca handed the officer her passport and, upon glancing over
her American citizenship and facial features, the officer took no
more concern of her and waved her through.  Eli braced himself
as he supplied his passport and documents.  The officer
glanced over his papers once, looked away and then looked over them
again. He inspected the black eagle German stamp and then the
signatures created by Eli’s own hand.

Rebecca stood in anxious desire to see her Eli cross the
immigration line, a line separating them, and into her arms on
America soil.  She stood for five minutes until the officer
waved a guard over to his booth to pull Eli away.  Rebecca
couldn’t understand, readjusting her eyes in disbelief.  Then
the weight of it hit her and she fell to the floor at the sight of
two guards forcing Eli away from the immigration booth, away from
her, away from America.

“No!” Her words caught up with her heart.  “No!” She
grappled for what to say.  “He is my husband! He is an
American citizen through me!”