The Day the Flowers Died by Ami Blackwelder Read Free Book Online Page B

German town,
making up for any preconceived failures Rebecca’s parents might
bestow upon him.  He thought arriving in a BMW would have made
all the difference but, as he doubted his choice in cars, Rebecca
grabbed his hand and squeezed it, content in whatever car they
pulled up in.
    The gate buzzed open, the lock was released by Mildred, the
servant of the home, who raised Rebecca almost entirely by
herself.  Eli gawked at the mansion-like home and his face
flushed red when he parked his aged car behind their pristine
Daimler-Benz.
    With the car doors still shut, in this quiet, private moment,
Eli allowed her to see a frail side of him.  “I will be an
embarrassment.  Just look at what I drive!”  His palms
hit, then gripped the steering wheel.
    “Don’t worry about the car,” she soothed.  “And you are
never an embarrassment.”
    He paused a moment, then nodded.  “Ready?”
    “Yes.”
    His confidence returned and he pushed the door open with his
shoulder.  Moving to her side of the car, he helped her out,
both of them taking deep, calming breaths before making their way
over the pebbled walkway leading to the two oak white front
doors.
    Mildred opened the door before they reached it, her face alight
with joy.  “It’s so good to see you this time of year. 
You bring festivity and felicity with your youthful city charms.”
Mildred spoke proud like a parent to the girl who was like a
daughter to her.  “Your parents are waiting for you in the
dining room.  Chef Ruben has prepared the Christmas feast and
will take it to the table once the two of you have settled and
seated.”
    Rebecca smiled at the name Ruben, her favorite chef of the four
they’d had over the years.  He always had a way of adding
flavors she could never quite name, but never forget.  Eli
went back to the car while Rebecca and Mildred paused in
conversation, and returned with Rebecca’s small suitcase. 
She’d insinuated before they left that she might stay a few nights
before returning to Munich.
    Eli planned to leave at the end of the night, hoping to impress
her parents well enough to be invited back again.  But, since
Rebecca’s father was German and her mother Dutch American, raised
to honor German values, Eli worried about his reception and
acceptance. Social pressures and financial morass plagued 1931
Munich. A Jewish man was not the typical choice for an classy
German born daughter. For this reason, he bolstered a hard
confidence, like a stone wall, to keep his innermost weaknesses
hidden.
    It drove him to always work twice as hard as his colleagues,
proving himself to be of service to this German world, proving
himself to be of value to his German peers.  Most important of
all, he knew he would have to be twice the man a German would have
to be to win the hearts of Rebecca’s parents.
    Stepping inside behind Mildred and Rebecca, who were busy
rekindling their fondest memories, Eli saw a butler holding the
door.  He greeted Eli with a nod, took Rebecca’s suitcase, and
motioned him to proceed.
    “This way.  This way.” Rebecca grabbed Eli’s wrist and
pulled him through a long corridor of marble floors and stone white
walls adorned with original art. In her excitement of Eli meeting
her parents, she forgot herself momentarily until she reached the
dining hall. Her mother sat at the teak engraved table, peering
from behind a large vase filled with vibrant Marsh Marigolds.
    Her mother’s hands rearranged the flowers Mildred had arranged
in the morning and Rebecca remembered why she felt reluctant months
ago to tell her parents of her relationship.  Her mother never
approved of anything she did, not moving to Munich, not going to
college.  And now, instead of accepting her mother’s choice in
Carl, a man she wanted Rebecca to date and eventually marry,
Rebecca invited Eli home.
    When Rebecca entered the dining hall, her confident demeanor
dropped to one sheepish grin and she knew her mother still had
power