Until Then Read online

  “That looks awfully fancy for people that are begging for food,” James laughed.

  “It’s something new, I’m trying. Call it the Reuben.” Arnold plopped the sandwiches down in front of Eli.

  “Aufessen, Teller leer essen.” He grinned.

  The man and woman practically broke their heart at that moment. They looked from Arnold to James to one another before diving into the sandwiches like rabid dogs. They barely even remembered to breathe, shoveling the sandwiches into their cheeks and gulping them in large, distasteful bites.

  Arnold frowned, stepped behind the counter and poured two tall glasses of water.

  “You’d think they haven’t eaten in days.” He chuckled, before plopping the glasses onto the table.

  “Where did they say they were from?” James tried not to stare.

  “Germany, was all. Didn’t say anything more than that.”

  “Do you think they are running from the war? He does look Jewish,” James mused.

  “Could be. There have been too many stories anymore to call it rumors.”

  “Should we ask them? I mean, can we get in any trouble for helping them or anything?” James turned back to see the man finish his meal and scoot his chair closer to the woman.

  “Sind Sie im problem?” Arnold took a step toward him, who cowered in his presence.

  He shook his head.

  “Unsere Familie wird gegangen. Wir kamen nach Amerika, vorbei zu beginnen. Der Krieg ist sehr gefährlich,” the young woman spoke out softly. “Helfen Sie uns bitte.”

  Arnold looked awestruck, as if he might cry.

  “What, what did they say?”

  “They said their whole family was taken by the war, they are alone and it was so dangerous they moved here to start over. And then she said…” he paused.

  James rose to his feet. “What?”

  “She said, please help us.”

  * * * *

  And help them they did. When James introduced Eli and Sophia to his wife, Patrice, a young spitfire with wild red hair, she pulled Sophia into a warm hug and led her straight to the washroom to clean up. They couldn’t speak to one another because Arnold was still down at the deli, so they spoke with body language and gestures. Sophia’s eyes said everything to her.

  James showed Eli a spare bedroom in their apartment and gestured for him to stay. Eli waved his hands and backed away, but James firmly placed his hand on his arm and pointed to the room. Eli lowered his gaze to the floor, fell to his knees and cried. James stood dumfounded as this thin, terrified man sat sobbing at his feet.

  When Sophia emerged from the washroom, Eli rose quickly, took a step toward her and kissed her cheeks over and over. He ran his hand along her face and whispered, “Wunderhübsch,” repeatedly. He spoke something else to her and pointed to the room that James had showed her. Sophia clapped her hands excitedly and ran to put her arms around James’s neck. Despite his never knowing a word they said, he hugged her back and let the tears fall onto her shoulders. James could feel her sharp hipbone jutting out from under her new, clean dress.

  He didn’t care what the papers said. He didn’t care if there were consequences. James knew that God had brought them to him that winter’s day to save them. He went to work teaching Eli everything he knew about the jewelry business. The war was going strong and recession had taken over the country, but Manhattan was holding its own. While there wasn’t enough business for two employees, he included, he made it work by paying Eli very little and offering him room and board instead.

  Arnold so kindly met with Sophia and Eli every evening after supper. They would sit around the dining room table and work to translate common phrases and words. How Sophia would burst into the widest grin when she remembered a word? It was like watching a child on Christmas morning. Patrice taught Sophia everything she knew about baking, washing linens and when her knowledge of the English language became strong enough, she would have her read to her each and every morning down at the library. Patrice and James were a team. They decided to watch over Eli and Sophia and do everything they could to help them. They were a family now. James found himself wondering what their lives would be like without them.

  Sophia was so sweet, often breaking down into tears of gratitude. Patrice would sew her a new dress or give her a piece of pie and she would crumble. James too, was so very pleased to see Eli’s progress in the store. He could fix just about any watch or necklace brought to him and, when his English became stronger, he even had a knack for selling a few select pieces of rings and bracelets from time to time.

  They were still so timid though, afraid of their surroundings. They often stayed awake long after James and Patrice for fear of being discovered. James would find them late in the night, clutching each other, while staring out of the window. He would fill his glass with milk, kiss them on the cheek and walk them back to their rooms. He never told a soul how it made him cry to find them that way. If he mentioned a word to Patrice, she would sob like a baby. But nothing ever became of it. They lived with the Schulz family for over ten years, saving every last penny and being as helpful as they could to them to repay them for their kindness.

  * * * *

  One afternoon, five years after they met one another, the tomato plant on Patrice’s window sill was sagging heavy under its load of ripe, fat tomatoes; Sophia stood up from her sewing and stepped toward the plant.

  “You mind?” She gestured softly to Patrice.

  “Oh please, that is a good one. We can slice it up for dinner.”

  “I wish to see my garden,” she said before gingerly plucking it from its root.

  “Your garden?” asked Patrice.

  “Mmm…hmm…” she said absently, turning the cherry-colored fruit over and over in her hand. “I work all summer planting it to be beautiful. My dog, Herr Fett, sat in the sun to wait for food.”

  Patrice closed her book and sat up in her chair. She had completely forgotten that Sophia had a whole life back home. She had been so preoccupied by trying to help her that she misplaced all of the wonderment of what had actually happened to them, or where they came from.

  “What does Herr Fett stand for?”

  “Mr. Fat,” Sophia giggled. “He was Adel’s dog. My sister. He is very fat.”

  “What was your family like? Do you miss them?” Patrice leaned forward, her heart breaking now for this young girl.

  “I was blessed. My mother and father were smart, hard workers; my mother a seamstress and my father a general in the SS.” Her English was strong, but she spoke slowly to find the right words.

  Patrice rose to her feet. “Your father is a German soldier?”

  Sophia’s eyes glazed over. “Yes, a general. Herr Ulrich von Gottberg. I look like him.”

  “Oh you poor thing,” Patrice rushed toward her. She studied her face for anything more. Her eyes were pained and she felt stiff in her arms. She was so happy her Sophia finally felt a little fuller, not the thin, starved girl she once was. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” She hugged her again, tighter this time.

  “Thank you,” Sophia whispered. “Eli wants to keep secrets. Afraid of what people think.”

  “I can understand. It is too painful for you.”

  “Yes,” Sophia whispers. “It is best.”

  * * * *

  Eli and Sophia seldom spoke about their time in Europe. Every so often, a brief mention of family traditions or a passing memory and even then, it was brief and dismissed. Eli almost seemed to erase his previous life altogether.

  “Do you miss home?” Arnold narrowed his brow, held an ace of spades up above the pile in the middle of the table and then quickly switched it with another.

  “This is my home,” said Eli. “Home is…where you make it.”

  “I mean, home-home. You know? Your family?” Arnold carefully removed his thick, cigar stub from his pocket and lit it with a tiny match.

  “Our family is gone. Sophia is family now. You are fam
ily.” Eli didn’t lift his eyes from the cards, his German accent, strong still, but his English much stronger than even Sophia’s.

  “Well then why don’t you marry her already?” James dropped his handful of cards on the table in disgust. “I fold.”

  Eli smiled sweetly. “Yes. I will marry my love.”

  * * * *

  Patrice called Sophia from her bedroom with eagerness. “Sophia! Won’t you come quick?”

  “What is it, Patrice? Are you okay?” Sophia rushed out of the bedroom toward the kitchen, to find Eli knelt down on one knee in the sitting area.

  “My love.” He smiled up at her. James had dressed him in one of his newest suits, striped with a silken bowtie.

  Sophia instantly started crying.

  “Go to him!” Patrice insisted. She was standing in the corner of the kitchen, cheeks flushed with James’s arms around her.

  Sophia ran to Eli and knelt down to meet him.

  “My love, you are to stand. It is proper.” Eli helped Sophia stand once more. She patted her cheeks gently and allowed him to take her hand.

  “I have asked our dear family, James and Patrice to be here for this moment, as it is only fitting. They have opened their home to us and loved us as their own—and for that we are thankful.”

  Sophia nodded and sniffed. “Yes, indeed.”

  “They have given us a more than a place to sleep, food to eat and a place to earn a living of my own. They have given us dear friendship and a place for our love to blossom. And blossom it has.”

  Patrice could see Sophia’s dainty arms trembling with nerves as she held her breath.

  “There is no one quite like you. You are a pillar of strength, a beacon of hope that always steers me home. I know that anywhere we go or whatever we encounter, with my sweet Sophia at my side, we will always survive.”

  Sophia’s tears turned from a tender trickle down her cheek to full-gusted streams and a sob erupted from her.

  James squeezed Patrice’s arms at the words he had rehearsed for hours on end with Eli.

  “You have saved me. You have shown love is stronger than anything that may come against us. I will spend the rest of my life loving you endlessly and with much adoration. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known and I would be honored…”

  Patrice gasped as Eli pulled the small gold band from the inside pocket of his suit and held it up to Sophia.

  “Will you take my hand in marriage?”

  “Oh my! Oh my!” Patrice came running into the sitting area and wrapped her arms around both of them as Sophia sobbed onto Eli’s shoulder. She barely had time to nod “yes” before Patrice barreled into them. “Yes” from every corner of her long since aching heart.

  “Woman, won’t you give them a chance to kiss?” James chuckled, pulling his wife from her embrace, leaving Eli and Sophia to look deeply into one another’s eyes and kiss passionately.

  * * * *

  “They were married at the New York City Courthouse on July 3, 1949. Sophia wore a lovely white dress and it was a charming little gathering in our living room. We were so happy for them starting their lives together. And when they had saved enough money, Eli decided that he wanted to move out of the city to somewhere a bit safer. You see the war brought a great deal of business and attention to New York, not to mention immigration. The streets became crowded and often unsafe. They were determined to raise their children in the suburbs. That was the latest thing—everybody moving away. They considered moving to New Jersey, Virginia but when someone mentioned Mackinac Island to Sophia, with all of the lighthouses and beaches, well they were done for. They lived with us just over ten years,” James paused and turned toward his wife. “The best ten years of our life.”

  Ruby, Anna and Grant sat dumbfounded across from James and his wife on the plastic covered couch, listening with eyes as wide as the ocean.

  “I…I don’t know what to say,” sputtered Ruby. “You saved their lives.”

  “Oh no,” Patrice reached across the coffee table to pat Ruby’s hand. “Don’t you see? They saved ours. Eli and Sophia had such a beautiful, indescribable and powerful love that it changed everyone around them. They could just look at each other and you could feel the earth move.”

  “They sent us many letters; letters when you both were born, what the ocean felt like and how happy they were with their new friends. We always meant to go visit.” James paused and dabbed his swollen eyes. “But time slips away. We will never forget our dear friends though. They are impossible to leave behind in the year 1950.”

  “You said they wrote letters?” Anna spoke out.

  “Sure did, sweetest most thankful letters. Turns out Eli opened a jewelry store up on the island. And from time to time, he sent us a great deal of money to repay us. We were always so surprised, wanted to send it back, but then, well, Patrice got real sick with a virus that attacked her heart in the 1960s. With all of the medicine and bills from the hospital, Eli and Sophia were helping us get by and they didn’t even know it.”

  Grant cleared his throat. “It sounds like it was the least they could do.”

  “You never need to repay anyone for friendship, but we were so grateful to have the help.” Patrice smiled and lowered her eyes to her hands.

  “Would you mind if we read some of the letters?” Anna asked.

  “Anna! Don’t be rude.” Ruby looked to her daughter and then to James.

  “I’ll do you one better. You may have them,” James rose to his feet. “My gift to you, but you must do me this one favor before you go.”

  “Anything.” Ruby stood up from the couch.

  “You have to read one while you’re here.” James shuffled from the living room back to one of their bedrooms. Grant heard the same bird chirp from earlier. How so much had changed in only an hour? His life was changed. Everything he knew to be true. Everything.

  “Here it is.” James returned holding a white envelope and handed it to Ruby.

  “This is Daddy’s handwriting,” Ruby choked on the lump in her throat. She tentatively ran her hands along his beautiful penmanship.

  “Read it aloud, won’t you?” James said and reclined back into his chair with an uneasy moan.

  “Of course.” Ruby wiped the tears that had already formed in her eyes and smoothed her dress out nervously. She was too anxious to sit back down, so instead she stepped past Anna on the couch toward the piano. With careful repose, she lifted the seal, removed the letter and read,

  Dear kind James,

  What I would give to have this conversation in person! My heart is heavy as the love of my life lay motionless before me. She is dying, James, and there isn’t anything I might do to stop it. My tears are laden with grief and remorse as I watch my bride slip through my fingers. Even now, I know my pain will be unbearable as she goes on to meet our Maker.

  She has asked me to write you, as we have done for so many years, but this time with a special purpose. We have a favor to ask—one last earth-moving favor from our dearest friends. You see, my James, my children have never known of you. Not because we don’t believe you hung the moon and the stars, but because we are so terrified of how our past might hurt them. There are dark secrets that we haven’t even the courage to share with you. We have chosen to erase them, wipe our slate clean.

  However, Sophia is insistent, and you know her strength. She wants them to learn of it upon our demise, and as always, she is right. They deserve to know where they came from. We will send them to see you, James. You won’t know exactly when or how they will find you, but it will be shortly after my passing.

  Please share our story with them? Help them to fall in love with you both as we did so many years ago? Tell them of how you met us, of our lives together, and how it is your name after which we named our only son.

  How I wish I could ask you this in person! To see your soft, sincere expression crumble with tears only a strong man might shed. You have always been my brother and how I wish I could make tha
t for certain. All of my love.

  Until then,

  Eli

  Ruby folded the letter with shaking hands and crumbled to the floor in heavy sobs. Anna rushed to her mother and put her arms around her, letting her own tears fall down her cheeks.

  The room was still and silent, yet filled with unspeakable emotion.

  Patrice rose from her chair, her bones cracking under the movement, and made her way to Ruby.

  “Come here, my sweet child.” She pulled Ruby to her feet and collapsed her against her. “There, there.” She rocked her back and forth, the way only a mother can. Ruby, forgetting all level of poise, allowed her to hold her. It was the genuine love she had been in need of. Anna returned to the couch and slipped her arm through Grant’s, who despite his strength had tears of his own nestled upon his cheeks. Everything had changed. His name. Grant James Weinbaum. He looked to James, whose own tears were pouring down his wrinkled cheeks. He reached across the coffee table to give James a firm shake of understanding.

  “Wait!” Anna spoke, a little too energetically. “You said she had a sister.”

  “You are a smart girl, my child.” James closed his eyes, pleased at her quick wit.

  Patrice led Ruby over to the couch once more and kissed her cheek.

  “That is a key ingredient in this story because I happen to know something you might like to.”

  “What?” Anna was practically falling off the couch.

  Ruby wiped her eyes and peered up at him. “Is she still alive?” she whispered.

  Patrice grinned. “Yes, my dear. And she lives in Munich, Germany.”

  Grant flew up from the couch to his feet. “Whoa! Okay, okay, okay, I need to calm down. This is too much to take in. Not only did I just realize I was named after you, sir, a man I have never known who played the most profound role of my parent’s lives, but now there may or may not be an aunt that we never knew we had living in Germany!”

  “That is correct,” said James. “Take a breath though. It’s a lot to take in.”

  “Have you spoken to her?” Anna asked. “Do you know her address?”

  Patrice stood once more, stepped over to the piano to collect a small piece of paper.