Yesterday Was Long Ago: Part Two Page 18

  She took her turn with her many years of schooling, never exceeding in anything, being the so-called ‘black sheep’ in a brilliant family. Her schooling in kindergarten was only considered a mediocre education, but her trip and time in Berlin was worthwhile, giving her a chance to communicate with deaf mutes. Both were good listeners and found each other’s company enthralling. They were also hopelessly in love! There was no turning back now and Rupert used every opportunity to make plans to be together.

  “How was your evening Gisela?” asked Peter and Victoria almost regularly, only to hear her reply that it was enchanting, as always.

  Philip was more inquisitive and challenging. “How can you find this policeman so fascinating when he kept a friendship with that mysterious von Walden boy? His own father told me he was a perpetual liar.”

  “That’s exactly what Rupert said. His parents took him in, feeling sorry for an abused boy. But now they would make him pay, just like Mrs. von Walden! Right to jail!” Philip was very relieved to hear that.

  Gisela was off to the library with Rupert again and, if it was not discussing books, it was museums, or an opera.

  “I guess we have to have a talk with her,” Philip uttered shortly before going to work. “Gisela is a changed girl.”

  “About what, Philip? Does it bother you that our permanent black sheep is finally turning white? Take a look at the book she is reading. All classics and all at his advice? And as for her relationship with me, I am happy to say we are closer than ever.”

  “Well am I to understand that you would approve, let’s say,” he stammered, embarrassed. “of a marriage between a policeman and our daughter?”

  “Why not? After three engagements with our friends’ highly qualified sons, she deserves a happy marriage.”

  “How do you expect him to support a Reinhardt?”

  “Maybe he does what Adam van Dreesen does with our Elisabeth! He gives her a thing called love!” Philip never dared to answer.

  ∼

  It was Christmas and the Fosters wore their Sunday best, but Rupert seemed to have a great variety of suits and to Gisela he looked more handsome as time went on. “It’s only a tiny place in comparison to what you are used to, Miss Reinhardt,” the father said, showing her the rest of the house.

  “My father made all the furniture himself. Aside from remodeling the house, now he will hopefully help me with mine.”

  “I told you, son, it will be my pleasure.”

  All four sat down for dinner, which was nowadays a dream for most Viennese. Gisela praised her talent in cooking and Wilma replied that she got her first lesson at twelve.

  “Oh, my God!” Gisela replied. “I was double your age and, aside from that, I was taught by my grandmother in Berlin with most items bought on the black market. And thank God we had foreign money.”

  “Are you trying to tell us you are older than twenty-four?” an astonished Wilma asked, but apologized immediately. “I gave you barely twenty” she said very sincerely.

  “On September 10th, I was twenty-six.”

  An unbelievable ‘no’ was the result. “Mother is fifty-one, father is fifty-three, and today I am twenty-eight.” Rupert laughed. “Now we finally got our ages established.”

  Now Gisela looked aghast. “If I only would have known,” she said disappointed. “but I will make it up.”

  “Good Lord, Gisela! Just to have you at our house on Christmas day is more than a man like me can ask for,” Rupert said fondly, with his parents wholeheartedly agreeing.

  ∼

  The gifts were unwrapped in the living room and Wilma took the ‘snowdrops’ from the dining room, putting them lovingly on their coffee table. Gisela screamed a loud, “Oh NO!” when she was the first to open a large box with a deep green, hand-knitted dress with small trims of off-white mink color garnishing that gorgeous piece of work. “I never… Well, I never in my wildest dreams would have expected that. It’s absolutely… Well, there are simply no words for it!”

  The Fosters were happy to see her so overwhelmed. “I love to knit while my husband works or is reading, and my son has to study or has lately ‘dated’ some wonderful lady we had the honor of meeting today,” she smiled, tongue in cheek.

  Gisela couldn’t help but embrace her spontaneously. “But I’ve only known Rupert weeks and the size seems to look so perfect for me. Never mind the color and quality of wool and silk.”

  “In this time, I could have made you two dresses,” she laughed. “as I learned to knit before I had to cook.”

  “What did I tell you, Mother? She is not only going to love the dress but us too!”

  “I couldn’t have said it better myself,” she agreed. The books too were exchanged, and it was exactly what everyone wanted. Classics for the men and Gisela, light-hearted love stories for Wilma.

  “Who plays the piano?” she asked after coffee and cake.

  “I do,” replied Rupert Senior. “Don’t laugh, Miss Reinhardt. I always wanted to be a musician. I also play the violin, but with no money in my family and a doubtful income for my future, somehow, I turned to carpentry. Then I met my wife and we saw an opportunity to open a grocery store while I made our furniture and made some music for my wife, son and me in my spare time. Since I was never criticized, I felt I played well enough.”

  “Do you still play?” Gisela asked.

  “Sure. One never forgets his first great love.”

  “My son and I are second and third … in that order!”

  Gisela laughed at Wilma’s comment and said anxiously, “Then let’s play.”

  Rupert was surprised anew as they attended two musicals and she never uttered a word about it. They went from Christmas carols in which all joined in to sing along, to waltzes and classics, ending with Tchaichovsky’s ‘Tonight We Love’.”

  “How very appropriate,” mused Rupert, watching her face redden.

  “It’s one of my favorites,” she muttered, feeling a bit confused.

  “Mine too,” he smiled cheerfully.

  “I have to be going now… as much as I hate to.”

  “We all hate to see you leaving but we understand. I hope your parents are not angry.”

  “Absolutely not.” She promised a visit in her new green dress real soon and Rupert replied he would make sure she kept her promise.

  Wilma was almost in tears, feeling she got in Gisela a daughter she never had. The white-haired giant, Rupert Senior, got up along with his well-trained German shepherds, who for some reason let neither one of the Ruperts out of their sight.

  On the way to Gisela’s house, Rupert told her not only how beautiful she looked in her red dress, but he was convinced that it was, for all of them, the best Christmas they ever had. Gisela responded without a single moment of pause. “Count me in too!”

  “You mean that?”

  “Absolutely. I will tell you about our routine ones some other time.”

  Shortly before arriving at the main street leading to their mansion via a sparsely lit corner, he hesitated for a moment before asking, “Gisela, in July of 1925 I will graduate. Hopefully by then my own house is made up to par. I got it for a good price because of its negligence with an old widow living in it and no relatives to claim it after one year of her death. But what I am telling you is…” He gulped nervously. “Well, what I am asking you is, will you wait for me as it is one-and-a-half years?”

  “If you promise to wait for me too. You know very well what I am talking about.”

  “With greatest pleasure, as I wouldn’t want to have it any other way,” he smiled deliriously happy. “Here… it’s for you,” he said handing her an obvious ring box. “Let me put it on. The next one is a wedding ring!”

  It was a flower-petaled emerald with a two-carat diamond in the middle holding them up; a very large piece of jewelry for her long fingers.

  “My God, Rupert! I really don’t know what to say,” she stammered, once more astonished, when he gave her the first long kiss, and
she had not the slightest intention to do anything other than to pull him closer.

  When they departed, both felt like the happiest couple on earth. “I’m engaged!” she exclaimed in excitement upon entering the mansion’s dining room.”

  “Again?” her family asked simultaneously.

  “For the very last time. And we will get married right after his graduation in 1925.”

  “Oh,” Philip replied, somehow relieved that it was not sooner. “By then… well, there is still much water flowing under the bridge.”

  “All right father. All I will have to do is prove you wrong.”

  “I am not in the business of being right or wrong. I just wonder how he will support you,” Philip said sternly.

  “He will have his own little house ready, which he recently bought near his parents’ home on a fine street in the ninth district. He will also get a substantial pay raise once he graduates. Somehow, we will make it,” she babbled while unwrapping her many books until she came to the dress.

  “Look, Mother… all of you! His mother hand-knitted this for me. Isn’t this something?”

  “Oh, Gisela. That is beautiful.”

  All admired in honesty. “The very moment he told his mother about my figure and green eyes she got the wool for it.”

  Philip thought of their connection on the black market. But Victoria gave him a look he wouldn’t forget for the near future.

  “It was not too long ago that your own father admired my green eyes too. I guess in time things just change.”

  Gisela paid no attention, looking still at her ring, and showing it to her grandmother Lotte and brother Peter.

  “By the way, I like your chosen one. And don’t think for a moment I won’t help you out.”

  “It’s sweet of you, Peter,” she replied with an embrace.

  Victoria looked awestruck. “Gisela, you are my daughter. Did you think you would go into in this marriage empty-handed?”

  “No, Mother, it’s not me, but Rupert wants to prove something to himself. His father did the same thing and they live quite well. Frankly, better than I thought.”

  “Well right now a grocery store is a gold mine. I am sure they made their fortune, if one can call it that, by whatever they have with their son being a policeman”

  “What are you trying to tell me, Father?”

  “Let’s just say, bartering is a common way of life.”

  Lotte was furious at her son-in-law’s constant negative remarks about Gisela’s newfound happiness. “If it were not for bartering on the black market, Gisela and I would have never survived with millions of other Berliners, or any other large city for that matter. Just ask Paul… he will tell you.”

  “Well, now I am wondering why Paul prefers Berlin to Vienna!” Philip fumed.

  “The schools,” Lotte answered, “as Vienna is in lack of them!”

  “Father!” Gisela addressed him self-assuredly, as it was lately her habit. And aside from that, she wanted to get even for her father’s open dislike for Rupert. “I don’t understand why you are so much against bartering and the black market, which are the result of war. Every war is ugly, but you think nothing of it to make any kind of weapon of destruction and your industry is perfectly legal. Tell me what’s worse, making cannonballs and shells to kill the innocent or trying to barter food to stay alive?”

  “Amen to that,” Peter replied, clapping his hands, with Lotte and Victoria exchanging glances in silence.

  “I agree with you fully, Gisela, but don’t forget that I inherited that dirty business. And so will Paul should there be a second war; although this one is supposed to have ended it all. Personally, I have my doubts. However, since the war’s end, I was eager to make stoves, bathtubs, and any appliance my engineers could think of just to keep the factories open, while others close theirs for lack of work. At present, dear child, I could do nothing but relax in Italy with my invested money. Instead, I am at work every day like every other employee who is glad to have a job.”

  “I didn’t know that, Father. I am very sorry.”

  “I didn’t expect you to. But learn to think before judging your parents.”

  “Father, for the very first time in my life I found someone who truly loves me and it’s not for the Reinhardt money.”

  “I know that, Gisela, and I am very happy for you and all of us. Believe me when I tell you there was always a reason when I interfered with your former fiancés. I am not easily fooled. The trouble with you is that you are not only pretty but wealthy, and that gives many fellows a reason to pretend. No doubt they loved you, but when I denied them some of our fortune, they were gone.”

  “That leaves just Paul and me. Never mind my brother, find someone nice for me, Gisela.”

  “I will try my very best,” she smiled sincerely.

  1925

  13

  The wedding was July 8, 1925, and, with the exception of Astrid von Walden who had played cupid, it was family only. And this time, family meant the Fosters. Ten people were attending and the Reinhardts’ only contribution was their priest performing a short but touching ceremony.

  It was Gisela’s explicit wish to have a home wedding, as poor Mr. Foster never had a daughter. Victoria had two, but no wedding at her own house. From Elisabeth, she received mail on a regular basis; very informative but impersonal. The last letter explained the Boer War in 1899-1902 in South Africa. Then, she mentioned casually that she hoped her sister’s marriage would be as happy as her own.

  Wilma Foster not only did her own cooking and wedding decorations, but also set her house up like a garden. “I brought the outside in, Mrs. Reinhardt. Gisela had this wonderful idea,” she mentioned so proudly. All Victoria could do was grin and bear it. Wilma Foster gained a daughter alright, but Victoria and Philip never acquired a son. Rupert was so distant, feeling a little inferior, but Peter and Paul loved him like a brother. At least something good came out of it.

  It was Wilma Foster who crocheted Gisela’s wedding dress of fine silk yarn.

  “Imagine, Mrs. Reinhardt. She found a Paris fashion magazine and showed me the latest model of Coco Chanel. Well,” she continued, “that designer is not famous for bridal outfits, but there it was, just perfect for our Gisela. I copied it to the last detail and she just loved it!” Wilma gloated.

  “Mrs. Foster, I am afraid my daughter takes advantage of you. I really am,” Victoria apologized.

  “Nonsense. Knitting the dress for my sweet daughter-in-law was the happiest time of my life.”

  “Well then,” she conceded. “if you feel that way, I shall stop worrying. I know how much my daughter loves you.”

  “Likewise, Mrs. Reinhardt.”

  Gisela chose Erika as her only bridesmaid and both made sure that their attire coordinated perfectly. Erika decided on light blue organdy that matched Gisela’s bridal bouquet ribbons. Both wore flowered garlands and let their naturally curly hair down. It was extremely flattering and they both looked beautiful for this special day. Rupert chose Peter as his best man, as his father insisted on playing the wedding march, while still giving him a chance to see Gisela making her entrance on the arm of her elegant and handsome father, with Rupert waiting in the flowered archway.

  Until this fateful wedding day, Peter never took notice of Erika Landgraf. He encountered her mostly on the tennis courts or ski slopes, always being astonished at her speed and endurance. She usually wore her hair in braids, held up with pins on the tennis court or kept it under a heavy knitted ski cap to keep warm. She never was permitted to join anyone’s ski activity in one of those many skiing lodges, always in the presence of her older two sisters who were equally sportsminded. Since there were no brothers, they were, at a very early age, taught somehow to replace them. Sports were ingrained like good manners and discipline. Teo Landgraf was a feared principal in one of Vienna’s private schools, expecting the same strict obedience from his daughters. Their mother was in a wheelchair due to a skiing accident.

 
But this time, Peter couldn’t help but notice Erika, who looked every bit as lovely as his sister Gisela. He saw for the first time her blonde hair and blue eyes, aside from her clear, tanned skin. But since he was not unlike his father, with many short-lived flings behind him, he never let real love get the better of him, fearing that his carefree life would come to an abrupt halt.

  No one knew why, but during the brief wedding ceremony there was not a dry eye. Even the giant Rupert Sr. took out his handkerchief several times while embracing the new Gisela Foster, with his son doing the same. Even the forever aloof Paul seemed to be moved, and Philip whispered to Victoria, “As of today, we lost a daughter without gaining a son.” Victoria nodded in agreement.

  During a delicious meal served at Vienna’s own Augarten Porcelain, each of the men gave the required toasts, with Philip gulping several times. Paul was seated next to Astrid von Walden who told him about Lucas’ accident as he started to inquire about him. All were taken by surprise when he confronted his family. “Why was I never informed?” But they knew within a split second that it also involved the ‘von Walden brat’, whose name he never permitted to be uttered.

  “So, you see, Paul… there was my poor daughter with her darling child, a widow at the age of eighteen. Just imagine that!”

  “How sad,” he answered. “I hope she will find someone else.” To himself, however, he thought, “Wherever that ugly brat sets foot, some tragedy follows sooner or later.”