Yesterday Was Long Ago: Part Two Page 30

  “Why the urgency?”

  “Our Führer will give all those many unemployed Austrians plenty of work. Germany is going to be great again. The unfair Treaty of Versailles will end up in the gutter where it belongs.”

  “And Germany will start a war,” he thought, but kept listening to more of Hitler’s plans while visiting another war factory in full swing. He thought momentarily of Switzerland and all their tranquility. Then he had to give his oath for the utmost secrecy.

  After four days of intensive tours in above and underground factories, Paul was told that in two weeks he would receive orders from Berlin. “In the meantime, enjoy yourself.”

  For five days, they did just that. Victoria and Gaby went on a shopping spree, aside from a few sightseeing tours. Now they would enjoy Paul. On the last day, he had an idea. He got written permission to purchase any German-made car. To him, it was funny as all he had seen so far were Mercedes; Opels were produced by General Motors. His thought was to surprise Gaby with a wedding gift since their time was cut short, and there was no occasion to give her something special.

  “Why don’t you two girls do some more shopping the last day and I’ll do mine?”

  “We didn’t forget anybody,” Gaby commented. “We had a list.”

  “So do I!” He smiled and left, only to return two hours later with a shiny black Mercedes.

  “You two had too much luggage, for one thing, and for the other, Gaby never got a wedding present from me. So here it is, dearest wife.”

  She was amazed and tears came very easy. “Paul, I don’t deserve all this.”

  “All you have to do is learn to drive it so we can see each other more.”

  “Mr. Paul Reinhardt,” she smiled tongue-in-cheek. “are you talking to me?” Victoria started to laugh, too.

  “Yes, Gaby, to you, as my mother has no intention to learn now, my dear.”

  “But I have been driving Uncle Henry’s car for the last eight years,” Gaby added brightly.

  Now he looked flabbergasted. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “There was never any reason.”

  “Now I wonder what else she does or knows I am not aware of?”

  “Nothing I can think of,” Gaby smiled.

  “I could have told you, but the name of ‘von Walden, the ugly brat’ was a taboo subject,” Victoria thought to herself, chuckling.

  The last evening in Berlin was spent at their state opera to see Puccini’s La Boheme. Victoria and Gaby bought long dresses just in case. Both looked stunning. Victoria could have passed for the middle fifties and Gaby looked not a day over twenty-five. Paul felt proud to take his two girls out. Soon there would be three. Isabella had told him in confidence that she had no plans to return to her school in Switzerland, but would enroll in the finest one in Vienna.

  Summer vacation started and Isabella was met by Gaby and her mother in Ingrid’s place. Paul was presently in Germany’s Ruhr area, where their industry was the busiest. He toured the Krupp factories, about whom he had read every word written. As usual, he was sorry about the ongoing war production but could do little about it. Gaby and Astrid planned to stay a week, knowing they would possibly have their last talk with lovable Uncle Henry, who was going downhill by the day. Then what? Ingrid would be alone, and without Henry it wouldn’t take the Swiss long to consider her a German. Austria was now her Germany again. Should she sell and move in with her sister in Vienna? Or go back to her few living relatives in Baden-Baden, a health spa for the rich? “It’s up to you,” Astrid advised. “But first, pay them a visit.”

  Daniella would return with Isabella. Her mother and stepfather would come at a later time and take Isabella for a month to America. Gaby had known Daniella’s mother under two different names the last few years. First, she was Mrs. William Thornburg, a lawyer’s wife living in New York City. Now she introduced her new husband as Chris O’Hara, a kind, slightly bald and red-haired banker who worked and resided during the week in New York, but they had places in Connecticut and Florida. “One just cannot live always in the same place. I personally need excitement,” Gaby remembered vividly being told with her rather snobbish attitude.

  After hearing at that time in 1932 about Gaby’s nine-year widowhood, her mouth opened with an unbelievable expression. “My Lord! You don’t smoke, you don’t drink, and above all, you don’t date. What on earth do you do?”

  “Everything else,” Gaby laughed.

  “My Lord,” she repeated. “what else is there?”

  “You would be surprised.”

  Since she barely talked about motherhood and left Daniella completely in the care of the school, seeing her once a year mostly to explore Europe, Gaby had not too much in common with her, except the required conversations after the meeting with their own child’s teachers.

  The O’Haras had already made two weeks’ reservations in Hotel Bristol, which was not too far from the Reinhardts’ place. They arrived a week later, called Daniella at the Reinhardts and were told the girls were playing tennis. Victoria took the phone and invited them to have dinner the following day.

  They arrived via their own rented 1934 French Citroen, which they would return in Le Havre. Chris O’Hara had his connections via his bank in New York and it was another reason why Anne had stayed with this rich widower for two years. She considered herself very flexible.

  Even the social-climber Anne O’Hara couldn’t believe her eyes when greeted by a liveried doorman and entered Reinhardt’s palace. She was told by Daniella about the wedding in the castle with her being the main flower girl, but since Isabella was the ‘only’ bridesmaid, Anne paid no more attention to it. Now she encountered a palace she had never seen before. Even the usually spoiled Chris O’Hara, whose life consisted of entertaining and being entertained, was now in awe. A servant offered a variety of drinks when Victoria, Gaby, her daughter, and Isabella appeared, all impeccably dressed for dinner. But so were the O’Haras, more or less to let the Reinhardts know that if it’s money, ‘we got it’.

  Gaby told them that they also invited her mother, Astrid Walden, whom Anne met fleetingly and couldn’t remember at all and her brother, a doctor, with his wife. They all spoke English, she assured them. With a drink in their hands they got a tour through the place, being always more impressed as both O’Haras understood ‘old money’, she being from America’s ‘old society’ by the maiden name of Woodward. But her biggest envy was always Gaby’s flawless beauty and polite behavior; a lady from top to bottom. Anne was like Irene. With all their money, they never achieved it. By the time the tour was done, Gaby’s family had arrived and one had to wait for Gaby’s husband, who apologized for being late, as usual.

  If Anne was surprised before, now she was speechless. Never before in her life had she encountered a more handsome man. Well, he was worth waiting for. Gaby got everything she could ever want. Those guys were taken, always taken. Andreas looked a lot like Gaby, but for her American taste, not ‘sexy’. Therese and he made a nice couple, but Gaby and Paul were the most extraordinary ones she could ever remember.

  The conversation was, of course, the invasion of Austria by a former Austrian. Both O’Haras were very well educated and informed. They would see Salzburg, but skip the famous play, Everyman, because they had tickets to sail on their favorite ship, Ile de France.

  “And what will you do, Mr. Reinhardt? Stay in that so-called great Germany, while they prepare for a war; a war that will surpass all previous ones?” Chris O’Hara asked.

  “I was born and raised here. I love Austria, and I hope it will never come to that,” he winked at him.

  Chris O’Hara changed the subject fast, knowing he went too far. A good dinner and bad politics is a poor combination. “Can we take Isabella to Salzburg? Of course, we are still staying for about ten days in Vienna.”

  “Then you should see our countryside,” Victoria suggested.

  “Please show my mother and papa the castle you got married in. Please!” pleaded
Daniella sincerely.

  “Only if it does not interfere with your family’s plans,” answered Gaby.

  “A castle never interferes,” replied Anne in a hurry. They set a date. It was the same thing all over again. Sheer astonishment… if anything, more so. No tennis court because it would take some beauty from their well-maintained garden and shrubs, as well as the magnificent fountain. But there were riding paths which Isabella and Daniella used daily with several Irish setters beside them.

  Daniella almost hated the idea of going home, though she had the best of everything except love and a harmonious home life. Anne and Chris O’Hara fought a lot after a few drinks, she always claiming his Irish temper, he claiming her constant flirtation.

  Isabella told her mother about it, having never witnessed a quarrel except among the Rosattis, who were disagreeing constantly for the sake of disagreeing. But now that the time came closer to the departure for America, she had second thoughts and was already homesick even before leaving. But so was her family. The Reinhardts wanted Isabella with them in Austria, regardless of the occupation.

  ∼

  Europe’s famous Circus Krone was in Vienna for two weeks, and with both girls attending the same riding school, they wanted to see the equestrian performance in the worst way. Daniella begged her own mother, as so far, they were royally entertained by the Reinhardts constantly. And Isabella was even more a horse lover than anyone else she knew. But it was to no avail. Vienna’s theater showed ‘Dances of the World’ and Anne insisted she would rather attend that. Chris O’Hara was more a horse than dance lover but had to give in, promising to take them some other day.

  “Your mother doesn’t care that much for horses, so we’ll go alone.”

  But the Reinhardts settled the girls’ plea very easily. They all were horse lovers and saw the circus whenever in town. Also, the children of Gisela and Rupert wanted to see the little zoo of elephants, monkeys, and to the Reinhardts’ dismay, the caged lion and tigers who performed with greatest discipline. Paul and Gaby, after hearing about it, invited themselves and would bring both girls with their car. Everyone was happy again, as the O’Haras never cared whom Daniella was with as long as she was safe. Victoria didn’t want to leave Erika alone, as she didn’t feel well the last few weeks, disliking the heat.

  Once in the huge tent, the family split up, having more than an hour to spare before the opening. “Isabella, look at this beautiful horse on that rotten leather line. It limps so badly when trying to walk.” It took her barely a minute to diagnose the left leg as broken, also the right one badly swollen. “Possibly from an infected hoof,” she lamented, almost in tears.

  “How do you know, Isabella?”

  “Thanks to Aunt Ingrid’s lessons. It included not only riding and horse jumping, but also the anatomy of one.”

  “Wow!”

  “Wow is right! I was questioned vigorously about those beautiful and useful equine species which can be traced back to about sixty-million years.”

  Isabella was beside herself from the out-of-the-ordinary beauty, trying slowly and gently to get nearer, but the horse neighed loudly, standing on his hind legs.

  “I’ve got to get my papa,” she said with pride. “Please stay with the horse.” Daniella agreed happily, still admiring the golden color and long white tail and mane. Isabella looked franticly among the large crowd until she saw Paul and Rupert strolling alone.

  “Papa,” she pleaded in tears, “will you please come and take a look at this forlorn horse? It’s the most beautiful creature I ever laid eyes on.”

  “Oh… and I thought ours were nice,” he smiled. “May I ask my new uncle to come too?”

  “I rode many horses during my duty as policeman.”

  “Oh, you did? Well, then you will understand me better.”

  “The way you looked, I thought a lion was on the loose,” Paul teased when they arrived.

  “Oh, what a rare beauty,” he exclaimed, knowing it was unmistakably a Palomino.

  “They’ll pay for it,” Rupert said furiously, “and I will personally see to it.” He disappeared, not waiting for Paul’s reply.

  “Papa, what do you think?” she asked, now visibly in tears.

  “That poor horse needs a veterinarian right now. Dear Isabella, it is sheer coincidence of course, but this horse color is called ‘Isabella’, after the Queen of Spain, who loved the color and encouraged their breeding.” Isabella turned white in awe.

  “What happened to you, Isabella?” Daniella asked noticing her change.

  “I love that horse so much!” she cried when Rupert appeared with a gypsy, who took barely a look at the horse.

  “We have a show to go on now,” he said very annoyed. “I cannot be bothered with this.” He then tried to leave.

  “Where is the manager?” asked Paul angrily.

  “How would I know? He is busy with the show too, I imagine. We cannot stand around like you.”

  That did it for Rupert. He took his arm with a strength the gypsy had rarely experienced previously. “Look here,” he demanded in no uncertain terms. “Here is my badge, as I am with the SS. I am sure you heard about us.”

  He shook his head up and down and stammered, “Come with me and I’ll get you the boss. I am only a stable boy.”

  “Who lets horses die!”

  “No! We called for a veterinarian already.”

  “Don’t lie or I’ll take you with me.”

  They arrived at a trailer, and this time, Rupert had his identification ready. “I am checking on this horse outside your tent, and I want some answers.”

  “What horse?” he asked, equally scared.

  “The light one with the white tail,” the gypsy replied uneasily.

  “The one with one broken and one infected leg, among other negligence.”

  “I told someone to call a vet.”

  “And no one showed up? Is this what you want me to believe?”

  “No… I am too busy with other details.”

  “Is the horse for sale?”

  “Depends on the offer,” he said in a hurry.

  “Give me a figure and don’t forget the vet bill.”

  “Is it for you?”

  “No, for my brother-in-law’s daughter, who stayed with the horse crying her eyes out. By the way, her father knows horses.”

  “Is he there?”

  “Yes,” Rupert answered sharply. “We all wanted to see your horses perform. Some of our families are already seated, but I won’t leave until something is settled, even if I have to bring a few more of the SS in. We don’t fool around.”

  “How well we know,” he thought, and left with Rupert.

  Paul, seeing this, knew he could make a deal. That sick horse would be slaughtered and used for a meal. He would offer twice the amount.

  “We called a veterinarian,” he said without introduction, and both men knew he lied. “Here are your tickets girls, why don’t you go in and tell my sister what happened. We will be there shortly.”

  Isabella wiped her tears and said, “We ride horses too.”

  “Well my daughter is performing shortly, and she is the top of six girls in bright pink.”

  “Thank you,” both said, elated, feeling they knew a circus rider.

  “So, your daughter cares for this horse?”

  “No. My daughter, Isabella, is in love with that poor neglected creature and I’d like to make a deal for both of us,” Paul replied.

  The man looked at the floor. He didn’t want to be too expensive, knowing the SS guy was capable of doing anything. Quite a few of his gypsy stable boys had already disappeared since the Germans took over. “Since you seem to know horses, you must know her descendants are called after Don Juan de Palomino,” he bragged.

  Paul smiled and replied, “Since I do know horses, there is another version in my books. The name may also be that after the golden Spanish grapes. And aside from that, the truth is that the color is called ‘Isabella’, after the Queen
of Spain, who encouraged their breeding. It can be only two or three shades lighter or darker, like this one.”

  “I didn’t know that,” he admitted.

  “Well, since my daughter’s name is Isabella, you can see why I’d like to get it for her, as it is not much use to the circus anyway.”

  “I assume you have the money for the doctor and a stable or two.”

  “Correct on both accounts.”

  He paused and tried to count in the new German money. “How about five hundred and fifty marks?” Paul and Rupert were speechless, having expected three times the amount, since Isabella was later able to open the mouth of her beauty, and it was still a very young horse; three or four years at the most. “I am not a cheating man,” he replied, business-like. “What is your connection to the circus?”

  “I am in charge of our horses and their riders. I was one of the best, myself, until I got too old. I am staying because I trained my three children, two on trapeze and one on the horse.”

  Paul could only imagine what it was like to live in a trailer with nowhere else to go. “I am driving home and will come back with the money, truck, and horse trailer, and a veterinarian. I don’t want the animal to get hurt. In the meantime, get her a bucket full of water.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “And I’ll give you more money. Do what you want with it.” His happy grin was obvious when Paul left in a hurry, called his veterinarian, Dr. Steuber, took three of his stable boys with a bag of oats and returned.

  It was obvious the horse was never whipped but rather neglected. It took the bag of oats happily, and the empty water bucket was noticeable. Dr. Steuber said, after he examined both front legs, that within a few weeks, it would be as good as new. The price for the horse was unbelievably low, as this breed would easily fetch three thousand marks, even without papers.

  Since Paul had no intention of breeding, this was fine with him. It would be strictly Isabella’s own, and he hoped sincerely she would change her mind about the trip to America. He gave the man one thousand marks and said kindly, “You and I know the horse is worth more. Whatever you do with the money is your problem. I have witnesses and showed them the money I will give you. I expect no foul play, even if the horse was stolen.”