The Dressmaker's Son (29 page)

CHAPTER 72

Solomon’s unit had
been called to the mess hall right after dinner.  There they were given notice
that their division was going to be shipped to the front on October 21
^st
,
a week from now.  They would be the first troops sent to battle.

“It’s about time,”
Solomon heard one of the soldiers say. “That’s what we’ve come here for.”

“Yeah,” two or
three agreed.

Solomon wasn’t so sure
it was going to be quite as glamorous as his fellow soldiers thought.  He
headed back to the barracks.  He wanted to write a letter to his family and
Kathleen before they went to the front.  From what he had heard, mail to and
from the front was not very timely.

First he wrote to
his family.

October 14
^th
,

Dear Mama and
Papa,  

Today
we learned that our division is going to be shipped to the front October 20
^st
.
 We are being assigned to Allied trenches in the Luneville sector near Nancy,
France.  Each of our units will be attached to a corresponding French unit.  I
don’t know how much time there will be to write so I wanted to send you a
letter before we left.

We
have been trained well and my unit is made up of really good soldiers, so try
not to worry too much.

How
about my daughter? I bet Mama can’t keep her hands off her.  I hope you were
pleased that she was named after Bubbe.  Rose is lucky to be born into such a
wonderful family.  In case I never mentioned it, you are a wonderful family.  I
hope Kathleen and I can do as good a job raising our children as you did with
us.

Joshua,
Leah, Miriam, and Gabe you will be wonderful aunts and uncles to Rose.  I hope
you are all doing well in school.  I understand Miriam is dating a doctor.  Be
sure to finish school before getting married. (Do I sound like Papa?)

I
love you all and can’t wait until we can all be together. Meanwhile, take care.

            Your loving son,

            Solomon

            He reread the letter
and got it ready to mail.  Then he sat down to write to Kathleen.  He took out
the pictures of Rose and Kathleen and looked at them for a while.  Then he
started the letter.

           
October 14
^th
,

            Dear Kathleen,

How
are my beautiful wife and precious daughter?  I received your letter with
another picture of Rose.  The more I look at the picture, I am sure that Rose
has your eyes and mouth.  Thank goodness.  I only hope she has your nose too! I
know she must be changing every day and can’t wait for more pictures.

Everything
here is fine.  We have finished our training and our unit along with several
others will be heading to the front on October 20
^th
.  My unit is
strong and I feel confident going with them.  I know you will worry, but try
not to.  Just take care of our Rose and know that I am always thinking about
you and all we will do when I get home.  We will need our own place and I think
of what it will be like setting it up.  Meanwhile, of course, I am grateful for
your mom and dad looking after you for me. Please give them my love.

I
wonder if anyone has heard anything about Aunt Bekka.  Last I heard Martin had
sent a letter to the prison but there was no response.  I pray for her and
Sammy and their safe return to America.  You know that Aunt Bekka and I have
plans to start up her business again, and I will be her business manager.  She
is a special lady and I can’t wait for you to meet her.

I’m
about to turn in for the night.  My dreams are always of you, Kathleen.  I will
write soon again.

All
my love,

Sol

Solomon got the
second letter ready to mail and decided to take them both to the post before going
to bed.  He wanted to be sure they got there as soon as possible.  

CHAPTER 73

No amount of
training or preparation could really prepare a soldier for what trench warfare
would be like.  The trenches were the domain of the infantry, with the
supporting arms of the mortars and machine-guns, the engineers and the forward
positions of the artillery observers.

Behind the trench
line was another trench called a ‘support line’ with dugouts cut into the side
of the trench wall which could hold a few men, a telephone position for a
signaler or a Platoon or Company HQ.  Communication trenches linked the rear
areas with both lines.  It was from here that all men, equipment and supplies
were obtained.  A line of barbed wire was in front of the trench, and further
up from it were often trenches called “saps” that held one or two infantrymen
acting as a listening post.  They were actually in the land between the Allied
front line and the enemy's front line called “’no man’s land.”

            Solomon looked around
the trench.  The wooden floor was covered with about eight inches of muddy
water from all the rain, and floating in it were empty tins, scraps of waste
and other debris.  The odor from the nearby latrine as well of the stench of
the soldiers themselves was horrible.  Adding to the stench were decomposing
bodies, smells of exploded bombs, cigarette smoke and various cooking odors.  He
watched two rats run along the sandbags on the wall of the trench as he
scratched his head, which he knew was full of lice.  He had been there for
three days.  One more and he would rotate back to the reserve line for four
days and then he would rest for four days.  This all depended, of course, on
the battle.  Often the reserve soldiers were brought back into it before they
ever got to the rest line.

Dusk was just
approaching as the order “Stand To!” was given.  This meant manning the trench
in preparation for an enemy attack.  Everyone faced No Man’s Land watching for
any signs of a potential attack.

            “Is Roger still in the
sap, Paul?” Solomon asked the soldier next to him after some time had passed.

            “Yes, but he is due out
soon,” he replied. “It’s almost dark."

            They both knew that as
night fell the enemy would often fire on the routes used for supplies or they
would try to sneak into No Man’s Land and fire at the soldiers in the saps or
the trenches.

Suddenly there was
a volley of gunfire from in front.  The men in the trenches fired back with
support from the artillery. In the dusk, Solomon watched bodies fall like
puppets to the ground.  Then it was quiet.  Everyone waited in silence.  It
appeared it was over.

“Look, over
there,” Paul said, “By the sap.”

“It’s Roger,”
Solomon shouted.  “Look.  He’s trying to walk but he’s been hit.  Oh God.  He’s
fallen.  We need to go get him.  Get a medic.”

“I’m here,” a
medic replied.  “But we can’t go yet.  It hasn’t been cleared.  It looks like
they’ve retreated, but there could still be some enemy soldiers close enough to
fire on us.”

“I can still see,”
Solomon answered.  “It looks okay, but cover me.”  He climbed out of the trench
before anyone could stop him. Lying as flat as possible, he started crawling
toward Roger.

When he reached
him, he saw that Roger had been shot in the lower abdomen.

“Grab hold of me,”
he told Roger. “But stay low.”

“No,” Roger
answered. “I’ll be okay. What are you doing here? Go back or get in the sap.  I
don’t think it’s over.”

Solomon didn’t
answer.  He just kept pulling Roger by the shoulders.  There was a volley of
shots and Solomon collapsed, his arms going out from under him.

“Sol, no,” Roger
shouted.  “Medic! I need a medic.”  He turned and fired at the one German
soldier who had fired the shots.

“Did you get him?”
Solomon asked in a whisper turning on his side.

“Of course, I did.
 Now be quiet.  We need to wait for the medics.  They’re coming.”

“Roger.  Kathleen
and Rose are in my helmet.  Can you get them out for me?”

Roger took off
Solomon’s helmet and got out the two pictures before putting it back on again.

“They’re beautiful,
aren’t they Roger?”

“Yes, Sol.”

“You’ll tell them
I loved them?”

“You’re going to
be okay, Sol.”

He pulled on
Roger’s sleeve, “Promise you’ll tell them.”

“I promise, but I
won’t have to,” Roger answered, trying to hold back his tears.

Solomon smiled,
closed his eyes, and was gone.

CHAPTER 74

Kathleen pushed
the carriage that Solomon’s brothers and sisters had bought Rose as a baby gift
as if on a mission.  Her mother had begged her to let her go with her, but she
insisted on doing this herself.  As distraught as she was, she could only
imagine the pain this would cause Rachael and Jacob.

She stopped at a
bench in front of a store and sat down and pulled the telegram from her purse.

We regret to
inform you that your husband, Solomon Shearmon, was killed in action October
25th, 1917, while engaged in battle. He died a hero, sacrificing his life to
save a fellow soldier.

Further
information about securing his effects and the location of his remains will be
forthcoming.

No matter how many
times she read it, the words wouldn’t change.  Sol was dead.  Her life would
never be the same.  She put the telegram back in her purse and looked into the
carriage at Rose.  She was trying to smile and was already making cooing sounds.

“What is to become
of us now, my Rose? You will never know how wonderful your father was.”

She bent down and
kissed Rose and started back on her way to Jacob’s store.

When Kathleen
arrived, Jacob was just finishing up a sale.

“Thank you, Mrs. Cohen.
 I know your dress will be beautiful.”   He was saying when he heard the door
open and saw Kathleen.

“Kathleen.  Come
show Mrs. Cohen our beautiful granddaughter.”  He knew at once something was
wrong.  After a fast showing of Rose to Mrs. Cohen, he turned to Kathleen.

“Kathleen.  Sit
down.  What is it? You look awful.”

“It is, Pop.  You
sit down too.”

Jacob pulled up a
chair.

“There is no other
way to tell you, Pop.  It’s Sol.  He’s dead.”

For what seemed
like forever, Jacob didn’t move.

“How, Kathleen?”
he finally asked.

Kathleen got out
the telegram and handed it to him.  He finished reading it and handed it back
to Kathleen.  Then he put his arms around her and they both cried.  Finally,
Jacob was able to speak.

“We have to tell
Mama.  Let me put the closed sign out. Will you stay and go up with me?”

“Of course,”
Kathleen answered.

Rachael was
sitting in the parlor darning a sock.  They didn’t have to say a word.  She
took one look at them and her face drained of all color.

“How did it
happen?” she asked in a flat tone.

“He died saving
another soldier,” Jacob answered.

“That doesn’t
surprise me,” Rachael said as she put the sock she was darning on the table and
stood up.

“Let me take the
baby, Kathleen.  I’m sure she needs changing.”  She took Rose from Kathleen and
went into the bedroom where the crib and diapers were.

Jacob and Kathleen
just looked at each other.

“She’ll have her
own way of grieving, Kathleen.  We say a parent should never have to bury a
child.  This is our second time to bury a child.  It will take her a long
time.”  Then he took Kathleen's hands and held them.

“And a wife
shouldn’t be a widow so young.  I’m so sorry, Kathleen.  You know we will all
be here for you.”

“I know, Pop, I
know.”

They heard Rachael
blowing her nose.  A few minutes later she came out of the bedroom.

“Rose is asleep in
the crib.  I’m going to start dinner now.  You’ll stay and eat with us Kathleen?”
she asked in the form of a question like her mother used to do.

“Of course, Mama,”
She choked out, a tear sliding down her cheek.  “I’ll be in to help you in a
minute.”

CHAPTER 75

October 1917

As far as one
could see there was nothing but blue sky and even bluer water.  Rebekah sat on
a small loveseat next to a window in the music room, working on some
hand-sewing.  Samuel sat across from her reading one of several books Rebekah
had bought him for the trip home.

            The trip to Norway by
ship had been very stormy and took almost a day and a half.  When they got to
Kristiansand she and Samuel were exhausted.  Rebekah got tickets on the
Bergensfiord using the papers that Joseph had procured for her in the names of “Rebekah
and Samuel Brodsky.”  They had actually thought that Boris would have no idea
what her name had been when married to Michael.  Besides, with the abdication
of the czar, he probably was more worried about what his own future would hold.

            The ship was not due to
sail for a week so she and Samuel checked into a little inn and explored as
much as they could of Norway.

The Bergensfiord
was a beautiful ship.  Rebekah had booked second class.  The staterooms were
located on the Shelter Deck amidships and the dining room was on the same deck
aft.  Sitting rooms, the music room and the smoking saloon were situated on the
Promenade Deck.

“I forgot what
Sollie looks like, Mama,” Samuel said looking up from his book.

“That’s okay,
Sammy.  You were only four when we left America.  Do you remember Aunt Rachael
and Uncle Jacob?”

“Who else is
there, Mama?”

“Well, Leah and
Miriam and Gabe and Joshua.”

“Nope.”

“And Bubbe, but
you were only two when you saw her last so you won’t remember her.”

He came and sat
next to Rebekah.  “But what if I don’t remember anybody?”

“It will be okay.  You
will get to know them all over again.”

“Will they remember
me?”

“Oh, yes, Sammy,
but that is only because they were much older then you when you met them.  But
I do know someone you might remember: Mrs. Weiss.  She used play with you and take
you for ice cream.”

“I do remember
her, Mama.  She took me for ice cream when Father came and got me.”

“Yes she did,
Sammy.  So you see, you will know somebody.  And I am sure that when you see
everybody it won’t take you long to remember them.” She reached over and hugged
him.  “Now, let’s go for a walk before dinner so we have good appetites.”

The dining room
was beautifully appointed.  Rebekah and Samuel shared a table with Marcus and
Mary and their son David and his wife Ruth.  The son had decided that his
parents needed to come to America where he and his wife had been living for
fifteen years.  There were no relatives left in Kristiansand where his parents
lived.  They were older now, and David wanted to be able to take care of them
and give them time to spend with their almost grown grandchildren.

The conversation
had turned to the war and America’s involvement in it.  It seems the captain
was sharing information with Marcus.

“I understand that
the Americans are fully involved in it now,” Marcus said.  “Our troops have
entered the battle in France.”

Just as he finished,
the ship jolted and listed all the way to the right.  Looking out the portal it
felt as though it might actually hit the water.  Then it righted itself and
there was another jolt and it listed the other way.  People were screaming,
waiters dropped trays, and everything went sliding off the tables.  The seas
felt wildly choppy for a few minutes, but the ship righted itself and before
long seemed to be sailing calmly.

The captain’s
voice came over the loud speaker, “Good evening.  This is your captain speaking.
 Let me assure you that everything is fine.  Two German torpedoes passed under
our ship. There is no damage and we are back to sailing normally.  There
doesn’t seem to be any evidence of more U-boats in the area, so I believe we
can all rest easy.  Let’s all carry on and enjoy the rest of the trip.”

Samuel looked at
Rebekah, “That was scary, Mama, but I wasn’t scared.”

Everybody at the
table laughed.  Then the passengers at a few tables got up and started helping
the waiters pick up the dishes.  Before long everyone was helping and when they
were finished, new desserts were served.  Rebekah said a silent prayer of
thanks and asked that nothing happen that would prevent them from arriving in
America.  “Amen,” she whispered.

“Were you praying,
Mama?” Samuel asked.

“Yes, Sammy.  Just
giving thanks that we are all okay.”

“Good idea, Mama.”

CHAPTER 76

Two days later
they arrived in New York.  The immigrants were taken off on barges at Ellis
Island to be processed and then the ship continued to its pier at North River.  After
they went through customs, Rebekah got a taxi to take them to Jacob’s store.  She
couldn’t remember being so excited.  Before leaving Helsinki she had made
herself a dark forest green dress and Samuel a new suit for their arrival.  She
wanted everyone to see at once that they were okay.

Rebekah couldn’t
believe her eyes when she saw the closed sign on the door.  “Why would they be
closed on a Friday?” she said out loud to herself.  In the upper right-hand
corner of the door was a small white flag with a red border and a red star in
the middle.

Rebekah grabbed
the suitcases and went around to the side entrance.  Leaving the suitcases, she
climbed the steps pulling Samuel behind her.  She knocked loudly on the door.

“May I help you?”
a middle-aged woman asked when she opened the door.  She wore a long, black
dress with a white apron.

“Yes.  Is Rachael
here?” Rebekah asked.

“No, she isn’t.  May
I ask who you are?”

“I’m Rebekah, Rachael’s
sister.”

“Of course,” the
woman replied. “I’m Martha Green. Please, come in. “

Another woman came
from the kitchen.  “And this is Fanny Grossman.  We are friends of Rachael and
Jacob.”

“Where are they?” Rebekah
asked, stepping into the parlor. She noticed the dining room table was set up
with food.  “Where is everybody? What is the table being set for?”

“I’m so sorry to
tell you this, but they are at a memorial service.”

Mrs. Grossman went
over to Samuel.  “Let me take your son into the kitchen.  I have some delicious
cookies, if that’s okay with you,” she said looking at Rebekah.

Rebekah nodded.  “Whose
memorial service?” she asked.

“It is for Solomon.”
Martha answered.  “I’m afraid he was killed in the war.”

Rebekah paled.

“Please, Rebekah,
won’t you sit down?” Martha asked.

“No, thank you.  And
is my mama with them?”

“She passed away
over a year ago, Rebekah.  I am so sorry.”

“Samuel,” Rebekah
yelled.  “Come, we need to go.  Where is the service, Martha? And could you
please call a taxi to take us.”

“It’s at the
synagogue, Rebekah. I’ll call one for you now.”

Samuel came out
eating a cookie.  “Thank you, Martha.  I’ll go down and get our suitcases
before we go.”

“Just leave them,
Rebekah.  We’ll get them.”

“Where are we
going, Mama?” Samuel asked as he tried to keep up.

“To the synagogue,
Sammy. To be with our family.

The synagogue was
not a long walk, but all Rebekah could think about was Rachael and the pain she
must be suffering.

“And I haven’t
been here for her for any of it,” she thought. “I’m coming Rachael,” she said
softly to herself.  "You won’t have to do this alone anymore.”

As she entered the
synagogue with Samuel, she could see Jacob and the family sitting in the front
row.  He had turned when he heard the familiar squeak of the door.  Rebekah
could see the grief on his face.  There was also a girl with a baby, and, to
her surprise; Martin Weissman was sitting just behind Jacob.

.  At first Jacob
thought it was some kind of vision as he saw the woman and child walking down
the aisle toward him.   Then he realized it was Rebekah and Samuel.

He turned to
Rachael who was sitting still as a statue, her hands clasped tightly on her
lap, her face pale.  “Rachael,” he whispered. “Look!  Like my papa said, ‘God
takes away, but he also gives back.’ ”

            Rachael turned to her
left and saw Rebekah and Samuel walking towards them.  Finally the tears came,
and she said to Jacob, “Samuel has gotten so big.”