“Yes. Women aren’t allowed into Harvard, so they created the Annex, and Harvard professors go over and teach their classes. It’s just north of the Harvard campus.”
“How old is Celeste?” Mitch suddenly wondered.
“She’s eighteen.”
“Like you?” Edie said softly.
He missed her meaning entirely. “Actually she’s almost a year younger. I turn nineteen in February, she just turned eighteen last month.”
“And where are you going on your honeymoon?” Edie asked.
Frank’s face colored a little. “Barbados. Her family has a winter home there.”
“I see.” Edie had another thought but immediately brushed it aside, not sure that she wanted to know the answer. But she was just frustrated enough that she suddenly didn’t care. “And are you and Celeste moving in together now?”
Frank’s head snapped up and his face flamed a brilliant red, almost matching his hair. His freckles stood out like polka dots on a dress. He leaped up, his fists clenched, his mouth a tight, pinched line. “Is that what you think?”
“I’m not sure what to think, Frank,” Edie said calmly. “That’s why I’m asking. We went to the new address you gave us. And what did we find? Celeste, unpacking your things. And her things. I think we have the right to an answer.”
He sank back down on his chair. “No, Mom. She’s not that kind of a girl.”
“Good,” Edie said, her voice softening, “because I believe that you are not that kind of a boy.”
“I. . . . I’m sorry. I can see where you might think that. But I’m moving in now. She’ll move in after we’re married.”
“It’s a nice home,” Mitch said.
Again he flared. “Yes, Dad, and her father is paying for it. Is that so bad? You and Mom helped me when I was going to BY High School, and then that year at the University of Utah.”
“I didn’t say it was bad, Frank,” Mitch said. “I just wondered. Sorry if I offended you.”
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry. As you can tell, I’m a little tense about this whole thing. I feel awful that it has worked out the way that it has.” He turned to his mother. “And I’m sorry that I didn’t write and tell you about Celeste. I. . . .” He sighed and shrugged. “Can any of you come out for the wedding?”
Considering that very carefully, Edie finally shook her head. “I’m not sure. It’s not a good time. In addition to fall roundup, which involves most of the family, Grandma Westland’s health is not the best. But thank you for asking.” Mitch reached out and took his wife’s hand. He didn’t look at her, but he didn’t have to. It was his way of pulling her back a little. “We’ll just have to see,” she eventually concluded.
Then Edie’s head came up. “What about you and Celeste? When does your school start again?”
Frank was momentarily startled. “September thirteenth.”
“That’s six weeks away,” Edie said eagerly. “Why not bring Celeste out to Utah? Her family too, if they can come. That way she can at least meet the family. We could even have a little engagement reception for you while you’re in town.”
Once again Frank was studying the pattern in the carpet with deep interest. “I don’t know if we can, Mom. Celeste is right in the middle of all the wedding preparations. Her mother would have a conniption fit.”
“Then you come, Frank,” she exclaimed. “The family hasn’t seen you since last Christmas. I know it’s a long ways, but. . . .” She didn’t finish. Though he said nothing, she could see the answer in his eyes.
“I can’t. I’m working as a graduate assistant now. It would be hard for me to leave.”
She nodded, her shoulders slumping.
“But please, Mom. Please come to the wedding. You and as many of the family that can.”
She turned away, her eyes suddenly burning. “I’m not sure that’s wise.”
“Wise? Why not?”
She turned around, suddenly wanting him to see the tears. “Because I think we would be an embarrassment to you, with our cowboy boots and six-shooters strapped on our waists. Tying our horses to the hitching rail.”
“Stop it, Mom. They’re not like that. Her parents are anxious to meet you. They were sorry that they had this big gala tonight. And Celeste had to be there too. But they’re free any time after four tomorrow.”
Mitch got up now. “By four o’clock tomorrow we’ll probably be somewhere in western New York or Pennsylvania. Our train leaves at six in the morning.”
Frank stiffened. “What? But you said you weren’t leaving until the day after tomorrow.”
“Our plans have changed,” Edie said. “We have to get back. We’ve been gone far too long.”
And suddenly Frank’s eyes were glistening too. “I understand.” He came over and threw his arms around his father. “I’m sorry. Believe it or not, I do love you both so much.”
“I know, son. I know. And we love you too.”
He turned to his mother. She wiped her eyes and then stepped over and they embraced. “I love you, Mama,” Frank said. “I love you so much. I’m so sorry. So, so sorry.”
“And I love you, Frank. You know that.” Edie pulled back enough to look deeply into his eyes. “But, Frank?”
“Yes, Mama?”
“I need to say this.”
“What?”
“The longer it takes you to bring Celeste out to Utah to meet your family, the harder it’s going to be to fix this.”
October 29, 1923, 2:05 p.m.—EDW Ranch
“Dad! Dad!” Abby came around the corner of the barn at a dead run and pulled up short when she didn’t see him.
Mitch turned. “I’m in here,” he called. A second later, she appeared at the door of the tack shed. “Hi, Toots. What’s got you in such a dither?”
“The mailman just came. We got some letters from Germany. They’re all in German. Mama wants you to come quick.”
“Letters?” he asked, emphasizing the plural.
Abby’s face lit up. “Yeah. I got one from Miki. Benji got something from Alisa. Mama got one from Tante Emilee, and you got one from Onkel Hans.”
“My, my,” Mitch said, “sounds like we hit the jackpot. Tell your mom I’m just finishing up here. I’ll come in about ten minutes.”
She was shaking her head. “Mama says you’re gonna wanna see these right away.”
“Oh?” Then he shrugged, turned, and hung the bridle on a hook. “Okay, kiddo, let’s go.”
2:08 p.m.
As Mitch followed Abby into the house, Benji came running, waving an envelope in one hand and what looked like a small, dead flower in the other. “I got some mail, Dad. Did Abby tell you?”
“Yes, she did. And how is Alisa?”
“Good.” He held out the flower, and Mitch could see that it had been dried and pressed in the pages of a book. “It’s an edel-something or other.”
“An edelweiss. It’s a flower that grows in the mountains near Lisa’s home.”
Edie appeared at the door to the kitchen. “And Emilee says in her letter that in the Alps of Bavaria, Austria, and Switzerland, the edelweiss is a symbol of love and friendship. When you give one to a friend or loved one, it is a promise to be a dedicated friend to that person forever.”
That brought a deep crease to Benji’s forehead. “Is it all right if I have a girl as a friend?”
Edie chuckled. “Yes, son. It doesn’t mean that she’s your girlfriend. Just a friend.”
“Who’s got a girlfriend?” Tina asked, coming into the room from the hall.
“Benji! And I’m telling all his friends that his girlfriend gave him a flower,” Abby taunted.
The look of sheer panic on Benji’s face made his parents laugh. Tina, ignoring Abby’s comment, came and took the flower from Benji’s hand. “She sent you this?”
&
nbsp; Edie quickly explained about the legend of the edelweiss.
“That’s neat, Benji.” Then she turned to Abby. “If you tell on Benji, I’ll tell Mom and Dad about you chasing Billy Johnson at school and trying to give him a kiss.”
Her face went beet red and she whirled on her sister. “Did not! Did not!”
“Children!” Edie cried. “Shush! Abby and Benji, you need to write to Lisa and Miki. And Tina, if you don’t have homework, I need some potatoes peeled. In fact, maybe I’ll have all of you start on the potatoes.”
Five seconds later, Edie and Mitch were alone. She motioned to him with her head. “Come into the kitchen. The letters are in there.”
The look on her face brought a question. “Not good?”
She hesitated. “There’s nothing tragic or terrible, but no, not good.”
As they sat down at the table, she held up Emilee’s letter. “Emilee wrote primarily to tell you that your letter from Hans is a copy of a letter he sent to the Reissners, which she copied for him.” She chuckled. “She didn’t want you wondering why Hans’s letter was in a woman’s handwriting. But she also caught me up on the news too.”
“And how are they doing?”
Edie frowned. “Mostly good, but, as you’ll see from Hans’s letter, they’re going through some rough times right now.”
“Yeah, along with the rest of Germany. The inflation?”
“Mostly. When did you last see figures on it?”
“Not for a while. Probably two or three months ago.”
Edie raised her eyebrows. “Then hold on to your seat.”
“Okay, where’s his letter?”
She pushed an envelope toward him. “But before you read that, would you like to know what’s going on with Emilee? There are two things I think you’ll want to hear.”
“Of course.” Then he reared back a little. “Is she pregnant again?”
“No, no. But listen to this. ‘Hans and I wanted you to know something. We were so impressed when you were here last year that your Abby and Benji could speak such good German that we decided we want our children to be bilingual too. So we have embarked on two programs. I have acquired some books from the library and am trying to learn English. Hans helps me whenever he’s home. We also speak English in our home a lot now, especially around Lisa and Yolanda. Jo is too little to practice, of course, but isn’t that how babies learn their own language? By hearing it spoken all the time? We are so hoping that you can come to Germany again sometime—perhaps for the Passion Play in 1930?! If you do, we are planning to converse with you in English.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mitch said. “Good for them.”
“Now for her second bit of news. Care to guess?”
Mitch thought for a moment. “With the economy there what it is, she’s going back to work.”
That surprised Edie. “Very good. That’s right. She’s working as a nurse in a small clinic not far from their home. She’s not happy about it, but Hans’s garage is down to about a tenth of the business it once had. So while neither of them likes it, they have no choice. But that wasn’t what I was going to tell you.”
“Uh. . . .” Then Mitch’s face lit up. “Is she going to join the Church?”
“Yes! At least, I think so. She said she’s finished reading the Book of Mormon for the second time now, and—” She picked up Emilee’s letter. “Well, let me read it to you. ‘I finished reading the Book of Mormon a couple of weeks ago. I love that book. I get the same feeling from reading it as I do from reading the Bible, and that tells me that it has to be true.’”
“Then let’s get her baptized,” Mitch said.
“It’s not quite that simple. Here’s what she says: ‘Now that mother has passed away, I have about made up my mind to become a Mormon. However, both Hans and Ernst are against it. Hans because he thinks “I’m letting myself get carried away by all this religion stuff.” Ernst’s objection is that if I am baptized, Heinz-Albert will want to be baptized with me, and Ernst says he doesn’t understand what that means. He just likes the people at the branch.’”
“I don’t agree,” Mitch said. “I think Heinz-Albert has a good sense of what is right and wrong. He’s mentally capable of making that choice.”
“That’s exactly what Emilee told Ernst. But Hans is the bigger problem for her. She says that he is so distracted right now with all that’s going on at the garage, that political party he belongs to, and the financial troubles they’re facing that she wants to wait for the right time to tell him.”
Mitch’s eyebrows lifted. “Tell him, not ask him?”
“That how she said it. I don’t know if you were there when she told me this, but they have an agreement. She won’t try to force him to change his beliefs, and he’s agreed not to tell her what she can and can’t do. But he is pushing back a little now.” Edie got to her feet, reaching over to tap Hans’s letter. “I’m going to start a roast for dinner. But read it aloud. I want to hear it again.”
“Okay.” Mitch picked up the envelope and extracted the letter.
“‘Greetings to the Reissners and the Westlands from Bavaria. My family sends greetings to you all. We speak often of our time together last summer. It was a wonderful time for us. The nieces and nephews will all be writing their own letters to you soon. They often speak of their “friends” in America.
“‘In spite of the very difficult times in which we live, the Eckhardts continue to do better than many others. This is because: (1) We own a dairy farm that continues to provide our family with food and some cash income. That doesn’t mean things are wonderful. We have sold off six of our best cows for cash and killed five others for meat, which broke my father’s heart. He wept like a baby when they took them away. (2) I still get an occasional truck repair since people still need trucks to deliver food and supplies. I no longer accept cash payments, since that is worthless, but I trade my services for food, coal, fuel, or other goods. (3) The political party to which I belong has put me on their payroll (part time) for my role as Director of Propaganda. It is not a lot, but it is something we can plan on each week. (5) Thanks to the wise advice that you, Jacob, gave to me when you were here, we withdrew all of Emilee’s mother’s life savings and what savings we had and paid off our home. So there is no chance that we will be left without shelter. Thank you, Jacob. (6) The incredible generosity of your church members and the help sent by your First Presidency has been a tremendous boon. Help has been coming in through the mission president to the branches of your church, including the one here in Munich. Each Sunday, Paula brings back goods from the branch meeting and shares them with us.’”
Edie turned. “That’s one thing I didn’t read to you from Emilee’s letter. That is another major factor in her decision to join the Church. She spoke of the Parable of the Sheep and Goats, where Jesus says, ‘If ye have done it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.’ Gratefully, we really do reach out to the poor and the needy and help one another.”
“Yes. I need to call Jacob and see if he’s heard anything more from the First Presidency about what we can do. And I’m sure he’ll set up another meeting with Brother Mangelson so we can report this information.”
“Good. You’ll see that Hans has written part of this letter with the First Presidency in mind.
“‘In Jacob’s last letter, he told me that the four of you were able to make a follow-up report to your leaders about our situation here. I am hoping that they will ask for additional information, and that is my purpose in writing to you both. The Treaty of Versailles continues to wreak havoc on our people. We have become a divided country. Political parties court the favor of the army, which is now largely politicized, something that they tried to stay away from in earlier years. They are taking sides and throwing their weight behind this group or that.
“‘Increasingly, the judiciary is deeply
politicized too. They frequently pervert the laws for their own political ends. For example, hundreds of people are sentenced to long prison terms for “treason.” Yet others guilty of much more egregious forms of rebellion receive light sentences or are ignored completely.
“‘I say this only to help you understand why our people become more and more disillusioned and more and more angry. As always it is the people who suffer while the rich and the nobility, the captains of industry and finance, the Army High Command, and other favored of the government continue to live their bloated and profligate lifestyles.
“‘Which brings me to our present circumstances, which are now deteriorating at an astonishing speed. In the summer of 1922, about the time you were here for the play, the German stock markets collapsed. Inflation was already climbing at an alarming rate, but the crash was like lighting the fuse on a rocket. Within weeks of the crash, the exchange rate skyrocketed to 7,000 marks to the dollar! In a matter of days and weeks, people’s life savings were totally wiped out. Pensions became virtually worthless. People defaulted on their loans on every side. And those who thought they were financially protected found that their “fat” bank accounts could now buy only a pittance of what they could before.
“‘Unemployment skyrocketed as well. Right now we have 1.5 million men unemployed, and another 4.5 million who are only employed part time. Yet the prices of goods continue to rise.
“‘Our government defaulted on their loans as well. And that was all that the French were waiting for. In January of this year, the presidents of France and Belgium sent their troops into the Ruhr Valley, the industrial heartland of the Fatherland, and seized all properties there. The Ruhr Valley holds between 75 and 80 percent of all of the Fatherland’s steel and coal production. And in one instant, it was cut off from us.’”
Again Mitch stopped. “Whoa! I had read about the occupation of the Ruhr, but I had no idea that it was that vital to Germany’s economy.”
Edie put the lid on the roasting pan and slid it into the oven. Then she came over and sat down beside him. “This is what is unbelievable,” she said. “Read on.”