Chapter 2

A Chapter by TheNightStalker

Chapter #2 - June 6th, 1933

As the night began I had a million different things on my mind. I spent hours working on my appearance alone but when the clock reached 7.30 it was time to leave if I wanted to be on time. The walk from my apartment to her house was quite scenic as I would walk past a number of great land marks, especially the Church of Our Lady. To me it was such a magnificent structure and seeing it amongst the glow of the city lights really made you appreciate the architecture.

I walked past a flower vendor just as I entered Gabrielle’s street and purchased a rose. Call it premature if you will but I had promised to be the perfect gentleman and this to me was a step in the right direction. When I reached the front steps of her house it took some time for me to gather myself but I had little time before I would be late. Knocking on the door lightly I placed the rose behind my back and waited for her to answer the door. After a few seconds of intense anticipation she opened the door and all of a sudden it was as if I had just seen a ghost.

I stood nervously in her wake. She was wearing this long red gown which seemed to compliment her figure perfectly. I handed her the rose after a few seconds before saying “Good Evening”. After smiling and thanking me for the rose she led me into her living room where her friends were waiting. Gabrielle proceeded up the stairs past the living room to continue getting ready while I joined her friends. They seemed curious about me and began to asking me questions about where I had come from.

Hoping they wouldn’t ask me about why I bought her a rose I answered their questions as enthusiastically as I possibly could. Everything from where I was from and how I came to be here to the journey that brought me here and within the next ten minutes it felt like I had written my autobiography. Talking about myself was something I was never fond of as it lead me to feel like I was boring people. I never considered myself to be any more interesting than the next person.

To prevent them from discovering the real reason I was here I began to ask them questions about their lives in Dresden and not Gabrielle. I knew that if I asked questions about her then her friends would begin to realize why I was here. They all seemed to be good people. If there was one thing we all had in common it was that none of us were supporters of the Nazi Government. One of her friends, Micah seemed to be the most vocal about his disdain for them even though his father was a senior officer in the SS. I’d heard about all the horrors of what the Nazi’s perpetrated and I could not help but admire how he would speak out against them so openly.

The group was beginning to grow restless, the excitement of what lay ahead was beginning to overcome all of us. Before long we heard Gabrielle call out from upstairs, “I’m ready”. She looked even more amazing than she did when I arrived. She was wearing this diamond necklace that sat around her neck light a star in the night sky. Her long dark hair was now all tied up behind her head in some fancy style.

I handed her a coat before heading for the door. Egon, another friend of Gabrielle’s had organized a horse and carriage for the evening. I spent nearly the entire journey wishing it had been Gabrielle and myself but her friends did make for good company. They made an effort to keep me involved in what was happening and I made my best effort to be grateful. I made a few jokes about myself and kept active in the conversation.

For the first time in my life I actually began to feel like I was apart of something. Even without Gabrielle, being here right now made me feel like I was back home in Brooklyn. Sitting here laughing with Gabrielle and her friends felt like being back on a street corner with the other kids from around the neighborhood. But it was different here, Dresden was such a peaceful place compared to Brooklyn. While I credit Brooklyn for making me the man I am today, I never had many real friends.

There were people who I could go and spend time with but not many who you could call a real friend. Here in Dresden, things were different. Everyone seemed peaceful and happy. Open to the outside world. It reflected in the vibrancy of the city culture. Gabrielle’s friends were so open to me that they invited me to have lunch with them at the Dresden University of Technology tomorrow afternoon. Of course I said I would go when I found out Gabrielle would be there but even if she wasn’t I would have gone.

When we arrived at the Cabaret I stepped out of the carriage and took a second to admire the scenery and take in the magnificent aura of the city. The night so far had helped me develop a new appreciation for it. After spending many nights alone and sitting on a roof, staring from the same point of view it was quite refreshing. I had gone from being an outsider trying to look in to the total opposite.

As we entered the venue I brushed shoulders with a pair of young SS officers who after realizing I was a Yank went out of their way to try and rough me up. But I stayed calm even though all I could think about was knocking them both out. They represented the scourge of humanity in my eyes. Gabrielle came to my aid quickly and cut off both of the soldiers. Both of them proceeded to retreat as Gabrielle intervened. She seemed to recognize them and they her. After a few remarks back and forth Gabrielle and I proceeded to join the others at our table.

I was curious as to how she knew them. A few of the remarks that had been exchanged suggested that they knew each other well. I debated whether or not I should ask her about how she knew them. It didn’t take me long after my arrival in Germany that one should not mess with members of the SS. When I first stepped off the train I saw them arrest a small family who were trying to board an outbound train. After the father tried to protest he was executed on the spot by a soldier who couldn’t have been anymore than eighteen years old.

It wasn’t long before the two SS officers decided to force their way onto our table. Gabrielle openly voiced her displeasure at the situation but they simply ignored her. I knew that the SS were capable of but couldn’t bare to see Gabrielle so unhappy. Even though the room was filled with dozens of other Nazi officials I jumped out of my seat and confronted them.

I told them in the most polite way I could while with holding my frustrations that they were not welcome on our table and asked them to leave. “Quiet, you American pig” The first soldier shouted.

I was able to brush off that remark like I hadn’t even heard it. “I don’t know what has happened between the two of but now clearly isn’t the time” I said calmly. The lead SS soldier turned his attention towards me. “I’m sure you can work out your issues at a later time but we are just here to enjoy tonights performance.” “Stay out of this you capitalist dog!” He shouted. This grabbed the attention of almost everyone else in the room. By now I had lost my patience had worn thin.

I signalled towards the club’s security hoping that they would ask them to leave but they did nothing. “What are you going to do about it?” He shouted in my face. Looking at Gabrielle made me think twice about what I had wanted to do. Normally I would have simply knocked him off his feet and not given it a second thought. But tonight was different, I had promised myself that I do whatever it took to make a good impression to Gabrielle and her friends. “You Americans are nothing but a nation of cowards!” The soldier continued.

I felt my fists clench in frustration. “Cut it out Rudolph!” Gabrielle interrupted. “If you come by tomorrow we can talk about this.” At that moment I knew where this was leading to. “You think I’m just going to let you sit here with this capitalist dog and watch from across the room.” He said mockingly as he moved closer to Gabrielle. Looking over towards the entrance I noticed that the staff were still not going to do anything about this. Thinking to myself I came to the conclusion that if I were a coward I would return to my seat as if nothing had occurred. But I wasn’t a coward and nor was I going to let him speak to Gabrielle like he was.

Although I could still feel the rage and frustration running through my veins I managed to keep myself under control. I placed my hand on his shoulder and told him to leave. “I don’t take order’s from cowardly dogs” He replied. “Nor do I from fascist pigs”. Rudolph then proceed to shove me. As he did I took a step to the right and used his own momentum to send him to the floor. Gabrielle and the others seemed to be relieved by what I had done. Even though the first move I had following this transgression was to apologize to everyone.

Upon taking my seat at the table I felt a hand on my shoulder. I could not help but think what could possibly be next. It was the same soldier preparing to clean my clock. But before he could a senior officer appeared and grabbed him by the arm and yanked him across the floor. His subordinate apologized for the behavior of the young soldier and that was that. We didn’t see him for the rest of the night which left me to briefly wonder what had been done with him.

But I gave it no serious thought. I was too pre-occupied with what had brought me here in the first place. Now that we were free to socialize I seized the opportunity. Making sure to be as involved with everyone that I could. Micah and Egon wanted to know as much about New York as possible. I felt happy to answer their questions although I returned them with more about Germany.

We did what anyone our age would do on a night like this. We danced and joked while enjoying the nights performance. I’d never been to the cabaret before and while this was a new experience to me I had already come to admire the performers. Especially when the performance poked fun about the current regime and their so called Fuhrer. Although the room was filled with Nazi delegates and SS officers they weren’t very shy about expressing their opinion. A few soldiers would speak up from time to time but the crowd would force them to sit down once more.

At the end of the performance music came on and the floor was cleared and so the patrons began to dance. Looking around the room I watched Micah and Egon both find partners and take to floor. Soon after I looked around the room for Gabrielle. I found her amongst a group of soldiers next to the bar and wondered how I could approach her. A moment later we made eye contact and she approached me. “Are you doing okay?” “I’m sorry about Rudolph” She said. “Are you kidding me?” I replied. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun”. Being able to take down one of those fascist pigs like I had done left me feeling proud of what had occurred earlier. “I was just coming over to see where you had gotten to” I continued.

“I’m just catching up with a few friends” She said. “Well I didn’t mean to interrupt but I was wondering if you would like to dance?” I asked while fearing her answer”. I’d never been in this situation before. Knowing how to proceed from here was beyond me since I had no idea about dancing. “I thought you would never ask”. While breathing in relief I took her by the hand and lead her over to the floor. Trying to mask my lack of dancing skills by maintaining a deep conversation. “Do you ever think about the future?” “What do you mean?”. Pausing to consider her question, I briefly thought about taking her to see New York. “What do you see?” She continued. “I don’t know, the world is a troubled place right now.” Seeming unsatisfied with my answer Gabrielle continued to press me for information.

“My homeland is in a great depression and my father”. A sudden pause came over me while pain shot through me for a brief moment. In his heart he was still a good man who had suffered possibly one of the worst pains imaginable. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to...” Gabrielle said with a touch of concern. Her voice seemed to chase a way the pain and in that moment I regained my composure. “It’s okay”. “It is just that the only family I have left is in prison.” Gabrielle’s sincerity was something that I had never seen in another person before.

“But to answer you’re question properly, I do see better times ahead for everyone.” “How do you see these better times?” Gabrielle said with a stern sense of curiosity. “If you ask me the future looks pretty bleak for us here”. I tried to do my best to reassure her. “It is the times such as these that define us best, It is how we handle adversity and hardships that people remember us by.”

“I share the same level of distaste for the Nazi’s as much as the next person but they have given your country a sense of direction it lost at the end of the Great War.” Gabrielle did nothing but smile. “I hope your right” She said softly. “This is nothing but part of the journey” I continued. “If you could already see the end of the tunnel then the end result would not have the same significance”.

In that moment Gabrielle pulled herself closer. She began to rest her head on my chest and with that I felt a sensation I had never experienced before. “Is this love?” I thought. “What do you see?” I asked her. “I see the Statue of Liberty” She answered. “I’ve always wanted to visit America.” “I hope to go there one day and be with my family again.” “Where did they move to?” “This place in North Carolina called Southport”. “But there are so many other places I want to visit”. “Perhaps we could both go there together.” I suggested. “ I could show you around New York and there are so many other places I’ve wanted to see.”

Gabrielle lifted her head from my chest and I began to worry she was going to walk away. But she did nothing of the sort. She smiled and simply said “I look forward to it”. Racing thoughts clouded my mind. Although it was my homeland there were still many places that I had wanted to see from when I was a child and taking her to see the Statue of Liberty however, was something that made me feel like I had never seen it before.

Micah soon came over to us to inform us that it was time to leave. Feeling a disappointment that the night had to end I wished for a way to keep it going a little longer. We proceeded up to exit the venue, I stood beside Gabrielle and whispered in her ear “Would you like to go for a walk?” “Okay” She quietly replied. Gabrielle proceeded to say goodbye to her friends before we headed off down the street. I shook hands with Micah and Egon while making plans to see them again. I didn’t have many friends in Germany and it couldn’t have hurt to start making some.

We stood together as the carriage carrying our friends journeyed off into the night. “Where should we go?” Gabrielle asked curiously. “I know just the place”. I replied with a stern confidence. I took her by the hand and continued down the street towards the river Elbe. The city lights illuminated the water so brightly it was like staring into the afternoon sky almost. Gabrielle and I shared talked of our interests and hobbies along with more of our future aspirations. She was avid Cabaret fan that much was clear and one day hoped to see a performance on broadway. I personally never cared for art of any kind but this city had sparked an interest within me. The architecture of the city was incredible and after working in the library that was so quiet gave me plenty of time to read.

Half an hour passed and we had come to the Church of Our Lady. Standing at the front amongst the many lights I took Gabrielle by the hand and we stood there amongst the lights admiring the design of the building. With her head leant upon my shoulder, I began to think about about the future again. This time with a different outlook, amongst all the darkness I began to see one bright spot amongst it all. “I see you” I whispered to myself quietly but not quiet enough. “What did you say?” Gabrielle asked with curiosity. “I see you” I replied. “When I think about the future, I see you”. Taking her head from my shoulder Gabrielle moved in front of me and within an instant I took both her hands and proceeded to kiss her.

With that moment I felt that everything in my life up until that point had been made irrelevant. The pain and anger of my life that I had runaway from in New York vanished like it had never even been there. The feeling of having no place in the world to call home became a feeling of belonging. Gabrielle gave me everything I never had before now.

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