The Silver Music Box by Mina Baites & Alison Layland

Author:Mina Baites & Alison Layland [Baites, Mina & Layland, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781542048484
Amazon: 1542048486
Publisher: AmazonCrossing
Published: 2017-12-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Cape Town, Sea Point

If only I could do something. After Lotte’s long conversation with Paul and Clara, she’d gone with Martha to a restaurant near their house. It was impossible to concentrate on sewing right now. The calming mountain views from the panoramic terrace at the Blue View Restaurant drew the locals back again and again, and offered travelers a welcome place to relax after their hikes. It was also close to the kosher grocery store where Hermann worked.

The two women found a quiet table in the corner where Lotte could tell Martha what had happened.

“Close the business! I never thought Max would give in,” Martha said.

“He has no choice,” Lotte explained. “Paul told me that suppliers are no longer allowed to work with Jewish businesses. The tax office is after them, too, and Christians aren’t allowed to shop there! Can you imagine? But I’m afraid that’s not all.” She paused.

Martha looked at her attentively. “My God, Lotte, what happened? Is someone hurt?”

“Well, Paul’s been beaten and kicked by SA troopers. Martha, the Altona shop was looted.” She took a deep breath, trying to gather her nerves. “A few days later, Clara saw a picture of her friend Hilde Wilhelm in the Altonaer Tageblatt. She and her boyfriend hanged themselves in their own doorway.”

Martha pressed a hand to her mouth.

“The young man had a sign around his neck: ‘I’m a Jew and I love a Christian.’ Her sign read: ‘You won’t divide us!’ Clara could hardly bear to see it. She immediately went to the church to pray, but the priest banned her from entering.”

“What did you say?” Martha spat. “I can’t have heard you right. If a church is no longer a place of refuge, what’s the point of it?”

“The priest is a member of the Nazi Party.” Lotte turned away to conceal her welling tears. “They’re not welcome anywhere anymore. Clara was floored. They intend to move. They have to move.” At that moment, heavy clouds moved across the sun as if to emphasize her words, and Lotte shivered, drawing her light shawl more tightly around her. “When I think of all the plans Paul and Clara made—all in vain. What’s to become of them?”

“We must trust in the Almighty,” Martha said resolutely.

“Is that all you can say?” Lotte asked, more harshly than she had intended.

Her sister-in-law leaned across the table. “Darling, I understand your worries only too well. I feel the same, of course I do. But you and I are thousands of miles away. It won’t help anyone if you cry in your sleep and can’t concentrate during the day.”

The words were sympathetic, but Lotte thought she sensed an edge to her voice.

“You can talk,” she heard herself say. “You have Hermann and the boys here with you. Your family is safe!”

The hard lines around Martha’s mouth vanished. “Forgive me, Lotte. Of course you’re right. I sometimes forget how lucky I am. But Paul and Clara are smart. Trust them; they’ll do the right thing. The one I’m most worried about is Max.

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