As the champagne flowed and the party wore on, Martin was feeling so good he stepped up and asked if Henrik knew “O Sole Mio.” When he began to play, a hush fell over the crowd at the familiar tune. Then Martin’s tenor voice filled the room along with whispers that he was another Caruso. When he was finished, applause resounded along with shouts of encore. Few present had known of Martin’s singing talent, although the beaming Chinese trio had heard him almost nightly as they closed down the restaurant. Not being aware of Caruso, they had not known what an impressive talent Martin possessed.
Not long afterward, Martin and Lena left for the train that would take them to Monterey for their honeymoon. They would only have a few nights for their marital getaway so Martin had splurged on a reservation at the Hotel Del Monte, one of the finest resort hotels in the country, which was frequented by the wealthy as well as movie stars, presidents, and celebrities. Martin was keeping the hotel a secret because he wanted Lena to be surprised if not overwhelmed.
As their taxi turned up the long driveway, the large gothic wooden structure came into view, the horizon dominated by its grandeur. Lena was mesmerized as they continued their journey to the hotel’s impressive entrance. As she alighted from the vehicle, Lena said to Martin, “I feel I have just entered heaven.” Martin nodded while thinking, you’ll know what ecstasy feels like before the night is over.
After they registered and were shown to their room with a garden view, Martin ordered a bottle of champagne to set the mood. Neither he nor Lena had had much to drink or even eat at their wedding reception since they were filled with excitement of the day and busy showing their guests hospitality. Shortly before the champagne arrived, Lena had slipped into the bathroom to change. After she heard the waiter leave, she emerged, wearing a chiffon negligee in a pale pink shade with matching robe, and stood before Martin. “You are a vision of loveliness,” he said, while kissing her tenderly before handing her a glass of champagne. “To our future,” he said, while intertwining his arm in hers so they could take their first sips from each other’s glasses. Lena was a bit dizzy after the first sip. Seeing this, Martin took her hand and guided her to a nearby chair. But with the affect the liquor was having on her, Martin knew it wouldn’t be long before they headed to bed to consummate their union. And he was right.
While Lena waited, serene and giddy, Martin stripped down to his shorts and then scooped Lena up in his arms, laying her gently down on the bed as he slid in beside her and began stroking her fine, long hair. Then the caressing began, first with her face and lips, and then her breasts, which were full and firm and soft like velvet. Lena let out low moans so he knew she was responsive to his touch. And even though neither of them had had much experience, their love guided them into the eternal mystery meant for both their bodies and souls. As they savored their passion, they clung to each other until they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
At the break of dawn, Martin awoke and gently stroked Lena until her blue eyes opened and met his in a sincere look of adoration. Martin was overcome with emotion and just had to make love to her again but before he made the first move, Lena pulled her nightgown over her head, tossing it to the floor with a flick of her wrist. “This time,” she said, “I want to feel your skin on mine and have our whole bodies meld into one.” Martin stroked and caressed Lena’s body all the way from her head to her toes, and when he entered her, they both discovered the ultimate pleasure marriage had promised.
Martin and Lena barely left their room during their honeymoon except for some walks in the gardens and a special tour in an automobile along 17-Mile Drive with its ocean views and lush forests and the Lone Cypress tree presiding over the Pacific from its granite throne. “In Croatia,” Martin said, “we have Italian Cypress trees that are long and lean like spaghetti. Our Cypress trees exist in stands and don’t branch out. But this tree here is demonstrating its independence, just like so many people in this country, as it battles the elements and survives, more than a century so far, to fight another day.” As Martin continued to stare at the Lone Cypress, he thought, It’s a lot like me, fighting to survive alone in this country, but now I have Lena and together we’ll weather life’s storms.
When Martin and Lena returned from their honeymoon, he moved his things out of the boarding house and into her family home where they planned to live until they could find a place of their own. Martin had been living independently for several years so it was going to be a big adjustment for him, especially since he knew Karlo would always be looking to bend his ear over every thought that popped into his head. Somehow he would just have to keep his distance so he didn’t get pulled into his orbit too often. But it wasn’t going to be easy to avoid him in his own home. And he didn’t want to work longer hours than necessary to do it because that would mean spending less time with Lena. They would just have to find a home of their own as soon as possible. I will make that a priority.
Martin put out the word to all his friends and customers that he was looking for a small house to rent and possibly buy, although he didn’t think he could afford to do that right now. Hong came up with the lead from one of the grocery customers. The little, one-bedroom cottage sat behind a three-story Victorian just off of Main Street. It had been used as servant quarters, but after the owner died, the big house had been divided into apartments. Once Martin took a look and noted it was move-in ready, he brought Lena to see it. “This will be perfect for us. It just needs a few decorator touches—curtains, wallpaper, rugs—and it will be a cozy retreat for just the two of us.” Martin got in touch with the leasing agent and signed the papers that afternoon. In a few days, they were moved in and Martin felt himself his own man again. Without independence, it is not possible to be a real man. And he felt Karlo was man enough to understand.
As often as he could manage it, Martin would go home to the little cottage, or their love nest as they called it, between the lunch and dinner hour so he and Lena could recapture the ecstasy they had discovered on their honeymoon. Lena was always waiting in a negligee that barely hid her voluptuous figure with hair streaming down her back and arms ready to embrace him. She had turned out to be an enthusiastic partner and Martin had discovered a passion he never knew existed in him as her lover. In the evening, after work, they would retire to their bedroom as soon as possible to again lie in each other arms and make love until the wee hours of the morning when they could no longer stay awake.
Of course, Liu and Chao noticed how tired Martin was when he arrived to cook lunch, and they would tease him about it. But Martin would never admit the real reason he was so tired, although it gave him an excuse to go home in the afternoon for naps. Within a few months, Lena announced she was in the family way. Martin was beaming as they shared the news with her parents. “I hope you have a son,” said Karlo, who had four daughters and no son. “Someone to follow in your footsteps.”
Pauline frowned at him. “But Karlo, our daughters have brought us wonderful sons through marriage. How can you not wish their child to be a girl?”
Karlo apologized. “As long as the baby is healthy, it will be a blessing upon you and our family.”
The baby was due in December, exactly one year after their marriage. As luck would have it, the baby was a girl and they named her Clara, after St. Francis’ disciple, St. Clare of Assisi. Now instead of spending midday at the cottage, Martin tried to avoid it at all costs. If the baby wasn’t crying, then she was wetting her diaper, which Martin refused to change. That is women’s work, he thought. And then there was Lena who had not yet regained her figure and seemed to have lost interest in his amorous advances and become moody. His brother-in-law Filip told him all this would pass and to be patient. The one good thing to come of all of this, Martin thought, was that there will not be another baby soon.
Chapter 27
On April 15, the Dalmatian Coast Cafe was all abuzz about the sinking of the Titanic. Martin said to Liu, “This is just incredible. I don’t know how that could have happe
ned with all the safeguards that had been put into the ship.” But the ship had hit an iceberg and filled up with water, quickly despite compartments that could be sealed off. “That sea water must have been freezing,” said Liu as he gave a little shiver. “It’s a wonder anyone survived.”
After lunch was long over, the door swung open wide and Michael appeared, anxious and out of breath. He had run the whole way from the farm where he was working. “Did you hear the news, Martin?”
“If you mean the news about the Titanic, yes I heard it. You know how fast bad news travels.”
“Not only that…but about the rescue…the ship?”
“What about it?”
“It was the Carpathia that rescued the survivors. They’re calling its captain a hero.”
“Carpathia…you mean our ship…the one that brought us to America?”
“The one and the same. Our ship has just made history and just think we had once sailed on it.”
“You could say it’s a lucky ship. It brought us here safely, despite some of those storms…remember?”
“How could I forget?”
“And now it has been responsible for a heroic rescue. This calls for a celebration. Chao, please bring out the sljivovica.”
Chao filled two tumblers and the pair tossed them back, swallowing the liquor in one gulp. “Another, please.” And Chao complied.
This time, Martin and Michael sipped the sljivovica since they were already feeling the punch it packed. “I made this myself,” Martin said proudly. “It’s eighty-proof, more or less.”
“I’d say more, the way I’m feeling. But it’s a good feeling.”
“Chao, you better put away the bottle, since we both have to go back to work this afternoon.”
When Chao got into the kitchen out of sight, he poured a couple more tumblers for Liu and himself, and they slugged it just like they had seen Martin do.
“What do you think?” said Chao.
“Well, it’s not rice wine, but it’s good…very, very good,” said Liu, as a smile grew wide across his face.
Chapter 28
At the end of June 1914, Martin’s brothers-in-law, Filip, Henrik, and Josip, came into the restaurant to talk with him about the situation in the Balkans. In Sarajevo, a Bosnian Serb had murdered the heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Joseph and his wife Duchess Sofie. The restaurant was already packed with Croatians, including Michael who came over to join them at their table.
“Michael,” Filip said, “you haven’t been gone long from the Balkans. What do you think is going to happen next?”
“I don’t know but there’s been bad blood between the Bosnians and the Crown ever since Austria-Hungary took them away from the Ottoman Empire.”
“Do you think there’ll be a war?” asked Henrik.
Martin had heard the question, wiping his hands on his apron he approached their table. “I bet money there will be some sort of fighting, which is not unusual in the Balkans, if only to punish the murderers and keep the rest of the Bosnians under control.”
“That’s right,” Michael said, “Emperor Ferdinand was not only shocked over the assassination but angry as well. Anger only grows in my homeland until fighting breaks out and no man is left standing.”
“Well, let’s just hope it will stay a regional skirmish and not affect more of Europe. We have good apple markets over there, which may get disrupted.”
“On the other hand,” Filip said, “there is often money to be made off war and not just from weapons and their parts.”
The four sitting at the table looked at each other and smiled. Martin watched as greed overcame them. He did not like the idea that some people would profit from war while others suffered and died deaths so horrible no one would ever speak of them. He was glad he made a good living that left him with peace of mind.
By the end of July, the dominos began to fall. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia; Russia declared war on Austria-Hungary; Germany declared war on Russia; and England declared war on Germany. Europe was now at war while the United States sat on the sidelines, President Wilson observing non-intervention. But in May of 1915, Germany sank the Lusitania passenger ship with 128 Americans aboard, outraging the country. In April 1917, Wilson could no longer avoid declaring war on Germany after its submarines had sunk seven US merchant ships, and Germany had sent what was known as the Zimmerman telegram to Mexico to form an allegiance in return for the states of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico. It didn’t take long for America to build its army, drafting 2.5 million of its men and granting citizenship to Puerto Rico so it could help fill the ranks.
Martin, too, wanted to join up. He came home from the restaurant the evening of April 6 and announced, “I’m going to the navy recruiting office tomorrow to help the war effort.”
Lena was stunned. “What and leave me with two babies? And then who is going to run the restaurant and grocery store? We’ll starve without the profits to put bread on our table.”
“I have to do it. It’s my duty. With a given name like Marino, man of the sea, I’m a natural sailor. I grew up on the sea; boats are second nature to me.”
“You might not come back. Then where will we be?”
“Don’t worry. Most of the battles will be fought on land. I want to help the merchant marine ships get supplies to the Mediterranean. I know those waters like the back of my hand.”
“Well then. As soon as you join up, I’m moving back home. I can’t stay in this cottage alone.”
That night in bed was a cold one. Lena clung to her side, turning her back on Martin. He lay awake most of the night thinking about his decision. Of course, he was a family man and business owner. People were depending on him. But he was also an able-bodied man who had something to offer that most other American’s didn’t—knowledge of the Mediterranean and superb sailing skills. In his heart, he knew he was doing the right thing. The world needed to be saved from the aggressors—especially Germany and Austria-Hungary whom he despised. If men didn’t do their part to fight for freedom, we’d all be no better off than dogs. Before Martin turned on his side to face away from Lena, he leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Under his breath he said, “I love you.”
In the morning, Lena still had a frosty air about her. But Martin pretended not to notice. He put on his good suit and tie and pomaded his hair to give himself a youthful appearance. He had heard there was a navy recruiting station on Beach Road so that’s where he headed. When he arrived, he had to stand in a long line before he was able to meet with the recruiter. The lieutenant in charge looked him over, asked him a few questions, and then passed him on with a smile. “Welcome to the navy.” Martin still wasn’t sure he’d done the right thing, remembering the submarines that showed up at Port Watsonville for the Apple Annual, one miscalculating and getting stuck in the mud. He couldn’t help but wonder if he wasn’t miscalculating as well.
Chapter 29
It was only two weeks until Martin was scheduled to leave. When he moved Lena into her parents’ home with Clara and Frankie, named after Saint Francis, Karlo said, “Don’t worry about them but you need to take care of yourself.”
The next day, Karlo drove Martin to the train with Lena accompanying them. When it came time to board, Martin took Lena in his arms and held her close to him for several moments before moving in for a passionate kiss. She had been warm to him on his last night, and even though they were in her parents’ home, they’d made love long into the night more tenderly than they ever had before, reaching climax after climax until they had completely exhausted themselves and feel asleep. Martin knew, that after their lovemaking, no matter what happened she would never forget him. And, he too, would have memories to carry him through whatever lay ahead.
The train took Martin to San Francisco where he hopped a transport to the new training facility at Mare Island. When he arrived, there was only accommodation for six hundred recruits in the barracks. But not long after that, Mare Island woul
d be able to handle five thousand. It turned out that in 1916, even before entry into the war, the navy had begun a six-year expansion project that would make the US Navy one of the best in the world.
Martin’s training was brief, the navy not wanting to delay sending men into battle after its late entry into the war. In San Francisco he bid good-bye to the City by the Bay and boarded the transcontinental for the trip to the East Coast where he would be assigned to a ship. This time, instead of traveling in the miserable third-class car, he rode second-class in a regular passenger car that was scheduled to arrive in four days—still a long trip but nothing compared to the one he endured coming out the first time. There was even a dining car where he could take his meals, although Lena had packed him enough food for the journey.
The train was mostly filled with servicemen bound for various military bases along the route. At each stop, a group of men loaded down with gear got off the train, and an equal number took their place for points farther east. After they crossed the Sierras, Martin struck up a conversation with a man sitting nearby. Somehow he felt he knew him from somewhere before… No…it couldn’t be. “May I ask your name?”
“It’s Stan…Stan Dukich.”
Martin let out a gasp. “Stan…it’s me Martin.” Now they both looked at each other in astonishment. It had been almost ten years since they had last laid eyes on each other and a lot had changed. “I didn’t recognize you until you began to speak. You’re missing most of your hair.”
The California Immigrant Page 11