by Meryl Ain
Bronka immediately loved the bakery aroma—the scrumptious and primal scent of challah baking, the luscious allure of an onion roll right out of the oven, the yummy call of all of the sweetest smells and tastes in the world—chocolate and sugar and sweetened fruit toppings and fillings. She saw her father in this new environment in his white apron, and he hugged her and JoJo. She thought he looked so fresh and clean in white. Bronka was filled with hope that this delicious place had given her a new father—one who was as sweet and delightful as the bakery.
Izzy whispered something to Aron.
“And what would my girls like to taste here?” Aron asked. “How about a cookie?”
“I want one with colored sprinkles,” said JoJo.
“I want the one with chocolate chips,” said Bronka.
He handed them the cookies with a smile.
As Bronka savored the delicious cookie, she imagined that her papa could be happy here in this place, which was pleasing to all the senses.
“Okay, we should be going now,” said Faye. “Izzy and Papa have to work, and I want to show you May’s Department Store two doors down, and then I need to stop at Morty’s for the chicken. And we have to eat lunch and rest a bit before we go across the street. But let’s pick out something to bring to Mindy this afternoon. What do you think we should bring?”
The girls compromised on a half-pound box of assorted cookies.
The Mandelsterns’ brick bungalow was identical in construction to Faye and Izzy’s house, except it had a large dormer on either side of the slanted roof. Jennie came to the door with Mindy in tow. Judy thought that Jennie could almost have passed for Mindy’s mother. She was slim, with bright blue eyes and short brown hair and was dressed in a shirtwaist dress. She was a smiling, good-looking woman. She looked like she was in her late ’40s, but Judy figured she was probably closer to Faye’s age—in her ’60s. Mindy clearly hadn’t inherited her grandmother’s good looks. She was rather colorless, with light brown hair twisted into two long braids secured with red ribbons. But she wore a beautiful outfit, a red sweater, white blouse, and a tartan plaid skirt. Judy noticed that although Jennie was warm and gracious, and Harry had an enveloping smile that crinkled his eyes and lit up his face, Mindy looked a little sad. Her heart immediately went out to the child.
As Jennie ushered them into the small living room, she chatted. “Mindy is going to be five in February. She’ll be starting kindergarten next September. How old are the girls?”
“They’ll turn four in July,” Faye answered.
JoJo immediately spotted a large mahogany cabinet, with a ten-inch screen.
“Vas iz das?” she asked, pointing to the television.
“Don’t you know what that is? That’s a TV,” said Mindy, incredulous that this little girl didn’t recognize the television set.
“Vas iz TV?” JoJo asked.
“Mindy,” said Jennie, “these girls just came from Europe. They’ve probably never seen one. Everyone in the world is not as blessed as we are here. Why, there are still children who are starving in Europe. You’re older; you can teach them a lot of things. You can help them learn about America and you can help them with their English too.”
“I watch Howdy Doody every day on the TV,” Mindy offered. “Come, I’ll show you my room.”
Mindy’s room was upstairs too. But while the girls’ room in Faye’s house had a slanted ceiling, Mindy had a large room, as did her mother, because of the extra space afforded by the second dormer.
On the door to Mindy’s room was a map of Doodyville, which she explained was where Buffalo Bob and all of the people on the Howdy Doody show lived.
“This is a picture of Howdy Doody; my mother got it for me,” said Mindy as she pointed to the wall, where there was a framed black and white photo of a smiley puppet character wearing a plaid shirt and a red kerchief. It was signed in heavy black ink. “It says: ‘Howdy Mindy! Your Pal, Buffalo Bob.’
“Maybe you can stay late and watch Howdy Doody with me tonight. It’s the best show. My mother usually doesn’t come home from work until it’s over and I’m ready for bed or sometimes sleeping. You can keep me company. You’ll love the show. There’s a peanut gallery where kids sit and watch the show live.
“My mother said she’s gonna get me a ticket to the show to watch from the peanut gallery. I’m gonna ask her to get you tickets too.”
The twins had no idea what Howdy Doody or the peanut gallery were—and they barely understood much of Mindy’s chatting, but they were happy to make a friend of an older girl who was taking them under her wing in America.
The centerpiece of Mindy’s room was a handmade quilt, featuring patchwork girls wearing flowing dresses and matching bonnets. Each of the girls wore a different dress in hues of pink and red and turquoise and yellow and brown. Each held a tiny, whimsical bouquet in matching colors. The matching curtains featured petite flower arrangements in complementary colors.
And on the bed was an assortment of dolls and stuffed animals. Mindy gave them a tour. “This is my beautiful Ginny doll. Look at her velvet hat and coat and purse. This is Zippy, the chimp from the Howdy Doody Show. And this is Howdy Doody himself. And here’s Princess Summerfall Winterspring.”
She had the same hairstyle as Mindy, but her long thick braids were black.
“And this is Bridey.” She pointed to a porcelain doll that had brown hair and eyes and wore a faded white gown, complete with a veil. “Don’t touch her; we have to be very careful with her. She’s very old; she was Bubbie’s doll, and that’s why she smells a little.”
As Bronka was taking this all in, JoJo giggled.
“And vas iz das?” JoJo pointed to a baby doll in a pink and white dress.
“Oh, that’s Tiny Tears; my mommy just got her for me last week. She cries real tears.”
“But not real,” insisted Bronka. “Dolls don’t cry.”
“She cries real tears, I’ll show you. Let’s go downstairs.
“Bubbie, we need you!” Mindy called out to Jennie.
Jennie and Faye and Judy were drinking tea at the kitchen table as the girls ran into the room. The box of bakery cookies was open, and Mindy grabbed one.
“Yes, Mindy. Are you having fun with your new friends?”
“Yes, Bubbie, we are having lots of fun. But Bronka doesn’t believe that Tiny Tears cries real tears. Let’s show her.”
“Grandpa will do it; Faye and Judy and I are catching up. Harry, I need you in here,” Jennie called out to her husband, who was reading the newspaper in the living room. “Can you come in here and help Mindy show the twins how Tiny Tears works?”
“I’m coming,” he called back as he got up from his chair and walked into the kitchen where the women and girls were gathered. Harry was a very good-natured sort of man, and he liked nothing better than meeting the needs of his only grandchild.
With a big smile on his face, Harry took the doll from Mindy.
“You see girls, I’m going to show you how Tiny Tears can drink water from her bottle, wet her diaper, and cry real tears.”
Jennie giggled. “He loves playing with the kids. He’s just a big kid himself.”
Judy looked totally bewildered. But she kept her mouth shut for fear it was her halting English that was making her think she had heard that a doll could cry.
Jennie picked up on her confusion.
“No, you heard right, Judy. If you look carefully, you’ll see that there are two small holes located near the doll’s eyes. When the doll is fed with water from her bottle, and her stomach pressed, she sheds ‘tears.’ You’re probably wondering also why Mindy has every toy a girl her age could want. It’s Lenore’s boss, Al; he’s constantly sending Mindy expensive presents. We couldn’t afford all these things. But Lenore doesn’t tell Mindy that the gifts are from him. So please don’t mention that I told you.”
“Who wants to feed Tiny Tears her bottle?” Harry asked.
“Me,” called JoJo.
�
�Okay, JoJo,” he said as he filled the bottle with water from the kitchen sink. “Now watch what I do,” he said as cradled the doll in his arms and fed her the bottle.
“Now, it’s your turn,” he said to JoJo.
JoJo was beaming as she took the doll. Both adults and children gathered around the table to watch.
“Now, when you think she’s had enough, you can press her tummy and she will cry.”
“Now?”
“Yes, try it now.”
JoJo pressed the doll’s tummy, and sure enough, the holes next to her eyes filled with tears.
“Look and see, Bronka,” said Mindy. “She does cry!”
Although Bronka was not swayed, she did not answer. Her English was not good enough, and she was tired.
“Bubbie, Grandpa, can Bronka and JoJo stay and watch Howdy Doody with me?”
Faye came to the rescue, calculating that this first visit had already lasted long enough for three preschoolers. Better to leave on a high note.
“It’s getting late; we have had a very big day.” she said. “But we will definitely do it another time soon.”
That night, Bronka and JoJo once again snuggled together for what would become their nightly ritual. The bakery, Mindy’s house, and Mindy’s toys had bombarded their senses. But they continued to disagree about Tiny Tears. Bronka insisted that the doll was a fake and that dolls do not cry real tears. JoJo wanted one anyway.
Their second full day of life on 253rd Street in Bellerose dawned crisp and clear with a high of forty-two degrees Fahrenheit. It was a Friday, and that meant there would be preparation for Shabbos at home and in the bakery. Aron was raring to go. He had resolved that he could be successful in America by just trying to keep his head down, minding his own business, and being productive. But, of course, he needed God’s assistance.
“Do you really need to go to the minyan again this morning?” Izzy asked Aron.
“Yes, I am going, and I should like you to come with me too.”
“It’s six fifteen already. We won’t get out of shul until seven. It’s Friday. We have to fill all the Shabbos orders. It’s a really busy day for us. And I have to make an appearance at the Flushing bakery and do all this well before sundown.”
Izzy was about to get angry, and then he stopped himself. He noticed that the elbows of Aron’s jacket were threadbare. His cousin had spent only two nights in this strange new neighborhood, he thought. He needed to have more rachmonos, more compassion for this young refugee, his only remaining blood relative from the old country. Fine, he would humor him. Anyway, he didn’t need him moping around all day when Fridays were so busy.
“Okay, I will go with you today, but if you must go every day, you are going to have to start going by yourself soon.”
“I understand,” Aron said in Yiddish, nodding his head.
As the two men left the house with their tallis and tefillin bags tucked under their arms, they were shocked to see that four black cars were parked on the street—two in front of the Mandelsterns’ house and two in front of Izzy’s.
Standing right in front of Jennie and Harry’s house were six men in dark suits, wearing felt hats with wide brims.
“What the hell are those official-looking men doing in front of the Mandelsterns’ house?” Izzy asked.
Aron started to sweat. This was the United States of America. What was going on?
Inside, two other men dressed identically to the ones outside were ordering Lenore around. Jennie and Harry had thrown robes over their nightclothes when the FBI agents had banged loudly on their front door at six o’clock. Lenore was in her nightgown. Thankfully, Mindy was still sleeping in her upstairs bedroom, unaware of the upheaval and upset downstairs.
“What are you doing here?” Jennie sobbed. “Surely this must be a mistake. You must be at the wrong house.”
“What do you want?” Lenore cried out to the men.
“Lenore Mandelstern, you are under arrest.”
All the color drained from Harry’s face, as he stood there shocked, silent, frozen, and mortified.
“What for? I’ve done nothing wrong,” she replied.
“You are being charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice. You will have to get dressed and come with us.”
“I need a lawyer,” Lenore screamed. “This must be a terrible mistake.”
“You can get one later,” one of the FBI agents told her. “Now get dressed.”
“I don’t want to wake my daughter,” she said. “Just let me run upstairs, get my things, and I will get dressed down here.”
“Okay, but we will have to come with you.”
“Well, please be quiet. My daughter does not need to see this.”
Two of the agents followed Lenore upstairs as she put her finger to her lips, motioning them to be quiet. She quickly grabbed her purse, brush, makeup, underwear, and a blue suit, matching high heel shoes, and nylon stockings.
“You’re not going to the Waldorf, ma’am,” one of the men chided her. “You’re going to be questioned.”
Lenore did not appreciate the joke. She believed looking good never hurt anyone’s cause. Anyway, she wanted to look gorgeous when Al came later to get her out of this mess.
As Lenore hurried downstairs with the agents in tow, she knew she was racing against the clock. She wanted to get out of the house before Mindy or any of the neighbors awoke.
Two agents followed her to the downstairs bathroom and looked away as she dressed. She decided that in the interest of time, she would apply her makeup on the way.
Harry remained frozen with a look of horror on his face and his mouth wide open. Jennie threw her arms around Lenore.
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you a lawyer,” she said, “We’ll get this cleared up,”
“I’m sure Al will send over his attorney, Jerry Roginsky, as soon as he hears about this,” said Lenore.
Just then, the doorbell rang. It was one of the agents, who had been waiting outside.
“What’s taking so long? We need to get a move on.”
“We’re coming,” the two inside chimed in unison.
Mindy suddenly materialized in the living room, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. The sight of the strange men milling around frightened her.
“What are these men doing here, Mommy?”
“They want to ask me some questions,” said Lenore.
“Everything will be all right, sweetheart,” added Jennie. “These men are taking Mommy downtown. They just want to ask her some questions about an important matter. She’ll be home soon.”
“Where are you going, Mommy?” Mindy sobbed as she threw her arms around Lenore. “I don’t want the men to take you away.”
Jennie scooped her frightened granddaughter into her arms and held her tight as Mindy’s tears dampened Jennie’s face.
Lenore scowled at her mother. Jennie had seen that scowl before. As much as Lenore needed and wanted her mother to raise Mindy, she resented the attachment that Mindy had to her. Lenore was spoiled and entitled, and when things didn’t go her way, her mother was her punching bag. Jennie had learned to say nothing when Lenore displaced her anger on her. She knew that it would soon pass.
Outside, Aron and Izzy saw the agents escort Lenore to the car and drive away. Irv Rosen, whose nose for news was legendary on the block, had joined them. Izzy was not surprised. Irv’s wife, Connie, often joked that he was so devoted to his work that if he heard fire engines he would get dressed in the middle of the night and follow them. But it wasn’t a joke; Izzy had actually seen him doing just that. If he saw or heard something unusual, Irv would call the police to find out what was going on.
Both Izzy and Irv noticed that Aron was dumbstruck and shaking.
“Is he all right?” Irv asked Izzy.
“You know, he just arrived from a DP camp this week. I can’t even begin to fathom what he experienced in the war. But one thing I’m sure, it’s worse than anything I can imagine.”
Aron
was speechless as thoughts so frightening swirled in his head that he dared not express them. He had never seen Lenore before, but there was something familiar about her. She could have been one of the Jewish girls he grew up with in Kielce.
How is this possible? Can this be happening in the United States? he contemplated in silent agony, where strange men knock on your door and take you away? Are we in danger?
“Aron, we’re already late, can we skip the minyan today?”
Aron shook his head.
“Can you make it there yourself or do you want me to come with you?”
He raised his palms as if to say, “It’s up to you.”
Izzy was torn. It was Friday. He needed to be in the bakery early. He wanted to find out what was going on with Lenore. But he could see that his cousin was visibly shaken. He had read about Jews being taken by force from their homes by the Gestapo, and he knew how most of them had ended up. Who knew what Aron had seen and experienced and what Lenore’s arrest was triggering in him? He hoped Aron did not think that history was repeating itself, but perhaps he did. He reconsidered his decision. Although the shul was only two blocks away, Aron was such a newcomer that he could get lost, especially in the state he was in.
“All right, Aron, let’s go,” Izzy said. “Irv, I’ll check in with you a bit later.”
“Okay, Izzy,” said Irv. “I’ll try to get to the bottom of this.”
Once in the car, the agents tried to be cordial to Lenore, who was in the back seat. They offered her a cigarette, which she eagerly accepted. After she finished smoking, she brushed her hair and began to apply her makeup. Lenore was well aware that she was an attractive woman, but she also knew that she considerably enhanced her “wow” factor with eyebrow pencil, mascara, powder, rouge, and lipstick.