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“A slender brunette with big eyes, sitting alone over there,” Josef nodded towards the table against the wall.
Looking in the indicated direction, Klaus saw his young wife’s childhood friend.
– This is Leah. She works as a teacher at school. By the way, she’s Jewish, like you… but you’d better forget about her, since she’s not alone here.
– And with whom?
– With Paul. He must have gone out somewhere. Although he usually doesn’t leave her side for a second. A terrible bore… By the way, they are going to get married soon, so look for other girls to meet. Do you see how many of them there are?
“Tell me about Leah,” Josef asked.
Sitting down next to him, Klaus Nolde poured a glass of water to quench his thirst and at least take a little break from dancing, and said:
– She moved to Mainz with her parents in early childhood, I can also say that she does not like noisy companies and prefers a quiet pastime.
– Who is this Paul?
“I met him at Leah’s twenty-fifth birthday, where Tilda and I were invited back in the spring, and since then I’ve been avoiding him. – Looking around and making sure that none of the guests of the celebration could hear him, Klaus continued: – Paul is a mathematics teacher at the school where Leah works. It is simply impossible to be in his company: he constantly lectures her, finds fault with everything, even the little things. It comes to the point that he teaches how to behave, how to stand, how to sit, even how to pour water into a glass… But since Leah endures all this, it means he suits her. So find yourself another girl. You are unlikely to meet another Leah at a German wedding, but there are plenty of beautiful girls here…
– I want to meet her. I will never forgive myself if I don’t do this… Klaus, my friend, you understand: this girl is exactly my type. Calm, beautiful, gentle, with good manners and also a teacher. She will be a wonderful wife and mother. Do you agree?
– Josef, I now understand why you and I have been friends for so many years. The thing is, we like different girls,’ Klaus smiled. ‘Even at the university, we always chose different ones and never conflicted on this issue. I’ll tell you straight, Leah is not my type: I like more relaxed girls, like Tilda, slender blondes with blue eyes. Well, you understand me…
“No, I don’t understand,” Josef interrupted his friend. “I don’t understand anything now and I can’t think about anything.” All my thoughts are only about her.
– And mine are only about how this will all end as soon as possible, and Tilda and I will be left alone. And if she sees that I have approached another… You know what this could threaten me with.
– That’s what you’ll definitely be in danger of – if Tilda finds out about the affair with that blonde in Hamburg last summer. What was her name? Martha, right? And if you do not fulfill my request right now, then this night you will definitely be left alone, but with yourself.
– Stop blackmailing me with that story! – Klaus muttered dissatisfied. “You know that I was drunk… and if Tilda finds out anything about this, I’ll be in trouble.”
“I give you my word that I will stop – from the very minute you introduce me to Leah.” Please, Klaus, do this for me, I beg you.
– Have you decided to get married? – the friend grinned.
“I don’t know yet, but nothing like this has ever happened to me before.” I feel like I met the girl from my dreams. – Josef rolled his eyes dreamily. “I need to get to know her, and you can help me with this.”
– How?
– You know her! You come up and introduce: “This is Joseph Schwartz, my friend and colleague, also a doctor, he wants to meet you.”
– What if this bore appears? – Klaus asked.
“Then let’s walk by and just say hello.” Do it for the sake of our friendship.
“You always knew how to find compelling arguments,” Klaus sighed, getting up from his chair and gathering his resolve.
“Thank you, friend,” Josef said, stood up, buttoned the top button of his jacket and smoothed his hair.
“Just let me think about how to do it without ruining my relationship with the bore.” – Klaus wrinkled his brow. “If they get married and we become friends as families, then Paul will remind me until he’s old that I introduced you to his fiancée.”
“Don’t worry in advance,” Josef chuckled. “She can change her mind at any moment.”
– Let’s go before I change my mind. “I’ll try to help you, but remember that I’m doing this only for your sake, since you are my best friend, and not because of your vile blackmail,” Klaus emphasized.
They approached Leah and Klaus introduced them to each other. Joseph looked at the girl carefully and, hearing a gentle voice, thought: “Up close, she is even more beautiful, gentle and graceful… She is exactly the one I always dreamed of meeting.”
* * *
Having woken up early, Julie thought for a long time about what she had seen in her dream. She rolled up the canvas and put it on the cabinet in the hallway, deciding that today she would take the canvases to the framing workshop. For this she is ready to part with even the thirty pounds remaining in her wallet.
CHAPTER THREE
SUNDAY
Despite the day off, the actors and other theater workers, at Mr. Gould’s request, unquestioningly agreed to hold an extraordinary rehearsal on Sunday afternoon. Mr. Gould, who began calling everyone on Saturday afternoon about the urgency of moving the rehearsal from Monday to Sunday, referred to his improved health, but Ms. Blunt guessed that it was due to her departure.
On this Sunday afternoon, Julie, as usual, was a little late for the rehearsal, but the first thing she did was run into a framing workshop not far from the theater. Laying out the canvases in front of James Clark, the owner of the workshop, the actress said:
– Good afternoon, Mr. Clark. It’s good that you are open despite the weekend.
“Hello, Miss Blunt,” the older man answered politely. “We are a family business, and extra orders won’t hurt.” How can I help you?
– Can you frame these three paintings?
– Certainly. What color do you prefer?
– Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about painting design. I would like to completely trust your taste. What are your rates?
– Based on the size of this canvas, one frame can cost from seven pounds.
– What do they look like?
“I’ll now bring you several samples that, in my opinion, will harmoniously combine with the colors on these canvases.” And you will choose the ones that you like the most.
Having rolled up the canvases, James Clark headed deeper into the studio and within a minute laid out several samples in front of the actress. Miss Blunt chose the baguette she liked and asked how much it would cost.
“Forty-five pounds to decorate three paintings exactly like this,” Mr. Clarke replied. – You chose one of the most expensive options, it will fit perfectly with these paintings. If it’s expensive, you can choose, for example, these white ones – only seven pounds per painting…
– No, I liked these ones, and the price is not the main thing. I have thirty pounds with me, I can give it to you now, and I will bring the remaining fifteen tomorrow.
“You can pay after finishing the work,” said the master, rolling up the canvases. – Miss Blunt, we have known each other for several years. Although you do not often spoil us with your presence, your posters are always before our eyes.
Mr. Clark pointed to the glass door. Through it, Julie saw a billboard with her and Chuck. In large letters it read: “Akiva and Rachel,” and a little lower, in a smaller font, “A love story that will not leave anyone indifferent.”
“My family and I will definitely come to see you and all the action,” Mr. Clark smiled.
– Come! I promise: you won’t regret it.
– Thank you, we will definitely come.
– How long will it take to complete all the paintings?
– I have other orders. It will take at least two to three days.
Miss Blunt urgently asked the master to finish work on at least one painting by tomorrow evening. Out of respect for the actress, James agreed, and promised to complete work on the other two on Tuesday.
Having thanked the master and handed him thirty pounds, Julie hurried to the exit, but then Mr. Clark asked:
– Which painting should be completed first?
After weighing the pros and cons, the actress chose the oldest one, signed “Mainz, Germany, 1929.”
Julie decided to take a taxi because she was late for rehearsal. Sitting in the back seat, she gave the address and, lulled by the steady movement, fell asleep.
MAINZ, GERMANY, NOVEMBER 13, 1929
“Thank you for agreeing to dance with me,” said Joseph Schwartz, holding the girl’s tender hand in his palm.
“Klaus really asked, and on his wedding day I couldn’t refuse,” answered Leah, who barely reached his shoulders.
“I told Klaus that you are incredibly beautiful and that I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I don’t dance with you.”
Leah was embarrassed and, to change the subject, asked:
– What a beautiful melody, do you know who its author is?
– This is Fryderyk Chopin, Waltz in C sharp minor. This work is sometimes called Waltz number seven, C sharp minor, since it is considered the seventh waltz composed by Chopin.
– Are you that good at music? – the girl looked at Joseph in surprise.
– This is all my mother. She dreamed of me becoming a famous pianist, and even as a child she enrolled me in piano. I had some success, but I quit music school after studying for about five years, which I sometimes regret very much. Of course, I would not become a famous musician, but I could spend long evenings performing such beautiful works for my beloved woman and my children.
– Who is your favorite composer?
– Beethoven. But from now on, Chopin’s seventh waltz will take a special place in my heart,” Josef replied. – Which composer do you prefer, beautiful Leah?
– I really like Johann Strauss. In my opinion, his music is light and airy.
“You have excellent taste,” the young man said, continuing to waltz, and after a pause he continued: “Leah, let me note, you dance beautifully.”
– I did ballet as a child, but then I had to quit.
After a pause, Leah asked:
“Joseph… isn’t that a Jewish name?”
“In your mouth, my name sounds like it has never sounded before.”
– If you don’t want to, you don’t have to answer.
– Yes it is. You and I are of the same nationality, and the fact that we met here today, at a German wedding, is fate.
“In our city, meeting, as you put it, ‘people of our nationality’ is not such a rare occurrence,” the girl smiled. – It’s not for nothing that Mainz is called Jerusalem on the Rhine.
“Let me disagree with you,” Joseph continued, trying to defend his point of view. “You still won’t be able to convince me about the fate of our meeting.” As for Jerusalem am Rhein, everyone interprets it differently. For example, local Jews say that the city has such an informal name because they settled in Mainz at the beginning of the tenth century and founded the largest Jewish community in Germany here, and the Germans believe that this name comes from the fact that the city was the main center of Christianization of the Germans.
– Okay, I won’t argue with you.
“That’s smart of you,” Josef joked awkwardly.
After a short pause he asked:
– How long have you known Tilda?
– I moved here when I was ten. Tilda lived in a neighboring house and helped me get used to the new city, to new people. Since that time we have been friends. How do you know Klaus? Are you working with him?
– We studied at the university together.
– Klaus said that you are a doctor, is that a fiction or true? – the girl asked with interest.
– Yes, I am a doctor, and I dare say, a very good one.
– What kind of doctor are you? A surgeon like Klaus?
– No, I chose a different specialization – dentistry.
– You must have a very interesting job! And I am a simple elementary school teacher.
“There are no simple teachers,” Joseph objected. “This is a very important specialty, since it is teachers who shape the personalities of children.
Looking towards the table, where Paul, already red with rage, was sitting, the girl lowered her head and said quietly:
– Sorry, but I have to go.
– Is it because your boyfriend has returned? – Josef asked gloomily, also looking at Paul.
“I really need to go.”
– Please, let’s at least finish the waltz. I’ve never felt so good.
Looking at the angry Paul, the girl continued the dance. After some silence, Joseph said:
“I hope that you will forgive my frankness, but you and him are absolutely not suitable for each other.”
“I also ask you to forgive me, but I don’t want to discuss this,” Leah answered, turning slightly pale.
“Believe me, you are meant for someone else,” the young man continued.
