Life After Dad

So there we were - stuck in Germany - living with my 3 aunts - and dad had asked mom for a divorce. After mom got over the initial shock and anger she started adjusting to the idea that we were "on our own". Back when we lived in that huge house in Havertown we had pretty much kept to ourselves. But now mom, sis and I were doing all sorts of things together - from sitting and talking in the evenings to visiting historical cities and sites along the Rhine - checking out ancient cathedrals - and going on trips to visit old friends and relatives...

Soon after we arrived I was introduced to a relative in Beuel (across the river from Bonn) who was over 100 years old. He had retired from the Austro-Hungarian army before 1910 and showed me this amazing medal - I think it was the "Order of Franz-Joseph" - I'm not sure which level.
Queen Elizabeth visited Germany a month after we got there and her "parade route" went right past the old guy's 2nd floor apartment. So we stood on his balcony as she passed and waved. She looked just like her 'likeness' on the toilet paper at the Heathrow Airport :-)

My aunt Vesti was very religious (went to mass every day) and of course expected us to attend mass regularly. We discovered that a church in Beuel (about a mile from her house) had a Saturday evening service. So mom, my sister and I attended that mass so we could sleep in on Sundays.
Now, I felt a bit guilty about this: There was a bakery about a block from the church. If you've never tasted authentic German baked goods you haven't lived :-) As we left for "church" Vesti would give us some money for the collection plate. One Saturday evening we decided to spend the money at the bakery instead of going to church - and it evolved into a regular thing - getting dressed up and going to the bakery... We were so bad :-)

There were lots of things that struck me as odd - here's a few:
One day my mom was walking down the street smoking a cigarette - and before she got to Vesti's house 3 of the neighbors had called to complain. Ditto when she was wearing shorts...
Then we tried to see the Bond movie Goldfinger and they wouldn't admit anyone under 16 (even with a parent). The scantily clad women were not the problem. It was the 'violence'.
Let's see... There were the sidewalk vendors selling paper cones of french fries - served with mayonnaise. (Quite good, actually.)
Next - there was some road construction in front of Vesti's house. One night we were awakened by a loud crash - someone had hit a barrier. By the time I made it to the window there were people in their pajamas and robes coming out of every house on the block heading for the scene of the accident (Vesti included).
The next morning I asked her why everyone had responded and she looked a bit puzzled and told me it was the law - apparently it was a crime to see or hear an accident and not respond.
But I digress :-)

That surprise visit from dad ended with a huge fight - mom told him there was no way she would ever agree to a divorce. And afterward she started getting rather paranoid - wondering what his next move would be.
She was sure that at some point dad would try to kidnap my sister and I and told us to be very wary around him - he didn't really love us - he just wanted to use us to hurt her... She was also afraid that he was going to try and frame her for 'infidelity' - some guy was going to run up and kiss her while someone else took a picture. Things like that... Those fears were very real to mom and over time they became real to my sister and I as well...

OK - This is chronologically related and I don't know where else to put it so here it is. It involves a girl (of course):
Every year there was a fair/carnival in Putzchen (where my aunt lived) called Putzchens Markt. It's an event that dates back to the 1300s and draws a huge crowd from all over Europe.
One evening around sunset I was in a corner of the fair near the gypsy wagons. (I'm talking real gypsies here.) I heard someone call a girl's name - and I turned to look... She was about 13 (a bit older than me) - hurrying past - not quite walking and not quite running. She was barefoot and her full length dress flowed around her as she moved. She had blue eyes, dusky skin and her wavy black hair almost touched the ground behind her... She was way beyond stunning...
That 'vision' lasted only a few seconds but she dominated my thoughts for weeks afterward... I didn't go back and try to 'find' her - I knew better than to go anywhere near the gypsies :-) But the sight of her remains one of my clearest and most intense memories...