11. Decor and Decorum
Allen Rozen volunteered to join the British Army in the summer of 1940, shortly after the evacuation of Dunkirk. He was a soldier in the No. 4 Independent Company which eventually formed the No. 3 Special Service Battalion which ultimately became England’s No. 3 Commando unit. Between late 1941 and the Spring of 1944, he saw action in Guernsey, the Lofoten Islands, Vaagso, France, Gibraltar, North Africa, and Sicily. His vast vocabulary and proclivity to only mild profanity indicated a high social status and education, and the worsening shake in his penmanship indicated the heavy toll of World War II. He was humorous, courageous, and principled, but it was the playful tone of his poetry that kept Avi reading.
As she combed through the dozens of letters he’d sent home to his wife, Talia Rozen, Avi pieced together a fuller picture of their wartime existence. He had joined the fight because he was a proud Englishman, but as news broke in 1942 of Hitler’s genocidal atrocities targeting the Jews, Allen’s reason for fighting became twofold. He and Talia were both Jewish, and while the horrible news emboldened and inspired his military efforts, it also seemed to solemnize the tone of all future letters. He never feared his own capture…or at least he never wrote of such fears…but he always feared for his wife and what would happen to her if the Nazis were ever able to make landfall on the coasts of southern England.
After all, the estate was only a short swim and a brief hike from the Isle of Wight. If Hitler ever got his hands on that stronghold…he didn’t even want to imagine what would happen to his sweet wife. Still, even with his change in tone and concern, he never failed to end his letter with a lighthearted postscript poem declaring his love for her.
It was during that time that Allen’s letters began encouraging Talia to hide any traces of their faith. Avi assumed that was why Talia paid to have a hidden compartment built into the chapel pulpit. After all, what Nazi would think of scouring a Christian chapel for evidence of Judaism? Along with the letters, Avi found an old Menorah, a challah cover, two paintings, and a messy stack of family pictures and daguerreotypes.
Her only question was why the Rozens had never come back for the items they had hidden away. Perhaps their end of war excitement over the new Jewish state of Israel caused them to leave their home in haste along with their trove of mementos. Or perhaps he died. His last letter was dated mere days before the invasion of Normandy. Maybe he died there, and she remarried. Rather than leave her memories of Allen up on the walls of the estate or packed away in the back of a closet somewhere, she could have decided to just leave them hidden in the chapel pulpit. Avi pictured Talia taking regular breaks from her new life to come sit where Avi sat to mourn and pour over the memories of her lost true love.
She couldn’t help but feel ashamed at her initial reaction to the discovery of such sacred keepsakes. When the back panel of the pulpit fell off, she’d hoped for a cascade of gems and gold coins to come pouring out of it, nearly crushing her with their excessive weight and value. Upon realizing the hidden treasures were more sentimental than monetary, Avi’s burst of hope for retaining Hawthorne Hall faded to none. She considered selling the pair of old painted canvases, but she’d never heard of the artist, Urias Alrest and assumed no one else had either. Had they been larger, gold-leafed, and Christian in nature, she would have hung them up in the chapel for Ethel’s memorial, but since they were small, faded, and…naturey in nature, she felt they were best suited as decor for her hidden room. She envisioned the painting of the tree hanging to the left of the snowy ground canvas with a dozen or so of Allen’s letters and family pictures, framed and surrounding them. They belonged to the house, not to her, and the fact that they’d stayed hidden for so long, made a hidden room the most poetic place for their display.
She sent Josh a quick text,
Avi
“Are you still shopping?”
Josh
“almost. y?”
Avi
“Can you also pick up twelve picture frames? 8x10?”
Josh
“Yup, Luv u.”
Avi
“Thank you, and I love you too!”
Josh
“YW.”
She wasn’t sure what YW meant, but she was thrilled he was getting what she needed. Avi called for her nephews and handed each of them a canvas to carry back. She gathered a handful of envelopes and their contents along with a few of her favorite images, put the rest in the pulpit, and carefully lifted the thin panel back into place while sliding in the locking baseboard. With that, the trio set off for the main building. They made their way through the garden, around to the front of the house, through the front door, up the stairs, and found a very empty library.
“Thank you for your help, boys,” she said as she took back the paintings. “Oh my gosh, is that a chocolate cake?” Avi asked, pointing out into the hallway.
“Where?” Devin asked as he and Kai spun around in hungry desperation.
While they were distracted looking for fictitious sweets, Avi pulled Irene Iddesleigh, set the paintings and the letters down on the hidden room’s floor, and quickly closed the secret door.
“Oh! I guess not,” she said sadly. “But I know where Aunty Gracie keeps her brownies! Come on!”
After racing down the stairs, they were greeted by a tired May and baby Bree.
“Mama, we get brow’ies!” Kai said.
“You do?”
The twins nodded as their tummies rumbled in excited anticipation.
“Oh, fun!” she said looking at Avi.
“Sugar was their price for helping me clean and carry things.”
“Well, don’t let me stop you,” their mom said as they took off running towards the kitchen.
Avi called after them, “They’re in the fridge…third shelf up…behind the carrots!”
“I think they already know. So, where’s Josh?”
“He ran to the store to pick up some things for a memorial I want to throw tonight for Ethel.”
“Oh, that’s such a good idea! What time were you thinking?”
“After dinner…maybe around eight. Is that too late for the kids?” Avi asked.
“No. And if they pass out, they pass out. Do you need any help getting ready for it?”
“Well, none of the guests know about it yet. If you see any of them wandering around…”
“I’ll let them know. Oh…” she said as she quieted her voice, “and have you made a decision about the house yet?”
“I think so,” said Avi through a faux-bold mask. “I think I’m selling it.”
May let out a very disappointed sigh and said, “I get it. I hate it…but I get it.”
“Can you not tell any of the guests, though? I don’t want anything getting them any more down than they already are.”
“Of course.”
Just then, Kai and Devin came running from the kitchen with a near-empty plate that once held a dozen or so double chocolate brownies. Their cheeks and hands were covered.
“Hey, guys…I didn’t say all of them,” May said as the twins fled the scene with her and Bree in pursuit.
Avi spent the entire day preparing and decorating; not just the chapel for Ethel’s memorial, but the hidden room with the Rozen’s letters, photographs, and artwork. She’d lost track of time and - in the process - lost track of Mr. MacKinnon’s invitation until she saw him enter the chapel. The poor man had probably been waiting in his room for hours wondering where she was. He had no doubt wondered what he’d done wrong. He likely pinpointed kissing her head as the watershed moment where things started going downhill.
“What if he’d been agonizing over the possibility that his uninvited affection had somehow crossed a line?”
It hadn’t. Certainly, it hadn’t. But she, as much as anyone, understood just how easy it was for a mind could get lost wandering in worry when things appeared to be going wrong. Perhaps if she were quick enough, she could greet all the guests before they were seated. That way, when she got to Mr. MacKinnon, she could offer a brief apology and explanation without drawing any unwanted attention to their unique cordiality.
“Perhaps the old adage about absence making the heart grow fonder is true. If it is, maybe I should keep him waiting until morning.”
Luckily, before she could think on it any further, Mr. MacKinnon sat down almost directly behind her, saving Avi from her cognitive flirtation with emotional manipulation.
“Joshua, how are ye, sir?” he asked as he reached over the pew and patted Josh on the shoulder, accidentally or perhaps purposefully brushing against Avi’s arm in the process.
“There he is…the hoaching walloper!”
“Josh!” said May, “we’re in a church.”
“Sorry.”
“Tis mah fault, Mrs. Hawthorne. Ah got him all wound up.”
“It’s alright. He was a bampot long before he met you.”
“Haha, he’s been teachin’ ye how tae speak Scots, eh?”
“Not intentionally, but he speaks it in his sleep. Thanks for that, by the way,” May said with playful sarcasm.
“Oh na…ah’m sorry fur that. At least it gives ye an excuse tae give him a light skelp,” Mr. MacKinnon said before turning to Avi while trying to maintain the same tone. “N’ how are ye, Ms. Hawthorne?”
“I’m fine.” She said, turning around to see him, “I’ve just been…”
Just as Avi was about to try and drop hints to explain why she never showed up, Bonnie and Clara squeezed by Mr. MacKinnon’s leg as Avi instinctively spun back around.“Dane, dae ye mind if we sit ‘ere?” Bonnie asked.
“Uh…nae at all,” he said with a courteous smile.
Bonnie sat as close to Mr. MacKinnon as she could without sitting in his lap. Avi didn’t dare turn around to see it, but she could sense it as she tried her best to ignore the conversation Bonnie was busy pulling him into. Thankfully, Avi wasn’t forced to endure it for long. Gracie stood up and walked up the steps to the chapel pulpit only a minute or so after Clara and Bonnie arrived.
“Friends, thank you all for being here,” Gracie said as she looked out at the guests and some of the members of the staff. “It’s a testament to how amazing and how loved Ethel was and is. We didn’t even know her a week, and yet…it doesn’t feel like we lost a stranger today. It feels like we lost a member of our family. This doesn’t need to last all night. In fact, I don’t think Ethel would have wanted it to, but I invite anyone who has a memory or fun story about her, to share it, so we can celebrate her together.”
With that, Gracie descended the stairs and sat down next to Avi and the rest of her family. For the next thirty or so seconds, the cohort of guests and staff sat in somewhat awkward silence waiting for the first eulogizer to stand. To her infinite surprise, Avi stood to speak.
“Umm…Ethel…she never wasted words. They were always blunt…yet somehow always kind…and always true. She saw…things about me before even I could. And that’s what I’ll remember most about her,” Avi said as she quickly sat down.
With an expression of immense pride over his normally introverted sister, Josh leaned in and whispered, “Good job, Sissy. Well said.”
A few short seconds later, Chef Bartolomeo stood to share from the row just behind Mr. MacKinnon’s. It gave Avi an innocent excuse to turn around.
“My favorite garnish…is caramelized onion. It’s sweet. It’s earthy. It goes with anything. I did not know that last fact until I started cooking for Ethel Lancaster. I used to only pair it with beef and pastas, but Ethel ordered it with everything…and I mean…everything. And you know what…it worked. It worked perfectly. All good chefs taste everything before they serve it, and let me tell you this…there wasn’t a single one of your dishes that was better than hers. Not a single one. So all I can say is…we’d all have a far tastier life if we all started ordering as Ethel did.”
The seriousness of his speech made it all the more humorous. The guests fought back smiles as a few of them applauded what ended up only being the beginning of his oration.
“And you know what? She was sweet. She was earthy. She went with anything and anyone. She is the caramelized onion personified! And I will never forget her. To Mrs. Lancaster,” he said as he held up an invisible wine glass.
“To Mrs. Lancaster,” the rest of the room said.
Avi managed one last glance at Mr. MacKinnon before turning back around.
Mick stood next and said in an ever-improving accent, “Thank you, Chef. Ethel was indeed our very own caramelized onion. I will forever treasure that comparison, and I would also like to add one…or some…of my own. To me…Ethel was…in many ways…my producer…my director…and my costar.”
“No!” Chef Bartolomeo stood and shouted in tears before blowing his nose into a hanky. “She was a caramelized onion, you swine!”
The whole chapel gasped. Helena and a few of the other guests tried to calm their friend and coworker down but to no avail. Josh hurriedly stood and walked over to offer his assistance as Bonnie and Clara scooted all the way to the end of the pew where they would be out of harm’s way were there any altercations.
Avi looked straight ahead with pursed lips trying to hide her delight in all the commotion and waited for Mr. MacKinnon to seize the opportunity while everyone’s attention was still on the unhinged chef. Just as she expected, Mr. MacKinnon leaned forward and quickly whispered into Avi’s ear. And while she was ready and waiting for the whisper, nothing could prepare her for the sensation of his exhaled air.
“Ah need tae see ye tomorrow.”
Her shoulders tensed as an icy chill ran down her sweltering spine. His invitation was off the table. It was now an insistence bordering on the edges of exigency. Clearly, he was undeterred and unharmed by her earlier absentminded absence. She glanced over her right shoulder to make sure Bonnie’s fear had her still pinned to the wall and focusing behind her.
“Then I guess you’ll find a way,” Avi said, just audible enough for him to hear.
She couldn’t help it. She had to see his reaction. She quickly turned around to find Mr. MacKinnon leaning back in his seat harboring the widest of appeased smiles just as Gracie finished marching Chef Bartolomeo to the back of the chapel.
“Go cool off,” Gracie demanded as she released his ear. “And before you leave the chapel, you might want to pray you still have a job in the morning.”
Despite his talents as a thespian, Mick couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes.
“If he still has a job tomorrow,” Mr. MacKinnon said to Mick, “ye might wantae check yer breakfast…there might be some chunky mucus floating around in it.”
Bonnie scooted away from the wall and swatted at Mr. MacKinnon’s arm as a playful punishment for his crassness, but for the most part, the guests welcomed his ability to cut through tension with humor.
“I didn’t mean to offend him,” Mick said with an American accent before getting back into character, “but, umm…as I was saying…she was all those things to me because she was always taking time to help me with the slightest details of my performance. I…I could always count on her to be forthright…and kind in her critiques. And I’m going to miss that...I’m going to miss her,” he said before taking a few moments to search his thoughts. “May we not forget or try to curtail our plans to unplug for the remainder of our time here. Doing so would blaspheme her memory. Ms. Hawthorne,” he said, speaking to Gracie, “when we get back, can we move forward with shutting off the breakers and internet…for Mrs. Lancaster?”
The rest of the guests nodded in agreement as Gracie nodded back.
“Hear, hear!” Mr. MacKinnon said, as he rose to his feet. “Thank ye, Mick. ‘N’ ah wis only jokin’ about him gobbin’ in yer breakfast.”
“Quite alright,” Mick said, still obviously concerned about the morning’s potential loogie.
“Ah hope this won’t be awkward, bit it might be in order for me tae say whit ah need tae say. When ah broke up with Bonnie, almost all o” ye…”n” fur good reason…came tae her defense. Ethel did too...bit Ethel also came tae mine. Her smile wis kind, ‘n’ sae were her words. Ah’m not sure ah’d even be here if it weren’t fur Ethel. Ah’m sae glad she wis here, ‘n’ ah’m sae glad ah stayed,” he said as he looked at Avi. “Like Ms. Hawthorne said, Ethel saw things before ah did, ‘n’ ah…ah juist owe her a lot.”
Mr. MacKinnon sat down as Avi admired the tender gentility he’d often seemed too proud to display. What Avi didn’t notice was Bonnie admiring the same seemingly new trait of her former, and hopefully future other half. Even though Avi was certain more people stood and shared that night, she walked away from the chapel with no further recollection. The rest of her time there was spent decoding Mr. MacKinnon’s message about Ethel, rightfully seeing herself hidden in the blank spaces between every letter of the words he”d spoken.
That night, as the large group made their way down to the stream from the chapel, Avi noticed Bonnie walking stride for stride with her ex, embellishing a set of sham shivers and making a play for his tailcoat. Mr. MacKinnon gentlemanly obliged but Avi hoped he wished it were her.
Stopping along the water’s grassy banks, Avi held a floating lantern in her hand as Josh lit the wick. She knelt down and released the makeshift ship into the careening arms of the stream’s gentle currents while the onlookers watched its light seemingly shrink with every second it sailed. It reminded her of her time left at Hawthorne Hall…of her time left with Mr. MacKinnon: shrinking by the second. Bonnie could have his tailcoat. Avi was determined to have the rest of him, and Gracie was primed and ready to help her do just that.