Mr. Hassen gave Frances and her mother a ride home later that evening. Walking through the back door and into the kitchen, Franziska announced, "I'm going to bed...I am exhausted!"
"Goodnight, Ma." Frances said, smiling, just as worn out as she was. The older woman made her way into Frances' sewing room, and went through her daughter's bedroom, to go upstairs to the little room in the back of the attic.
"Cookies and coffee before bed, huh?" Frances turned her attention to her husband and she chuckled a little, leaning her arms over his shoulders. She gave him a kiss on his temple and rubbed his chest.
"You know I can't resist your walnut cookies!" Fred smiled. "Sit and split one with me..."
"I'll just sit..." She said taking a seat in the chair next to him, in the kitchen. She let out an exhausted sigh as she sat down. "...I need to go on a diet again anyway."
"You do not." Fred insisted, taking a bite of the cookie and sat there, reading.
"I'm nearly up to 195 again!"
"Hell if I care..." Fred shrugged, and glanced at his wife and on his lips was a boyish smirk. "Look at me! My looks have changed too..." He said with a chuckle.
Frances gave him a look. "Last you said you were up to 180 something...and that's exactly it! I'd rather not weigh more than my husband." She said with a laugh. Then she smiled. "Besides...you look good even at your age!" Though, Fred had put on weight too through the years, he still had a pretty full head of hair, but his wavy dark hair had grayed some. Frances patted him on the cheek softly, to which he chuckled.
"Why do you do that?" He asked her, smiling.
"I can't help but do it...you're just so cute!" She laughed. "Like I said, you're cute even at your age...I see your face and I can't help but pat you on the cheek!" She laughed a little, and kissed him. "And those cute, large ears stuck close to your head!" Frances laughed, commenting on those ears of his. Fred laughed with her and grabbed her hand and held it, running his thumb softly over the back of her hand.
"And you..." Fred said, looking at her. "I can't help but fall in love with you all over again..." He gave her a peck on the forehead. Frances leaned in to kiss him and smirked. "I'm still going on that diet..."
Fred chuckled, shaking his head and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"Still reading Wednesday's paper?" Frances asked him, puzzled.
"Just looking...This...this Hitler person..."
"What about him?" Frances looked at the newspaper with her husband.
"I don't rightly know...there's just something about him..."
"Goodness...I haven't even given him a first thought!" Frances exclaimed, and looked closer at the picture of the man. "He looks so...angry..."
"I can't say that I like this man...there's...just something about him."
"He's in Germany...not here...Might as well not worry over it." Frances said, and Fred leaned back in his chair, ate the last of his cookie, and took one last sip of his coffee. He sat there thinking.
"Speaking of Germany...When was the last time we wrote to the folks?" Frances asked. Meaning Fred's brother, Leonard...and his daughters, Fred's nieces Anna Lay and Elisabeth. Both girls grown now, and Elisabeth had married a man with the last name of Hassenkamp.
"Been quite a while..." Fred nodded his head.
"We'll have to write them a letter and update them on how everyone is..." She said, and Fred nodded.
"When was the last time you saw the girls?" Frances smiled at her husband.
"Oh shoot..." Fred said. "1910?...When I left for America. Haven't been back to Germany since..."
"It would be nice for you to go back someday..."
"For a visit..." Fred nodded. He said something about being an American now. He was a very patriotic man, though he grew up in Germany, and fought in the German army. He figured, he was an American citizen. America was his home. And he was proud to be an American! He even enlisted for WW1 when it had come around.
"So many people I should write to..." Frances sighed at last. "Mary Jane wants me to write her a letter...about how we met..." She said, commenting about their niece, Mary Jane Gruber Zust. "I think I'll write that one for Valentines Day." Frances smiled at her husband.
"Once upon a time..." Fred chuckled and smiled at her.
"Fred!"
"What?" Fred smiled at her.
"That's just perfect!...Oh, you've given me an idea! I'll start on it tomorrow." She said and got up from her chair.
"Going to bed?" Fred asked.
"Yes..." She said, giving her husband of 23 years, a kiss goodnight.
"I'll try not to stay up too late..." Fred chuckled.
"Well...with those cookies and coffee you had..." Frances began, teasing him. She stood in the kitchen doorway, her hands on her broad hips, and a sparkling laughter in her deep, brown eyes.
Fred threw his head back and laughed, then looked at her again. A sweet smile crept across his face and he said in German, "Ich liebe dich..." meaning, 'I love you'.
Frances returned his "I love you" in German as well, and went into her bedroom. It was the room that you had to go through, to go upstairs to the little room in the back of the attic. Connecting Frances' room to Fred's bedroom was a little walk-in closet.
(
Gilbertha Bardrick was sitting on her bed fixing her dark hair, waiting for her husband Paul to come into their bedroom for the night. Gilbertha was nicknamed Bert, and she was Eddie's older sister. The dark waves of her 1930's hairstyle complimented her face. She had large brown eyes, a small nose and cute, thin lips,...and those dreadful, thick Walbrun eyebrows that she thought to be cursed with. They looked alright sometimes, she thought, and other times she thought they made her look un-feminine. She would pluck them thin as much as she could, as was the current style, but they grew back so fast!
Bert smiled as Paul came into the bedroom. He sighed as he planted his weary body on the bed and took off his shoes.
"Work at the factory really has you beat?" Bert asked softly.
"I'm so...tired." Paul sighed, kicking his pant leg off of his foot and took off his shirt so he could dress for bed.
"I'll help make it all better..." Bert chuckled and started rubbing his strong back, and placed soft, little kisses on his back and shoulder.
Paul laughed a little. "I'll have you stop doing that in about half an hour."
Bert let out a giggle and kept kissing him till he turned his head and she found his lips.
Paul smiled at her. "I love you, Bert."
Bert kissed him again and whispered. "I love you too, Paul Bardrick."
Paul sat there smiling at her and glanced down and saw what she was wearing. A dainty silk nightgown with lace on the neckline. "Are you going to be warm enough in that?...I can get us another blanket..." He said, thoughtfully.
Bert pulled him against her and laid down on their bed. "I have you to keep me warm..." She chuckled and then she felt a smile tiptoe across her face. "Besides...can't your loving wife dress up in bed once in awhile?" She shot him a suggestive look. "I want to look good for you, you know..."
"You always look great..." He said, sexily biting his bottom lip.
"I don't know..." Bert replied, her lips pursing into a smile. "My husband's quite a handsome man!...I have to match up."
Paul grinned. "Honey...you do more than match up! Looks...and then some." He told her, winking at her, and she knew what that meant! Bert smiled, knowing Paul was simply crazy for her, and knew he thought she was absolutely beautiful, even though sometimes she didn't. She knew they were both very much in love with each other.
Paul was dressed in his 1930's cotton pajamas, and laid down with his wife, in their bed underneath the covers. He let out a painful moan as his head hit the pillow.
"Work at the factory really has you worn out, huh?" She whispered, rubbing his arm, she snuggled her face in his chest, smelling the clean smell of his pajamas. "You poor dear."
"I'm just tired...Tired of...of slaving away almost every day of the week to a job I don't like...I want to do something different...I want something...better for us."
"You're doing just fine in these hard times...we'll make it, Paul." Bert whispered into his ear and planted a soft kiss upon it. She gazed at him, running her fingers through his brown hair and gazed into his green eyes.
Paul's eyes darted slowly as he looked at her beautiful face. He sighed. "Why did such a sweetheart like you marry someone like this guy?" She lay there, cuddled against him, softly stroking his chest and moved her hand up his neck and her fingers grazed his jaw and then his lips. "Because..." Bert smiled, gazing at his handsome face. "I wanted my baby to look like you, Paul Ivor Bardrick..."
"Been married nearly three years...and...we've tried and tried...and tried..." Paul began. "I'm starting to think something's wrong...wrong with me..."
"Nothing's wrong with you..." Bert told him, caressing his face. "You're a strong, healthy...sexy young man...Nothing's wrong with you, Paul...It's..It's just taken us more time than it maybe takes some people...but,...you didn't understand what I was trying to tell you, honey..." She added, smiling.
"What?" Paul stared at her, looking confused.
Bert kissed him, and batted her dark eyelashes at him once. "I think..." She whispered, smiling. "That you're going to be a father, Mr. Bardrick..." The tip of her finger grazed his bottom lip ever so softly.
"W-What?!..." He stammered, smiling. "Really?...Really?!" Paul asked as his smile got even wider, he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up on top of him. "Really?!" He said excitedly. All Bert could do was nod as happy tears came to her eyes. This was what they had been longing for, for such a long time! "Really...a baby?!" Paul exploded with an infectious grin and he started to cry as well. "Really?!" He grinned again. Bert smiled and nodded her head. "Mmhmm!..." She let out a happy laugh and kept nodding her head and kissed him lovingly. "Uh-huh!" She was so joyous that her brown eyes even smiled!
"Boy or girl, what?...What?!" He asked excitedly, not thinking. Bert just giggled at him and nodded her head.
"You're sure..." He asked, and placed his hand on her middle.
Bert nodded at him and smiled again. "I've set up a doctor appointment tomorrow to confirm it..." She smiled ecstatically.
"What time?"
"10 o'clock..." Bert replied.
"I'm taking off work then!" Paul smiled.
"Paul!" Bert exclaimed. "You can't!" She smiled at him. Giggling at his excitement.
"I can...and I will! They'll understand, I'm sure!...either that or I'll call in sick!" Paul joked with her. "Honey...I'll do anything...I want us both to share that moment..."
Gilbertha kissed him on the lips again. "I love you to pieces, Paul Bardrick." She whispered.
(
"Fred...What do you think of this?" Frances asked her husband, and gave him the little letter she was writing to her niece Mary Jane Gruber Zust. It was written in story form. Frances was quite a story-teller! It went like this,
"Once upon a time, there was a young girl about 17, who brought the two cows to graze in the lowlands. Here, the grass was lush and green, while in their regular pasture there was very little grass left, due to the drought. This pasture was fenced in, but where this girl had to herd them, there was no fence, all was open country, and this girl had to stay right with them, and let them graze most of the afternoon. It was a lonesome job that she did not care too much about, but the bossies caused her no trouble, as they were grateful for the green field they were getting. This place was on this side of Peru Road, and it was so quiet, one could hear a pin fall on this road. Opposite from where she was sitting on a huge rock on this beautiful afternoon, with some reading material tucked under her arm, she took both bossies down to their grazing spot. She unfolded her magazine, and sat down on "Her Story" stone to read. Later in the afternoon, she heard someone walking on Peru Road and she saw it was a stranger. He wore a black Derby and had a folded newspaper under his arm, now he was opposite from where she sat, and she was grateful that the creek was between them, for she had never seen this gentleman, and was filled with a little fright. Just then he called a greeting to her! She sort of stared at him but did not answer so he polietly repeated the greeting and again she did not answer, as she thought, "Why should I answer him when I don't know him?" He kept walking and went up a hill opposite where she was sitting, he sat under a tree and spread out his newspaper to read, but she kept watching out of the corner of her eye. She was glad it was soon time for her and the bossies to go home. Around this time, she was wondering what he thought of her. "Probably he thought, the girl is deaf or retarded or even both." She thought. And so home she went. After that, her cow herding was not disturbed by this stranger, for which she was glad.
Her brother John was working in an iron factory and sometimes he would mention some of the men that worked there. He always told mother of all the incidents that went on there. He also mentioned a German man. The girl never paid any attention to his factory news, only mother and father were interested.
Then one Sunday afternoon, she was getting ready to go to a nickel show with her girl friend, Lizzie Palmer. She heard voices downstairs which was nothing new, as brother George and brother John often had buddies at the house. Their basement was a large kitchen where visiting went on. After she was dressed, she found it necessary, as her mother gave her some small change. As she entered the kitchen, she saw all the familiar buddies of her brother John sitting around. Just then her brother John called her attention to a man who was sitting in a corner a distance away, he jumped to his feet, one hand he extended, the other hand, held a Derby. He said he was quite sure that she was the girl herding cattle this past summer. She knew she blushed terribly. Mostly because she didn't answer the greeting on that day. She told him she was sorry, but he said it was alright, because in his country everyone greets everyone, whether they know each other or not. (I was wondering whether he was going to release my hand or not!) She thought it baffled him to think he was in the house of the girl that snubbed him. (We often joked about it in later years) So now she had her first boyfriend, mother and father approved of him. He spoke English real well. Before coming to Dubuque, he worked in a mill in New Jersey, and also a brewery in Pennsylvania. He turned Catholic without any pushing from her (he was Lutheran), in fact, Rev. Weirich told her that Fred was the first person that came for Catholic instructions, alone. (When he got baptized, your Dad was his God Father)..."
Fred put his arm around his wife and kissed her temple. "A wonderful little story." He then chuckled a little. "And no...I didn't think you were deaf or retarded...I didn't know it quite yet, but you were the one I'd want to spend the rest of my life with..."
(
Eddie walked through the door one evening after running a few errands of his. It was Valentine's Day, and he couldn't wait to show Helen what he had gotten her. First, he presented her with this lovely card, the little poem on the card went like this,
You fill my heart with happiness
Each moment that we share
And every day's more wonderful
Just knowing that you care,
Each sweet and thoughtful thing you do
Just makes me love you more,
Just makes you even dearer
And still nearer than before,
And though I often fail to say
What's always in my heart - -
Though I forget to mention
That it's you I set apart - -
I hope you'll know the feeling
That no words could quite convey,
And all the deep and lasting love,
That's in my heart today.
~ Love, Bunnie
Helen adored the lovely card. It was so special to her. She was also delighted when Eddie presented her the bouquet of roses.
She kissed him and then whispered, "I love you, Bunnie."
"And I love you..." Eddie whispered, getting down on his knee in front of her, his hands holding both of hers. He opened them and Helen felt something cool in the palm of her hands...
"How's this for a ring?" He asked. "I told you I'd get you one..."
"Oh Eddie..." Helen smiled at him. "It's a beautiful ring..." He helped her as she slipped it on her ring finger. Helen wrapped her arms around his neck as she started kissing her husband. "But I love you more..." She backed him up against the kitchen wall, wrapping her arms around him and kept kissing him. She started fumbling with the buttons on his shirt.
"Woah..." Eddie's chest was heaving and he stood against the wall while she whispered into his ear.
"Bedroom...now." Helen grinned up at him and leaned against him.
"You feeling okay?" He asked, slyly grinning down at her. It was a dumb question, he thought.
"I feel wonderful." Helen was nearing three months into her pregnancy, and her feeling sick was tapering off some. "I actually feel...sexy!" She stared up at him with those daring brown eyes.
Eddie couldn't help but chuckle at her. "You are..." He grinned and held her with his arms around her waist.
A/N:
Oh goodness! Walnut cookies! I had a few of those the one week from a friend of the family that I don't think I've met before...but her cookies were good! Sweet, but not so sweet that you couldn't taste the walnut. They were so good!...If I remember correctly, there was some type of nut tree out in the yard. It could have been walnut but I am unsure right now. Will have to look in Frances' diaries.
Frances was always watching her weight and dieting and counting calories. It's all quite interesting to read about in her diaries.
I am unsure what year Paul Bardrick and Gilbertha "Bert" Walbrun got married, (I'm guessing early 1930's)...or what Paul did for a living while they lived in Dubuque...I figure most men worked in factories back then.
The letter Frances wrote to her niece Mary Jane Gruber Zust, was written in 1972, well after Fred had passed away. She wrote this at the end of the letter, "Your Uncle Fred and I were married for 34 years until he died, Friday, July 25, 1947 at age 61 years."
The Valentine's Day card was an actual one that Eddie gave to Helen. I love that poem, don't you?!
Helen's nickname for Eddie was "Bunnie" since he was twitch his nose. He signed all cards and letters to her, "Love, Bunnie" So sweet!
Those thick, dark, Walbrun eyebrows. I have them too...I think I even resemble Bert a little, though it could just be the eyebrows...lol.
I was told that Eddie and Helen had bought a wedding ring later on, but am unsure when they did or what kind of ring it was. Forgive me!
Hope you liked this chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought of it!
