Adelsverein - The Gathering - The Book Locker

Celia Hayes
by the promise of land as Vati, with golden promises on the other side
of the ocean.
“Mutti, let us choose our own space, before too many more
come aboard,” Magda spoke calmly. “We wish to be all together. We
can hang blankets between the bunks. We shall need …”
“Two spaces, above and below,” Hansi spoke firmly. “Liesel
and I, and you and Vati, with Anna and Magda and the boys above.”
Mutti looked around and above where she sat despairing and
answered, “Well, this shall do as much as any other, I suppose.” Her
chin lifted, the brave housewife reclaiming her territory as meager as
it was; the space between two beams and a long table, to be their
home for the duration of their voyage.
Vati and Hansi pushed the heavy box underneath the lower
bunk.
“At least they have put in fresh straw,” Mutti said.
Magda, standing in the bench and investigating the upper bunks
answered, “We are expected to sleep on this, like animals in the
barn?”
“Thank god, we have brought our own beds,” Mutti sighed, as
another family shouldered by her, carrying their own bulky roll of
blankets and beds. “Excuse me, I am sure …”
“Vati, may we go on deck again?” Johann asked. He was
wriggling with excitement.
“No, you may not, you’ll be in the way of the sailors. Help
Magda make up your bunk.” He and Mutti unrolled the bedding with
some difficulty as other travelers kept walking down through the
space, seeking an empty bunk for themselves. Baby Joachim began to
cry, a thin fretful complaint.
“He’s hungry,” Liesel said, desperately casting an eye around
for a place where she could sit down, and unbutton the front of her
dress to nurse him.
“No help for that, Lise. Look, we’ll hang up a blanket here and
you can sit in the bunk.” Magda hopped down from the bench with a
sigh, and set to work. Her head ached, from the noise around her, the
fumes of cheap tallow candles and another heavy smell she couldn’t
identify, which seemed to permeate the whole deck.
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