“Coney Island, then.” Archer smiled. “How about it?”
“Go ahead. But I’m pretty sure Coney Island has its own gambling dens.” It had everything else, from rides to sideshows and burlesque girls to the famous beachside boardwalk.
“So come with us, you and your roommate. Ivy likes hot dogs so much, I’m sure she’s a fan of Nathan’s on the boardwalk and would jump at another chance to win Percy over to frankfurter fandom. You girls will be our better angels, all right? Please? Say yes.”
“I’ll think about it.” The outing sounded fun but would involve a lot of walking.
“Think fast, would you? The amusement parks are only open until Labor Day weekend and then they shut down for the season, and there goes our biggest distractions. Savvy?”
Turning from his entreaty, she limped toward the elevators.
“Hey.” Archer tugged her elbow from behind, pulling her a fraction off balance. He pointed to her left knee. “If that’s what you’re worried about, they have wicker rolling chairs there. We could take turns pushing you.”
Elsa’s mouth went dry. She remembered her parents pushing her in one of those chairs and could still feel the shame of it. She would not do that again. “No,” she managed to say. “If I go, I won’t be a burden.”
CHAPTER
11
TARRYTOWN
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1926
Elsa wasn’t surprised that Luke wanted to drive her directly to Tatiana’s cottage this morning since she wanted to return the borrowed dress. What she hadn’t expected was for the errand to turn into a social call that included Luke and Tom, too.
She ought to have, though. Tatiana was the most hospitable woman she’d ever met. And probably one of the loneliest.
“One of the Spaldings will arrive any moment to unlock the house, and then you’ll be off to work,” the older woman said. “But you might as well wait here with a cup of coffee rather than sit in your truck after driving all the way from the city.”
“Can’t argue with that.” Luke turned off the engine. “I noticed ours is the first vehicle here.” He checked his watch. “It’s a quarter to eight. Unless they arrive earlier than expected, too, I’d say we have at least fifteen minutes. We made good time this morning.”
The men and Barney exited the truck, and Tatiana warmly welcomed Tom, the newcomer. Danielle left her tray of buttons on the porch to pet the dog’s soft fur. What an interesting, beautiful group of people Elsa had found herself among. Birds of afeather may flock together, but each one here was wonderfully distinct, and they flocked together just fine.
Their fifteen-minute coffee date beneath the ash tree stretched to twenty minutes when no Spalding came, then twenty-five, and no one seemed to mind. The extra time gave Elsa a chance to witness George drop off a gift on the porch railing. Danielle, who had gone back to her button sorting, held it up, announcing it was a broken piece of a pocket watch chain.
When the crow flapped away, Elsa turned her attention back to Tatiana. “Would you tell us the story of how you and your husband came to work here?”
“That old tale?” She shook her head but looked pleased to have been asked.
“I’d like to hear it, too,” Luke said, and Tom nodded his agreement.
Tatiana took another sip of coffee. “Actually, it was Mrs. Van Tessel’s idea.”
When Elsa gaped, the woman chuckled, then continued. “Thirty years ago, Mr. and Mrs. Van Tessel had been touring the Austro-Hungarian Empire together. He was hunting for relics to add to his collection. When they visited the Franciscan monastery in Dubrovnik, she fell in love with the gardens there. She insisted upon meeting the head groundskeeper to pay him her compliments personally. That groundskeeper was my husband.”
“Was he a monk at the time?” Tom asked.
“Oh no, we had been married five years already. Certainly monks helped on the grounds, but the monastery employed outside workers, too. I was present for that first meeting with the Van Tessels and still remember her lavish praise.”
Luke asked if she knew English already or if there had been a translator.
“I knew enough to understand the gist,” Tatiana explained. “We had been studying it with the help of a fellow gardener fromEngland. We loved the work at the monastery, but there was so much political and economic upheaval during that time in our country. We both wanted to be ready if an opportunity ever came to immigrate to America. We wanted to live in a place with more stability, especially if God ever blessed us with children.”
With gently prompting questions, she continued the story. Mrs. Van Tessel had been absolutely charmed by the Petrovics. Tatiana was twenty-five years old, her husband ten years her senior. He’d been the son of the master groundskeeper at the monastery, so he had grown up learning the skills and catching the passion for it. A few days later, Mr. Van Tessel concluded his business at the monastery by asking the Petrovics to come work wonders at his own New York estate. He pointed out that New York and Croatia shared a similar latitude on the globe, so the climates should also be similar. The Petrovics didn’t hesitate to accept.
“I always suspected Mrs. Van Tessel was behind that offer,” Tatiana added. “But clearly Mr. Van Tessel admired my husband’s work on the monastery grounds, as well, and wanted his expertise in his own employ. Mr. Van Tessel took care of everything necessary to bring us over. For that, I’ll always be grateful.”
Now it made even more sense that Birdie felt responsible for the Petrovics’ well-being. It had likely been her idea to suggest the life-altering path that put an ocean between them and everything and everyone they’d known before.
