Paved with Gold

Plum Dumplings

János only had a few days until he departed for Germany, and then to America. The train to Germany would take roughly two days. The steamship to Ellis Island would take approximately a week. So many aspects of this journey were unknown, which worried him. No one could say exactly how much tickets cost, or how long each journey was. No one had told him what to do once they got to Ellis Island. How would he find his way around if he didn't speak English?
All of these questions clouded his brain as he worked with his grandfather. It was early November, which meant their contract with the various paprika farms was up for the season. During the winter months, János and his grandfather would cut down trees to sell lumber to builders in town. They didn't make much, but it was better than going all winter without their income.

"Nagyapa?" János asked after hoisting a small fallen tree onto their cart.
"Yes, fíu?" Josef responded without even looking up.
"Where am I to go in Ohio?" The word felt weird on his mouth. "No one ever told me."
Josef paused, thinking.
"I believe it's a town called 'Painesville.'" He said slowly, like it felt odd on his lips as well.

János mumbled the word to himself over and over again. If he was going to get anywhere successfully, he was going to have to pronounce places correctly.
He wouldn't have much trouble in Germany. He grew up hearing the place names, and many German and Austrian travelers have made their way through Szeged. Most Hungarians knew basic German lines.
English was an entirely different story. The vowels were strange and the harshness of the R's led János to believe that was was going to have a hard time speaking it.

Josef and János worked tirelessly throughout the day cutting trees and hoisting them into their cart. They would have enough to take to town in the morning to try and sell.
His anxiety plagued him throughout the day as his journey grew closer. As if that wasn't enough, thoughts of Évike trickled into his mind. He wondered how much she has actually thought about his offer.
János knew he meant every word to her the previous night. He had loved Évike since they were young teenagers. Her blonde hair and green eyes were so enchanting, even from a young age. Her charisma invited customers into their bakery and her kindness kept them coming back.
~
One night when they were around 13 years old, János was walking alone through the town around dinner time. He had been to work in the fields alone because Josef was ill, and he was making his way back to his cottage for dinner.

He clearly remembered the loud "PPPSSST!" noise she made out of the bakery door to catch his attention. He has seen her inside before, but never had a reason to go in as he could never afford anything there. His nagymama made their own bread when they could, and he definitely couldn't afford sweets.
Completely shocked, he just stood there and stared at her.
"Well come on then!" She yelled and motioned her hand for him to come in.
He walked through the bakery doors slowly and eyed the cases of pastries lined up neatly. Slices of Gerbeaud Cake filled with walnuts and almonds. Piskotatekercs, a sponge cake rolled in cream and berries. Apple strudel, poppy seed kiflis, and szilvás gombóc, plum dumplings.

"See anything you want?" She asked kindly.
"Uh- No I don't have uh-" he stammered on his response, not wanting to tell her how poor he was, although she could probably tell by looking at him.
"I don't have any money." He finally let out. She smiled at him.
"I meant for free, silly. Most of this goes bad overnight, and we won't have any more customers tonight." She explained, looking down at the cases.
János felt strange taking her up on her offer. He shook his head, trying to be polite.
"You want a plum dumpling? I'll have one too." She cooed at him. He accepted and watched her place each delicate dumpling on the small white plate with a frilly blue design on the edges.

Évike carried each plate over to a small table by the window and János followed her.
He cut into his plum dumpling the same time she did, breaking its soft dough to reveal its vibrant purple contents. They ate slowly and in silence, partly because János didn't know what to say to her, but also because he had never had anything more delicious than that. He had never dreamed of having a dessert made of plums, as they were very expensive. However, not near as expensive as anything made with walnuts.

"Thank you." He managed to say quietly when he was finished.
"Well thank you for having dessert with me," she smiled. "You can come back any time after 5 for dessert." With that, she picked up both plates and walked into the kitchen in the back.
~
Ever since that day, János went to the bakery once or twice a week after dinner with his family. He almost always had a plum dumpling, while sometimes she could convince him to have a slice of cake or a piece of strudel. Now at 19, he had become very close to Évike. Their dessert dates allowed for them to learn everything about one another.
The two would eat their dessert, and then sit with their chins in their hands, updating each other on their week, laughing at each others stories. His favorite thing was to watch her throw her head back in laughter. Her beautiful blonde ringlets always in her face when she pulled her head back up, nose scrunched up in laughter. That's when he realized he loved her. When he noticed the little things about and couldn't stop thinking about them.
János was always worried that she only viewed him as a close friend, but their kiss the previous night let him know that she has always had the same feelings as him. János just hated that it had to be said in such a way, and that he had to leave the country, presumably without her.

János ate his dinner in a hurry after chopping trees that night. He needed to go see Évike to see if she had made up her mind. He hated leaving his family, as he only had a couple days left with them, but he just had to know.
His anxiety was skyrocketing as he walked through the town, past the market, past the city hall, until he finally reached the bakery doors. He walked in slowly but was shocked to see György standing there and not Évike.
"What the hell are you doing in my shop?" He grimaced, without even looking up at him. János froze and couldn't say a word.
"You don't have to answer that. I know exactly what you're doing. You're trying to steal my daughter." György growled as he walked over to János and backed him up against the wall.

János put his hands out in defense, "I'm not trying to steal her" he explained and shook his hands out.
"Oh really?" He questioned, inching closer and closer to János' face. János could feel his hot breath on him and he turned his face away from him.
"You're trying to steal her away to America I heard? Like how you've been stealing my merchandise twice a week for the last six years?" Spitting on János as he spoke angrily.

"I'm not trying to steal her, Mr. Balog, I want to marry her. I love her."
György's hands shot up to János' neck and grabbed him, pinning him to the wall. János choked.
"I don't care who you love. I would never, ever, even think about letting my daughter marry some poor, dirty paprika farmer like you." He hissed in János' ear.
"MY ONLY DAUGHTER!!" György screamed, still holding tight to János' neck.
"You are a low life, filthy, peasant. Just like your father, and your grandfather, and their fathers before them. Your lineage is full of them. You always work hard but not hard enough, huh?" János just stared at him, focusing on trying to breathe while her father berated him.
"That's why you're going to America isn't it?" He questioned sourly.
"Well I'll be damned, if I let my daughter go with you. You'll be a failure regardless of what country you're in." He finished finally.
With one last push into the wall, György let go if his neck. János bent over and breathed rapidly trying to catch his breath.
"Now get the hell out of my shop!" He yelled from behind the counter.
János looked up and saw a pair of wet, tearful green eyes in the doorway of the kitchen, nodded, and walked out.