A surprise reunion

Yesterday, I began talking to a customer, and as I started my “spätzle spiel,” she told me she was a gluten-free baker and, like me, developed her own flour blends because the ones available didn’t work for her either. 

I asked her where her bakery was located, and she replied, “Wolfeboro, NH.” Marty, who wasn’t paying attention to our conversation, looked up suddenly and said, “I have family in Wolfeboro. His name is Vlado.” Wolfeboro is not a very big place, so when she questioned, “Vlado? My Vlado?” The whole reunion started to unfold quickly. 

Marty’s family came to America when he was very young; his father took a job transfer with his company Siemens. His office was in the Empire State Building, and the family moved to Queens, NY. 

Marty’s dad, Hans, had a cousin Liesel who lived in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband, Darko. Liesel and Darko helped sponsor family members who wanted to move to America just like Eva and her two little boys Milan & Vlado.

Since all of Marty’s immediate family was in Germany, they spent their holiday celebrations with Liesel, Darko, Eva, Milan & Vlado. The Irion’s relocated from Queens to Edison, NJ, when Siemens opened a new office in Metro Park, but still did the holiday thing with them taking turns between Brooklyn & Edison.

People grow up, move away, start their own lives and families. We realized yesterday that we hadn’t seen Vlado and his wife Beth since the early 90s at a party held by Marty’s parents. 

We hadn’t seen Aunt Eva in at least 17 years when she visited us here in Arlington. I remember that I made a German dinner, schnitzel, spätzle, and red cabbage. I always felt a special connection with Eva. She was one of the only family members who “got me,” and I didn’t have to be phony with her. 

Eva and I kept in touch via email over the years, but it petered out in 2017. 2017 was the year we started our spätzle business, so I’m sure I dropped the ball on that one.

Once Marty and Beth made the connection, she went and got Vlado and their son Nik. We asked how Eva was, and they said, “She’s here!” When we saw her, it was truly a special reunion. This was the first time Eva was reunited with her son and his family since Christmas 2019, just before the pandemic.

I took over the spätzle booth so Marty could visit with his family. They took a selfie and sent it to his brother Peter. Eva came over, and we had a short discussion. I confided in her years back when I was researching leads for biological family members, she quickly asked how it was going, and I said, “I’ve got a lot to tell you.” She also knew my adopted mother lied to me about many things concerning my adoption and never wanted me to find any information until she died. She asked if she was still alive after her stroke in 2013 and couldn’t believe she was. 

Vlado & Beth’s family is gluten-free, which makes sense why she has a gluten-free bakery. Their son Nik lived in Schenectady, NY, before moving to Albany; the family, including Eva, were at the Schenectady Farmers Market one Sunday when we were vendors there. They also have had and love our spätzle; they didn’t know it was us! How funny, right? It just wasn’t the right time to reconnect the dots.

Before we said our goodbyes, we agreed that we need to have a proper reunion with Marty’s older brother Peter who also lives in VT. We exchanged phone numbers, and I sent Eva an email this morning. They all still know me as “Kathy,” so I explained that I left that name and girl behind. 

You never know when things like this surprise reunion will happen. I honestly thought of Eva in the production kitchen last week while I was doing dishes. The belly dance song Brooklyn Baladi came on, which reminded me of her since that’s where she lives. Is this just a coincidence, or were the stars already starting to realign? It doesn’t matter; I was just so happy for everyone that it did.