Dazzle The Complete Unabridged Trilogy (113 page)

'Someday, perhaps
...
I feel like I've deserted you!'
Tamara blurted.

'No, no!' Inge said harshly. 'Do not speak like that. You
are certainly not deserting me.'

'But it just won't be the same without you.'

'I should hope not!' Inge said with comic gruffness.

Schmarya and Tamara looked up expectantly as Dani came in
and slipped into one of the parlour chairs. He was agitated,
his face grim.

'It is official, then?' Schmarya asked heavily.

Dani nodded angrily. 'Yes,' he said tightly, 'I have just returned from Jerusalem. It is official. God help us all.' He
clenched his fist and suddenly slammed it down on the table
with such force that the menorah teetered precariously. None
of them made a move to steady it. 'You know what this
means,' he added miserably.

Schmarya sighed. 'This damn White Paper.' He shook his
head sadly. 'Sometimes I think Jews were put on this earth
only to suffer.'

'Isn't there anything we can do?' Tamara asked.

'We are doing everything we can,' Schmarya replied
wearily, 'which is not enough. No, my children, not nearly
enough. We are at the mercy of Great Britain, and we are powerless. With the White Paper reducing immigration to
75,000 Jews over the next five years, the British have cut it to
a mere trickle. They have, in effect, nearly stopped it.'

'But
why!'
Tamara wanted to know.

'Why?' Her father laughed humourlessly. 'Because the Brit
ish are afraid that war with Germany is inevitable, and they are taking no chances. Britain is terrified that Hitler will win
the Arabs'to his side.' He sighed again. 'So the British govern
ment has sold us down the river in exchange for barrels of crude oil. They are more concerned about commerce than about Jews.' He smiled wryly. 'It was to be expected, I sup
pose. We should have known in our hearts that something like
this would happen.'

Tamara was pale. 'So in other words, the German Jews who
wish to emigrate—'

'—will be slaughtered,' her father finished for her. He
rubbed his weary face with his fingertips. 'They are as good as
dead already.'

'How can we let—'

'Wait.' Dani held up a hand. 'There is more.'

They stared at him.

'Although it is not yet law, a proposal has also been made giving the high commissioner the power to keep Jews from moving around in certain regions within this country.'

Everything inside Tamara stood still. 'They can't be seri
ous!'

'Let me assure you, they are dead serious,' Dani said.

'It will be like Russia all over again.' Schmarya was per
turbed, but not in the least bit surprised. 'We should have seen
that coming also,' he murmured, nodding slowly. 'It would
close off half of all Palestine to Jews. It is the answer to all the
Arab prayers.'

'And two more things . . .' Dani began.

Tamara's voice was a strained whisper. 'You mean there's
still more?'

'I am afraid so. They want to put heavy restrictions on the
sale of land currently owned by non-Jews. In other words, the
Jewish Agency would find it nearly impossible to purchase
more land—'

'But that's preposterous!' Tamara interrupted.

'That is reality,' Dani said. 'Now for the last item, the
biggest slap in the face of them all. The British want to estab
lish Palestinian self-government within ten years' time. One
based on Palestine's present population, needless to say. In
other words—'

'Since Palestine is two-thirds Arab, and the Jewish population cannot increase much more, it would be an Arab
government,' Tamara murmured.

'Exactly.'

Schmarya scraped his chair back and stretched his legs in
front of him. 'They way I see it there is only one thing we can
do,' he said flatly.

They both looked at him.

Schmarya's face was as hard as granite. 'Since we cannot
afford to let what the British propose take place, we must step
up our efforts to win our freedom from the British. I shall go and speak with David Ben-Gurion tomorrow. He will call a
meeting of the Community Council, and perhaps we can come
up with a strategy.'

'Do you really think you stand a chance?' Tamara asked. 'I
mean, Great Britain is so strong. Surely—'

A faint smile touched her father's lips. 'Did not David slay
Goliath?' he asked her softly.

She reflected on his words, and then she made her decision.
'I want to help in any way I can. Count me in on whatever you
plan to do.'

Both men stared at her in surprise.

She looked from one to the other. 'What's the matter?'

'I
...
I guess you caught us a little off-guard,' Schmarya
said mildly.

'Why should I have?' she asked. 'This is my country too,
you know.' She tossed her head. 'My mind is made up. I intend
to stay here for good.' Her smile across the table at Dani
was glorious. 'Would you please set a date for the wedding,
darling?'

They married two weeks later.

There was no justice of the peace, no media-attended circus.
They were married by a rabbi under a
chuppa.
The ceremony
would have done Zelda Ziolko proud.

They spent a blissful honeymoon at Eilat, and for two weeks
left the cares of the world behind. All they had eyes for was
each other, as if they were the only two people alive on earth. They walked the palm-lined beaches hand in hand, dived in
the cool, transparent Red Sea, and chased the colourful, fleeting schools of fish along the spectacular shoals of the rainbow
reefs. They joked, cuddled, and shrieked like carefree chil
dren, chasing each other with spiny crabs, threatening to slip
them into each other's bathing suits. When he scraped his
foot on the treacherous coral, she bathed the wound, kissed it
solemnly, and made it well. As if such a thing were possible,
each day seemed better than the last and brought content
edness on an ever-higher scale. Tamara had never been hap
pier in her life. The memories of Louis became hazier, and
the sharp twinges of pain she felt whenever she thought of him
were becoming more and more subdued. She truly believed
that Louis would have been happy for her.

Even in their happiness they kept to a schedule—of sorts. Mornings and nights—and sometimes afternoons—they
explored one another's bodies and made passionate love with
an ecstatic, almost primitive abandon. In between, they found
time to weave glorious dreams and make heady plans for the
future. In those tranquil fourteen days, nothing seemed impossible, no difficulties insurmountable. It was as though
they both understood that as long as they were together, they
could move mountains if they so chose.

'I’l
l fight as long as I have to to help Palestine become the
state of Israel, just like Theodore Herzl dreamed,' Dani
declared passionately.
'I’l
l be satisfied with nothing less.'

Tamara was as fervent as he about a homeland for the Jews,
but couldn't help thinking: I only want whatever you want,
my love. The only things that are important to me are the
things that are important to you.

The days flew past in a blur, and when the time came to
leave the tranquil shore, they left without regret, for they
knew that their lives were just beginning. Both of them looked
eagerly forward to making the glorious dreams and heady
plans they spoke of into concrete reality. They not only
returned to Ein Shmona loving each other more deeply than before, if that were possible, but they understood each other perfectly and had gained a healthy respect for one another as
well. They had left for their honeymoon a married couple, but
returned as friends and lovers too.

A surprise awaited them—a newly built house miraculously
erected while they were gone. It had four spacious rooms, and was the first private residence with indoor plumbing. 'Every
one pitched in overtime to get it put up in time,' Schmarya
told them proudly.

Tamara loved it more than any of the mansions she had
lived in in Hollywood.

However, the real miracle that had been wrought at Eilat was soon to become evident. Sometime during those magical
weeks, she had become pregnant. When Dr. Saperstein con
firmed it, she wept for joy. It was as though Dani's very touch
had made her body bloom and bear fruit.

The joy she felt was indescribable.

Nine months later, Dani was at her bedside while she gave
birth in the infirmary. It was the happiest day of their lives.
They had been doubly blessed.

He rocked the blanket cradling the infant twins in his arms.
'
Two beautiful sons,' he whispered proudly, shaking his head
in disbelief. 'And they are not even crying.'

'That is because they take after their father,' she said loyally
from the cot where her head was propped up by four thick
pillows.

He examined their faces closely. 'They look more like their
mother.'

She couldn't help smiling. 'All babies look alike. Give them
time to grow into their faces.'

'What are we going to call them?'

'I thought we'd already decided on Ari if it's a boy and
Daliah if it's a girl.'

'But they're two boys. We hadn't planned for that.'

'No, we hadn't.' She thought for a moment, and then smiled
brilliantly. 'How about Asa? Ari and Asa?'

'Ari and Asa it is.'

We have each other and our children, and ours will be a
family rich in love and peace and purpose. We will move mountains, just as we've planned, and we'll do it as a family. Nothing
can part us, and nothing can stop us.