Tracie Peterson (31 page)

Abraham stroked her hair and tried to reassure her. “That is why the truth is important to me, Darlene. I want to be absolutely sure of my eternity. Does that sound like a foolish old man who is afraid to die?”

“Of course not!” she declared, raising her gaze to meet her father’s eyes.

“Well, it’s the truth. I am a foolish old man and I’m afraid to die. Dennison Blackwell isn’t afraid to end his life on earth because he has great confidence in what will happen to him after his earthly life is completed.”

“And you don’t have such faith in your beliefs?” She dried her eyes with the back of her sleeve and waited for his answer.

He gently touched her cheek with his aged fingers. “If I could say yes, I would and put your mind forever at ease. But I cannot say yes.”

“I’m afraid, Tateh.”

“I know.” He smiled sympathetically. “I suppose it would do little good to tell you not to be afraid.”

“Very little good,” she said with a hint of a smile on her lips. She got to her feet and Abraham stood too, wrapping her in his arms.

“You will make for the Blackwells a fine
seder
?” he questioned softly.

“Of course, Tateh. It will be the very best.”

“Good. Now, I must go to work and earn for us the money for such a feast.”

Darlene let him go without another word. She made her way to her bedroom and closed the door quietly behind her. Standing there in the stark, simple room, Darlene couldn’t help but wonder where the future would take them. Surely if her father converted to Christianity, they’d find it impossible to remain in the neighborhood. Mr. Singer had already made it clear that they would be cut off from the community and called dead.

Drawing a deep breath, Darlene went to her bed and sat down.
No matter what happens,
she thought,
no matter where I am led, I will not forsake my father. I will not be blinded by the prejudice and stupidity of my own people.
She saw her reflection in the dresser mirror and tried hard to smile. Her eyes were still red-rimmed from crying and her face rather ashen from the shocks of the day, but deep inside, Darlene knew that her spirit thrived and that her heart was complete and whole. She would not be defeated by these things. She had trusted her father all of her life. To deny his ability to look out for her very best interests now would be to subject all of his ways to speculative guesses.

Dropping her gaze, Darlene caught sight of the chest where Pierce’s valentine lay hidden away. She’d never spoken to him of the matter. In fact, her father was quite right to mention her disappearances when Pierce was scheduled to arrive in the shop. She felt nervous and jittery inside whenever she thought about Pierce Blackwell. There was no future with him, but he stirred her imagination in a way that could be quite maddening. With very little thought, she went to the chest and retrieved the pristine card.

She traced the letters
My Valentine
and wondered if Pierce had ever given it a single thought after having it delivered to her. He must think her terribly rude to have never thanked him for his thoughtfulness. And she truly believed that the act had been inspired by thoughtfulness and not because Pierce wanted to mock her inexperience with the day.

And now they were coming for Passover.

Pierce and his father would arrive to share her favorite celebration. Would they mock her faith, or would they understand and cherish it as she did? She thought of the recited words of the Passover dinner. The questions that were always asked and the responses that were always given. “What makes this night different?” she whispered and replaced the valentine in the chest. And indeed, she couldn’t help but know that this night would be most different from all the others she had known.

And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the L
ORD
’s passover, who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
E
XODUS
12:26–27

D
arlene had worked diligently to rid the house and shop of any crumb of leaven. She swept the place from the top floor down and burned every bit until she was satisfied that the house was clean. This was in keeping with the teachings of her Jewish faith, and it made her proud to be such an important part of Passover. She remembered asking her bubbe why they had to eat unleavened bread and why the house had to be kept so clean of crumbs. Bubbe had told her the story of Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt and it came to be a story she remembered well, for it was retold with every Passover celebration.

“When our people were in Egypt,” Bubbe had said, “they were slaves to the Pharaoh. They suffered great miseries and God took pity upon them and sent out Moses to appeal to Pharaoh to let God’s people go. But of course, Pharaoh was a stubborn man and he endured many plagues and sufferings upon his own people before finally agreeing to let the Israelites go free. The last of these great plagues was the most horrible of all. God told Moses he would take the life of every firstborn in the land of Egypt. Our people smeared blood over the doors and windows and the destroyer passed over, seeing this as a symbol of obedience unto God. Then, they had to rise up with haste to make the great journey to freedom. There was no time for the bread to rise and so they ate unleavened bread. Thus Passover became the Feast of Unleavened Bread.”

Darlene still shuddered to think of such a monumental judgment upon the land. She remembered the verses Bubbe had quoted. “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.”

Darlene felt a deep sense of awe in that statement. It was such a moving reminder. “I am the Lord.”
Baruch Ha-Shem,
she thought.
Blessed is the Name.

With her mind focused on the preparations for Passover, Darlene forgot about the Blackwells. Instead, she wondered if her father would participate with the same enthusiasm he had once held for the ceremony. Surely he still felt the same about the deliverance of God’s people from bondage. Freedom was a most cherished thing in the Lewy household and Darlene knew full well that her father didn’t take such matters lightly. But perhaps the Christians in their faith were not so concerned with such things. What if the Blackwells had convinced her father that such freedom and remembrances were unimportant?

This was her first conscious thoughts of Pierce and his father. She grew nervous trying to imagine them at the
seder
table. Would they wear
yarmulkes?
Would they recite the prayers? Would they scoff and laugh at the faith of her people?

Somehow, Darlene couldn’t imagine Pierce or his father being so cruel, but she reminded herself that she really didn’t know either one all that well. Putting aside her worries, Darlene began to think about Pierce. She’d caught a glimpse of him leaving the shop one day and couldn’t help but notice the way her heart beat faster at the very sight of him. Why did he have to affect her in such a way? Why could she not forget his smiling face and warm brown eyes? Sometimes it hurt so much to imagine what life with Pierce might be like. She knew what it felt like to be held securely in his arms. Would he hold her in that same possessive way if they were married? Would his smile be as sweet and his manners as gentle if she were his wife?

“No!” she exclaimed, putting her hands to her head as if to squeeze out such thoughts. It was sheer madness to imagine such things. Pierce was a Christian and she was a Jew. There was no possibility of the two coming together as one.

The Blackwell carriage drew up to the shop of Abraham Lewy. Pierce felt the anticipation of seeing Darlene mount within him and he found himself anxious to push the evening forward. If his father sensed this, he said nothing. In fact, little talk had been exchanged between them because two hours earlier, Pierce had announced his desire to move to Chicago. Dennison hadn’t taken the news very well. A number of protests to such an idea were easily put forth, but Pierce had answers for all of his father’s concerns. Hadn’t they been his own concerns when first the thought of such a trip had come to mind? How will you live? How will you travel there? How will you survive in the wilds of Illinois? They were legitimate questions and Pierce couldn’t pretend that he had all of the answers.

Seeing his father’s brooding face, Pierce offered him a word of consolation. “Don’t fret about this that hasn’t come to pass. I promise I won’t make any rash decisions, and I will discuss everything with you first.”

“Discuss, but not necessarily heed my advise,” Dennison muttered.

Pierce realized that nothing he said would offer comfort and gave up. He sprang from the carriage and, without waiting for his father, went to knock on the shop door. Closed for Passover, the window shade on the door had been pulled and even the shop windows were shaded for privacy. As his father came to stand beside him, Pierce couldn’t help but feel the racing of his heart and wondered if his father would make some comment about the inappropriateness of Pierce’s interest in Darlene. But before any word could be exchanged, Abraham Lewy opened the door and smiled.

“Ah, you have come.
Shalom.
”

“
Shalom,
my friend,” Dennison replied. “And my thanks for this invitation to your home and celebration.”

It was a most somber occasion, and yet Pierce could hardly contain himself. He knew that just up those wooden stairs, Darlene would be scurrying around to make everything perfect for the occasion. He wanted to see her more than anything, and all other thoughts were wasted on him.

“Come, my Darlene has already made ready our table,” Abraham said. “Oh, and here.” He pulled out two
yarmulkes
and handed them to Dennison and Pierce. “You will not mind wearing a headcovering for prayer, will you?”

“Of course not,” Dennison announced and promptly placed the
yarmulke
on his head.

Pierce held the small black piece for a moment and smiled. “My pleasure,” he announced, putting it into place. All he could think of was that this might in some way bring about Darlene’s approval. He certainly didn’t believe it necessary for prayer, but he knew it was something she would expect.

They made their way up the stairs, slowly following Abraham’s aged form. Pierce felt the
yarmulke
slip off his head just in time to replace it. Dennison was having no better luck. As they entered the dining area, Pierce saw Abraham touch his hand to his lips and then touch a small metal box at the inside of the door. He pondered this for a moment, wondering what the box represented, but then Darlene appeared, and he thought of nothing else for a very long time.

She was lovely, just as he’d remembered her. She wore a beautiful gown of amber satin and lace, and her hair had been left down to cascade in curls below her shoulders. Her response was friendly and open, but Pierce saw a light in her eyes when she met his gaze and it caused a surge of energy to flow through him.

“Good evening, my dear,” Dennison said first. “Thank you for the invitation to share such an important celebration with you.” The
yarmulke
slid off his head and onto the floor. Dennison laughed and bent over to pick it up, just as Pierce’s did the same.

Everyone laughed, but it was Abraham who spoke. “For you, Darlene could fetch some hat pins?”

They all laughed again and Pierce and Dennison replaced the
yarmulkes.

Then it was Pierce who spoke. He tried to steady his nerves and keep his voice even. “Darlene, it’s wonderful to see you again. I see you’ve managed to avoid the freighters.”

She blushed as he knew she would at the reminder of their last meeting. “Good evening, Mr. Blackwell,” she said rather shyly.

“Nonsense, my name is Pierce. You must use it and give me the honor of addressing you by your given name.”

Darlene looked hesitantly at her father and Dennison Blackwell before nodding. “Very well, Pierce.”

She hurried away after that and Pierce wished that he could follow her. “Do you need help with anything?” he called after her.

“No. Everything is ready.”

She was only a few feet away, but space seemed to represent an unbreakable wall to Pierce. Her rejection of his help left him with nothing to do but listen to the conversation of his father and Abraham, and to make an occasional comment when asked for one.

“Come,” Abraham said, “we’ll begin our
seder.
”

Pierce took in every detail of the setting. A beautiful lacy cloth lay over the table and two lighted candles, in intricate silver holders, were placed atop this. There was also a strange tray of some sort with six circular indentions. Each indention held some food article, but none held the same appeal as the delicious aroma of whatever Darlene had in the oven. Pulling out a chair, Pierce saw that there was a cushion on it. Gazing around he noted a cushion at the back of every chair. Perhaps the Lewys feared that their guests would expect luxury.