War Torn Love (3 page)

             
“Momma may I go and introduce myself to that funny girl up in that tree?”

             
“Of course Abram, my child, but please my son, remember your manners, and don’t be too long, there’s a lot of work to do before the day’s up. Poppa will need your help unloading our belongings into our new house.”

             
“Ok Momma, thank you!”

             
Patting her husband, gently on his back. “Look Lejbus,
our boy
is already making a friend!”

             
“Etka, maybe now he’ll start feeling good about this move, I’m sure my son is going to love our new home dear, it’s much larger than the last. And he’ll be able to enjoy this fresh country air; this is a proper place a boy should be raised, not the drab city. My happiest memories came from when I spent the summers on my uncle’s farm. I want Abram to have the same memories as I.”

             
“One can only hope my husband.” From my vantage point I heard this faintly, though, I was already considering my retreat and scrabble back to earth too. Abram told me later that his mother was so
amused
by antics that she made him recount every second when he returned.

             
Suddenly this young boy was running over towards the tree, towards me. I was currently up in, looking curiously up at me, with a curious look, and a wide smiling. Now he was standing directly underneath me, of course about fifty feet below me, I wished he were up in the tree with me; this tree was my special place where I like to come. I wanted to show him my
tree house
- perhaps - we could form a club. I was already planning our lives together, and I did not even know his name. Or for that matter if we were even going to like one another, or even get along.

             
“Hello up there, my name is Abram Balsam, were just moving in next door here, are you a girl?

             
“Yes of course I am a girl - that’s a silly question and I’m tough too! So don’t get any ideas just because I am a girl.”

             
“Girl, do you live here, at this house?”

             
“Yes of course I live here I’ve lived here all my life.”

             
“Hey, girl, what is your name?”

             
I do not why, was it his voice, his smile? A strange feeling coursed through out my young body, I had never experienced before. What I did not know at the time that I was experiencing love at first sight. That is just how much of a first impression he had made me.

             
“Oh, my name is Hana Wakstok - Hana was my grandmother’s name. So do you have a problem that I am a girl?”

             
“No I don’t think so; I never had a girl friends before. I have never seen a girl that climbs
trees before!”

             
“I bet I can climb faster than you!”

             
He smiled and said, “We could race sometime.”

             
“So Abram Balsam how old are you?”

             
“I’m
eight and -a-half years old - so how old are you? What was your name again?”

             
“Hana silly, you’re funny!
I am
going to be eight on the twenty forth of this month - my Momma said I could have a birthday party. I’m going to invite you, were going to have chocolate cake, and Poppa said we could make ice cream - you can sit next to me.”

             
In all my fun, a horribly unexpected turn of events quickly unfolded, ruining everything. Momma, who must have heard me talking too loudly, interrupted me - I knew by her general tone in her voice, which I was surely going to be in trouble for this.

             
“Hana Ester Wakstok you get down out of that tree at once, you hear me young lady. We will be talking about this later. And please be careful on your way down, you know you worry me so.”

             
I knew Momma was not actually mad at me - she was just putting on airs. I think she was embarrassed that her daughter was, of all things, climbing trees. Thinking what kind of an impression was I going to make. I knew that she was excited, as I was - that - a new family was moving in next door. She must have longed to have another woman to talk too. She watched me all the way down - never did her eyes leave me. Once I was finished climbing down from out of the tree, Momma came over to me, and were Abram had been standing waiting for me I thought he wanted to get a better look at me, sizing me up.

             
Momma turned her attention from me to the young man standing at the bottom of the tree
, who
seemed excited to meet me. I knew I was temporarily safe from trouble, as long as Abram was around.

             
“Well hello their young man - my name is Mrs. Wakstok, I live here, I’m Hana’s Momma. Whom might you be?”

             
Interrupting her in all the excitement, I was jumping up and down, “Oh Momma, this is Abram Balsam, and you’re never going to believe it Momma, he’s eight in a half years old. Isn’t that positively wonderful!”

             
“Hana Ester, do you mind letting him answer my question on his own, that’s not polite.  “He had a typical
eight year old smile - showing off his two front missing upper teeth to me. “Pleasure to meet you Mrs. Wakstok.” Then pointing over towards his parents, “That’s my mother and father over there.”

             
“Well, let me be the first to say, Abram it’s a pleasure to meet you - I can see my daughter is going to be happy to have a child her age to play with. The children that live around her are much older than her, And none Jewish. She has been so lonely as of late. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of you young man.” Then Momma put in a good word for me, as she did, she winked at me. “Well Abram I hope you like cookies, I am always making them.”

             
I smiled back at him, in agreement with Momma - I just wished that she would not have told him how lonesome I was. For no explanation, I began sticking my tongue through the narrow gap were I lost my tooth last week, and pushing on my other loss tooth with my tongue, that surely would be following out soon enough. Showing Abram how I could wiggle my tooth. Then I reach out and shook his hand.

             
“Well Abram, what do you say, the three of us stroll on over, and then you can introduce my daughter, and I to your parents, I would love to meet them both.”

             
“Yes Ma’am!”

             
He appeared to be as excited to introduce his parents to me, and Momma. We walked over to their yard, carefully.

             
“Momma, and Poppa, this is Mrs. Wakstok, and look Momma this is her daughter, her name is Hana, guess what mother on the 24
^th
she’s going to turn eight years old! She just invited me to her birthday party; they are going to have chocolate cake. And make home-made ice cream. She will be eight just like me Momma and Poppa! And she has a tree-house - you should see it, it’s up in that tree.”

             
I could tell that Abram was as excited to have someone new to play with - as I was - that made me very happy.  Like Abram, my parents and his parents would end up became quite good friends, in fact Mr. Balsam and my father eventually went into business together.

             
“Mrs. Wakstok, this is my Poppa, Mr. Balsam.”

             
Mr. Balsam stopped what he had been doing, and turned to face Mrs. Wakstok - my Mom. She smiled back at him.

             
“Please Mrs. Wakstok, Mr. Balsam sounds so formal, please all my friends call me Lejbus
this
is my lovely wife Etka. So nice to make your acquaintances Mrs. Wakstok!”

             
“Please call me Ester. So nice to meet the both of you. Say if you don’t mind me being too forward. Do you folks have any assistance unloading your wagon?  From the looks of it, you have some heavy looking items to unload, and trying to get them all up all those stairs. Will be difficult by yourselves.”

             
I suddenly k
new what my mother was up
to. My mother reached out to formally shake Mr. and Mrs. Balsam hand, and in doing so would cement a friendship.

             
“Please would you call me Ester? So nice to meet you both.”

             
“No it’s just the three of us I’m afraid, were new to the area, but we should be just fine, do not fret over us.”

             
“Oh no, Etka, that simply won’t do at all, no not at all. Our Jewish community is very tight knit, we help each other. Hold on just a minute, I’ve got an idea. Hana dear, would you please go fetch your sister, Marym for me sweetie!”

             
I turned and then ran as fast as I could.  A couple of minutes later Marym and I both came running back to Momma’s location.

             
“Yes Momma, Hana said you wanted to see me?”

             
“Yes, darling I would like to introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Balsam, and their lovely son Abram. Lejbus, and Etka this is my eldest daughter, Marym.”

             
“Well than, pleasure to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Balsam.”

             
“Thank you; it’s a pleasure to meet you too young lady.”

             
Then Momma turned back to glance at Marym.  In a soft voice, “Darling I would like you to take your bike into town and go fetch Poppa at the store, and oh thinking about
it, you better go ahead and get Mr. Landau as well. Tell them both to come home at once, tell them that our new neighbor has arrived and need some assistance moving their personal belongings into their home. Now hurry along child!”

             
“Oh Mrs. Wakstok, Ester I couldn’t possibly ask you to do that for us - we don’t want to impose, but thank you!”

             
“Oh don’t think anything of it - I won’t take no for an answer. And I’ll tell you what, I will lend you a hand. You and your family will have dinner at my house tonight. Come to think of it, we have a spare room were you and your family can sleep comfortably tonight, then tomorrow I’ll come over with you after a nice breakfast.  Marym and I will give you a hand unpacking. I’m sure Hana wouldn’t mind showing Abram around, how’s that sound?”