by Eli Hai
Ahron called the next day. Way before he’d told her what he’d found out, she’d realized Jeff was her cousin—one and the same.
“Don’t ask,” Ahron told her. “In order to check his reaction, I told him we’d found out Hannah had survived and immigrated to America at the end of the war. I told him she’d married and had children. When I told him Hannah had a grandson named Jeff, he confessed immediately and said he was that grandson. Then he invited me to come over. ‘If you don’t come over right now, I’ll go crazy,’ he begged. I went to him at once. When I arrived, he fell into my arms and then took out the pictures he found at his house in Eloy, pictures his mother had hidden from him all those years. When I saw the pictures, I immediately realized our grandmothers had been sisters.”
“What did you see in the pictures?”
“Aunt Hannah and Aunt Rachel and Grandma Gittel. Some of the pictures were completely identical to those we had at home. Aunt Rachel probably has copies of those.”
“Amazing. This is just unbelievable. How did they manage to keep hold of those pictures in the chaos surrounding them?” Rivka wondered.
“What are you talking about? Keeping hold of the pictures, that’s what surprises you? The question I keep asking myself since yesterday is how Jeff and I met. Out of all the millions of people who live in the USA, how did he find me? I have no doubt that the hand of God is involved! Regarding the pictures, as far as I’m concerned, it’s very simple: pictures keep, and that’s that. That’s what they do, right? Endure. Anyway, if it really bothers you, you can ask Aunt Rachel how she kept them.”
“I will,” Rivka said and started calculating, statistically, the odds of that fateful meeting between Jeff and her brother. One to three hundred million, that was the probability, the number of American residents. Maybe even less? Jeff had met Ahron by chance. He could’ve met Reuben, Yehuda, Rivka herself, or any of the other siblings.
“You know what surprises me about this entire matter?” Ahron cut off her calculations.
“What?” she asked when she finally reached the conclusion that the odds of this encounter were lower than the odds of winning the lottery, for example.
“When I first saw him, I felt close to him without knowing why. Now, I know that the hand of God was involved. God guided me to approach him and help him. I have to confess that I love him now, more than ever.”
She loved him, too. She had no doubt about it. He’d done so much for her. Thanks to him, she was now at a place that was so good for her. But she mustn’t love him like she had. She mustn’t. She had to think how to untie the old knot, while tying a new one. A healthy, strong bond between relatives. A phone call wouldn’t be sufficient. Therefore, she wouldn’t call him. She would wait patiently to see what happened.
But barely an hour had passed, and he’d called—though he didn’t call her, but her Aunt Rachel. For several long minutes, Aunt Rachel listened to him, although she understood but a little. Finally, he said, “Ms. Rachel, I’d like to visit you with my wife and sister. Is that okay?”
When she asked when they’d come, he said next month. He wanted to visit as soon as possible, as though to make up for the lost years. How could she refuse? How could she say “no” to Hannah’s grandson? Of course, she couldn’t. “Welcome,” she said simply.
When the conversation ended, she realized that the entire time, he hadn’t called her, not even once, “Aunt.” When she told Rivka about that, her niece simply said, “Aunt Rachel, don’t take it personally. He still hasn’t accepted the fact that he has a new aunt. Give him time. It’s difficult for him…just like it is for us.”
The next day, her aunt started preparing for the new relatives’ visit. First, she took her childhood pictures out of the attic. Then she gathered her children and grandchildren, showed them the pictures, and told them about Hannah, her big sister. In the end, she surprised them all and said Hannah’s grandchildren, Jeff and Pam, would arrive for a visit in a month.
“Aunt Rachel, I have to ask,” Rachel persisted. “How did you manage to keep those pictures all these years? How did you save them from destruction? And how do all of you have the exact same pictures?”
“It’s very simple,” her aunt explained willingly. “A few days before Papa was taken, he took pictures of all of us. He duplicated them, and each of us received copies. He told us to take good care of them because they may help us reunite at the end of the war. I had a little backpack where I saved all my documents and the pictures Papa gave me. I took good care of them all through the war. I know Gittel also managed to save them, and now I know Hannah did, too. I know that for sure. The man from the agency showed them to me. The exact same pictures I have. …”
“If so, your father was right,” Amir said, and looked at his grandmother with admiration mixed with compassion. “Because of the pictures, Hannah’s grandchildren got in touch with us. If not, we wouldn’t have known about her and her family.”
“Ach,” Rachel sighed. “Yes, my father was a wise man. If not for the war…” Rachel’s lips started to tremble.
“Don’t be sad, Ima. Fate summoned us a meeting with Hannah’s grandchildren. I think there’s a certain compensation in it,” one of her daughters consoled her. And indeed, for Rachel, it was a consolation that her family couldn’t even imagine.
The excitement toward the visit of the long-lost family from America was contagious and didn’t skip over a single family member in Israel. The excitement grew the closer came the date of their arrival. Rivka was more excited than everyone else. Two days before they arrived, she asked for Rachel’s advice. “Do you think I should come with you and Amir to the airport?”
“I don’t know, child. Do what your heart tells you to do,” her aunt replied, and Rivka noticed her aunt was excited and confused. So confused that the tremors in her hands returned, and with increased force. The only one who kept his cool was Amir.
“Don’t you girls think you’re exaggerating a bit?” he joked with them. “These things have happened. Just several months ago there was an item on the news about two sisters who survived the Holocaust and met after years of separation. From what I saw on TV, they didn’t seem so enthusiastic when they finally met. …”
Rachel stared at him in astonishment and said angrily, “You youngsters don’t understand a thing!”
“I do, too,” Rivka said, insulted.
“I didn’t mean you, sweetheart. It’s my grandson who always sees things only from his point of view and thinks he’s the only one who knows everything. ‘Don’t talk Yiddish,’ ‘Don’t get too excited’, and all these things that only he understands, of course.”
And Rivka realized that everyone was excited, and agitated, and even slightly scared by the meeting. Just…everyone was reacting in his own way. Even Amir, the eternal cynic.
A day before the guests arrived, Rachel’s house was in a tizzy. The children decorated the house with balloons and colorful ribbons, prepared posters with drawings of flowers and greetings in English and Hebrew. The men traveled to the city to buy stuff, and Rachel’s daughters cooked their best dishes. Even the kibbutz administration pitched in and, at Rachel’s request, provided an apartment for the guests. In the evening, Rachel went to bed with a good feeling. Everything was ready for the guests from New York.
“I can’t believe I’m going to meet Hannah’s grandchildren,” she told Amir on the way to the airport. As always, she talked in Yiddish, as though to prove to him that she had no intention of changing her ways.
“Grandma, don’t get confused. They don’t speak Yiddish. Don’t forget they’re Christians,” he stated sharply.
When she got out of the car, her entire body trembled so that Amir had to hold her tightly, fearing she would fall. All his attempts to calm her failed. Through tear-filled eyes, she saw three blurry figures approaching her: a tall, painfully handsome man; a tall, beautiful, clearly pregnant woman; and a sweet, chubby young woman, with a round, childish face. The tears clogged he
r throat, and she couldn’t even talk. The tall man was moved to tears, which made it easier for her. Hannah’s grandchildren were as excited as she was. God help her make it through this meeting without collapsing, God forbid.
“Hello, Auntie,” were the only words Jeff managed to get out of his mouth. Then he fell silent for a long time. Luckily, Eve and Pam filled the silence. They quickly found common ground with Rachel and Amir and a free-flowing conversation got going between the four of them. Jeff just stood there, staring at them in astonishment, at his four family members, as though from the sidelines.
For several seconds, it seemed like a delusion.
Only in the car, did he finally manage to talk. “Auntie, you look exactly like I imagined,” he said, and Rachel was pleased that he was finally calling her his aunt.
“I also imagined you easily. You look just like Amir,” she laughed, and her eyes twinkled when they passed between him and her grandson.
“How did you know he’d look like Amir?” Eve asked, noticing the surprising resemblance.
“Because of Rivka. When she told me about Jeff, she said he looks a lot like Amir,” she explained to Eve, while examining her swollen belly.
“Rivka? Where is she? Why didn’t she come?” Jeff asked, his voice strangled. He was afraid that someone would hear his heart pounding.
“She’s in the army,” Rachel explained immediately. “She can’t go home whenever she wants. She’ll go out on a short leave in the evening and come visit you. At least, that’s what she promised me.” But Rachel wasn’t sure Rivka would arrive. She sensed her niece’s many deliberations and fears.
As their visit drew closer, Rivka became more and more confused and absentminded. She didn’t say anything to Yoav apart from that she was going on leave and traveling to the kibbutz to meet a relative who’d arrived from America. When he immediately offered to join her, she didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t refuse, because he’d get suspicious. On the other hand, it was entirely impossible that he be present during her first meeting with Jeff after so much time had passed. She desperately regretted not traveling to the airport with her aunt and Amir. She was better off embarrassing herself in front of everyone, even in front of Jeff’s wife, just not in front of Yoav. Although after he’d proposed, she’d told him she came from an ultra-orthodox home and even revealed the circumstances that forced her to leave her community. She also told him about her love for Jeff and made sure to constantly mention (even though she wasn’t entirely positive about it) that it was a love long gone and that, now, he was the only one she loved. So, how could she explain to him that, now, her long-lost cousin from America was none other than that guy from Brooklyn, whom she’d told him about? He would definitely follow her reactions during the entire reunion, and if she blushed or, even worse, cried, how would he accept it? He may think, rightfully so, that she was still in love with her first love, and then what would become of their relationship? If she could prevent him from coming to their first meeting, things would calm down with time. At least, that’s what she hoped. The initial excitement would pass, and then she would be able to introduce the two men.
As the hours passed, Rivka’s anxiety increased. In the end, luck was on her side. An hour before they were supposed to leave for the kibbutz, Yoav came and said that, unfortunately, he wouldn’t be able to join her because he was required to stay at the base because of a certain state of emergency. Rivka heaved a sigh of relief.
Wearing the light-blue uniform that flattered her so, she ran toward Jeff, and fell into his arms, burying her face in his shoulder, afraid that the others would notice her tearful face.
“Stop crying, kiddo,” he said softly and nudged her back gently. “Let me take a look at you.”
“Sorry, I’m so sorry,” she apologized and buried her face in his shoulder again. They stood like that for long minutes, until she managed to tear herself away from him.
“You look great,” he said admiringly. “I told you things would work out. Come meet my wife and sister. This is Pam, my sister, and Eve, my wife.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she said quietly while kissing the cheeks of the two women who’d been following her entire meeting with Jeff in bemusement and excitement.
Chapter 22
The fog covering the early morning horizon had dissipated, and the sky was clear. The sun shone brightly on the city, and visibility was so good that one could notice the flocks of birds flying among the skyscrapers. Once in a while, the birds changed direction abruptly, landing on the roof of one of the buildings, before they flew off again. Golden foliage, gloriously beautiful, started drifting off the trees, heralding the arrival of autumn. It seemed as though the pleasant weather, the bright sun, and the wonderful visibility, had lured everyone outside. Hordes of passengers filled the train stations. Yellow taxis and blue-and-white buses flooded the roads. Bridges and tunnels filled with vehicles that created heavy traffic jams at the entrance of Manhattan. Businesses had already opened their gates, and hordes of consumers were at their doors. The cafes were crowded with people who had stopped for a cup of coffee before beginning their work day. Another day had commenced in the big city.
“Can I catch a ride with you today?” Jeff asked. “My car is stuck in the shop; I’d appreciate a lift.”
“Gladly, honey.” Eve took one of the morning papers and sat down to read it. She browsed the papers every morning and read the financial section carefully. However, in the past months, even though the stock market was profitable again, she had become sick and tired of her job. She was nearing the end of her sixth month, her face had become round, her stomach grew, and she waddled heavily. The fact that the rest of her body had remained thin gave her an amusing look, like a clown.
“Why are you torturing yourself this way? You only have a few more days left on the job, and then it’ll all be behind you,” Jeff tried to cheer her up.
“I don’t know. I’m so sick of work that it’s become a nightmare. Every day is harder than the last.” She had a hard time smiling back at him. “Why are you looking at me like that? Do you notice anything new in me?”
“Yes,” he said and continued to study her tenderly.
“What?”
“You’re prettier than you were yesterday.”
He’d noticed for quite a while how beautiful Eve had become. Pregnancy suited her. Her face had become round and her skin tight, her skin flushed and her lips swollen and as sensual as ever. He thought her face so beautiful that he took advantage of every opportunity to press his lips to her cheek or mouth. That morning, he felt, more than ever, the profound love he felt for this woman, who sat on the chair in the kitchen, drank coffee, and read the papers. This was his woman, his love, who soon would be the mother of his children. It seemed that the more they lived together, the more he loved her. Even more than he had in the beginning. There was no doubt, ever since he’d abandoned his hometown, God had blessed him.
“I’m ready to go,” Eve said after a while, collected her car keys, and waddled heavily to the elevator. Jeff rushed after her, following every step she took, worried that she’d fall.
On their way to the elevator and parking lot, they met most of their neighbors, something that had never happened before. Meeting a neighbor or two was routine. It was unusual that they’d encounter three, but that day, Jeff noticed that, strangely, they’d met almost everyone. He did a quick calculation and saw that the neighbor from the top floor and the one who lived across the hall were the only ones missing. All of them were interested in Eve’s welfare and asked about her due date, and Eve had a smile for every one of them as she answered them patiently. Some of them ignored him. Even though he’d lived in the building for several years, they still considered him a passerby. But maybe it was just his imagination, and she really did attract attention because of her pregnancy.
“Way to go, my angel,” he said as he sat next to her in the car.
“For what?” she asked in bemusement.
&n
bsp; “For your amazing patience with all these people, who for some reason, all left for work at the same time. Did you notice that?”
“No. But now that you mention it, I do. … Anyway, it’s just a coincidence.”
Jeff continued thinking about it, and finally reached the conclusion that Eve was right, and even if she weren’t, it held no significance.
When they arrived at the department store, she kissed him and said, “Good-bye, my love.”
“Good-bye, sweetheart. Call me when you get to work,” he demanded, and she smiled. “And drive carefully!” he called after her when she started driving away, smiling at him mischievously.
“I’m always careful, baby. Careful is my middle name,” she yelled and giggled.
Before he entered the shop, he followed her car as it drove away. To his surprise, she took the turn at a nearby street instead of driving along the avenue, as she always did on her way to work. He wondered about the strange change of course she took. Where was she going? Where was she headed, the woman who was his life’s purpose, who carried his offspring in her womb? The most important thing was that she drive carefully. During her last ultrasound scan, they discovered she was carrying twins. She had to be more cautious than usual. Their doctor had said that twins were a high-risk pregnancy.
“Do you want to know the sex of your babies?” she asked.
“What do you think, Jeff, should we find out?” Eve conferred with him.
“No, let’s leave it as a surprise,” he replied decisively.
Thoughts about Eve and the twins were stressing him out to a point he forgot to say good morning to his employees—even the Puerto-Rican cleaner he was very fond of and made it a habit to ask after her and her children’s welfare. During the holidays, he always gave her a beautiful present, as well as the bonus all the employees received, but today she was kicked rudely out of his office. The surprised cleaning lady left with her tail between her legs.
