Another Generation

by Roberta Kagan

  The night they were to go to Mark and John’s house for dinner. Rashad purchased a large bamboo plant to bring as a gift. Abby was a little worried about how things would go between Rashad, Mark, and John but, true to his word, Rashad was accepting of Mark’s way of life. The dinner turned out to be a lovely experience. They talked about living in New York. Mark and John suggested restaurants that were located near Rashad’s apartment. Abby mentioned the play and Mark and John told Rashad all about it.

  “In fact, the show is going to begin touring next year,” John said. “We’re very pleased with how well it’s done.”

  “I am sure you would be,” Rashad said. “It’s quite an accomplishment to have a show that is so successful on Broadway. This is something to be very proud of.”

  “Not many people know this, but Abby’s childhood was partially the inspiration for this play,“ Mark said.

  “Really?” Rashad said, smiling at Abby.

  Abby blushed then said, “Mark, come on. The only thing in the show that has anything remotely to do with me is the dog.” She turned to Rashad. “When I was a kid, I had a dog that I loved very much named Buddy. They named the dog in the show Buddy in my honor.”

  Rashad smiled.

  It was late when Rashad and Abby flagged a cab back to Rashad’s apartment. She was sure he would try to make love to her that night but he didn’t. He kissed her goodnight and then went quietly into his own bedroom. Abby lay awake in her bed for a while thinking This is what I wanted. I wanted a man who wasn’t just interested in me for sex. Rashad hasn’t even tried to touch me. It’s very strange. I know he would say it’s his culture but it is still so strange and even a little frustrating. She laughed quietly at herself. Oh, Abby, you say you want a man who is in love with you for your heart and soul. But now that you know he’s in love with you, here you are wishing he’d come to your bed.

  The week passed quickly, far too quickly for Abby. Before she knew it, she was boarding a plane back home to Chicago. Rashad wanted her to return to New York at Christmas to see the city all lit up but she couldn’t. That was the busiest time of year for her shop and although she knew Haley would want her to go, she wouldn’t do that to her sister or to Rhonda.

  The calls between Abby and Rashad grew more frequent and more filled with need. Then the holiday season set in, and Abby was too busy to talk on the phone during the day. Now, the nightly calls lasted even longer and she was exhausted at work the following day.

  Rashad and Abby made plans for her to come to New York in March. But in late February, Eidel was taking a shower and found a lump in her breast. She showed it to Abby who made an appointment with her doctor for the following day. The doctor did an emergency surgical biopsy. Abby was distraught. She couldn’t remember how things were when she and Eidel were not close. All of those memories were gone. She bargained with God to please let her mother be okay. The surgery went well, but Eidel was very tired from the pain medication. That night, Haley stayed at the Levi house with her sister. She talked to Warren and explained that Abby was alone and would need Haley with her while they waited for the results. Warren understood and agreed to watch Julie.

  Abby and Haley slept in the same room, in the same bed. They talked all night and shared how scared they were that their mother might be very sick.

  Now they waited for the results of the biopsy. Abby and Haley went to work because they had to. Then, right after work, they went to the hospital to be with Eidel. Every day, Ida and Sam went to see Eidel so she was not left alone with her thoughts for very long. When the results finally came back, Abby gave thanks to God that they were negative. However, the brush with death left Eidel shaken. Her stitches were painful and because of all this, Abby postponed her trip.

  She rescheduled her trip for mid-June. But on June first, there was an electrical fire at the shop and once again, she was unable to go. Faulty wiring was responsible, which was really the landlord’s problem. But all of their equipment was inside that store and they’d built a loyal following at that location. Abby and Haley were devastated by the loss of the shop. Their little business had brought them together. It had forged a love and friendship between the two of them that neither had ever thought possible before. They held hands as they looked at the burnt-out building. Tears rolled down their cheeks. Abby squeezed Haley’s hand.

  “I am worried that there is some curse on my relationship with Rashad. He keeps trying to get time off work to come here, but his boss refuses to give him the time. And every time we make plans for me to go there, something happens,” Abby told Haley.

  “It’s just coincidence,” Haley said.

  “Look at our shop. I am sick over that too.”

  “It will be okay. At least we have insurance. We’ll rebuild.”

  “It will take time. We could lose all of our customers.”

  “We won’t and besides, while we are busy building you can take some time to go and visit Rashad.”

  “Oh, Haley, you have always been one to make the best of everything.”

  “I try. It doesn’t do any good to worry. All we can do is rebuild.”

  “You’re right.”

  Abby planned to leave for New York in two weeks. But then the restaurant across the street from their shop closed. The space was a little bit larger and had an adjacent parking lot. Besides that, it was in a more visible location.

  “We might as well move. Why rebuild? This is actually a better location and our clients will have no problem finding us because we’ll be right across the street,” Haley said.

  “Yeah, it is probably a good choice,” Abby said knowing that if they were going to move the business that week she would have to postpone her trip to New York. She wanted to go, but she couldn’t be that selfish. This was what was best for the shop and for Haley.

  And so, once again, the trip was cancelled.

  After that, Abby began to feel that Rashad was getting bored with her and their situation. He was calling less often during the day when she was at work and their nighttime calls were growing shorter. Abby didn’t want to ask him if he still loved her; she was afraid to hear his answer. Deep inside, she was afraid that the distance and their jobs were sucking all of the excitement out of their relationship. She heard that long-distance relationships were hard, and this was proof but she didn’t want to accept it. Instead, she focused all of her attention on buying new equipment for the shop and moving into the new location.

  By September, Muffin Tops and a Bag of Bottoms was ready to open at its new location. The girls held a grand opening and Mark and John came in for the festivities but Rashad didn’t come. He said he was unable to take time off. When Rashad told Abby that he was not coming she was hurt but she didn’t tell him. She said she understood, but she began to mourn the loss of something beautiful.

  The shop was busy from the first day. Many of the locals told Haley and Abby how glad they were that their favorite breakfast spot was back. Abby was glad to see the business thriving but, inside, her heart was breaking. She still spoke to Rashad every day, but the calls were short. She dared not ask Rashad what he was thinking or feeling. It was easier not to face his answer.

  And then Christmas came. The baskets were lined up on the counter. Seven trays of muffins were just about ready to come out of the oven and seven trays of muffins were ready to go into the oven. The shop smelled like cinnamon, apples, and pumpkin. They had plenty of space now, so Rhonda put up a Christmas tree that she spent hours decorating with Haley and Abby’s help. Haley and Abby bought a sterling silver oil-burning menorah, which they lit on the appropriate days of Hanukkah. There was much more seating now than at the previous location. On one particular Thursday afternoon the week before Christmas, the girls were exceptionally busy. They had fifty baskets on order that were to be picked up that night. It was three o’clock and they still had several full tables of customers coming in for late lunches. A few months earlier, Rhonda had installed a bell at the top of the door to let them kno
w when clients arrived in case they were in the back working the oven. On that particular day, Haley was waiting on the tables while Rhonda and Abby were assembling baskets and baking in the back. The bell rang to signal a customer had arrived. Abby wiped her hands quickly on her apron and ran out to the front.

  “Rashad! What are you doing here?”

  “Surprising you, obviously!” He smiled. “By the way, you look beautiful.”

  She rushed into his arms and kissed him passionately.

  “You didn’t tell me you were coming.”

  “I didn’t know until today. My boss gave us the week off for Christmas. I paid double for a last-minute flight. But seeing you was worth every penny.”

  “You like the new place?”

  “Yes, it’s a lot bigger. You said it was a little bigger on the phone.”

  “Yeah, it is and a lot busier too.” They both laughed.

  “Can you get away?”

  “I’m crazy busy. I can’t leave. Can I see you tonight?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course. I’ll pick you up at eight?”

  “Okay, good. I’ll see you then,” Abby said and kissed him. She had to go back to finish the baskets but on her way, she grabbed Haley’s arm. “Rashad is here. He surprised me. Would it be okay if I left a little early so I can see him?”

  “He’s here in Chicago? Yes, Ab. Of course.”

  “I know we’re slammed. I’ll try and finish as many of the baskets as I can before I go.”

  “We’ll manage. You need to spend some time with him.”

  “I do. I really can’t wait.”

  CHAPTER SIXTY EIGHT

  Rashad picked Haley up in a taxi at her home at eight o’clock. They went to a quiet restaurant in downtown Skokie.

  He sat across the table from her and took both of her hands in his. “I was getting worried,” he said. “In fact, I have to tell you the truth, I’ve been worried. We haven’t been talking on the phone as much as we used to and every time we made plans for you to come to New York you would cancel. So I knew that I had to come here. I need to know the truth. Abby, have you lost interest in me? In us?”

  She sighed. “I haven’t, Rashad. I was afraid you had lost interest in me, in us.”

  “Never. Like I told you before, the words I love you mean a lot to me. I said those words to you. And that means that I will love you for the rest of my life.”

  She started crying. “I was so scared that the distance and our respective jobs had taken you away from me. I couldn’t believe how strong my feelings for you are.”

  “Abby . . . I want you to be with me forever. We need to be together. I can’t go on living in New York while you are here in Chicago. I find that I am just waiting and living for the few days a year when I can see you.”

  Abby nodded her head. “I feel the same way.”

  “I have heard that this is the way it’s done here in America,” Rashad said, pulling a ring out of the breast pocket of his jacket. Then he got down on one knee right in the crowded restaurant and said, “Abby Levi, will you marry me?”

  “Yes,” she was crying. “Yes.”

  He slipped the diamond ring on her finger then he kissed her, even though everyone in the restaurant was watching, clapping, and cheering.

  CHAPTER SIXTY NINE

  The following day, Rashad and Abby waited until the shop closed. Abby even took off her ring to keep their engagement a secret until they were able to tell everyone at once. After work, Abby asked Haley to bring Warren and Julie and come to Eidel’s house. When they got there, Abby told them all the news. They embraced her and Rashad. Then Abby called Mark and John. It was the most exciting and wonderful day of her life thus far.

  “We’ll have to plan a nice wedding,” Eidel said. “You’ll wear my mother’s gown.”

  “Yes, I will,” Abby said.

  “I thought you left it in Poland, Mom? That’s what you said when I married Simon.”

  “Yes, I know Haley. But it was because Zofia, my birth mother, made that dress for Helen, my adopted mother, and I was too sensitive about the whole situation at the time. But because of both of you girls, I have found peace with my past. And I can cope with Abby wearing the dress if she chooses to.”

  The wedding plans began. Rashad asked Warren to be his best man. Abby, of course, asked Haley to be her matron of honor. Rhonda stood up as a bridesmaid.

  Rashad called his family in Egypt and they talked to Abby, welcoming her into their family in broken English.

  It was decided that Rashad would try to find a good position in Chicago because Abby couldn’t leave her business and didn’t want to leave her mother or sister. So as soon as he returned to New York, he began sending out resumes.

  They talked about setting the date. This had to be done before Abby and Eidel could choose a banquet hall. Abby didn’t want to get married in the summer because it was too hot. They talked about spring but it was only a few months away and that was too soon. So they decided on fall. Abby thought September would be good because that way she could go on her honeymoon and be back before the Halloween rush began.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY

  Rashad returned to Chicago for a long weekend in May. Eidel and Abby had decided on the banquet hall for the wedding and Abby wanted Rashad’s approval before they booked it. While he was in the city he arranged for several job interviews. Between interviews, Rashad went with Abby to sample the food and the cake for the wedding. She took him to the florist and showed him the flowers she’d chosen. He agreed to be married under a chuppah of flowers because Abby said it would make her happy.

  That night, Abby went to the bedroom in Eidel’s house where Rashad was staying during his visit. It was right down the hall from hers. It had been Mark’s old room. She saw the light shining under the door and she knew that he was still awake. Abby knocked.

  “It’s me,” she whispered.

  “Come in.”

  He was sitting up in bed reading a financial journal. His eyes caught hers and he smiled. “Doing research for work,” he said, laying the journal down beside him on the bed.

  “I wanted to be here with you. Now that I am here I don’t what to do or say,” she said.

  He smiled and said, “Lie down beside me?”

  She did, laying her head on his chest.

  “I want you to make love to me,” she whispered.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “You don’t want to wait until the wedding?”

  “No.”

  He leaned his head down and she raised hers up. They kissed. It began slowly but the passion of being apart for so long grew from a tiny flame into a bonfire in minutes. After they finished, she whispered, “I’ve never felt anything like that before. It was almost like magic.”

  “It was; wasn’t it? You don’t know this, but it was my first time.”

  “You’ve never made love before and you’re that good? What are you going to be like after a few years of practice?” She sighed.

  “I look forward to finding out the answer to that question.” He kissed her again.

  CHAPTER SEVENTY ONE

  September 2001

  On Thursday, September 6th, Rashad flew into Chicago for the wedding. They were to be married on Sunday at four o’clock in the afternoon so he needed to come in early for the rehearsal dinner.

  Rashad’s mother and sister arrived from Egypt on Friday morning.

  “Where is Father?” Rashad asked his mother.

  “Rashad, sit down please,” his mother said. “Your father has been sick. We didn’t want to tell you because we knew that you wouldn’t be able to come home. He didn’t want you to jeopardize the great opportunity you have with your job here in America.”

  “He is too sick to travel? Too sick to come for my wedding?” Rashad asked, shocked.

  “Dad passed away, Rashad,” his sister Galia said.

  “When?”

  “Last week. We couldn’t tell you on the phone, es
pecially with the wedding coming up.”

  “Who is taking care of the two of you?” Rashad asked.

  “Uncle Sair. He is paying the bills and making sure we have everything we need.”

  Rashad stood up and began to pace the room. He was speechless. He walked outside and leaned against the building, hardly able to catch his breath. My father is gone. My mother and sister need me in Egypt. I should go back with them. That would be the right thing to do. The responsible thing. But Abby. I love her so much. I can’t leave her and she won’t leave the U.S. How could I even ask that of her? She would have to leave her mother, her sister, her business. My father wanted me to come to America. He had such hopes for me. And now he will never see me fulfill his dreams. I feel as if a part of me is missing forever.

  Abby walked outside. “I was looking for you,” she said. Then she noticed he was crying. “What is it?”

  “My father died. My mother and sister just told me. They weren’t going to tell me, but . . . ”

  “Oh no, Rashad. I am so sorry,” she held him in her arms and he laid his head on her shoulder. “When, how?”

  “He was sick. They said he passed last week. I wasn’t even there when he died. The last time I saw him was when I left home to come to the states. I should have been with him when he was ill.”

  “You didn’t know.”

  “I would have found a way to go home if they had told me. Even if it meant losing my job.”

  “I know you would have,” she said, holding him tighter and patting his back. “That’s probably why they didn’t tell you. They didn’t want you to leave everything you built here in the U.S.”

  Later that night, Rashad’s mother asked him if he would take a walk with her. “I need to talk with you,” she said.

  He agreed and grabbed his light jacket from the coat rack. They walked for half a block before she said a word. “Your father would have been so proud. This is what he wanted for you. A good career. A kind and beautiful wife.”