“Tova Ben-Levi, will you please be my wife?”
Tova felt her knees go weak. Life was so strange. God was so miraculous. Only a year ago, she’d gone into work, and her boss had told her she was to interrogate a Nazi for kidnapping two Jewish teenagers. Then she not only found out that he was not a Nazi, but a good man, and now she was about to accept his proposal of marriage. It was so strange how one could turn a corner and when they least expected it, their lives could change forever.
“Yes…Yes, Gerhard. Yes, I will marry you.”
The crowd of people who’d gathered around the two of them began to clap. Gerhard slipped the ring on Tova’s finger. Then, he stood up and took her into his arms. This too, was Israel.
CHAPTER 46
Katja recognized Noa Amsel when she walked into the rehearsal. There was to be a talent show that featured all of the best talents from the local schools. Everyone who was prominent in society would be attending because the cost of tickets was to be donated to the organization for The Wives of Fallen Israeli Soldiers. This was the last year that Katja would be president of the organization. She and John wanted to travel, and she’d finally decided that she’d devoted enough of her life to charity. It was her turn to enjoy life.
After Zofia passed quietly in her sleep six months prior, Katja had felt a terrible loss. She leaned heavily on her husband for support. That was when John suggested that they take some time to relax. He’d suggested that they go somewhere exotic, like Australia. Money was not an issue. He had a good job, with plenty of vacation time available, and she had made good investments with the money that Mendel had left her.
Katja had spent most of her life in retribution for the thoughts that had possessed her mind the night before Mendel went to war. It was not until she explained all of her feelings to John, that Katja could finally release the guilt. For years, she’d carried that remorse like a weight that bore down on her, keeping her head below the surface of life.
As she and John had predicted, an interracial marriage had plenty of challenges. Many times they went into a restaurant, and others turned and stared. People who Katja had believed were friends turned their backs on her when she married John. She and John were not invited to lots of parties, and that hurt Katja. But the love and support they shared well-outweighed the pain of being ostracized.
“Good morning, Mrs. Russell,” Noa said as she came bouncing through the back door of the auditorium, carrying her pink plastic duffel bag that held her ballet shoes, her costume, and a towel.
“Good morning, Noa.”
“You remembered my name? After a whole year? You still remembered me,” Noa said, smiling.
She was such a pretty child, Katja thought. “But of course. You remembered my name, didn’t you?”
“Everyone knows who you are, Mrs. Russell. You’re a very important lady.”
Katja laughed. “I don’t know about all of that. But it is good to see you again, Noa.”
“Thank you. I’m glad to be here. I was so nervous during the audition. I still can’t believe I was selected.”
“Well, we are glad to have you. You are an excellent dancer.”
“I want to go into the theater when I get older,” Noa said. “I would love to be in musicals.”
“I believe that you can do whatever you set your mind to doing.” Katja smiled.
She watched Noa climb the stairs to the dressing rooms. She looked a little like Elan, but her mother must have been beautiful, Katja thought. Suddenly Katja felt that old stab of pain, the pain of the past, the pain of the love she and Elan had once shared so long ago.
How different she’d thought her life was going to be when she and Elan were engaged. A bittersweet smile crept over her lips. It was sad that things had turned out the way that they did.
She’d loved Elan. But then again, if she and Elan had married, she would never have given birth to Ima, her wonderful daughter who had just told her last week that she was going to have a baby. Katja smiled. She was going to be a grandmother. If she had married Elan, she would never have known Mendel’s tender devotion and thereby built an organization that had been the saving grace for many widows.
But most of all, if she and Elan had married, she would never have known the joy of reciprocal love. Reciprocal love—the love she shared with John, her best friend, her confidant, her true beshert. John was the man who taught her that God did not see color, or bloodlines, God saw only love…
CHAPTER 47
Later that night Elan was sitting in his favorite easy chair. Noa came out of the shower wearing a pink terry cloth robe with her hair wrapped in a matching towel. She was giddy with excitement. Elan smiled. He knew that Noa was always filled with exuberance after a performance. He’d been at the show, sitting in the back row alone and watching his daughter as she danced the ballet. How lovely she was and how much she looked like her mother.
“Did you like the show, Daddy? Did I do okay?”
“Of course, you know I loved it. And yes, you were excellent, a true prima ballerina. I’m so proud of you.”
“Oh, Daddy. Of course, you would say that, you always say that.” She laughed.
“To me, you are a princess, a beautiful princess.” He smiled.
“That’s because you’re my dad. I called Bari and told her about the show. She was really excited for me.”
“You like having a sister, huh?”
“Yeah, I do, even if she is in America. Maybe someday I’ll go to America and see her, or she’ll come back here again.”
Elan smiled and nodded. Noa was just a child, why burst her bubble? There was no reason to tell her that he doubted Janice or anyone from Janice’s family would ever set foot in Israel again. But it was okay. At least, he and Janice were on good terms now. The past was finally behind them. Noa had a sister, and he had a daughter even if she lived in America.
“Is all of your homework done?”
“Not yet. I just have a few things left to do.
“Okay. You finish your homework, and then get right off to bed. You have school in the morning,” Elan said.
“Yes, Daddy.” Noa kissed Elan’s cheek. “Sleep well.”
Elan nodded.
Elan’s heart swelled with pride and a little pain as he watched Noa go into her room. Soon she would grow up and leave him, first for college, then for her husband.
Elan took a long breath and opened the sliding glass door. He walked outside and sat down on one of the wicker chairs on the patio. Then he took a cigar out of his pocket. After he struck a match and lit the thick body, he puffed. Smoking cigars was something new he’d come to enjoy. A bad habit, he thought, but he didn’t do it too often.
The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of fuchsia, orange and purple. Elan closed his eyes for a moment. Then in a soft voice he whispered. “Nina...” How he wished that she were here beside him.
When he opened his eyes and gazed at the land surrounding him, he was once again struck with his love for this country, his love for Israel. Nina had shared that love with him.
“Oh, Nina, if only you could be here. If only you could see how big Noa has gotten. She is a wonderful dancer and almost as beautiful as you.”
Of course, he was alone speaking only into the stillness of the coming night.
Elan Amsel had sacrificed much for the love of his country. He’d given up his first girl, gone to war, and had come close to death more times than he could count. And yet, he would not have his life any other way. He was an Israeli.
The darkness was fast approaching as the full moon made her royal entrance and the stars became visible in the sky.
In the distance, Elan saw a shooting star and wondered if perhaps it was Nina’s way of telling him that she was with him. How sentimental I have become as I am aging. You’re getting soft, Amsel, he thought, as he took another puff.
Yes, he was becoming soft and every year he was growing older. His was a lonely life. He had no wife, and he knew that
one day sooner than he wished, Noa would marry and leave him behind. But there was nowhere else on earth that he would rather live out the remaining years of his life, nowhere else he would rather see Noa grow into a woman. There was no other land he would wish for his grandchildren, to build the future of Judaism upon. This was Israel—this was forever his homeland.
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If you have discovered any typos, please email me at [email protected]. Visit www.RobertaKagan.com for news and upcoming releases by Roberta Kagan.
A note from the author:
Thank you for taking the time to read my novel. I always enjoy hearing from my readers. Your feelings about my work are very important to me. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review on Amazon. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend. Also, please feel free to contact me via Facebook or at www.RobertaKagan.com. All emails are answered personally, and I would love to hear from you.
Many Blessings,
Roberta Kagan
MORE BOOKS BY THE AUTHOR
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Detrick, a German boy, was born with every quality that the Nazi's considered superior, this would ensure his future as a leader of Adolph Hitler’s coveted Aryan race. But on his seventh birthday, an unexpected event changed the course of his destiny forever. As the Nazis rose to power, Detrick was swept into a life filled with secrets, enemies, betrayals, alliances, and danger at every turn. However, in spite of the horrors and the terror surrounding him, Detrick would find a single flicker of light. He would discover the greatest gift of all, the gift of everlasting love.
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A golden child is genetically engineered in the Nazi's home for the Lebensborn. She is the daughter of a pure German mother and a member of Hitler's SS elite. With those bloodlines, she is expected to become a perfect specimen of Hitler's master race. But, as Germany begins to lose the war and the Third Reich begins to crumble, the plans for the children of the Lebensborn must drastically change. Alliances will be broken. Love and trust will be destroyed in an instant, secrets will rise to the surface and people will prove that they are not as they seem. In a time when the dark evil forces of the third Reich hung like a black umbrella of doom over Europe, a little girl will be forced into a world spiraling out of control, a world where the very people sworn to protect her cannot be trusted.
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Along with a group of emaciated Jewish survivors, Zofia sets out to find the Promised Land. Despite the renewed sense of hope, Zofia lives in constant fear since the one person who knows her dark secret is a sadistic SS officer with the power to ruin her life and the life of an innocent, Lebensborn child.
When the Nuremberg trials convict the SS Officer of crimes against humanity, Zofia believes she is finally safe and does her best to raise the beautiful girl entrusted to her care. As the child becomes a woman in her own right, can she find true love and belonging in a post-war society, or will the secrets of her heritage tear apart the only family she’s ever known?
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Book Four in the All My Love, Detrick Series
Elan Amsel understands what it means to be an Israeli. He’s sacrificed the woman he loved, his marriage, and his life for Israel. When Israel went to war and Elan was summoned in the middle of the night he did not hesitate to defend his country. Even though he knew, he would pay a terrible price for his decision. Elan is not a perfect man by any means. He can be cruel. He can be stubborn and self-righteous. But he is brave, and he loves more deeply than he will ever admit. This is his story.
However, it is not only his story; it is also an account of the lives of the women who loved him. Katja, the girl who he cherished but could never marry, who would haunt him forever. Janice, the spoiled American that he wed to fill a void, who would keep a secret from him that would one day shatter him. And…Nina, the beautiful Mossad agent who Elan longed to protect, but knew that he could not.
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A Historical Novel Set during the Holocaust
Inspired by true events. On May 13th 1939, five strangers boarded the MS St. Louis, Promised a future of safety away from Nazi Germany and Hitler’s third Reich unbeknownst to them they were about to embark upon a voyage built on secrets, lies, and treachery. Sacrifice, love, life, and death hung in the balance as each fought against fate, but the voyage was just the beginning.
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Hitler’s Master Plan
The year is 1943...
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If you liked “Inglourious Basterds,” Pulp Fiction,” “Django Unchained,” You’ll love “The Heart of a Gypsy!”
During the Nazi occupation, bands of freedom fighters roamed the forests of Eastern Europe. They hid, while waging their own private war against Hitler’s tyrannical and murderous reign. Among these Resistance Fighters, there were several groups of Romany people (Gypsies).
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Forever, My Homeland: The Final Book in the All My Love, Detrick Series Page 22
