“Sholem-Aleykhem, es frayt mikh dikh tsu kenen.” Samuel Rosenzweig bowed slightly.
“I am terrbly sorry, but Iʼm afraid, I donʼt understand...” Henry replied with a helpless smile.
“Oh, please forgive me,” Samuel Rosenzweig apologized. “My family and I can speak English, of course. I said that I am very pleased to meet you.”
“I am very pleased to meet you, too,” Henry answered politely. He immediately took a liking to Mr. Rosenzweig, that tall, grey-haired man who, despite his imposing and slightly aloof appearance, came across as very friendly and warm-hearted. Apart from that, Henry noticed a certain mischievous gleam in his eyes which indicated a good sense of humor.
Leah, his wife, was equally obliging; however, she appeared more quiet and pensive than her husband, and Henry wondered if she was like that by nature or if she too carried some dark memories in her heart, just like Esther.
And then there was Tamar, the Rosenzweigsʼ daughter. Henry guessed that she was in her early twenties. He didnʼt fail to notice her beauty; her long pitch-dark curls; her skin, as white and soft as milk; her eyes, clear and blue like aquamarine gems.
“Are you the doctor who needs a place to stay?” she asked with a velvety voice.
“Er... no, I am Henry Abbott, Paulʼs brother,” Henry explained, slightly confused by Tamarʼs mystifying air. “The doctor is over there…”
Henry pointed over to Oscar, who had risen from his seat on the sofa but had not moved an inch ever since he had set eyes on Tamar. In fact, he appeared frozen and pale as if he had been struck by lightning.
Henry knew very well what it was like, that feeling of deeply falling in love. After all, he himself had experienced it with Sarah. He knew how it felt when the room began to spin and all outer impressions seemed to fade into the background, knew what it was like when time stood still and all that had mattered a moment ago was forgotten and insignificant.
Never, though, had he been present when it had happened to someone else. Never had he been silent witness to Cupid going after his work, just like in this very moment when that little angel of love sent his arrow right through the heart of unsuspecting Oscar and put him entirely out of action.
Henry realized that his help was required and that he needed to act quickly. He rushed over to Oscar, who hardly noticed him, then he grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to the Rosenzweigs.
“That is Dr. Oscar Scott,” Henry said, giving Oscar a little nudge to finally make him open his mouth and say something instead of just standing there, dumbstruck.
“Sh... shlo... shlom...” Oscar stammered.
“Sholem-aleykhem, Dr. Scott. Nice to meet you.” Tamar said, hypnotizing Oscar with her crystal blue eyes.
“Very pleased to meet you... indeed...” Oscar mumbled, his mouth beginning to twitch nervously.
Henry noticed that Oscarʼs voice entirely lacked that bewitching tone which Henry knew so well. Neither did Oscar make an effort to kiss Tamarʼs hand nor did he send her charming smiles. All he did was stare at her. Henry guessed that the situation was rather serious and that Oscar was obviously unable to handle it.
Tamar appeared rather disappointed by Oscarʼs reaction and looked a little bit sad, especially when Oscar suddenly turned away from her and to her parents instead, engaging into an eager conversation with them about the possible place to stay they had to offer to him.
Tamar cast Henry an uncertain look and whispered, “He doesnʼt seem to like me…”
Henry found that it was high time to finally return Oscar, who had helped him so much in the past, a favor. He gently pulled Tamar aside until they were out of Oscarʼs earshot.
“That couldnʼt be further from the truth, Miss Rosenzweig” he said to Tamar, a rather conspiratorial tone to his voice. “I am quite sure that he likes you very much. I would even go as far as saying that he has just fallen in love with you. Trust me, I know this man quite well.”
Tamarʼs eyes grew huge with surprise.
“I doubt that he will make the first step, though,” Henry added with a frown. “He is very shy at heart...”
“Thank you, Mr. Abbott,” Tamar answered, and with a flirtatious twinkle in her eyes she turned around and walked straight over to Oscar, who got all fidgety when she suddenly appeared next to him and boldly stared at him.
Later, when Esther and Yasmina had all gathered around the table, which Yasmina had decorated with glasses of wine and leftover Pirushkes, Henry noticed to his relief that Tamar had been quick and clever enough to secure herself a seat directly next to Oscar. The latter blushed yet again when she smiled at him, but at least he finally made an effort to talk to her. And although he appeared rather clumsy and helpless, the two of them managed to create a tender bond. After a short while, everybody could sense that Tamar and Oscar were highly attracted to each other; and Henry was pretty sure that if he had not interfered, his friend would have ruined everything.
As for accommodations, Esther had been right: The Rosenzweigs did have a small room which was vacant and which they were more than willing to offer to Oscar. Henry was relieved, but at the same time he worried a little if Oscar would be able to keep his calm at the fact that he would be sleeping wall to wall with Tamar. He seemed rather churned up already. But there wasnʼt really any other choice, and Henry was certain that in the end Oscar would highly welcome the turn things had taken.
They all spent the evening conversing and laughing. Henry found that he hadnʼt had such a wonderful time for ages. Yasmina had lit a couple of candles, which created a warm and very cozy atmosphere in the little living room, and Samuel Rosenzweig obliged his little audience with a seemingly endless repertoire of hilarious Yiddish jokes.
After a while, Renana knuckled her tired eyes and climbed on Bubbeʼs lap. Then her grandmother began to sing a little lullaby as she was holding the child and was softly rocking her into sleep. A blissful smile on his lips, Paul put his arm around Yasmina. Henry equally put his arm around Sarah, and then the two girls nestled their heads on the shoulders of their loved ones, and closed their eyes.
The warmth of Sarahʼs body next to his, the late hour, and Bubbeʼs song made Henry soon feel pleasantly drowsy. Before he too felt the urge to close his eyes and before he could begin to process the exciting events of the day in a dream, Samuel Rosenzweig emptied his glass of wine and lazily got up from his chair.
“It is late, and you are tired. I think we should go,” he said. “Dr. Scott, would you like to come with us now?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely, very much so,” Oscar answered quickly and so abruptly jumped up from his chair that it almost toppled.
While the Rosenzweigs were busy to profusely thank Esther and Yasmina for the invitation, Oscar sneaked over to Henry in order to have a final word with him before they parted.
“Henry, tell me... is that it—love, I mean...?” His voice was slightly quavering as he spoke, and Henry noticed a certain feverish look in his friendʼs eyes which conveyed that Oscar found himself caught between two emotional extremes; thrill and panic.
Henry couldnʼt help but laugh.
“I suppose so, yes,” he said. “But donʼt you worry, Oscar, it will all be fine. Just be yourself.”
Oscar scratched himself behind the ear, appearing slightly embarrassed.
“I am afraid, what you have seen of me so far wasnʼt really myself. I might have come across as a real dandy and a ladiesʼ man, but I have just discovered that I am in fact very shy deep inside once it gets... well… serious.”
Henry encouragingly patted Oscarʼs back.
“And that is exactly what this woman seems to like about you. Donʼt be afraid to show who you really are.”
“Thank you, Henry…” Oscar said nervously.
“You should better go now,” Henry whispered when he saw that Tamar was walking towards them. She beamed and immediately linked arms with Oscar, who appeared all flustered by this unexpected touch.
“Good night, Mr. Abbott,” Tamar said to
Henry in her enchanting voice. “And welcome to America...”
Then she led Oscar, who cast Henry a last gleeful backward glance, out of the room.
When Oscar and the Rosenzweigs had left, Sarah began to put the empty plates over to the kitchen while Esther brought Bubbe to the bathroom to help her get ready for the night.
“Can I play with Sarah tomorrow?” Renana mumbled drowsily as she was watching her mother spread blankets and pillows on the sofa.
“Of course, you can,” Yasmina whispered softly. “She and Henry will be with us for a while. You have all the time in the world...”
She tucked Renana and Ephraim into their new makeshift bed and planted tender kisses on their cheeks.
In the meantime, Henry and Sarah made their way over to the bedroom.
“Sleep well, you two,” Paul called after them. “Tomorrow your new life will begin.”
Henry let out a little sigh as the realization hit him that from now on there really was no turning back.
“I guess so,” he said. “Let us hope that weʼll have a little Mazel…”
Paul laughed and gave his brother a hearty hug.
“You are picking up fast, indeed. That will get you anywhere!”
“I really donʼt know how to thank you, Paul…” Henry mumbled.
“Donʼt worry about it, bonebreaker,” Paul answered. “There is a saying here amongst the Jews: No one has ever become rich by turning down a favor.”
Paul cast Henry a mischievous smile, which Henry returned. Then Paul helped Yasmina extinguish all the lights in the living room, and Henry withdrew to the bedroom. He closed the door behind him, quietly, in order not to wake up the children who had already fallen asleep.
Sarah was standing at the window, absent-mindedly staring out into the night.
Henry was unsure what to make of it. As he couldnʼt see her face and as he hadnʼt had a chance all day to talk to her alone, he was unable to tell what was going on in her mind. He wondered if she missed her home already and if she cursed him for having talked her into going with him. And suddenly he felt really bad for even having threatened that he would force her if she didnʼt come out of her own will.
But then Sarah turned her head. And when he looked into her face he saw that she beamed with joy.
With a sense of utter relief, he slowly walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, placing his hands on her belly, stroking it gently. Then he brushed her hair aside to lay bare her neck and began to kiss the soft skin below her hairline.
“Look,” Sarah said, “there is Oscar.”
She pointed at the Rosenzweigs, who were just walking over to one of the houses on the other side of the road, Oscar in tow. The latter appeared rather fidgety as Tamar, who still clung to his arm, devoured him with her glances.
“I am so happy for my uncle...” Sarah said.
“So am I,” Henry answered, glad that he had been able to do something for Oscar in return for everything the latter had done for him. After all, it was obvious to Henry that his best friend was all over Tamar, and he hoped that Tamar was what Oscar had been looking for all along and that this love had a real chance to blossom.
Sarah nestled her head at Henryʼs chest and let him hold her and stroke her.
“Sarah,” Henry said hesitantly, “I know that... that all of this here... well, it is not really what you might have expected and what you are used to... After all, you spent the best part of your life surrounded by luxury. And now we are in a very small and rather crowded apartment, and practically all we have got is this mattress here on the floor. What I mean to say is that we might not be able to afford ourselves a spacious place to life in a short while, or very pretty clothes, or jewelry. But I promise you that I will work day and night to ensure that you and I and the baby will be taken care of, and that we will always have something to eat and a proper bed to sleep. And then maybe one day you will be just as rich again as you had been before you left Partridge Mansion.”
Sarah raised her head and stared at Henry incredulously.
“Henry, what are you talking about? Are you insane? Never ever in my whole life have I felt richer than now that I have a real family... Never have I received so much love… Do you really think I could possibly find jewelry and expensive dresses more valuable than this? Do you really see me like that? Tell me that you donʼt, Henry, because otherwise I would be really disappointed...”
“No, I donʼt seriously see you like that,” Henry whispered. “I am sorry if I hurt your feelings. I just thought that you might miss what you are used to, which would be quite understandable.”
“Of course, I miss my English pastures, and the forest, and my horse…” Sarah answered, a hint of melancholy to her voice. “But I believe that what I have got instead is so much dearer to me.”
“Then you still donʼt regret having come with me?”
“No, Henry. The only thing I regret is not having made this decision sooner...”
Sarah sadly lowered her gaze.
“Donʼt be sad, Sarah. You are here with me now. That is all that counts.”
“You know,” Sarah went on, “at times I think that this terrible time that we were separated... well, maybe it served a purpose in the end. Maybe this marriage with Damian, as horrible as it might have been, has made me more mature and sensible.”
Henry couldnʼt help but agree with what Sarah had said. The girl standing in front of him right now was in fact not the one that had known, the one sitting in trees with dirt on her hands, or the one running up the stairwell, screaming her head off. Although he had already loved Sarah back then, he found the new Sarah—the more grown-up and sensible one—highly appealing. He was curious to see what stages of transformation there were still to come in the future, especially during her upcoming motherhood.
Henry was, however, unsure up to what degree he himself had profited from the long time of their separation. Looking back, he felt that he had nothing but suffered. Still, he had to admit that he found that the fight with Damian Cox had added to his maturity as well and had proven that he was much stronger and that he had much more stamina than he had originally thought. He had been nothing but a young and insecure lad when he had come to Partridge Mansion. Now he felt a little bit more like a man. A real man.
“You know, I think we have both grown,” he said.
“I do not want you to work day and night to try and secure me the lifestyle that I am used to,” Sarah whispered. “You can work during the day, but the nights I want you to spend by my side, making sweet love to me.”
A sensual smile slowly spread on Henryʼs lips. He stroked a strand of hair out of Sarahʼs face. Then he bent down and leaned his forehead on hers.
“I will make love to you as many times as you want...” he said and kissed her. “Still, I want you to know that I will do whatever is necessary to make our new life work out.”
“I know, Henry,” Sarah replied. “And I will help you as good as I can. I am not a squeamish, spoiled girl. And I do not want you to carry all that weight, all that responsibility, on your shoulders alone.”
“That is so sweet of you to say, Sarah. I love you...”
“I love you too, Henry, you have no idea how much...”
Henry took Sarahʼs hands and raised them to his lips in order to kiss them when he suddenly stopped. His glance had fallen onto Damianʼs wedding ring which was still stuck on Sarahʼs finger. On board they had decided that Sarah should keep wearing it during the course of the journey so that nobody would question their marital status. Now Henry found that it was high time to remove that testimony of the bad times that lay behind them.
“I donʼt think you need that anymore,” Henry remarked and began to pull at the ring until it came off. The next moment, Sarah had snatched the ring out of his hand and reached for the window in an obvious effort to open it and to throw the ring outside. Henry quickly stopped her.
“Wait, Sarah,” he said, laughing.
“I donʼ
t want to see this stupid thing ever again,” Sarah exclaimed angrily.
“I know,” Henry answered softly. “But I seriously think we should not act in a rush.”
He held the ring up into air and examined it closely.
“That is pure gold, and I eat my hat if these tiny sparkly things on it arenʼt little diamonds,” he said with a roguish twinkle in his eyes. “I will bring this to a jeweller tomorrow and have it sold for us. I am quite sure that the money that we will get for it will be more than enough to pay Paul for lodging us here and for buying you a complete new wardrobe. Regard it as a compensation for what Damian did to you.”
Henry walked over to his suitcase and carefully put the ring away so that it wouldnʼt get lost.
Sarah frowned.
“But, Henry, now I donʼt have any other ring to wear. And we still need to pretend that we are married, donʼt we? Otherwise people will look at us strangely…”
Henry & Sarah Page 51
