“But Darlene is only one small issue. Even men in the Bible married women of other cultures and nations.”
“That’s true. But Ahab married Jezebel when she was still an idolatress and it was a disaster. Samson fell in love with Delilah and it led him into tragedy.”
“But what of Ruth the Moabitess?”
“Yes, she accepted the Jewish faith and culture and so became acceptable for Boaz to marry. Do you see Darlene giving up her faith and culture for you?”
Pierce put down the cup and shook his head. “I wouldn’t want her to do it for me. I want her to know Jesus for herself. I want her to be saved because God has opened her eyes to the truth.”
Dennison nodded. “I’m glad to hear you say that, because if she changes faiths for you, and not because God has so moved her heart, it will never take root and grow in her heart.”
“I know,” Pierce replied, and indeed he did know it full well. Wasn’t it the same thing that had given his heart hours of frustration and grief? Wasn’t it the very burden he had laid at his Savior’s feet, begging for hope and a satisfactory solution?
“Are you completely certain that God is leading you to Chicago?”
Dennison’s question hit a spot deep in Pierce’s heart. “Yes. I feel certain.”
“How do you know for sure that it is right?”
Pierce sighed. “Because I have such peace about going. Even,” he paused, “when I count what I must leave behind, I know that it is the right thingto do.”
“And if those things left behind include Darlene Lewy?”
“I told God I’d leave her, too.” Pierce looked up, his eyes filling strangely with tears. “Don’t think it’s easy for me to say these things. Don’t think it’s easy for me to leave you and Constance, either. But I know that I have to do it. I know this is right. I’ve prayed and considered the matter and always the answer is, ‘Yes, go to Chicago.’ I can’t forsake what I know is God’s will for my life.”
“Nor would I ask you to,” Dennison said, leaning forward to place his hand over his son’s. “It won’t be easy to let you go again, but if you are this convinced that God is leading you, then I must have peace in it and trust Him to know the way that is best. It won’t be easy for me, either. It will be lonely here without you, and there will be a void that only you can fill. But, alas, children do grow up and find their own way. I’m gratified to know that you seek God’s counsel. It makes me confident that I have done right by you.”
“Of that you may be certain,” Pierce replied, putting his hand in his father’s. He squeezed it gently.
Outside, the wind died down a bit and as it did the sound of distant bells could be heard clanging out in the night. Fire was a common thing in New York and the fire departments were the best in the world. Each station had its own signals and this was clearly a signal for their own neighborhood.
Pierce jumped up and ran to the window, wondering if he could see where the fire might be. An eerie sensation ran through him and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Inky blackness shrouded the town and even the bit of moon overhead did nothing to light the darkness. His heart began to race faster with each clang of the bell.
“I can’t see anything!” he declared.
“Perhaps Mack knows,” Dennison suggested.
Three of the Blackwells’ coachmen, including Mack, were volunteers with the neighborhood fire department, so Pierce lit out of the room on a dead run, hoping to hear some bit of news. For reasons beyond his understanding, he couldn’t shake off the sensation that something was terribly wrong. It was more than the simple signal of the fire. Fires were commonplace things. Poorly built clapboard buildings and careless vagrants were well-known reasons for fires, not to mention those finer houses that went up when lamps were knocked over or fireplaces were left unattended. It was more than this and he had to know what it was that drove him to concern.
“Where’s the fire?” he shouted, passing through the kitchen into the breezeway.
“Don’t know,” the cook answered in her brusque manner. “Nobody tells me anything.”
Pierce felt the stinging cold bite at him through the thin material of his shirt. He went to the stable, refusing to turn back for a coat. “Where’s the fire?” he asked again, this time to one of his remaining groomsmen.
“Lower end. Business district. They’re calling out extra help because the Old Slip is up in flames and their department’s hoses and pumps are frozen solid.”
“The Old Slip? Are you certain?” Pierce’s heart pounded in anticipation of the answer. Darlene and Abraham were less than two blocks up from the harbor and well within the Old Slip district.
“Aye, I’m certain. We had a rider come through afore the bells even sounded. Charlie and Mack grabbed up their gear and took off just as the signal came through. It’s going to be a bad one.”
“What about Ralph?” Pierce questioned, referring to the third Blackwell volunteer.
“He’s in bed with a blow to the head. That new bay we bought got a bit out of control.”
“Saddle my horse,” Pierce said, ignoring the news about the injured man. “No, wait, a carriage! Get the landau ready and I’ll drive it myself!” The groomsman stared at him in stunned silence. “Get to it, man! I’m going for my coat and I want it ready when I return. Oh, and throw in a stack of blankets.”
Darlene! It was all he could think of. Darlene and Abraham are in danger!
He raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time. His father’s concerned expression did nothing to slow him down. “It’s the Old Slip,” he called over his shoulder. “It’s bad.”
Nothing more needed to be said. Pierce knew that his father would understand his need to go. Dangers notwithstanding, Pierce had to find a way to get Darlene and Abraham to safety. His father would expect no less.
In his room he grabbed his frock coat and heavy woolen outer coat. Forgetting his top hat, he barely remembered to take his gloves and muffler.
“Bring them back here,” his father said as he passed him in the hall.
“I will,” Pierce replied and hurried off into the night. He had to find them. He had to save them. Dear God, please don’t let me be too late!
Chapter 16
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and throughthe rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Isaiah 43:2
After placing a kiss upon her sleeping father’s forehead, Darlene secured her bonnet and did up the buttons of her coat. She felt a new peace and excitement that she couldn’t put into words. She had accepted Jesus into her heart and the wonder of it consumed her. She felt giddy, almost like laughing out loud. What was it Pierce had told her? Something about having great joy in knowing a personal relationship with God. Was that why she felt so wonderful?
Grabbing up Esther’s newly washed pot, Darlene hummed to herself, nearly skipping down the stairs. She felt so good! Her father had been very pleased with her choice and while she knew that pleasing him was important, it wasn’t the reason she’d accepted Jesus as Messiah. No, God had done a work in her heart and she had come to Him in the full belief that there was more to life than laws and traditions.
She pulled the door to the shop closed and sniffed the air. There was a faint scent of wood smoke on the breeze, but on a night as cold as this, it wasn’t unusual for the air to hang heavy with the smoke of coal and wood. She snuggled her face into the fur collar of her coat and hurried down the street to Esther’s. She was already determined to share her new faith with Esther, even knowing that the old woman would call her a traitor and crazy. For reasons beyond what Darlene could understand, however, she knew that she had to try to make Esther see what Christianity was all about. It wasn’t leaving the Jewish faith behind. It was fulfilling it in the Messiah they had always known would come.
In the distance she could hear the clang of the fire bell
s. How sad, she thought, that someone would suffer through the cold of the night while fire consumed their home or shop. She instantly asked God to put out the blaze and keep the unknown folks from harm. New York seemed always to suffer with fires and Darlene couldn’t help but wonder if Pierce’s Chicago would be any different.
Pierce! The very thought of Pierce Blackwell caused her to tremble. Always before she’d been hesitant to dream of the words he’d told her. “I love you,” he’d said and Darlene had pushed them aside knowing that a Jew could never marry a Christian. But now we share faith in Christ, she thought, and a smile broke across her painfully cold face. Just as quickly as it had come, however, it faded. I’m still poor and unworthy of his social standing. Nothing can change that.
She knocked on the door of Esther’s tiny house and waited for some reply. After several minutes of stomping her boots to keep her feet from freezing, Darlene was happy to see the old woman peek from behind her curtained window.
“Hava!” Esther exclaimed, opening the door, “You should not have come out. The pot could wait until tomorrow.”
“I know,” Darlene said, coming into the house. She waited for Esther to close the door and take the pot before continuing. “I wanted to talk to you for a moment. I wanted to apologize for my attitude earlier.”
Esther had just returned from her kitchen and the look upon herface was one of surprise. “You have changed your mind? You will live with me now?”
Darlene shook her head. “No, I didn’t change my mind about that. Look,” she hesitated, knowing that her words would not be well received. “I know you’ve worried about Tateh ever since he accepted the Christian Jesus as Messiah, but Esther, there are things you do not know. Things that I myself do not know, but am trying hard to understand. Tateh told me that Jesus didn’t come to cancel out the laws of Moses, but to fulfill them. He said if we do the things Jesus commanded, we will still be keeping the laws.”
“Feh!” Esther said indignantly. “Jesus commanded! What right does He have to command anything?”
“Because He’s Messiah. He’s God’s Son and God sent Him into the world to save us from our sins!”
“Oy vey!” Esther said and pulled at her hair. “You haven’t allowed such talk to fill your head, have you?”
Darlene smiled. “No, it’s filled my heart. Oh, Esther, you must listen to me.” She reached out and held the old woman’s hand. “I know how hard this is for you. It was hard for me as well. I listened to the things Tateh said, I worried about his standing in the community and whether or not his friends would desert him, but God’s peace is upon him. You don’t understand and I’m not very good at explaining it. Tateh is very sick, but he’s not afraid. God has given him great peace through Jesus. And He’s given me the same peace.”
Esther’s face registered understanding. “Get out of my house. You and your father are dead to me from this moment on.” She jerked her hand away and opened the door.
Darlene moved to the door, but turned back. “Please, Esther. We’ve been good friends all these years.”
Her pleading fell on deaf ears. It was just as it might have been months ago had someone tried to talk to her about Jesus. No, that wasn’t true. Because the words Pierce and her father had shared caused Darlene to think and ponder them over and over. She had been angry about them and rejected them as truth, but she always listened and later reflected. All she could do was hope that Esther would do likewise.
“I’ll go, but I’ll also pray for you.”
The clang of fire bells suddenly grew louder and from somewhere in the darkness came shouts and screaming. Darlene looked up and even Esther came outside to see what might be the problem. Gazing up one way, Darlene saw nothing but the occasional glow of lamplight shining through the windows and a street lamp here and there. Turning, however, to look down the street from where she’d only come moments before, Darlene cried out, putting her hand to her mouth at the sight of bright orange and yellow flames. The wharves were on fire!
“Tateh!” Darlene rushed down the street, mindless of Esther’s cries that she not go. Her father would be in danger and far too weak to move even if he was aware of the fire. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her, but the cold had made her stiff and with each step her feet felt like a million pins and needles were pricking them.
She was appalled to see the flames grow brighter. The fire was less than a half block from her shop. The heat was already warming her and thick black smoke was choking out her breath. A crowd had started to gather on the street and Darlene was startled when a policeman grabbed her.
“There, there. You can’t be going in!” he declared.
“I have to. My father is in there.” She pointed to the building, now only a block away.
“You can’t go in. Leave the rescues to the fire department. Besides, I’m sure your papa will have seen the fire by now and made his way out.”
“No, you don’t understand. He’s very sick.” She wrenched away from him, but saw he wasn’t about to let her pass. Just then a group of rowdies could be seen down the block breaking out the glass window of a shop and stealing what they could take.
The policeman called out for them to halt, and the distraction was enough to allow Darlene time to slip down the alley and make her way to the back door of the shop. Thick smoke poured down the alleyway as though it were being sucked through the narrow channels by some unseen force. Darlene buried her face in the fur of her collar and felt her way along the buildings. Stumbling over trash and other abandoned articles, Darlene finally reached the shop and turned the handle. The door didn’t budge. It was locked!
“Of course it’s locked,” she muttered. She pushed up against it, but it refused to give. She ran at it, thrusting her shoulder against the door, but while it bowed ever-so-slightly, it wouldn’t give in and only managed to cause Darlene a great deal of pain. She would have to gain entrance by going through the front, but how?
The smoke was most caustic now and she began to cough. Her eyes were burning fiercely and she knew there was no time to waste. She would go back to the front and if anyone tried to stop her, she would fight them any way she could.
Retracing her steps, Darlene found that the crowd had grown larger and that the policeman was now moving them even further up the street. He had been joined by three other members of his profession and no one seemed to notice Darlene as she slipped through the shadows and into the shop.
Panting, she slammed the door shut behind her. Inside, the smoke was not as bad, and with the light of the flames growing ever brighter, Darlene didn’t even need a lamp to make her way up the stairs.
Still coughing, she choked out her father’s name and hurried up the steps. She thought to grab some of their most precious articles and instantly reached up to take the mezuzah from the kitchen door. She tucked this into her coat pocket and for some reason thought of Pierce’s valentine. She ran to her room, but just then a tremendous boom rattled the very floorboards beneath her feet. It sounded like a building collapsing, and instantly Darlene forgot about gathering up anything else and went to get her father. She had already formed a plan in her mind. She would help him from the bed and once they were downstairs and outside she would call those ever-efficient policemen and get them to help her carry her father to safety.
“Tateh!” she exclaimed, hurrying into the room. “Tateh, there’s a fire. It’s got the entire Old Slip in flames. Come, we must hurry!” She pulled back the covers and went to get her father’s coat.
Abraham remained silent and still. Darlene shook him hard. “Tateh, wake up.”
And then, without waiting for any sign that he had heard her, Darlene suddenly knew that he was gone. “No!” she screamed into the smoky night air. “No!” She threw herself across his body and cradled him against her. “Don’t die. Please don’t die.”
But it was too late. Abraham Lewy was dead.
The sound of bells and firemen mingled with breaking glass and the shouts of despe
rate people. There was no time for mourning, and though Darlene felt as though a part of her heart died with her father, selfpreservation took over and she suddenly knew that she must hurry or perish in the fire.
Unable to consider leaving her father to be consumed by the flames, Darlene pulled his cover to the floor, then rolled his body off the bed and onto the cover. It wasn’t an easy process, for even though her father had lost a great deal of weight, Darlene wasn’t very big.
“Oh God,” she prayed aloud, choking against the thickening smoke. “God, help me please. I believe You have watched over me this far. I believe you have taken Tateh to Your care, but I don’t want to leave him here. Please help me!”
She struggled against the weight of her father and placed him in such a way that she could pull him along on the cover. How she would ever make it down the stairs without losing control of the body, she had no idea. But she was determined to try.
Pausing at the landing to draw her breath, Darlene screamed when hands reached out to close around her arm.
“It’s me, Darlene.”
“Pierce?”
“Yes, come on. I’ve got to get you to safety. Where’s your father?”
“He’s dead,” she said, so matter-of-factly that it sounded unreal inher ears.
“Dead?”
“Yes, he’s here on the floor. I have him on his cover and I was taking him out of the building.” Her mind seemed unable to accept that Pierce had come. “Are you really here?” she asked suddenly.
Pierce laughed, but it was a very short, nervous laugh. “Yes, I’m really here. Now come on.” He reached down and hoisted Abraham to his shoulder. “The building next door is already in flames. We’ll have to hurry or we’ll never get out in time.” He coughed and gasped for air and this seemed to open Darlene’s senses to the gravity of their situation.
My Valentine Page 13
