William started to reply but simply shrugged his shoulders.
“This is different,” David said. “Jonah overruled a supervisor. You can’t do that.”
“Perhaps old age is preventing you from thinking clearly,” his wife said.
“Myra…”
“For years you’ve been telling me how great he is, what a great head for business he has. What a great owner he’ll be. Jonah makes one decision you don’t like and you push him out?”
“He quit. I didn’t push him out. You don’t overrule supervisors. They run production for us.”
“You do what it takes to get him back,” Myra said.
“I’ve been running this company since we moved to the west coast. I know what I’m doing.”
“Until a few years ago you could name all your employees. Largely because of your grandson’s effort, you have over three-hundred workers now and I bet you know few, if any, of their names.”
“The supervisors know them.”
“It’s not the same company and from what you tell me, Jonah is better at running it. It’s time to let him run the whole thing.”
“Myra, he’s too young.”
“How old were you when you started running the store in Boston?”
“That’s different.”
“Only in the sense that Jonah is capable of running a much larger firm. You told me…your words…he has a better head for business than you.”
“Myra please, I know what you’re saying.” He leaned forward; momentarily rubbing his face with his hands. “I know.”
“David Kaplan. You’ll get him back or this will go down in family history as the biggest mistake you’ve ever made.”
“It may be too late.”
Chapter Forty-Four: Aaronson’s Factory
“Work with old man Aaronson?” Beth asked. “His business is tiny.”
Jonah paced up and back in the parlor. “I showed him three contracts. Each one worth more than he’s made in the last few years. I explained how we could go to the bank, show the contracts and borrow money to expand.”
“Does the bank know you?”
He stopped pacing and flopped into a chair. “Grandfather made sure I learned more about finance than he knows. I’m the one who dealt with the bank during all of his expansion.”
“He’ll be hurt when he knows you’re working for someone else.”
“Not working for someone else.” He stared at the floor and sighed. “I own half of Aaronson’s Wood and Metal Working.” He ran his hands through his hair and sighed.
“Why aren’t you happy? You own your own business.” Beth asked.
“Eventually I’ll be a direct competitor of Grandfather.”
“What about Bruce Goldman?” Beth asked.
“He comes to work with me tomorrow.”
“You should make him a supervisor,” Kim said. “See if he listens to the workers and tells you the truth about what’s going on.”
“An excellent idea, Grandmother.” Jonah sighed and shook his head. “I have to admit, I’ve seen dogs treated better than some employers treat their workers.” He stood and began pacing again. “This is going to develop into a huge headache one day and I don’t have any idea how to head it off.”
* * *
A few months later on a Saturday morning, Jonah said, “I’m taking the boys to see the woodshop at Aaronson’s this morning.”
“You said you planned to take them to services,” Beth said.
“They’ve been asking. I have to check on a machine that’s giving us problems, so I figured today would be a good time to show them around.”
“You keep them close.”
“I promise.”
* * *
“This place is loud,” Thomas said, having to shout to be heard over the noise of the woodshop’s numerous spinning blades which screamed at many discordant pitches as they sliced through all manner of wood.
“Mr. Kaplan,” one of the supervisors yelled. “We’re having trouble with the same bearings overheating. We may have to shut down to replace them.”
“How hot?”
“Can’t put my hand on its case and we have to continually oil them. I’ve got a man over there doing little else.”
“Will they last the week?”
“Not sure. It may not.”
“Let’s take a look.”
They approached a steam-powered, spinning, four-foot- diameter, flywheel which put its energy into a twelve-inch-wide belt. The stench of steam and hot oil filled the air. A worker added oil to the drip oiler.
“You boys walk carefully,” the supervisor shouted. “These floors are slippery.”
“Do we have a replacement?” Jonah asked.
“Yes but the bearings are lasting less than eight days.”
“Why?”
“We keep increasing the load on the flywheel.”
“What do we need to do?”
“Buy and install bigger and wider bearings to handle the load. We’ll also have to lengthen the shaft.”
The boys were bored and began poking each other.
“Let’s go up to my office,” Jonah said, “and get what we need on order.”
The adults turned to walk away.
Mark tried to poke his brother but Thomas jumped out of the way. He slipped on the oily floor then put out his left arm to stop his fall. The spinning fly wheel trapped his arm between itself and the belt. In a fraction of a second, the young one’s body flew through the air and his arm was ripped off. The injury caused massive blood loss which caused his death within a few seconds.
His younger brother screamed. A sound which was quickly drowned out by the cacophony of the wood processing machinery. Mark grabbed his brother’s remaining arm and yelled, “Wake up. Wake up.”
A few machine operators saw what happened, shut down their machines, and ran to the scene.
The sudden lack of noise caused Jonah and his supervisors to turn in that direction.
“Where are the kids?” he shouted.
* * *
Jonah arrived at the house carrying sobbing Mark. Beth sat on the end of a couch, a skein of yarn at her feet and her wood knitting needles clacking as she worked. Kim entered the room with a pot of tea which she placed on a small table between them, sat on a rocker and swayed. She put Monica on her lap.
“What’s going on?” Beth asked, seeing Mark’s tear streaked face. Mark ran to her, buried his face in her lap and sobbed. She embraced him then glanced up at Jonah.
“What happened?”
“There was an accident,” Jonah said.
Kim stopped rocking.
Beth asked, “Where’s Thomas?”
Jonah’s eye’s filled with tears. His jaw quivered. He opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out.
“Jonah,” Beth shouted, “answer me. Where’s Thomas?”
With drooped shoulders, the tall man cleared his throat and wiped his eyes. “Thomas is at the undertaker’s.”
“No!” she shouted. “He’s your responsibility. Your son. How could you let this happen?”
“It was an accident. I looked away for a second…”
“You promised to watch them. You…”
He moved to her side.
“No!” She pushed him away then dissolved into sobs, burying her face in her hands.
Kim handed Monica to Jonah and sat next to Beth. She put one arm around her and patted Mark with the other.
* * *
Late that evening, Kim sat on a rocking chair in front of the fireplace wrapped in a shawl and reading a book of poetry. She thought she was the only one awake until Mark walked into the room. Kim looked at him over the tops of her glasses. “You’re supposed to be asleep.”
“I couldn’t.”
She motioned him over then pulled him onto her lap. “Why couldn’t you sleep?”
“I was thinking my dad is gone, my mom is gone and now Thomas. Will I die next?”
“Not for a long time. Y
ou will have a full life, become a father, and a leader of men. And you will be a man who solves other men’s problems.”
“Like what?”
“I’m not sure but…there are many problems in the factories…the workers will need intelligent spokesmen…you will be one of them.”
“How do you know?”
Kim smiled. “My mother told me.”
“Didn’t you say she was dead?”
“She is…but I still hear her voice.”
“I’m afraid to be alone in my room.”
“You get back in bed and I’ll sit with you.”
~~~~~~~
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~~~~~~~
If you laughed and cried with the Kaplan family and friends; shared their happiness of many Simchas (blessed, happy events) and their sadness over the the loss of loved ones, you will enjoy reading about Abbey all grown up. She becomes a female doctor and serves during the Civil War. If you like brave heroines, authentic settings, and stories that bring the past to life, then you’ll love Richard Alan Schwartz’s stunning saga, The Surgeon: A Civil War Novel. Buy it now to start reading it today!
About the Author
Richard is a 101st Airborne Division, Vietnam veteran. Having a lifelong passion for history, a creative mind, and being a mesmerizing storyteller, historical fiction was a natural career choice after a life in software engineering. Being a lifelong learner, Richard loves pursuing research for his historical fiction. He and his wife, Carolynn, scour libraries, museums, and historical sites while always on the lookout for interesting historical perspectives, personal stories, and quirky characters.
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Also by Richard Alan Schwartz
AN AMERICAN JOURNEYS NOVEL series
The Emigrant: A Journey from Ireland to America
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MDXH6SG
After so much death, this young immigrant will do anything to start her new life.
Ireland, 1847. Myra McCormick has lost too much to stay. After the sixteen-year-old’s two younger siblings die in the Irish Potato Famine, she resolves to create a new family of her own. As she emigrates to America, she meets a college student who’s both handsome and the perfect candidate to let her live out her new dream.
The Emigrant: A Journey from Ireland to America is the first book in the true-to-life American Journeys historical fiction series. If you like courageous heroines, richly detailed settings, and stories of relentless determination, then you’ll love Richard Alan Schwartz’s poignant tale.
The Surgeon: A Civil War Novel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N4VQTPW
She can’t stop the fighting, but she can bandage the wounds…
Virginia Field Hospital, 1862. Abbey Kaplan will do whatever it takes to become a doctor. As a surgical assistant, her first major test is tolerating her chauvinistic male associates. But when her inaugural posting lands her smack in the middle of a Civil War field hospital, proving herself isn’t about pride—it’s a matter of life or death.
As the battle-mangled bodies keep coming, Abbey’s calling means ignoring the risks to her own safety and sanity. But when relentless gore, lack of sleep, and overwhelming pressure push her toward her breaking point, establishing herself in a man’s world might just kill her.
Explore the mindset of a female doctor during the cruelest of wars, at a time when the practice of Medicine was more of an art than a science. And a women’s place was at home…not practicing medicine.
The Surgeon: A Civil War Novel is the third book in An American Journeys Novel historical fiction series. If you like brave heroines, authentic settings, and stories that bring the past to life, then you’ll love Richard Alan Schwartz’s stunning saga.
CAN BE READ AS A STAND ALONE
The Soldier: A Vietnam War Era Novel
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N63C53B
A surgeon turned soldier. A courageous research mission. Will he survive his own wartime trauma?
Through ceaseless rain and jungles dense with enemies, Brian takes and saves lives with numbing repetition. The battles continue when he rejoins civilian life, still haunted by his emotional wounds. His pain worsens when he witnesses his platoon mates and their families suffer through Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Can Brian use his investigation into his own experiences with the hidden costs of war to heal others and save his own sanity?
If you like gripping combat scenes, exploring acts of heroism, and true-to-life depictions of PTSD, then you’ll love Vietnam Veteran Richard Alan Schwartz’s unforgettable novel.
CAN BE READ AS A STAND ALONE
The Pioneer: A Journey to the Pacific Page 26
