Tracie Peterson (29 page)

“I’m not going to live in New York,” Pierce finally announced.

“Oh, well, Paris then? Or perhaps Boston?”

Pierce shook his head. “Chicago.” He couldn’t help but get satisfaction from the expression of disappointment on her face.

“Chicago? My, but where in the world in that?”

“It’s a little town in Illinois. It sits on Lake Michigan.”

“And why would you ever plan to live there?” She was obviously filled with horror at such a thought.

Pierce smiled. “Because this is a time of great adventure in America.” He used her own words against her, but she didn’t seem phased by his strategy.

“Yes, of course, but moving to such a place would be complete foolishness for one of your social standing. Such moves as those are justified by the poorer classes who seek to set up a new life for themselves.”

“But I seek such a life for myself. I’ve grown quite weary of the life I’ve known here in New York.”

Amanda was aghast. “But I could never agree to marry you unless we lived in New York City.”

“I never asked you to,” Pierce said smugly. “Perhaps my aunt presumed too much. Perhaps she led you to believe a falsehood about me, but I assure you I am no more interested in marrying you than you are in marrying me. Now, I suggest that I deliver you back to your father’s protection and end this farce.”

Amanda’s face betrayed her anger. “No one treats me like this. I am a Ralston!”

“That you are, madam, and if left up to me, that you would remain.”

The gasp she made was not very ladylike and certainly louder than polite society would have accepted, had the room been quiet enough in which to hear it. Pierce merely got to his feet, offered his arm once again, and waited for her to make up her mind.

“I haven’t all night, Miss Ralston. Come, we’ll tell your father that something has prevented my staying out the evening. No harm should be done, as it was Blackwell money that secured me as your companion this evening.” With that, Pierce nearly dragged her to her feet.

It was a stunned and openly hostile Amanda that Pierce delivered to the care of her mother. Mrs. Ralston was ever so sorry to learn that Pierce was suddenly called away. Pierce begged their forgiveness, then hurried from the gathering before Aunt Eugenia could spot him and force him to stay.

Outside the hotel, Pierce quickly found his driver and urged him to spare no time in exiting the scene. Cold and uncomfortable in the emptiness of his carriage, Pierce had thoughts for only one thing. One woman. Darlene.

For the first time that evening, he smiled. He thought of how he’d arranged for his valentine to be delivered that afternoon and wondered what Darlene thought of the impulsive and rather brazen gesture. Suddenly he felt warmer. Just the thought of her made him push aside the discomforts of the night. There would be much to answer for tomorrow. His aunt would be unforgiving for his rude escape. But he was much more concerned with how Darlene would react to his card.

His father’s warning words came back to haunt him and Pierce was suddenly filled with an uneasiness born of knowing the truth. Darlene was not of his faith and she would reject everything about his Christian beliefs, just as he would reject her disbelief in Christ. Unless God somehow persuaded Darlene to open her heart to the truth of who Jesus really was, further consideration of her could only lead to heartache. But Pierce knew that in many ways it was too late. He was rapidly losing his heart to Darlene, and the thought of rejecting his feelings for her was more than he wanted to deal with.

“She’s a good woman, Lord,” he prayed aloud in the privacy of the carriage. “She’s responsible and considerate, and she loves her father and respects his wishes. She’s beautiful, although I don’t think she knows it, and I admire her greatly. Surely there’s some place for her in my life. Surely there is some way to share with her the Gospel of Christ.” But even as Pierce prayed, he knew his words were born out of self-desire.

And he shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Isaiah 8:14

D
arlene looked apprehensively at the envelope in her hands. It had arrived during the Sabbath and because she knew it was nothing in regards to keeping the day holy, she had put it aside until Sabbath had concluded. Now, however, there was no putting off her curiosity. With breakfast concluded and her father already occupied with something in his room, Darlene sat down to the kitchen table and opened the envelope.

The card slid out quite easily and caused Darlene to gasp. It was cream colored with gold-foil trim and a lace-edged red heart in the center. The words,
My Valentine,
topped the card, while at the bottom tiny Cupids held a scroll with a more personal limerick.

Darlene stared at the card for several moments before turning it over. There was no other word, no signature, nothing at all to indicate who had sent it. But Darlene was already certain who had sent it. There was only one possible person. Pierce Blackwell!

After the initial shock wore off, Darlene began to smile. She fingered the lacy heart and wondered if Pierce had ordered this especially made for her. Perhaps it was a standard card he sent to all women, for surely there must be many fine ladies of his acquaintance. A twinge of grief struck her. Perhaps he had sent this as a way of laughing at her. Maybe it was his only means of making sport of her ignorance. She frowned and looked at the card with a more serious eye.

Hearing her father come from his bedroom, Darlene quickly put the card back into its envelope and tucked it in her apron pocket. Glancing up, Darlene was startled to find that Abraham was not dressed in his shop clothes, but in his best suit with hat in hand.

“Tateh?” she questioned. “You are going out?”

Abraham seemed a bit hesitant to discuss the matter. “I am.”

Darlene shook her head. “But I don’t understand. Is there something we need? Some errand I can help you with?”

“No.” He placed his hat on the table and smiled. “I should talk to you about the matter, but it was not my wish to cause you grief.”

“What grief?” Now she was getting worried.

Abraham took a seat beside his daughter and reached out to take her hand in his. “I’m going to the Christian church today with Dennison Blackwell and his family.”

“What!” Darlene jumped up from her seat, snatching her hand away.

Abraham lowered his head and it was then that Darlene noticed his head was bare. The
yarmulke
that he had religiously worn all of his life, was absent. This was more serious than she’d imagined.

“Tateh, I don’t understand.” Her voice betrayed her concern.

“I know.”

His simple statement was not enough. Darlene came back to the table and sat down. She was stunned beyond words, yet words were the only way to explain her father’s decision. He looked so sad, so old, and for the first time Darlene considered that he might die soon. Now he wanted to change religions? After a lifetime of serving God in the faith of his ancestors?

“Why don’t you explain and I’ll try to be quiet,” she suggested.

Abraham looked up at her. His aged face held an expression of sheer anguish. “I’ve wanted to explain for some time. I know there are rumors among our friends. I know you have had to deal with many questions.”

It was true enough. Yesterday, after going to the synagogue with her father, Darlene had found herself surrounded by friends and neighbors, all wanting to know what was going on with her father. Still, she’d not expected such an open showing of defiance. There was no way she could hide the fact that Abraham Lewy was going to the
goy’s
church.

When she said nothing, Abraham continued. “There are many questions in my mind about the Christian faith. The Israelites are the chosen people of God, but Dennison showed me scripture in the Bible that makes it hard to deny that Jesus was truly Messiah.”

“The Christian Bible is not the Torah,” she protested.

“True, but the Scriptures Dennison shared are from Isaiah and those Scriptures are a part of our Bible, as well.”

“This is so confusing,” Darlene said, feeling as though the wind was being sucked from her lungs. “Are you saying to me that you believe their Jesus is the Messiah we seek?”

“I’m saying that I see the possibilities for such a thing.”

Very calmly, Darlene took a deep breath. “How? How can this be? You told me as a child that Jesus was merely a man. You told me the disciples who followed him took his body from the tomb and hid it away in order to support their lies of His resurrection.” Her voice raised and the stress of the situation was evident. “You told me the
goyim
served three Gods not one, and now you tell me that Isaiah’s words have caused you to see the possibilities of the Christian faith being right and the Jewish faith being wrong?” She felt as though she might start to cry at any moment.

“
Neshomeleh,
do not fret so. You must understand that I do not consider this matter lightly. I am seeking to know the truth.”

“But if Jesus is the Messiah, who needs Him? Still our people suffer, for hundreds of years they suffer. Even now, we are misfits, and less than human in the eyes of some.

“If Jesus is Messiah, where is His Kingdom? Where is our deliverance?” Darlene knew the words sounded bitter, but she didn’t care.

Abraham patted her tightly gripped hands. “I only seek the truth. My love for you is such that I would not seek to put your soul in eternal jeopardy. If there is even the slightest possibility that I am wrong, then I wish to learn the right and teach it to my children before my days are finished.

“You see the
mezuzah
?” Abraham looked up to the small ornate box that graced the side of the kitchen door. “Within that box are precious words from Deuteronomy. We kiss our hands and touch the
mezuzah
as a representation of our love and obedience to God’s commands.”

Darlene looked to the box with its silver scrolling and tiny window. They’d brought this particular mezuzah with them from Germany, and she knew full well it had come from her mother’s family. Others were nailed to the wall beside other doors, but this one was very special. The ritual of the
mezuzah
was as automatic and commonplace as breathing. She touched it reflexively whenever she entered the room and because it was so routine, she seldom reflected on the parchment words held within.

“On that paper God speaks, saying, ‘And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart. And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.’ God has commanded me to train you, Darlene. I cannot fail you by ignoring the truth. Should my choices have been wrong, should I be too blind to see, it would be a tragedy. Would you not rather know the truth?”

“But how can you be certain that the truth isn’t what you already believe it to be?” she questioned softly.

Abraham gave a heavy sigh. “Because my heart is troubled. There is an emptiness inside that won’t be filled. I used to think it was because of your mother’s death. I reasoned that she was such an important part of my life, that the void would quite naturally remain until I died. But with time, I realized it was more than this. I felt a yearning that I could not explain away. When Dennison Blackwell began to speak to me of his faith, a little fire ignited inside, and I thought, ‘Ah, maybe this is my answer.’”

“But Tateh, how can you be sure? You can’t give up your faith and embrace the Christian religion without absolute certainty. How will you find that?”

“Because I don’t have to give up my faith in order to embrace Christianity. That is the one thing I continue to come back to. Of course, the Jews believe differently about Messiah, but they still believe in Messiah. To acknowledge that Jesus of Christian salvation is also Messiah seems not so difficult a thing.”

Darlene was floored by this and longed to ask her father a million questions, but just then a knock sounded loudly on the door downstairs.

“That will be Dennison,” Abraham said, getting to his feet. He took up his hat and placed his arm on Darlene’s shoulder. “Do not grieve or be afraid. God will direct.” He paused for a moment. “You could come with me?”

“No!” she exclaimed, then put her hand to her mouth to keep from saying the multitude of things that had suddenly rushed to her mind. Tears flowed from her eyes and a sob broke from her throat when Abraham bent to kiss the top of her head.

He left her, touching the
mezuzah
faithfully, but this time it impacted Darlene in a way she couldn’t explain. Suddenly her world seemed completely turned upside down. This Jesus of Christian faith seemed to be at the center of all of her problems. How could she ever be reconciled to her father’s new search for truth, when all of her life the truth seemed to be clear? Now her father would have her question whether their beliefs were accurately perceived.

Her father’s absence made the silence of the house and shop unbearable. Darlene had no idea when he might return and all she could do was busy herself with the handwork he’d given her. Hayyim was hard at work in the cutting room when she came to take up her workbasket. He looked up and smiled, but quickly lost his expression of joy and rushed to her side.

“You’ve been crying.
Vos iz mit dir?
”

She tried to shake her head, but couldn’t. “Nothing’s the matter. I’m all right.”

“No, you’re not. You look like something truly awful has happened. Here,” he led her to a chair, “sit down and tell me what’s wrong.”

All Darlene could remember was that Hayyim had shared information from the shop with Esther. Of course, Esther was an old woman, butting in wherever she could in order to learn whatever there was to learn. Still, Hayyim should have been more discriminating.