All I Love and Know by Judith Frank Page A

this all along?” his mother asked, eyes blazing.
    â€œFor a while,” Daniel hedged.
    â€œHow could you not tell me?” she cried. “I feel like such a fool! I never anticipated this.” Her hand was gripping Sam’s sleeve hard, and he was murmuring, “Honey.”
    â€œI must tell you something important,” the lawyer said, raising his voice over the clamor of distress and incomprehension. “In Israeli wills, the disposition of property is always upheld. But not necessarily the disposition of children.” He spoke in Hebrew.
    Daniel saw understanding slowly dawn over Yaakov’s face, and a flash of hope. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.
    â€œThe government considers what is the good of the children, in family court.”
    â€œWhat?” Daniel cried. “Their own parents wanted this for them. The court would go against the parents’ wishes?”
    â€œI’m afraid so,” Assaf said gently. He stood with the papers dangling in his hand, and Daniel suddenly hated him, this hypocritical pose of gentle advocacy, his big sorrowful eyes blinking out of those ridiculous glasses. “If they thought it was for the good of the children.”
    His mother had Daniel by the sleeve; there was the clamor for translation, and he shook it off, he was trying to think. “You can’t be serious,” he said to Assaf, and then whirled at his parents and spat out an irritated translation. “And I’m sure,” he said, his lips curled, “that living with two queers is exactly what the Israeli state thinks of as for the good of the children.”
    â€œDaniel,” his father said.
    â€œWhat are my chances?” Daniel demanded in Hebrew, ignoring his father, fixing Assaf with a cold look. He remembered something. “They’re American citizens; doesn’t that count for something?”
    â€œNot necessarily, Daniel,” Assaf said. “You’ll still need a court order to take them out of the country.” He reached forward and clasped Daniel’s shoulder. “But don’t assume anything, either good or bad. There are many factors.”
    His father gripped his elbow. “Don’t worry, son,” he said softly. “We’ll fight this.”
    Daniel shook his arm free. “I don’t understand this,” he said. “The parents decided what was for the good of the children.” He felt he was about to cry and, mortified, covered his face with his hands. “Poor Joel and Ilana,” he moaned. “It’s what they wanted .”
    â€œThis is crazy,” Lydia was saying, looking to Sam for corroboration.
    The lawyer crouched and tried to take them all in with his gaze. “Everybody, please be calm,” he said, first in English, then in Hebrew. “Look. We are shocked by these terrible deaths. When we recover a little bit, I know that we’ll all do our best to make sure that Gal and Noam have lives that are as safe and normal as possible.”
    Normal? Daniel burst into tears.
    Malka was clutching at Yaakov and asking him how Ilana could do this to them, and he was urging her, with increasing impatience, to calm down, to try to understand that the court would surely be on their side.

CHAPTER 4
    H E COULDN’T FIND Matt anywhere. Their bedroom was empty, the sofa bed made up, with the bed pillows, in worn pillowcases, stacked upon it. The window was open and the curtain billowing. He checked the bathroom and the balcony, and went back into their room and sat down on the sofa. He unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and stared at the desk till his vision blurred. There was a knock on the door frame; Yaakov stood there with his jacket on. “Malka doesn’t feel well,” he said. “I must take her home.”
    Daniel nodded numbly.
    Yaakov turned away, and Daniel’s parents came to the door of his room. His mother’s face was tight;