needed to go, and this was his only hope. He grabbed the clock and carried it out under his jacket.
He walked back down the street as quickly as he could without attracting attention, and slipped into the alleyway where his brother crouched low to the ground, smoking another cigarette. “Miri?” Jake asked hopefully, standing up.
Sol shook his head. “I spoke to her sister. She’s left the country for good. Leah didn’t know where.”
Jake’s face sagged and Sol felt a stab of guilt at the lie. But Jake would never leave if he held out hope of finding Miri. “Here.” Sol produced the clock.
Jake paused, and for a moment Sol expected him to object. But his brother, never one to question what was given to him, took the clock. “If Mama asks …” Jake began, then faltered. Then without another word, he turned and ran.
“Auf Wiedersehen,”
Sol said under his breath as his brother disappeared around the corner. Jake had not, he realized, even bothered to thank him.
He started slowly back toward the house. From the foyer, he could hear two voices, his mother’s high-pitched and the maid’s higher, back from market, recounting the previous night’s festivities as they put away the silver. There was a pause in the conversation, a moment of silence followed by a scream. Steeling himself, Sol walked toward them.
“Gone,” his mother said simply as he entered the dining room, and for a minute Sol thought she was talking about Jake. But Dora had gotten so used to her sons coming and going it would be days until she remarked upon the lack of Jake’s shadowy presence, the fact that his bedclothes seemed undisturbed. “The clock is gone.”
“Ja, Mutter.”
He faltered as the moment he had waited for his entire life unfurled before his eyes. Now he could tell her Jake had taken it, vilify the golden child who was no longer here to defend himself and finally claim his rightful place as the favored son. But then he saw Jake in the alley, vulnerable and helpless, and he could not bring himself to do it. It was best if their mother knew nothing when the police came asking questions about his whereabouts anyway. “I saw that the latch to the back door was open this morning so I expect someone may have broken in and snatched it.”
Her complexion paled. “We were robbed?” she asked, disbelieving.
“I don’t think it was that serious. More likely someone who saw the door left ajar and seized the moment. Nothing else was taken. But I’ll report it to the police first thing.” He watched remorsefully as a torrent of emotions washed across her face, shock then sorrow and anger. But her expression soon slackened to one of resignation. The clock was her most beloved possession, but in the end it was only an object and no one could afford to get very attached in these troubled times. The blow of Jake’s unannounced departure would come much harder and he was grateful that in the moment she did not ask.
There seemed to be nothing more to say, so Sol started up the stairs. As he reached the landing, optimism surged through him suddenly. He had done it—helped Jake and taken the clock and gotten away with it. And after
Shabbes
he would stop by the department store to see if Leah was working again, follow through on his invitation to coffee. He didn’t require an introduction now. For years the notion of someone who might share his life had been a concept so foreign and remote he’d scarcely entertained it. But now as he saw Leah’s face in his mind, new possibilities stirred inside him.
Sol pictured Jake running with the clock and recited silently the prayer for safe travel, while half suspecting that it was better than his selfish, mercurial brother deserved. But there was no need to be petty—he was here in Berlin and Jake was not, and the house and the family and all of this would be his for the rest of his life.
Five
WADOWICE , 2009
Charlotte brushed the wrinkles from the front of her pants as she
He walked back down the street as quickly as he could without attracting attention, and slipped into the alleyway where his brother crouched low to the ground, smoking another cigarette. “Miri?” Jake asked hopefully, standing up.
Sol shook his head. “I spoke to her sister. She’s left the country for good. Leah didn’t know where.”
Jake’s face sagged and Sol felt a stab of guilt at the lie. But Jake would never leave if he held out hope of finding Miri. “Here.” Sol produced the clock.
Jake paused, and for a moment Sol expected him to object. But his brother, never one to question what was given to him, took the clock. “If Mama asks …” Jake began, then faltered. Then without another word, he turned and ran.
“Auf Wiedersehen,”
Sol said under his breath as his brother disappeared around the corner. Jake had not, he realized, even bothered to thank him.
He started slowly back toward the house. From the foyer, he could hear two voices, his mother’s high-pitched and the maid’s higher, back from market, recounting the previous night’s festivities as they put away the silver. There was a pause in the conversation, a moment of silence followed by a scream. Steeling himself, Sol walked toward them.
“Gone,” his mother said simply as he entered the dining room, and for a minute Sol thought she was talking about Jake. But Dora had gotten so used to her sons coming and going it would be days until she remarked upon the lack of Jake’s shadowy presence, the fact that his bedclothes seemed undisturbed. “The clock is gone.”
“Ja, Mutter.”
He faltered as the moment he had waited for his entire life unfurled before his eyes. Now he could tell her Jake had taken it, vilify the golden child who was no longer here to defend himself and finally claim his rightful place as the favored son. But then he saw Jake in the alley, vulnerable and helpless, and he could not bring himself to do it. It was best if their mother knew nothing when the police came asking questions about his whereabouts anyway. “I saw that the latch to the back door was open this morning so I expect someone may have broken in and snatched it.”
Her complexion paled. “We were robbed?” she asked, disbelieving.
“I don’t think it was that serious. More likely someone who saw the door left ajar and seized the moment. Nothing else was taken. But I’ll report it to the police first thing.” He watched remorsefully as a torrent of emotions washed across her face, shock then sorrow and anger. But her expression soon slackened to one of resignation. The clock was her most beloved possession, but in the end it was only an object and no one could afford to get very attached in these troubled times. The blow of Jake’s unannounced departure would come much harder and he was grateful that in the moment she did not ask.
There seemed to be nothing more to say, so Sol started up the stairs. As he reached the landing, optimism surged through him suddenly. He had done it—helped Jake and taken the clock and gotten away with it. And after
Shabbes
he would stop by the department store to see if Leah was working again, follow through on his invitation to coffee. He didn’t require an introduction now. For years the notion of someone who might share his life had been a concept so foreign and remote he’d scarcely entertained it. But now as he saw Leah’s face in his mind, new possibilities stirred inside him.
Sol pictured Jake running with the clock and recited silently the prayer for safe travel, while half suspecting that it was better than his selfish, mercurial brother deserved. But there was no need to be petty—he was here in Berlin and Jake was not, and the house and the family and all of this would be his for the rest of his life.
Five
WADOWICE , 2009
Charlotte brushed the wrinkles from the front of her pants as she
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