Recap: Zevi’s parents were leaving on a mission. They left Jordie in charge. Zevi doesn’t like being left like this, but his parents often have to go away. Jordie is a student of his father and is becoming frum. His father told him not to ask Zevi any questions about his family, which Zevi thinks is strange.
I had plenty of questions floating in my head, but I knew Abba and Ima weren’t going to answer them. Ima had a long list of instructions for me: “Remember to take out the garbage on Tuesday and Friday. Don’t forget to water the lawn. Oh, and when you go to Nana, make sure she has her phone charged. Lisa will be there. And please send her our love and remind her we’ll be back in two weeks.”
“Remember to take out the garbage on Tuesday and Friday. Don’t forget to water the lawn. I know how responsible you are, Zevi.”
I was 13, almost 14. I could handle all this. I didn’t know why Ima was so nervous.
“I think it’s good that Jordie is here, so you won’t be alone. He’s almost 20 and he’s responsible.” Ima seemed to be reassuring herself. This was an opportunity to ask about Jordie again, only before I could ask, Ima added, “Don’t forget to bring Mr. Altman his paper. He counts on Abba bringing it over to him once a week. Oh, and Rafi will call to check up on you. He’ll be coming home for Shabbos.”
Once again, I wished Rafi would be home with me. It was a relief to know he’d be back for Shabbos. Otherwise, I’d be stuck explaining things to Jordie and that wasn’t something I wanted to do. It just wasn’t my thing. Ima bustled out of the room before I could ask anything else.
Then she poked her head back in for a second. “I’m leaving money for you and Jordie on the table for groceries, and you can buy things on credit from Rosenfeld’s. Just don’t overdo the snack foods. You know they hurt your stomach.”
Jordie strode into the room just then. Ima showed him around the kitchen, so he’d be sure to keep everything kosher. “Zevi knows all of this, but in case something comes up or he’s not home, you should know your way around.”
…
An hour later the cab pulled up and Abba and Ima got in. Abba gave me a real bear hug and told me he was proud of me. Ima was teary eyed. “Love you, Zevi.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said to Ima.
We waved to them as they disappeared down the street.
Jordie smiled at me. “Looks like you and I will be running the house.”
I nodded and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in my stomach. I hate good-byes and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be home alone with someone I barely knew.
“Want to play a board game or something?” Jordie asked.
I pulled out Catan and we began playing.
“Are you sad they all left?” he asked as he set up his pieces.
I shrugged.
“I know. It’s hard to not be with your family.”
I was going to ask about his family, but I remembered my father’s strange warning, so I didn’t say anything.
After a while, I suggested we go to visit Nana. “I usually visit her this time of day before dinner.”
“I’ll come with you. You’re lucky to have a grandmother living nearby.”
“She used to live down the block in her own house, but she was falling a lot, so she’s in an assisted living facility now.” It wasn’t the same as when she had her own apartment. Now, when I visited, it was more public. There were all these friends and other people there that I had to talk to. It wasn’t like before when she could host us for Shabbos meals.
We traipsed down the street. The sun was still high in the summer sky. We passed several high-rise apartment houses and some stores along the way.
“That’s the kosher bakery,” I said. “And over there is the small grocery. It’s open odd hours if you need something.”
When we reached the assisted living building, we found Nana sitting outside, chatting with one of her friends.
“Zevi!” She reached her arms out to give me a hug.
“Who is this?”
I introduced Jordie.
“Nice to meet you. Zevi, your parents left already?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, leaving you with Jordie shows how they think you’re so grown up.”
I gave a half-smile.
Nana continued, “I have a surprise for you, Zevi. You, too, Jordie. I think you boys will enjoy reading this.”
She handed me a large bound book.
“What is this?”
“I’ve been gathering memoirs of people who lived in Alaska during the 1964 earthquake. I’m working on an article about it.”
Even though she’s retired, Nana still writes features for a Jewish magazine sometimes.
“Anyway, I found quite a lot of fascinating stories, and believe it or not, I found the memoir of a distant relative. His name was Akiva Schwartz, and he was around your age during the earthquake. I did a lot of research and was able to track down where he lives. I interviewed him. He’s in his late 60s now, but at the time of the story, he was around your age. I interviewed him and wrote it up, and I thought you two might enjoy reading it while you’re home on your own.”
As always, Nana knew exactly what I needed. She knew I loved history and a good story. “Thanks, Nana.”
“I best go into dinner now. I’ll see you both next time.”
I hugged Nana and Jordie waved, as she hobbled back into the building.
Jordie turned to me. “She’s a special lady.”
“I know,” I said.
We sped down the now-darkening streets. The sun was about to set, and I needed to go to Minchah. “Let’s head to shul,” I said.
I started down a back alleyway, the quickest route.
Jordie ran to keep up with me. As I headed around the corner, suddenly there was the roar of a loud motor. I turned in time to see a black car with tinted windows zooming towards me. I jumped aside, and Jordan jumped behind me as the car screeched around the curve and then sped away.
“Phew, that was close!” I said.
Jordie wiped sweat from his forehead. “Let’s find a different route. He may come back.”
“Come back? Who?”
“That car. Can we go a different way?” Jordie asked anxiously.
“Sure. We can go down Main Street.”
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
I led the way back to Main Street. My heart was thumping. Why was Jordie so nervous? Why did he think that speeding car was coming back? Had it purposely aimed for us?
I shivered even though it was a hot summer night.
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of an historical fiction novel, Flight of the Doves (Menucha Publishing, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha Publishers, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha Publishing, 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha Publishers, 2020), Denver Dreams (a novel, Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha Publishers, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine, “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021-2022), and Alaskan Gold ( 2023-2024).
