Recap: Libby’s friend Aliza comes for a visit with her daughter Basi, who has a high school interview. They go to the park with Sabrina and Marnie. While Aliza and Libby are sitting on a bench, they overhear a frightening conversation between two men. One of them glances towards Libby and she recognizes him from the flight academy.
The next day, I took Marnie to her first appointment with a pediatrician. Dr. Sommers was a middle-aged man with blonde hair and a warm smile.
After the appointment, Marnie was smiling.
“Did you like talking to Dr. Sommers?” I asked.
“He is really smart and really nice,” Marnie said.
“Thank you Tante for bringing me to him.”
…
The next day, Grandma Bea called. “I’m planning a trip to Miami and I’d like to visit you.”
Grandma Bea wanted to visit? She so rarely took trips. “It’s so nice that you want to come. When will you be here?”
“I’m taking the train. I should arrive next Sunday.”
“It’s a long train ride. You don’t want to fly?”
“I never fly,” she said.
I wondered what prompted this sudden visit.
“I’m looking forward to meeting those little girls you have now. Tell them I’m coming, please.”
“You got their letters?”
“I hung them on the refrigerator.”
“Please call when you get to the train station, and we’ll come pick you up.”
“Fine. Bye.”
I couldn’t believe it. Grandma was coming. It suddenly occurred to me that I didn’t have anywhere for her to sleep. The girls’ room was too full.
“Avi, Grandma Bea is coming for a visit next Sunday and I don’t know where she will sleep.”
“She’s coming? That’s great. No worries. I’ll ask my chavrusa if she could sleep there.”
I began organizing my kitchen . Sabrina and Marnie helped me. “Grandma Bea likes things in order, and I don’t want her to think I’m a messy housekeeper.”
“Is she nice?” Sabrina asked.
I nodded. I wasn’t sure if Sabrina would understand Grandma Bea’s ways.
“Sabrina, Grandma Bea speaks her mind, and she doesn’t mean to hurt feelings. She’s just very direct.”
Sabrina was busy with her doll, so I doubted she understood what I was saying.
“Does she yell?”
“No, no, but she doesn’t always hug. It doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you; she’s just not a huggy kind of person.”
…
Grandma Bea arrived on Sunday morning. Avi brought in her large suitcase. “Grandma, welcome!” I kissed her cheek. Sabrina and Marnie stood near me, watching her.
“So, these are the girls who sent me those wonderful letters. You must be Sabrina.” She patted Sabrina’s shoulder. “And you are Marnie.”
“Nice to meet you,” Marnie mumbled.
“Libby, the apartment looks spotless. I am very impressed.”
“Thank you.”
Sabrina brought her dolls and teddy for Grandma Bea to see, and eventually the three of them sat down for a game of Candyland.
…
“These girls are great,” Grandma Bea told me when we were in the kitchen together.
“Yes, I know.”
“You’re doing a wonderful job with them.”
“I wish it was for longer.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re going back to their parents in the fall.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Libby, there’s something I wanted to tell you about the fall.”
I finished putting the dishes away.
“I came to Miami for two reasons. I wanted to see you and meet the girls; but also, I had an appointment with an ophthalmologist. My friend recommended him, and I scheduled cataract surgery for September. I wanted to know if I could stay with you for a few days after, to recover.”
“Of course.”
Just then the phone rang. The call sounded like it was coming from very far away. “Hello, is this Mrs. Perlman?”
“Yes.”
“This is Ruth Tilney. I wanted to warn you.”
“Yes, I heard you aren’t still working for––”
“Please, I can’t stay on the phone long. I’m calling from my son’s home in Yerushalayim.”
“You’re calling me from Israel?”
“Yes, I just wanted to see if someone could get through to Mr. Boren. I think he should not give those two men flying licenses. He isn’t listening to me, but maybe he will listen to you.”
“What is it you want me to tell him?”
“Just that they still didn’t have valid passports. The United Arab Emirates’ consulate claimed they were not citizens. I told you they were very rude; well, the one named Atta was very rude to our female instructors and there was something else odd.”
“What was that?” I asked, wondering how, if she couldn’t convince Mr. Boren that something was wrong, that I would be able to. Sorry, I have to go now. My grandson needs my help.”
I wondered what the other odd thing was.
“Who was that?” Grandma Bea asked.
“Uh… It was a woman who worked for the company where I work,” I said.
Now, what. Should I call Mr. Boren? She hadn’t given me all the information. I needed to speak to Avi about this.
…
That night, Grandma Bea helped tuck Sabrina in and she told both girls stories about living in Maine and big blizzards. They’d never seen snow, so they were both fascinated.
Avi phoned me after supper. “Libby, I’m sorry I missed supper with you. There’s someone in the yeshivah who fell ill, and he asked me to take over his mashgiach job at a kosher hotel downtown. I won’t be home until very late. Don’t wait up for me.”
“Avi, I got a strange call from Mrs. Tilney—”
“Sorry, Libby. I have to go into the kitchen now. I’ll call you if I can later.”
At 9:00, Grandma said, “I’m going to head back to the Kramers now. They’re a lovely couple. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“I’m so glad you came, Grandma.”
“Me, too.” Grandma surprised me with a hug.
“See you tomorrow morning.”
I stayed up awhile, reading, and hoping Avi would call back. But after a while, I was sleepy and I went to bed.
I kept thinking about Ruth Tilney’s call and I kept trying not to think about it. Maybe she was just overreacting. The FBI had said they were investigating. They were on top of it. I really needed to let Hashem handle this and stop worrying.
I was stepping inside of what looked like a room. I was sitting down, and all of sudden the room lifted up higher and higher into the air. I felt my stomach jumping. I screamed. The room kept moving higher, and then suddenly it began dropping. It was free-falling. I was falling… falling. My wrists were on fire. I shrieked.
“Libby, Libby, wake up.” Avi was whispering.
I opened my eyes, “I was having the dream again. I was falling from the sky. I really felt the drop. It was so scary, and my wrists were burning.”
“It’s okay. It was just a dream.”
“Why do I keep having this dream? It felt so real.”
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of the newly released historical fiction novel, Flight of the Doves (Menucha Publishers, 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha Publishers, 2022), A Bridge in Time (Menucha Publishers, 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, and “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021-2022).
