Thank goodness it’s only ten minutes away. Michael was late again. He needed to get to the Northport High School gym to watch a basketball game. The team had one of the best players on Long Island and he had to write a story today for his readers.
As Michael turned out of their driveway, he caught a glimpse of Elizabeth’s cherubic little face giggling in the rearview mirror. She was singing along with Barney and his friends. Michael groaned inwardly. It had to be at least the hundredth time they were listening to that CD.
“Man, I’m not getting a break today,” he said under his breath.
He looked back into his mirror and noticed his eyes were red and blotchy. Maybe I’ll get two hours of sleep tonight, he thought. That is, if I can just stop worrying about her.
“Hey, Little Baboo. You know Daddy loves you, right? I’ll always take care of you, even if I don’t get any sleep.” He reached back and lovingly rubbed her knee through the bulky snowsuit.
By the time he had pulled into the high school parking lot, Elizabeth had fallen asleep.
“How does she do it?” he said in wonder.
After unbuckling her from the car seat, he gently placed her in the stroller, so as not to wake her, and rolled her into the gym. Instead of trying to carry her and the stroller up into the noisy stands, he found a quiet spot for them against the wall beyond the bleachers.
“Hey, Mike!” shouted his neighbor Jim Phillips. His son Brian was on the Northport basketball team.
Michael smiled. “Hey, Mr. Phillips!” He always called him mister out of respect. “How are you feeling these days? How’s the old ticker doing?”
Jim tapped at his chest twice in exuberance. “Doing well, thanks. How’s your daughter?”
“She’s finally asleep . . . thank goodness!”
Mr. Phillips laughed. “Good for you. You look tired. Didn’t you get any sleep?”
“Oh, yeah, sure,” Michael said, a grin spreading across his face. “She gives me an hour or two off, here and there.”
Before long the game was under way and slowly dragging on. Michael could feel his legs straining to stay upright as he took his notes. When the third quarter began, his eyes kept blinking, so he splashed some water on his face from the fountain on the wall behind him. Instead of waking him, the water was soothing and his body began to relax.
Michael closed his eyes.
“Hey, fella! Watch what you’re doing!”
A sense of panic struck him as his head jerked upright and he tried to focus his weary eyes on the court. Looking around frantically to try to clear his head, he gasped, “Elizabeth?”
“Hey, buddy!” a man screamed. “Move!”
He felt Elizabeth pulling on the leg of his jeans. She wore a huge grin. Michael smiled down at her.
“Hey, Little Baboo.”
“Daddy!”
Michael looked over at the court and noticed that the basket no longer hung down but was now retracted up by the ceiling. All the players were just standing there on the court, and everyone in the crowd seemed to be staring at him. He suddenly realized with horror that he had accidentally leaned against the switch that elevated the basket.
“Oh, sorry,” he muttered. Sheepishly he pushed the button to lower the basket back into place. The crowd applauded appreciatively and some rowdy fans whistled. Elizabeth giggled.
Feeling like a total fool, Michael grabbed Elizabeth and the stroller and sprinted from the gym. Out in the parking lot, he didn’t know whether to cry from embarrassment or laugh as he packed Elizabeth back up in the car.
When he finally sat down behind the wheel, he turned around to look at her. She was strapped into her car seat, drinking apple juice. She waved the sippy cup in her hand and smiled.
Her happy face made his decision easy: he laughed.
We’ll do okay, he reasoned. Just two peas in a pod.
Michael shifted uncomfortably and a few hairs on his head were caught by the stucco wall. Startled, he pulled away quickly, heaving himself up onto his knees. Elizabeth was sprawled out on the floor in front of him, her breathing even and her body relaxed. The house was quiet, although he could hear Leah in the kitchen below. After watching Elizabeth for a moment to ensure she was asleep, he stood up, but realized he had no idea where to go.
He made one uncertain step from the small room they were in and took a moment to digest the view of the room before him. Had they really eaten on that mat on the floor, with foods he never considered laid out in grand fashion? He walked over to the window and glanced out into the night sky. When was the last time he had seen a tree like that, if ever? And why did he feel this overwhelming fatigue? Where were they? Before he was aware of it, he had begun to pace silently, his face skewed in concentration.
Leah returned from below, expertly pulling herself up the ladder with a large bundle under her arm. She walked over to him, handed Michael a bedroll, and motioned to the roof. “It is warm out tonight, and the breeze should be pleasant. You will do well to make your sleeping quarters up there.”
“Up there?” Michael said with a pained expression. “Outside?”
“Yes, up there.” Leah looked at him with a sorrowful expression. As Michael turned to start up the ladder, he hesitated, looking back over his shoulder at Leah.
“You said you were concerned about soldiers being everywhere. I’m just really worried about that soldier who took a piece of my daughter’s clothing. He said he was going to make my daughter his. Don’t tell me that’s what I think it means.”
Leah was silent. Then she said, “The soldier is interested in taking her for his wife.”
“What?”
Leah placed her fingers over her lips and pointed toward where Elizabeth lay sleeping.
“Sorry,” Michael muttered.
“The soldier is interested in your daughter. It is customary for women at her age to marry and start families.”
Michael’s eyes widened in horror and he pointed roughly at her. “My little girl is not marrying anyone. She’s just a kid.”
“She is a grown woman. Enough time has passed for her to now find a husband.”
“What kind of a place is this that encourages fourteen-year-olds to get married?”
Leah, looking confused, shook her head in response.
“I’m sorry, I meant no offense. But this is really surreal.”
“This is what is expected,” Leah said, her voice raised. She paused for a moment, collecting herself. “You should know that by now,” she whispered.
Michael glared at her before his features softened. “I don’t know anything. Believe me, I don’t understand a thing about this place.” He shook his head in resignation before climbing farther up the ladder. “Either way, none of this is expected from me or my daughter. And definitely not . . . marriage.” The word tasted awful in his mouth.
Michael paused before looking at Leah curiously. “You know, I’ve been wondering something. Why did you take that risk and stand up for us in the courtyard?”
In the awkward silence, Michael readjusted the cumbersome bedroll under his arm as he watched her intently.
Leah took a deep breath, her eyes scanning the room. “You are a kind man,” she murmured finally. She leaned over, stood slightly on her toes, and gently touched his right cheek with her lips.
Michael was mystified but decided not to pursue the subject further. He resumed his climb and called back over his shoulder, “What town are we in?”
Over the rooftop he could see the outline of the city, the flowing water moving through the aqueduct, the stars twinkling in the clear, dark sky, and hundreds of rooftops in front of him. Unlike in Northport, he could not find the bay or its boats, and from this high vantage point, nothing looked familiar.
Leah hesitated, looking up at him oddly from the bottom of the ladder. “Jerusalem, of course.”
6
IN DEFENSE
The wooden ladder shook slightly in the morning light as Michael hit the last rung without a squeak. Growing up in the Richmond Hill house, he had become a master at moving quietly to avoid drawing attention to himself.