Page 17 of In Just a Year
CHAPTER9
The next day, Esther awoke to the church bells outside. The early morning sun had yet to develop its full heat. Birds chirped outside … oh no, what time was it?
She hopped out of bed and saw it was one minute past seven. Esther crossed her arms and bit her cheek. Then she licked her lips. She could still feel him. Taste him.
Her heart pounded as if to jump out of her chest and catch up with Ben, which was what she wanted to do.
“Lenny!” she called. “L-e-n-n-y!”
She pulled on her clothes as quickly as she could, splashed some water on her face, and considered brushing her hair. With her toothbrush and powder in her mouth, she eyed her crazy curly mane and dismissed the idea as it would take too long to brush it shiny. Instead, she tied her hair in a thick bun atop her head.
“Lenny!”
“What?” He pulled her door open and stood sleepy but already dressed on her carpet; he must have been getting ready for school.
“I need you to come with me.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a girl and can’t go alone, so just get your shoes on and let’s go.”
“Where are we going?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.”
* * *
Ben’sentire family had gathered to say farewell when Greg arrived with his carriage to pick him up. Ben’s parents, each holding one of the grandchildren, Gideon with Rosie, Raphi with Laila, Caleb with Lizzie, and Nati.
“Write as soon as you’re on land, Benny,” his mother said.
“Come back safely,yingale,” sweet boy, Papa said.
“Keep out of trouble,” Gideon said with a nod toward Greg, who was waiting in the carriage. “Bring us Benny back soon.” His voice sounded unsteady.
Ben’s mother had packed paper, fountain pens, ink, and dry biscuits, raisins, and pickled oranges as if he were going on a field trip. Ben had also taken the entire box of chocolates that Eve Pearler had given Papa for his last birthday, as she did every year, but he got away with it too easily to claim the victory of being the first brother to sneak the chocolate away. With so many capable Klonimuses, Ben was rarely the first at anything. One of the immense benefits of being one of many was that nobody paid too much attention to what he was doing, so he could enjoy his freedom. Most of the time. Right now, all eyes were on him as he strapped the last valise onto the top of the carriage and let his mother give him one last tender kiss on his forehead, and a tight squeeze.
Little Joseph, caught between them, squealed, “Too tight!”
“She’ll never hug you too tight, little one,” Ben said lovingly as he mussed up his nephew’s hair. Odd how all little boys around his mother suddenly had neat side-parts as soon as she stroked their heads as if they loved her so much that even their hair complied with her rules.
One last time, Ben looked over his shoulder at his family and a chain enveloped his heart. This wasn’t like the first time he’d left for university. Back then, he knew he’d live with his brother Aaron and his wife Liora, their baby girl, and Liora’s brother Peter. There had been nothing to fear, and nobody left behind, for he was going to study alongside his brother and come back to resume his work as crown jeweler under his father’s watchful and caring eye in the Klonimus workshop. And when Aaron graduated, Nati would join him. It would be Ben’s turn to hand over well-loved textbooks with the answers in the margins and all the right passages underlined for his younger brother.
This was different. He was leaving with a Member of Parliament, Baron Stone, on an unofficial mission to trade with the East India Company while Nagy was supposed to believe he was going to Edinburgh for university. Plus, he was going to India, a long and unpredictable journey. He’d heard of conflicts between the British and the local government. There were so many conflicts, languages, and the country was so large that Ben didn’t even know where to begin preparing.
“Ben!” a voice called from afar. “Ben!” Closer.
He peeked out from the cabin of the carriage and saw Esther running down the street, along the sidewalk, her little brother on her heels. “Ben!” Her hair had come loose and blew in the wind, out of her face like the curly tail of a panther. She was so beautiful. “Ben!”
She was close now and everyone’s eyes were darting from him to her and back. “Maidale, what’s the matter?” Papa asked when she stopped in front of all the Klonimuses, hands on her knees as she caught her breath.
That was the problem. Since Esther’s mother died, Ben’s parents had been there for the Solomons. His father had helped arrange the funeral, and his mother had brought them food. But more than that, they’d been practically annexed to the Klonimuses by virtue of love. Whenever Rabbi Solomon needed help, the Klonimuses and the Pearlers were there in a cluster of closely-knit Jews. What Ben had done bordered on the absurd. He’d crossed a line and kissed a girl who could almost be his sister—oh how he’d kissed her. But the fact remained, she wasn’t his sister even if he’d known her a lifetime. He’d loved her for as long as he could remember, and it had all come clear now.
And here she was.
Ben gulped, unsure what she’d do, for he had the fire in his heart that a hundred dragons in their childhood stories couldn’t tame.
“B-Ben,” she panted, barely audibly.
