{"id":3306,"date":"2019-10-31T07:49:25","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T11:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/?p=3306"},"modified":"2022-08-10T13:54:21","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T17:54:21","slug":"wings-like-a-dove","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/whitefire-publishing.com\/read\/wings-like-a-dove\/","title":{"rendered":"Wings Like a Dove"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Can the invisible walls that separate people ever come down? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Camille Eide<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1933, Anna Leibowicz is convinced that the American dream that brought her Jewish family here from Poland is nothing but an illusion. Her father has vanished. Her dreams of college can\u2019t make it past the sweat-shop door. And when she discovers to her shame and horror that she\u2019s with child, her mother gives her little choice but to leave her family<\/a>. Deciding her best course of action is to try to find her father, she strikes out\u2026hoping against hope to somehow redeem them both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Anna stumbles upon a house full of orphan boys in rural Indiana who are in desperate need of a tutor, she agrees to postpone her journey. But she knows from the moment she meets their contemplative, deep-hearted caretaker, Thomas Chandler, that she doesn\u2019t dare risk staying too long. She can\u2019t afford to open her heart to them, to him. She can\u2019t risk letting her secrets out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All too soon, the townspeople realize she\u2019s not like them and treat her with the same disdain they give the Sisters of Mercy\u2014the nuns who help Thomas and the boys\u2014and Samuel, the quiet colored boy Thomas has taken in. With the Klan presence in the town growing ever stronger and the danger to this family increasing the longer she stays, Anna is torn between fleeing to keep them safe\u2026and staying to fight beside them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIO<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Camille writes poignant, inspirational love stories<\/a> some call \u201cmore than a romance<\/a>.\u201d She lives in Oregon with her husband and is a mom, grandma, office admin, lead foot, cinnamon roll baker, and a bass guitarist. She\u2019s a fan of muscle cars, tender romance, and Peanut M&Ms.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

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Praise for Wings Like a Dove<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEide delivers a\npowerful tale of a Jewish immigrant dealing with prejudice. Anna\u2019s nuanced\ninner life and the stakes of her trip make this stand out from similar\ninspirational fare. [A] harrowing, enthralling tale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Publisher\u2019s Weekly<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen worlds and\ncultures collide, friction and conflict are the result\u2026but redemption<\/a> is also\nthe solution. Camille Eide has written a breathtaking novel of historical\nfiction that feels like fact in Wings Like a Dove<\/em>. I can think of no\ngreater compliment than I would love to see this story transformed into a\nfeature film. Run, don\u2019t walk to get this book in your hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Brian Bird, co-creator\nand executive producer of When Calls the Heart<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCamille\nEide has done it again with Wings Like a Dove<\/em>! Her captivating\ncharacters and riveting plot kept me turning the pages as fast as I could. This\nDepression-era story takes us from New York City to rural Indiana, on\na multi-faceted struggle against shame, injustice, and fear. Just when it seems\nthat bane of prejudice will prevail, Camille works her story-telling magic\nand raises the stakes even higher for a group of disenfranchised children and\nadults, who are threatened with losing everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~\nLeslie Gould, #1 Best Selling and Christy Award Winning Author of over 30\nnovels  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWith her previous\nnovels, Camille Eide proved herself a talented storyteller. With her newest\nbook, Wings Like A Dove<\/em>, she once again offers a story that skillfully\nengages both mind and heart. Set during the Great Depression, it\u2019s the story of\na Polish Jewish immigrant named Anna. Unwed and pregnant, turned out by her\nmother, she leaves New York for Chicago in search of her missing father. On her\njourney, she meets six orphan boys, a young former pastor who acts as their\nguardian, two Catholic sisters, a lonely farm wife and a contingent of Ku Klux\nKlansmen\u2026all of whom change her life. For lovers of historical fiction, this\nbook is an absolute delight!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Ann Tatlock,\nnovelist, blogger and children\u2019s book author<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRich historical details and\nthree-dimensional characters populate Camille Eide\u2019s masterful novel, Wings Like a Dove<\/em>. Eide\u2019s beautiful\nwriting draws the reader into Anna Leibowicz\u2019s world in 1933, while\nsurreptitiously holding a mirror to the present. One of those wonderful stories\nthat gives you all the feels\u2013including that satisfying moment at the end when\nyou read the last page and know the time spent between the covers of the book\nwas very well spent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Cindy Kelley, Author & Screenwriter<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce\nagain in Wings Like a Dove, <\/em>Camille Eide takes her readers to places we\ndidn\u2019t know we needed to go. She invites us to consider who is the outsider,\nwho responds to discrimination, and who will be carried on wings like a dove.\nAnna, Thomas, a cadre of children, and an important search for forgiveness<\/a>\nmarks this compelling story peopled with characters we love. I will take many\nphrases to encourage my days from this story, the most significant for me being\n\u2018Shame is a terrible thief,\u2019 and so it is. Enjoy this story of love lost and\nfound!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~\nJane Kirkpatrick, New York Times<\/em> Bestselling author of One More River\nto Cross.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCamille Eide\u2019s latest\nnovel transports readers back to 1930s America when racial tensions were high\nand those who showed compassion were persecuted. With Camille\u2019s signature style\nof boldness and grace, Wings Like a Dove<\/em> is an authentic glimpse at the\ntrials and triumph of one immigrant family determined to succeed against the\nodds. It\u2019s a courageous, difficult journey with a beautiful ending that\nbreathes hope into breaking cycles of abuse today.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Melanie Dobson,\naward-winning author of Catching the Wind<\/em> and Memories of Glass<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBoth\ngorgeous and harrowing, Wings Like a Dove<\/em> shows the dangers of allowing\nhatred and racism to grow in a community\u2014and the importance of standing up for\nright, even when it’s dangerous. Anna, Thomas, and Samuel are lovely characters\nfull of depth and strength, and Thomas shows the beauty of a Christian putting\nhis faith in action. With a poignant romance, the story\nsatisfies on every level. Camille Eide has penned another memorable novel.\nDon’t miss it!\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Sarah Sundin, bestselling and\naward-winning author of The Sea Before Us<\/em> and The\nSky Above Us<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWings\nLike a Dove<\/em> by Camille Eide is a gripping, unforgettable novel. Eide writes\nthe kind of story we shouldn\u2019t forget, challenging readers about how judging\nothers can lead to racism and how unforgiveness \u2014 both of ourselves and others\n\u2014 can destroy our ability to love, to heal. Woven with\nthreads of tenderness and grace, Eide encourages us to think about the choices\nthat mark history\u2026and the choices that are affecting us today.<\/a>\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ Beth K. Vogt, Christy Award-winning\nauthor of Moments We Forget<\/em> and Things I Never\nTold You<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWings\nLike a Dove<\/em> is a beautiful, powerful story. Camille Eide takes you on a\njourney with Anna that is gut-wrenching and real, and you’ll find that you\ncan’t tear yourself away. Unafraid to tackle difficult issues, Eide does a\nbrilliant job bringing the characters to life and makes you think long and hard\neach and every step of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~\nKimberley Woodhouse, Carol Award-Winning and Best-selling Author<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAuthor\nCamille Eide has a gift for taking the darkest moments of our history and\nturning them into stories of enduring strength. In Wings Like a Dove<\/em>,\nshe\u2019s created unforgettable characters who exhibit grace and courage, even\nwhile facing intense prejudice. After reading this beautiful novel, I\u2019m\ninspired to look around myself and see how little the world has changed\u2014and do\nmy part to make it better. Don\u2019t miss this one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~\nKaren Barnett, author of the Vintage National Parks series
<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Chapter 1<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

Friday, March 3, 1933<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lower East Side, New York<\/em><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jangle of coins in Anna\u2019s pocket was a sound she only heard on\nFridays, and only from the time she left the garment factory until she\ndeposited the week\u2019s earnings into her mother\u2019s sugar bowl. Rent was becoming\nharder to scrape together, but there was always food on the table, even if it\nwas only the heel of last week\u2019s challah. And because Mama chose to ignore\nreality, she blessed every meal, whether scrap of bread or small feast, with\nthe same passion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way Mama viewed life through blinders gave her a relentless\noptimism. If only Anna could wear such blinders. Perhaps then she would not see\nthe invisible walls that made this golden land of promise feel like a prison.\nShe would not know that beyond their neighborhood existed more of the hostility\nthat her mother believed they had left behind in the Pale. Perhaps blinders\nwould put a stop to the shameful memories that churned in Anna\u2019s mind like dry\nleaves whirling in the wind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She walked on, hands in her dress pockets to quiet the jingling. A\nchilly wind ruffled the curls at her neck, reminding her that she had traded\nher long, dark braid for a stylish bob\u2014a foolish choice then, and even more\nnow, since being en vogue<\/em> was about\nas useful to Anna as a hole in the head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna would be content with no more reminders of her stupidity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLate again, Miss Leibowicz?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, and getting later\nby the minute<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gripping her shawl tighter, Anna waved at the apple-cart man but kept\ngoing, quickening her pace and holding her breath to block out the mingled\nsmells, which were becoming more unbearable with each passing day. How childish\nshe must have looked, scurrying past the tenements like a truant, dodging food\ncarts, rats, pedestrians, and street muck in her path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo late you cannot make one<\/em>\nsmall stop?\u201d Hope softened the man\u2019s voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a sigh, Anna turned and went back to the reedy old man standing\nbehind his cart, bundled up to his long, graying beard in a tattered coat. He\nshould know that the longer Anna was delayed today, the more annoyed her mother\nwould be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She looked him in the eye. \u201cMr. Birnbaum, if I am running late for\nShabbat because the payday line was long, what is your excuse?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man\u2019s shoulders bowed from an unseen weight. \u201cMrs. Birnbaum is not\ngetting better. But I almost have enough to pay the doctor now. Sales were not\nso bad today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna smiled gently. He returned her smile, but a deeper worry fringed\nhis eyes. She fingered the coins in her pocket. She was to buy only what was\nabsolutely needed. The Great Crash had changed the entire world in an instant\nand was the last thing she and her family had expected upon arriving in the\nGolden Country. Not only had the economic disaster changed Anna\u2019s plans, it had\nmade the past four years feel like an endless punishment. Did the feeling exist\noutside the confines of the tenements? What she would not give to find out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Birnbaum warmed his knotty, chapped hands with a steamy breath and\nwaited for her to make a selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps Mama would not mind if Anna spent a little extra, just this\nonce. After all, her sister, Shayna, was working at the factory now, and more\nmoney would soon be coming in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI am glad you stopped me, Mr. Birnbaum. I had forgotten I promised\nAnshel a reward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man\u2019s face lit up. \u201cYes, good. Little brothers must be encouraged.\nWhat will it be today, Miss Leibowicz? A bushel of apples?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She pulled two coins from her pocket. The quarter would go into her\ntin to save for college\u2014if she was lucky enough to make the quota. The other\nwas a nickel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust one apple. When his teacher tells us he has passed fourth grade,\nthen we will celebrate with a bushel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Birnbaum exchanged her nickel for the fruit. \u201cAnshel is a good\nboy. He has a clever head on his shoulders. If you continue to tutor him, he will\ndo well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna smiled. \u201cThat is our hope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou make certain of that, Miss Anna. He is man of the house now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her breath seized, but there, on the street, Anna held her tongue.\nRumors had circulated in the Jewish community that Papa had chosen to leave the\nneighborhood nearly two years before his wife and children arrived from Poland\nto join him. Did the apple man also know something? It seemed everyone except\nAnna and her family knew what had happened to Papa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYour kindness to Mrs. Birnbaum will not go unnoticed,\u201d he said\nsoftly. \u201cThank you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPlease give your wife our best wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna pocketed the apple, then hurried to her building. But as she\nclimbed the stairs, her pace dragged, and by the time she reached the third\nfloor, her legs felt as if they were made of wet sand. Shaky, she paused to\ncatch her breath. In the last few weeks, the three-story climb had been feeling\nmore like thirteen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside the airless apartment, the rich scent of baking bread calmed\nher wobbly insides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnna!\u201d Anshel crushed her with a hug. \u201cYou are late. The sun is\nalmost down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hugged him back and mussed his dark mop. \u201cThe line was long today.\nHow many times have I told you that good things come to those who wait?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBetter things come to those who make good trades.\u201d His English was\nimproving, and he spoke with so little accent that he rarely needed correction\nanymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Mama was busy removing challah from the oven, Anna pulled the\napple from her pocket and crouched down to look Anshel in the eye. \u201cThis is for\nyour lunch at school. Do not trade it this time. It will make your brain smart.\nYou must spend your energy learning, not on sweet-talking your teacher for\npassing grades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anshel\u2019s eyes widened. \u201cHow did you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou may be clever, but you do not fool me. Do you understand?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a roll of his eyes, he pocketed the fruit and grinned. \u201cYes, Madam<\/em> Teacher<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that reminds me\u2014you have fallen behind on reading, so you will\nread two<\/em> chapters to me tonight.\u201d\nIgnoring his groan, Anna kissed his head, then straightened to look around.\n\u201cWhere is Shayna?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anshel shrugged. \u201cShe is also late.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna frowned. \u201cBut she left the factory before me.\u201d She took off her\nshawl and kissed Rivka\u2019s forehead. At fourteen, Rivka was already a beauty.\nMama\u2019s matchmaker friend would have no trouble finding the youngest Leibowicz\ndaughter a husband. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna kissed her mother\u2019s cheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are very<\/em> late,\nChannah,\u201d Mama scolded in Yiddish. \u201cThe sun is almost down. Hurry and take this\nto Mrs. Feldman while I prepare the table. She will want to talk about her\nailments. Tell her you are sorry, but you cannot stay.\u201d Mama placed a warm loaf\nof bread in Anna\u2019s hands. \u201cDo not dawdle but come right back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would Mama ever see her as anything but a child? Other girls her age\nwere attending college or married and making homes of their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She slipped out to the landing, knocked on 12B, and waited, still\nfuming. If her elderly neighbor still needed bread for Shabbat, then surely it\nwas not so<\/em> late. Anna gave Mrs.\nFeldman the loaf with an apology for not coming inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Anna headed back to the apartment, Shayna came up the stairs,\ntreading lightly. She froze when she saw Anna, her eyes aglitter like tiny, new\nflakes of snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd where have you<\/em> been?\u201d\nAnna asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMe?\u201d Shayna seemed oddly breathless. \u201cAm I late?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna leaned closer for a better look at Shayna\u2019s face. The air was\ncold, but not enough to account for the deep shade of pink that filled her\nsister\u2019s cheeks. \u201cHmm. It is strange how the walk from the factory gets longer\neach day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChannah!\u201d Mama\u2019s voice rang out from inside. \u201cAm I to do everything\nmyself now?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shayna grasped Anna\u2019s arm and steered her older sister into the\napartment ahead of her like a shield. It did not work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShayna!\u201d Mama said. \u201cNow you<\/em>\nare dawdling. Must you follow after Channah in everything?\u201d The table was set\nwith candles, Kiddush cups for wine, and two loaves of challah, which Mama now\ncovered with a towel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the others took their places, Anna leaned close to Shayna and spoke\nin English. \u201cI am still waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shayna glanced at Mama and then met Anna\u2019s gaze, the glow on her\ncheeks making her look younger than her sixteen years. Modesty looked lovely on\nShayna. She was the kind of girl who deserved far more than she would ever ask\nfor. There was nothing disappointing about Shayna, nothing reckless or\nobstinate, and Anna hoped nothing would ever happen to spoil her. Shayna was\nthe kind of girl Anna could never be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She drew a calming breath to mask a sudden prickle of dread. \u201cThat\nWasserman boy will make you ill, keeping you out so long in the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOh, no, Isaak would never do that.\u201d Shayna glanced at Mama again,\nthen lowered her voice. \u201cAnna, will you speak to her? The matchmaker has chosen\na boy for me to marry, but I want to marry Isaak. Mama does not like him. She\nsays he is too quiet. He is not a loud talker, but a thinker. He is very\nsmart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama shushed her daughters and lit the candles to begin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shayna whispered, \u201cWill you please speak to her?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a moment, all Anna could do was marvel at the pure hope shining in\nher sister\u2019s eyes. That Wasserman boy had better be worthy of Shayna, and treat\nher wishes with respect, because if he was ever pushy or lewd toward her in any\nway\u2026 But Shayna had the good sense to know a scoundrel when she saw one. And Anna\nwas the last person to question Shayna\u2019s judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, my love,\u201d Anna whispered back. \u201cAnd it will go in one ear and\nout the other. But for you, I will try.\u201d She leaned closer and kissed Shayna\u2019s\ncheek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama\nwaved her arms above the candles, as if gathering the light to her face, then\ncovered her eyes and said the blessing. When she uncovered her eyes, everyone\nsaid, \u201cShabbat Shalom.\u201d After the washing, all talking ceased as Mama blessed\nthe wine and passed it. She uncovered the challah and said the prayer. Then she\ntore off a piece, dipped it in salt, took a bite, and passed the bread.\nEveryone followed in turn, and then the speaking resumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMama\u2019s husband list for you<\/em>\nis a long one,\u201d Rivka blurted out to Anna, as if she could keep silent no\nlonger. \u201cAnd since you turned twenty, it grows longer every day.\u201d She heaved a\ndreamy sigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not need a man complicating things, Riv,\u201d Anna said lightly. Her\nyoungest sister could not comprehend why Anna was not pursuing marriage. \u201cWhat\nI need is to be accepted by a university, and even then, I will still need to\nmake the quota.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is quota?<\/em>\u201d Anshel\nfrowned. \u201cSome kind of bread? Why must you<\/em>\nmake it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe quota is a limit on the number of Jews who are permitted to do\ncertain things,\u201d Anna said. Things that non-Jews could do without restriction.\nOr reprisal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn Yiddish,\u201d Mama said. \u201cMust I always remind you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI<\/em> would like a man\ncomplicating things,\u201d Rivka said, switching to her mother\u2019s tongue.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo need to rush things, Rivkele,\u201d Mama said. \u201cSomeone must stay and help me with going to market and cooking\nsince both<\/em> your sisters seem to have\nmore important things to do than come straight home where they belong.\u201d With a\nsigh, Mama sliced more bread. \u201cI am sorry Papa cannot be here again for\nShabbat, but I am certain he will join us one day soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna nearly dropped the bread that Anshel passed. Many times had she\nheard this ridiculous claim from her mother in the four years since they\narrived in America. Too many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen will you accept that Papa has abandoned us?\u201d Anna said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mother\u2019s jaw dropped. A thick layer of silence settled over the\ntable. \u201cWhat a terrible thing to say about your papa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cheeks burning, Anna took her portion and passed it. \u201cI am sorry,\nMama. But since you rarely go out, you do not hear what I hear. You do not know\nwhat the people say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo now people in the street know more about your family than your own\nmother?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So it would seem.<\/em> Anna stared at her\nplate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama busied herself with cutting more bread. \u201cYou are just tired and\nare allowing gossip to affect what good sense you possess. Let us not spoil\nShabbat with any more unkind words.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, Mama,\u201d Anna said quietly. She stole a glance at her siblings.\nEach one kept their attention on their plate, except Shayna, whose glistening\ngaze met hers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let us not quarrel<\/em>, she mouthed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Shayna\u2019s sake, Anna held her tongue, but only for now. The time\nhad come for a long, overdue conversation with her mother. Anna dipped her\nbread in salt and ate in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the\nothers were in bed, Anna gathered her take-home work and trudged to her\nmother\u2019s sewing table, barely visible beneath heaps of mending and partially\nassembled clothing. Unfortunately, as all their Jewish neighbors knew, they\nwould lose their jobs if the work was not finished, Shabbat or not. Mama, Anna,\nand Shayna were lucky to have garment jobs, as steady work was painfully difficult\nto find in the years following the Crash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna drew\na fortifying breath. \u201cMama, I know you do not wish to hear of this, but there\nis talk that Papa went west to make his own life, and this is why we stopped\nreceiving letters from him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama set\none garment aside and reached for a new bundle of fabric. \u201cYou are right, Channah<\/a>. I do not wish to hear gossip about your papa.\nYou do not know him as I do. He would never simply leave us to fend for\nourselves. How can you believe such lies? Who told you he went west?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna\nshrugged, hoping Mama would not press the question. The source of that\ninformation was something Anna desperately wished to forget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWas it\nthose people you insisted on going out to meet? Where are they now, those\nexciting new friends who you could not even introduce to your mother? They are\nstrangers, and yet you listen to them?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strangers<\/em>\u2026\nHow foolish she was last autumn to think those so-called \u201cfriends\u201d were\nanything special. \u201cOthers have said it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWho\u2014old\nwomen who have nothing better to do than sit around inventing stories?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seems\nas if everyone knows that Papa left us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do not\nknow this, and therefore it is not true.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMama,\u201d\nAnna lowered her voice, hoping to soften her words. \u201cDo you only believe what\nyou wish to be true?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama threw\ndown her bundle and turned to Anna. \u201cI am not so blind nor am I stupid, as you\nthink. Have you forgotten living in Bielsk under Red Army tyranny? What could\nyou know? You were just a child. I lived in the Pale during the pogroms. I have\nseen horrible things. Though I wished the raids and attacks on our people to\nend, they did not. And here we are, in the land of opportunity, and yet Jews\nare counted and spat on and banned from shops and jobs and universities. And\nyet I still believe\u2014even if you cannot\u2014that God provided your papa a ticket to\nAmerica and that He kept us alive, and that He will watch over us and bring\nPapa home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna\u2019s\ncheeks burned. \u201cI remember, Mama. I also remember that when you were out\nsearching for work and the gangs attacked our village, I had to hide my little\nsisters beneath the floorboards. How can I ever forget that? If God is watching\nover us, why did I have to keep two babies silent when I was as terrified as\nthey were?\u201d Her body shook as the memory refreshed her terror. \u201cWhy did He\nsupply passage for Papa who only sent us half our fares and then vanished? And\nwhy did you and Shayna and I have to work until our fingers bled and sell\neverything we had to raise enough money to come here? Why are we still hated\nand mistreated? Why have I grown up without a father? If God is watching out\nfor us, Mama, where is your husband?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama burst\ninto tears and waved Anna away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shame\nstabbed at Anna\u2019s heart. What had come over her? And twice in the same evening?\nHer stomach took a sudden and unpleasant turn. \u201cI am sorry, Mama. I should not\nhave spoken to you that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mama\nsniffled and blew her nose. \u201cYou are wrong, daughter, and one day, you will\nsee. I am certain your papa has found work someplace where it is difficult to\nwrite.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a\nsigh, Anna studied her mother, once striking and vibrant, now pale, wilted.\nWhat Anna would not give to see her family free from ceaseless struggle and difficulty.\nBut she held out little hope for that. The promise of a better life in America\nwas nothing but pie in the sky. Perhaps Papa had grown weary of trying to claim\na piece of the golden dream and this great, monstrous land had somehow\nswallowed him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMama,\u201d\nAnna said gently. \u201cI think we must accept the possibility that Papa is no\nlonger alive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is not<\/em> dead!\u201d She pressed a fist into her\nbosom. \u201cIf he were, I would know.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna\ntouched her mother\u2019s shoulder. \u201cThen we must accept that he has left us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI accept\nno such thing. Hershel Leibowicz would never abandon his family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wish to\nbelieve that,\u201d Anna said. \u201cI also wish to understand how men can come to\nAmerica and then desert the families and communities who need them. But I\ncannot understand, so I believe it is up to the rest of us to be strong and go\non living without them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaking\nher head, Mama lifted a shirt from the pile. \u201cYou are too hard, Channah. There\nare many things you do not understand. You must have faith.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI do,\u201d\nAnna said, rising to her feet. \u201cI have faith that as long as you keep getting\nback up after you are knocked down, you may still have a fighting chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She left\nher mother, then changed out of her street clothes and crawled into bed, too\nweary to think and grateful for the warmth her siblings had created.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rivka and\nAnshel were asleep. Shayna faced the wall, but her shoulders shook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShayna?\u201d\nAnna whispered. When her sister turned, tears streaked her cheeks. \u201cYou heard?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shayna\u2019s\nmouth quivered. \u201cI do not like it when you quarrel with Mama. This is difficult\nfor her. For us all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anna\nswallowed hard. \u201cI am sorry. I just do not understand how men can abandon their\nfamilies. It is shameful to desert your people when\nthey need you most.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat if\nhe had no choice? Perhaps Mama is right, and he went to find better work where\nhe is not able to write.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What kind\nof work would keep a man from writing to his family for six years?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fragments\nof a puzzling conversation in the dim corner of a speakeasy formed in her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, doll face\u2014I guess you don\u2019t take after\nyour old man much.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you mean?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We heard he\u2019s been real busy over in Chicago.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doing what?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t you know?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe. But questions like that from girls like\nyou only dig up things you don\u2019t want to know.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A\nfamiliar, sickening sensation crawled up her throat. She inhaled deeply to\nforce it back down.\n\n\u201cYou are right, my love. I will try harder not\nto quarrel with Mama. Go to sleep.\u201d\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n