Chapters (41)
Rina, don’t you dare leave me alone!” Decker ordered.
“They don’t want to talk to me.”
“I don’t want to talk to them!”
“Well, you don’t have any choice about it, do you?”
Rina stood. Decker yanked her back down.
“Please, don’t do this to me!”
She kissed his nose. “You’ll be fine, Peter. Learn to trust yourself. Then, maybe you can learn to trust me.”
“I’ll never forgive you for this!” Decker said, helplessly.
Rina laughed. “I’ve heard those words before. Come, boys.”
“I’ll stay with you, Peter,” Jacob volunteered.
“Now!” Rina ordered. She pulled Jacob up. “Come on!”
“Rina!” Decker whispered furiously. But she ignored him and scurried off with her sons.
Swell! thought Decker. No friggin rest for the weary. He got up slowly, his heart doing the steeplechase. Goddamn it, least they could do was come to him. He was the one that was incapacitated. But it was clear they expected him to make the first move. After all, he was the eldest in the family.
He started walking toward them; they started walking toward him. Descending on him. They met halfway.
Decker just stared, gawked. All five of them, even the women.
What were they thinking?
They were dressed according to type. Ezra in a rumpled black suit and slouch hat, Shimon in a tailored black suit and a homburg. The sisters were wearing long-sleeved blouses and long skirts. One had her hair covered in a kerchief, the other wore a wig. Both were clutching oversized bags, nails digging into the supple leather. Jonathan was dressed in a long-sleeved polo shirt and a pair of gabardine slacks. He wore a kipah atop his head.
The seconds ticked away.
Decker adjusted his own kipah, bit his lip, tried to think of something to say but couldn’t. He swallowed hard, then swallowed again.
Shimon went first. He smiled, shrugged, then reached out and embraced Decker, kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear the word Achi.
Achi—my brother.
A Hebrew song rang through Decker’s ears.
Henei matovu manayim, shevet achim gam yachad.
How lovely it is when brothers sit together.
Ezra joined in, hugging him as Shimon held him. He kissed him on the cheek. The men let go and the sisters, one at a time, hugged him and kissed his cheek. They had to stand on their tiptoes to reach him.
Last was Jonathan. They were eye-level with one another, Decker staring straight into hazel-green eyes that were shiny and moist. Gingerly, Jonathan looped his hand around Decker’s shoulder, then pulled him into an embrace.
He said, “You just bought yourself one crazy family.”
Decker burst into laughter, then into tears.