“Los Angeles,” Decker answered back.

“Ah, Disneyland!” she said, with admiration. “I…was…in…Orlito…” She knitted her brow. “Orlatto…”

“Orlando,” Decker filled in.

“Cain! Orlando!” The girl beamed at being understood. “That is Disney…world.”

Decker said, “I grew up near there.”

The girl nodded. “You…livid in Orlando?”

Decker smiled. “Yes. I lived near Orlando.”

“You go to Disneyworld?”

This time, Decker laughed. “It wasn’t around when I grew up.” He turned to his wife. “Will you please translate this?”

“She likes speaking English to you.”

A boy shouted something out.

Rina said, “Slow. You turn right at that gray building.”

Decker complied.

And so it went. The girl with the dimples practicing her English, the rest of the crew talking and shouting out directions at various intervals. Decker drove until he found himself looking out at a black expanse melding into a black horizon of nothingness. The Mediterranean Sea.

The boardwalk was teeming with people. The kids asked to be let out near a hot dog vendor, pointing them toward the Malon Melech HaYam—the King of the Sea Hotel—a couple of blocks away. They left, the girl saying thank you in English.

The car was silent for a moment. Then Decker said, “Don’t say it.”

“Say what?”

“I was wrong.” Decker shrugged. “They were nice kids just playing a little dress-up. I need some adjustment time, that’s all.”

“Couple of hours and you’ll be thinking like a native.”

He shook his head in wonderment. “I can’t believe we just picked up five teenagers and allowed them to ride with us in our car. If my daughter did that, I’d kill her. I also can’t believe that the kids willingly came into the car without a drop of fear.” He looked at Rina. “What happened to America?”

Rina smiled sadly. “The Jews in Israel, for all that’s written about the conflicts among them, are basically a homogeneous population. Just like everyone in Japan is basically Japanese. America is heterogeneous—many cultures, and lots of communication problems. But it also has the creativity and tolerance brought about by cultures residing side by side.”

“Israel has diverse cultures.”

“You mean the Arabs here? The Israelis and Arabs don’t mix. That’s why they’re carving out their own state.” Rina sighed. “Maybe they’ll come to some kind of cold peace. But I’m not holding my breath.”

“Hope springs eternal.”

“I suppose,” Rina said. “South Africa just crowned its first Black Miss South Africa. Ten years ago that would have been unheard of. I guess things can change…at least superficially enough to satisfy political ambitions.”

Immediately, Decker thought about Kate Milligan. He wondered if he and Marge were right about her. If she had dared to love a black…saw his plight. Maybe it had touched a rebellious spirit in her.