Chapter 20

The Church of St John the Baptist is one of the oldest churches in Jerusalem. It was the site of the founding of the Knights of the Hospital of St. John. The order of knights, better known by the name of Hospitallers, was established to provide health care for poor and sick pilgrims to the Holy Land in 1080 AD. It was here that the Reverend Leroy Jones spent the night in prayer.

Founded in 1200, the Ramban Synagogue was the first Jewish presence in Jerusalem’s Old City after the exile of 135AD. It was destroyed after the Arab-Israeli War of 1948 and reopened after the Six-Day War when the Jews regained their right to the property. It was here that Rabbi Teitelbaum spent the night reading the Torah.

The Al-Aqsa Mosque was built in 692AD on the site where it is believed that Muhammad ascended to heaven to receive from Allah the sacred prayers that all Muslims were to repeat every day. Located next to the Dome of the Rock, it is the third most revered Mosque in Islam. It was here that Imam Abdel-Malik spent the night prostrate on the floor in total submission to Allah.

Jewish tradition says that the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate. To prevent that from ever happening, it was sealed by Sultan Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, a Muslim cemetery was built just outside the gate in the belief that the precursor prophet to the Messiah would not be able to pass through it. It was here, tucked under the arch of the gate, that Oscar Meyers spent the night watching the stars.

There is a building with rooms for rent that stands across the street from the Western Wall of the Temple of Solomon. One can stand at the window and see the area in front of the Wailing Wall. It was here that Georgia and Debbie spent the night looking through the window. With their thoughts on Oscar, they found little rest or comfort there.

“You’re here,” Oscar said when a shadow fell on him as the body of a grotesquely fat man blocked the light of the rising sun.

“Did you think I would not come?” asked the Two-Sided One.

“I knew you would come,” Oscar said with a sad smile.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

Nodding his head, Oscar answered, “Yes. You are here to offer me a chance to change my mind.”

Slowly morphing into a woman, the Two-Sided One said, “Before I ask, I want you to use your gift to look into the future and see what your life would be like if you choose to walk away.”

Raising an eyebrow, Oscar looked up at the Two-Sided One. He licked his lips and said, “I don’t want to do that.”

“Your decision must be informed,” the Two-Sided One said.

His resolution sapped by the future that he had seen, Oscar stood up and looked back at the city of Jerusalem. He felt a little guilty about his decision, but headed towards where he had parked the Land Roamer the previous evening. It was with a heavy heart that he walked to the car. He climbed in and drove towards the airport where the jet that would take him and his wives to Bermuda was waiting. On the way, he pulled out the cell phone and dialed the number for Debbie. When she answered, he said, “Hello, Debbie. I’ll meet you and Georgia at the airport.”

There was a long moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Debbie said, “You decided not to do it?”

“Yes,” Oscar answered feeling a tight sensation in his stomach. It hurt to admit it aloud. There was just too much to live for and he wasn’t ready to throw it all away.

“We’ll meet you there,” Debbie said.

“Great,” Oscar said. They exchanged goodbyes before he hung up the phone. The traffic to the airport wasn’t bad that morning. When he got aboard the plane, he removed the robe and put on a pair of blue jeans and a shirt. He never put the robe on again.

Oscar, Debbie, and Georgia looked around the house that was likely to become their temporary home in the Ozarks. Using the money that William had made from Oscar’s initial investment, they were looking to purchase a place to live in while their dream house was being built. They had already identified the property on which the house was to be built.

The real estate agent, sensing a big sale that would only be lost by using high pressure tactics, stood back and let them walk around the house. This house was available for a quick sale and could be closed on within forty-eight hours. She stayed close in case they had any questions. So far, they hadn’t asked her anything about the house.

Georgia and Debbie held hands as they watched Oscar looking out the window of the living room at the view outside. He’d been quiet since leaving the Middle East. They hoped that the news they had would cheer him up a little. Smiling, Georgia said, “We have some news for you.”

“What?” Oscar asked knowing what they were about to tell him, but not wanting to spoil their surprise. He still had the ability to see the future.

“We’re both pregnant,” Debbie said feeling Georgia squeeze her hand. They had bought a pregnancy test from the pharmacy. The results were positive, but hadn’t been verified by a doctor yet.

“That’s great,” Oscar said. He moved over to the two women and pulled them into a nice three-way hug. It felt good to hold them like that. He sighed at the thought that if he had gone through with the original plan that he’d have never had a chance to hold them like that again.

When the hug broke up, Debbie said, “It looks like we got pregnant at Petra.”

Oscar nodded his head and said, “That was a wonderful night.”

“Yes, it was,” Georgia said. She was pleased to know that Oscar would be there to help her raise her baby.

Faltering for a second, Debbie said, “I’m so glad that you’re here to see our children grow up.”

“So am I,” Oscar said. There was a small twinge of guilt that nagged at him for having walked away from his destiny. Still, he was going to get to watch his children grow up.

The real estate agent listened to the conversation without comment. She didn’t particularly approve of the fact that he was going to be the father of children by two different women, but she wasn’t going to say anything that would jeopardize the sale. She would make sure that once the sale was completed that the fine religious folks of the area wouldn’t have anything to do with them.

Not having any possessions other than the clothes on their backs, Debbie and Georgia went on a shopping spree in the nearest large town. With the purchase of a new house, there was a lot that had to be purchased. The most obvious need was for furniture and there were three rooms that had to be furnished. This included the bedroom, the living room, and the dining room. Since Oscar had declared that money was no object, they bought the items they wanted at the highest quality they found.

It was the kitchen that required the most amount of time and money to stock. Pots, pans, baking ware, dishes, silverware, spatulas, oven mitts, detergent, and labor saving gadgets of all kinds were required. Debbie and Georgia got all of the essentials necessary for a functional kitchen.

In an attempt to get Oscar out of the way, they sent him off to get the electric appliances. He spent three hours picking up blenders, coffee pots, bread makers, mixers, ice cream makers, electric can openers, waffle makers, microwave ovens, mini-refrigerators, and every other device in the store. Since there were three of them, he bought three of each type of item. He did vary the brands, though.

Georgia and Debbie found it difficult to keep a straight face when they saw the truckload of gear Oscar had purchased. Rather than return it, they decided to store the extras in case anything broke down. It was years before they needed to use one of the extras.

They did buy a top of the line home entertainment center with a large flat screen television. After watching the news several times, Oscar took out the television and placed it by the curb. One of the neighbors down the street saw the television and picked it up before Debbie or Georgia had even known it was gone. It was never replaced.

Oscar was seated in the waiting room of the OBGYN while Georgia and Debbie took turns with the doctor. He looked up when they both came out together and looked at him. Both women looked a little stunned. He asked, “What’s the matter? Is everything okay?”

With a hand pressed against her belly, Debbie answered, “I’m going to have twins.”

“I’m going to have twins, too,” Georgia said.

Happy about the news, Oscar got up and walked over to the pair. He hugged them and said, “That’s wonderful.”

“Twins,” Georgia echoed unable to get over the shock of the news.

“Yeah, twins,” Debbie said looking over at Georgia thinking that it wasn’t random chance for both of them to be expecting twins.

Six months passed before the dream house was finished. Discovering that both of the women were expecting twins had required some minor changes in the original plans for the house. That had set back the construction schedule. Debbie and Georgia had overseen the construction making sure that each and every detail was perfect. That had set back the construction schedule even more.

Located on ten wooded acres, it was pretty isolated from other houses in the area. The house was set far enough back from the road that it was only visible to passersby in the middle of winter when all of the trees lost their leaves. It was a magnificent house, but without being ostentatious. It made use of the landscape to enhance the quality of life.

From the living room, they could see the river that ran along the back of their property. There was a perfect spot for a dock just a short walk from the patio. The river was deep enough that they could go swimming and wouldn’t need to build a swimming pool. There was a large backyard. It would require a lot of work before it would be beautiful, but it had lots of potential.

It was moving day and their furniture was being brought in by the movers that Oscar had hired. They had brought in the furniture first and the movers positioned everything under the watchful eyes of the wives. It still wasn’t perfect though and the two women had Oscar moving things a few inches this way and that.