Chapter 10

Glossary:

Latkes: These fried potato pancakes are a traditional treat. Frying is important since oil is central to the observance of the holiday.

Mazel tov: Congratulations

Shamash: Candle used to light the other candles in a Hanukah menorah. It is placed in a higher holder, usually in the center of the menorah, occasionally on one far side or the other.

When David let himself into the house mid-morning on Thanksgiving Day he was mobbed by his boys. They were tripping over each other, explaining how much they'd been helping their mother. Abby stood behind them, smiling and rolling her eyes.

He reached behind himself and pulled inside a flat package wrapped in brown Kraft paper.

"What's that Dad?"

"This, Nathan, is an early Hanukah present for your mother. Why don't you carry it into the family room. No peeking."

Everyone trooped into that room, and with a directional wave from his father, Nathan stood the package up on the recliner's arms and carefully leaned it back.

"Before I let your mother open her present, I wanted to talk with you two about something. Next Tuesday I'm going to the doctor's office to have a very minor operation. It'll be over in an hour or so and then I'll be going home."

Aaron looked scared and Nathan concerned. "Are you going to be OK?" asked Nathan.

"I'll be fine. If it were serious, they'd be doing it the hospital, right? They're going to work with a local anesthetic, not a general. That means I'll be awake the whole time. It's a very, very minor procedure."

Abby thought back to David in his briefs. 'Not that minor.'

"I'm mentioning it to you because I don't want to keep secrets for no good reason. You shouldn't have to worry that we keep important things from you. I'll be sore for a week, maybe two at the outside, so I might not feel like running around with you guys for a while."

"Can we see the scar?"

Abby blushed and hid her smile behind her hand. Since she was standing behind her sons, they were none the wiser.

"No, you won't be able to. The operation is minor, but it's not something I want to talk about. This stays inside the house. Please give me my privacy, OK?"

"May I see my present?" Abby asked to change the subject.

"Sure, step right up here and open it."

She stepped around her sons and carefully released the tape sealing the package. When the paper fell away, six eyes stared and three throats gasped while David looked on expectantly.

"David, you're drawing again? It's beautiful. It's just beautiful. It's ... it's perfect."

"Dad, you drew that? It looks just like us."

"Thank you, Nathan"

"I didn't know you drew pictures."

"Well, Aaron, I haven't for a very long time. I just started again a couple of months ago. Do you like it?"

"It's the best picture I've ever seen; better than all those in the museum. Will you teach me to draw?"

"Sure I'll teach you. We'll start in a few weeks, after I've recovered."

"Thanks, Dad. Wow!"

Abby set the picture safely against the bookcase and walked over to her ex. "Thank you, David. This is the nicest present I've ever been given." She thanked him with fierce hug. He returned her hug and the two youngest Steins exchanged smiling, hopeful glances.

"Come on, crew," David called. "Let's get this dinner going. Mom, give us our marching orders."

The Steins sat down to dinner mid-afternoon. Platters of turkey circled the table, followed by sweet potatoes, stuffing, corn, green beans and a home-made cranberry sauce, not the jelly that keeps the shape of the can. The first few minutes, as everyone dug in, were silent save the praises heaped upon the chief cook.

"Abby, you have outdone yourself this year. This is the best ever."

"Why thank you. I was inspired."

"Could I ask a favor of you?"

"Well, you can always ask."

"Cute. Would you help me go shopping tomorrow?"

"Oh, I don't know, David. You're talking about Black Friday. It'll be berserk out there; it's so busy. The crowds are crazy. What do you need to buy that's so urgent?"

"I wanted to buy an engagement ring, and I thought I should have your input."

The silence in the house was absolute; there wasn't even a clock to tick.

"Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"Abby, will you marry me again?"

Abby blinked back tears and tried to hear past the roaring in her ears. She grabbed control of herself and said, "We have to discuss one thing first."

The boys looked from one adult to the other as if they were following a tennis match.

David lifted his brows in a question. Abby raised her arms and placed them hand to elbow, moving them slightly, as if rocking a baby. He raised his eyebrows again. She cocked her head. He smiled and nodded.

Abby smiled through her tears, tilted her head back for a moment, then took his hands in hers and said, "Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes; a thousand yeses."

The thousand and four yeses released everyone's tension in an instant. David slumped back in his seat, letting escape the breath he'd held in, and then stood. Both boys screamed as if their elementary school team had won the World Series.

Aaron jumped down from his chair and gave his mother a tight hug. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love you, Mommy."

Nathan also flew up. His chair tumbled backwards, striking the floor. He leaped on his father, wrapping his arms and legs around him and burst into tears. Dear, sweet Nathan, budding long-distance runner, right-fielder, point guard, novelist-in-training, was completely overcome. For three long minutes he clung to his father, tears soaking David's shoulder. David could do nothing besides rock his son back and forth, and drop one hand to ruffle Aaron's hair when his younger came to hug his father's waist.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I don't know why I did that."

He released his grip and pushed off to stand, but David held him tight. "Don't apologize for what you honestly feel. I should apologize to you. It's obvious now how you felt, but you kept it all inside. I'm sorry I didn't realize how hard you were taking this, and I apologize for the pain I've put you through."

"I don't want you to apologize either, Dad. I'm just glad it's over."

"Why don't you write a story to help you deal with what you're feeling? Write about a boy whose father is coming home, say from a war, and how he would feel. Just keep it for yourself, if you don't want to share it."

"I like that idea. Thanks, Dad. I love you."

"I love you, too."

He pushed again and David set him down. Nathan rushed to his mother and began to cry again.

"Why's Nathan crying?"

"Aaron, there's a very thin line between different emotions. Nathan is so happy that the line has broken and one feeling is running into another. He'll be fine in a little while. He might do this again over the next few days, so either let him be or give him a hug. Whatever you do with love will be fine.

"Now that you understand, you need to protect Nathan from others who don't. Other kids who don't understand might call him a crybaby or a sissy or something, so this is going to be one of those things that stays inside the house, OK?"

"OK, Dad. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Nathan."

"You're a good brother." Father and son hugged again and walked over for a family hug.

The food was cold when the meal continued, but no one cared. Though it's difficult to chew and smile at the same time, they managed.

"Do you want to discuss the wedding details now, or wait?" David asked.

"How about I tell you what I know I want. If you disagree with anything, just say so and we can talk."

"Yes, dear." Abby stuck out her tongue in response.

"I want to be married in December. I do not want to go into next year without you by my side."

"That sounds fine to me. We can make it for the very end of December, if that's OK."

"Sooner is better. We'll just have to see what's possible."

"I don't need a fancy new dress, but I'll want to get something nice. I don't want a new engagement ring. I think there may be a problem with using the same wedding ring, but we'll ask the rabbi and work out the legal issues."

"You're sure you want the same rings as before? I didn't give you a choice the first time, you know. I'd love for you to be able to choose what you want this time."

"I did choose what I want and he's sitting across the table from me."

"For that, I'll thank God every day."

"I want a small ceremony, just family and a few close friends. I can't put together anything larger in such a short time anyway, and the date is much more important. Even if we had a lot of time, I think I'd still want something intimate."

"Whatever you want is fine."

The boys' heads had been swiveling to match the discussion, but Aaron couldn't hold back his curiosity. "When will you be moving back in with us?"

"Your Dad will be moving back as soon as he can."

"Uhm, your mother and I will discuss what's possible after dinner, guys."

He glanced over toward Abby who, though surprised by his answer, held her peace.

The rest of the day was family time. They wrapped a warm cocoon about themselves, content with healing the wounds of the past three years and more.

After the boys were in bed, David and Abby sat in the kitchen drinking one last cup of coffee. The family portrait had hastily supplanted another picture on the wall and Abby was staring at it. She mused asking David whether he could make a copy for every room in the house.

"OK, the boys are asleep. Why don't you want to move back right away?"

That was the $64 question, and it could not be dodged. Though Abby had been surprised by his statement, David had spent a good amount of time deciding how he felt. He felt a little guilty since honesty and openness would go by the wayside, but in the end, he was comfortable with his decision. He would tell her his number two reason, and withhold the other two.

Moving back to the house meant sharing a bed with Abby. The chance of them chastely sleeping side by side was nil and sex was the crux of his quandary.

The least of his reasons was that, though it made no sense, the thought of sex while uncircumcised was unappetizing; it just seemed wrong. For himself, he would strongly prefer not to do it. On top of that, after Tuesday, there would be a recuperating period when intercourse would not be possible. Sharing a bed with his lover would make the time all the more difficult.

His primary reason was far more irrational and he knew it. He simply didn't want Abby to have experience with someone who was uncircumcised. He knew she'd had other boyfriends before him. He didn't know and had no desire to know, what had happened between them. But they had all been Jewish, hence circumcised.

His trust in Abby was implicit; he knew in his heart that she was ever true to him. Nonetheless, he'd been seized by a dread he just couldn't shake. A fear fell upon him that Abby would become intrigued by the difference and sometime, somewhere would succumb to the memory and the urge to repeat the novel experience. He had pictured himself sitting at a table, his head in his hands, blaming himself for his weakness, for not being able to say no and waiting a few more weeks. He would blame himself, he flinched at the pun, for introducing the snake into the Garden. The one in a trillion chance iced his libido, and knowing he couldn't present that absurdity, he put forth another entirely valid argument.

"We have an opportunity to teach Nathan and Aaron a valuable lesson. We can teach them about self-restraint and morality. It won't guarantee they won't move in with the first girl who winks, but I think it will make them think carefully about it first."

"Why do you have to be so rational? I miss you so much I could explode and you say it's important for the kids. You're fighting dirty."

"I miss you too, but I won't be much good to you beyond Monday, anyway. I have an operation in a few days and I can't do anything after that anyway."

"What do you mean?"

"I have to heal before we, shall we say, strain the incision. I even have to avoid erections."

"Oh my God; I didn't even consider that. For how long?"

"I'm not sure, a couple of weeks for sure."

"WEEKS?"

Abby saw her plans withering before her eyes; she wanted to cry. But then the rules clicked in; give it time, and, support him. Those rules weren't just to help win him back. She intended to keep them until her dying day. She imagined the situation was no easier for him, so she got a grip on her emotions and looked him in the eye.

"I won't pretend I'm happy, but if you're sure, then that's what we'll do. You will, however, be sleeping here, at the very least, on Tuesday night. I refuse to allow you to be all alone after the ... procedure. Aaron can sleep in Nathan's room, and there will be NO arguments."

Having been married before, he answered, "Yes dear."

She accepted her victory graciously and the couple silently held hands for a long while.

"I do want to take you out somewhere tomorrow afternoon, but not shopping. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Who?"

"Mack Sullivan. He's the oooooold guy who helped me understand how I felt about things. You don't have to dress up, just look your usual pretty self. I'd like to leave here about noon."

"I'd love to meet him. Can we at least kiss a lot until Tuesday?"

No verbal answer was needed. David left at midnight.

Abby had spent the morning burning up the phone lines. She'd called her father first to tell him the news. He questioned her to make sure she knew what she was doing. Reassured, he promised to fly in for the wedding. June had wandered in right after. There were squeals and screams and hugs as she congratulated her friend and neighbor. She rushed home to spread the news as well while Abby dialed her favorite dress shop.

David called Jack to give him the good news, and received a hearty mazel tov. He then called and left a message for the rabbi. The secretary, of course, ran the synagogue, but there were still issues regarding the divorce, such as the ownership of Abby's wedding ring that he would have to decide. The status of Abby's religious divorce papers had to be discussed as well.

Mack looked up when he heard the door open and spotted David entering, an alluring woman at his side. From the smile on David's face and the arm around his waist, he knew this must be Abby, and he rushed from behind the bar.

He reached for her hands with his and held them fast. He couldn't miss the ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. "You could only be Abby. Welcome to my saloon."

"This is Mack Sullivan, counselor extraordinaire. He's responsible for getting my head straight ... and out of my ass."

"You gave me back my David?" she squealed and threw her arms around Mack. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

Everyone had turned to stare when they heard the squeal, and saw the embrace and kisses. David was amused and Mack was frantically trying to remove himself from her grasp.

"Now what can I tell the Missus to explain this? Half these galoots will call her and say I was fooling around and the other half will back them up."

"Did I really cause a problem?"

"Only a wee one, and to see you two together would make triple the cost worthwhile."

"What's your wife's name?"

"It's Maggie."

Abby reached into Mack's apron pocket, neatly plucked out his cell phone, and began to scroll through his recent calls.

"No, Abby. No. She'll blow her top."

"Trust me, Mack. I'll talk to her woman-to-woman." With that, she turned and walked off a few paces to a quieter spot.

Mack turned to David. "Am I a dead man walking?"

"I don't think so. Abby knows what she's doing."