Hanna rose from her chair and stretched, feeling the tired muscles ease their tension. “Do you want me to accompany you to her house for the fitting?” she asked.
“No. I think it will be just right. If not, I can take care of the odds and ends.” She folded the dress carefully and wrapped it inside a sheet. “How about some lunch now?”
“I think I will go home to check on Mama. She had a bad night.”
“Stay there an extra hour. There are some alterations on the table. You can begin on them when you return.”
As Hanna ran into the house, she was startled to hear Motlie laughing. Jakob was seated on a kitchen chair by the door of the bedroom, and he had obviously said something that amused her. Israel, also chuckling, was seated at the table. Hanna called out hellos to the men, and then went into the bedroom. Her mother’s face was pale, but she seemed to have the pain under control.
“What is so funny?” she asked.
Motlie began laughing again. “Jakob was telling about one of the men of his congregation getting married, and the groom’s father bought him a Shtreimel, one of those large, fox fur hats that Hasids are married in. But he had mistakenly gotten him one that was two or three sizes too large. And every time he nodded yes, it fell off, even when he was standing under the chuppa.” She looked up more closely at her daughter. “Have you eaten lunch?”
“Not yet. I will get something before going back to work.”
“The doctor,” said Israel. “He’s here.”
A trim carriage driven by the doctor’s servant was pulling up to the house. Israel limped to the door, bowed stiffly, and then ushered the physician into the kitchen. Without a word, the doctor walked into the bedroom and looked down at Motlie.
“I will need a lamp or two,” he said.
Hanna lit the one by the bed, and then brought another from the kitchen. The doctor motioned her out, then closed the door behind her. Jakob carried his chair to the table and sat there with Israel and Hanna, listening to the muffled voices of the two in the bedroom.
“There is some soup,” said Israel to Hanna, not really paying attention to what he was saying. “Do you want a bowl?”
She shook her head. “No, I will wait.”
They lapsed into silence, Hanna sitting stiffly in her chair, Jakob leaning forward with his elbows on the table, looking fixedly out of the window. Hanna glanced at him. He is praying, she said to herself. He is praying for Mama. She felt a surge of tenderness for the tall, skinny man, and then a sense of peace swept over her. God will listen to Jakob, she decided. She felt like placing her hand over his, but she knew that touching the Hasid would be a serious breach of his customs.
The doctor was in the room only fifteen minutes or so, and then he stepped out, closing the door behind him. He motioned to Israel to come outside. Hanna rose from her chair to go with them, but a stern look from the doctor stopped her. She sat again, fear about her mother’s condition dampening her anger at the physician’s disregard of her concerns. In a short while, the doctor’s carriage started off, and after a minute or two, when her father did not come back in, she stepped outside.
Israel was leaning against the wall of the house, tears streaming down his face. She touched him gently on the arm, and he turned to her. He placed his arms around her and laid his head on her shoulder and his heartbreak flooded from his throat with sobs so full of pain that Hanna was terrified.
“She’s dying,” he choked out. “He said a week, maybe two.”
“Oh, Papa,” she whispered, tears filling her own eyes. “Is there nothing he can do for her?”
Israel shook his head. “He says there is nothing.”
“Maybe an operation?”
Israel moved away and wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt, and then took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. He was breathing heavily, panting for air. He swallowed a time or two, and then said, “I asked about an operation. He said it is too late.”
Hanna flung the tears from her eyes. “I will find another doctor,” she muttered desperately.
Israel shook his head again, hopelessly. “There is nothing to be done. It is all in the hands of God.” He began limping towards the door, and then stopped and turned. “No more tears, Hanna. Whatever time your mother has left, we will give it to her with our love.” Then trying with all his might to straighten his shoulders, he walked into the house.
CHAPTER 10
Hanna met Stephen at the boat shortly before dark. He was sitting on the bank, idly tossing stones into the water. He started getting up as she approached, but she motioned for him to remain seated. She sat next to him.
“Mama’s worse,” she said quietly.
“I’m very sorry,” he said, taking hold of her hand and pressing it gently. “Is there anything I can do?”
She shook her head, tears making their way into her eyes. “Everything seems to be happening all at once,” she said chokingly.
His attention was caught by an unusual sound in her voice, and he stared at her in the pale gray of dusk. “What else is there?”
She sighed wearily. “I do not know what to think.”
He turned towards her; his tall, square body blocking out lights springing up across the river. “What is it, Hanna?” She sat still, the only movement her teeth gently biting her lip. “You’re trying to tell me something. Come on, my dear, out with it.”
“My bleeding has suddenly stopped,” she said, turning her face away.
Stephen sat as still as stone for a few moments, then he placed his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to him. “Are you sure? Could it be caused by your troubles, or something like that?”
Her lips tightened as she rested her head against him. “I hope it is. But it never happened to me before.”
“Perhaps it’s due to making love for the first time.”
“I don’t know, but if nothing happens in a few more days, I guess I am pregnant.”
He tightened his arm around her. “We’ll get married,” he said, his voice calm and determined.
“We can’t do that, Stephen. Not now, at any rate.”
“It’s not a matter of what we can’t do,” he replied at once. “It’s a matter of what we must do. I want to be your husband for the rest of my life. I love you, Hanna, with all my heart. Being pregnant is only making us do what we should do anyway.” He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
Her shoulders drooped under his arm, and she let out a sigh of dejection. “I don’t know what to say. There are so many problems at home that I can’t think of being pregnant and getting married.”
“How can you not think about it?”
She suddenly began to cry. He held her in his arms to comfort her, rocking her gently, knowing that now was the time to let her shed her pain and fears and sorrows on his shoulder. For a moment, upon learning the news, his heart had leaped into his throat, and his brain had almost stopped functioning with the shock of having to face the first truly important decision of his life. His initial reaction was that he must protect her at all costs, and the only shelter he could offer was marriage. Now, as he held her, he began to think of more practical requirements, the most important being to earn a living, since marriage with her would create many bitter problems as well as the joy of having her for his own.
He decided to put all of that out of his thoughts for the present. The immediate issue was to determine whether Hanna was really pregnant, and if so, to