The Dressmaker's Son (6 page)

When Misha
returned a month later, Rebekah did as she and her mother had planned.  At
first Misha would not agree to wait until Samuel was two, but Rebekah somehow
managed to convince him.  It worked in her favor that there were some
responsibilities his father-in-law had put upon him that would keep him from
being able to move forward immediately.

Over the next
three months, he came back twice.  Each time he made promises to always keep
her aware of Samuel’s growing up.  Before leaving he would hold her and speak
of how he still desired her.  Rebekah responded saying she felt the same, and
they would be lovers again after Samuel was with him.  When he told her that
Catherine knew, and she had forgiven him for what she called his “little
indiscretion,” and was ecstatic about Samuel coming to be their child, Rebekah
calmly told him that she knew Catherine would be a good mother. “My little
Misha,” he would call Samuel. She knew that if he were to take Samuel, his name
would become Misha. She lived with the regret of foolishly insisting it be his
middle name.

Michael would come
home each evening and play with Samuel.  Sometimes he would take him outside;
other times he would sit with him, singing the songs his father had taught him
as a boy. He never touched a drink again.  Samuel responded to him joyously. 
His little face lit up when Michael walked in the door.  Rebekah noticed a tenderness
in Michael she never knew he had.  He poured love into this child, basking in
the love he received unconditionally.  She began to see this tall, thin man
with a receding hairline in a different light. “It’s not his fault I couldn’t
love him,” she thought one night as she watched him put Samuel down to sleep.

A week after
Misha’s third visit, Michael died of a heart attack in the cobbler shop.

CHAPTER 11

She was still
wearing the clothes from the funeral when the men arrived to say
Kaddish.
 After she greeted them, the ten men gathered in a semicircle, the rabbi in
front leading them.  Her eyes went from face to face. There was Yechiel, the
butcher, with his new apprentice; Mr. Levine, the gristmill owner, and his son
Daniel; Uncle Joseph, her father’s brother and his son, Abraham; two cousins
from her mother’s side and Michael’s brother Morris and his son Isaac. 
Standing almost behind them was Schmuel, Michael’s apprentice.  Michael had
told her about him, but they had never met.

Rebekah sat on the
couch while they prayed.  Women had brought platters of meats and cheeses,
cakes, and cookies which Rose had put on the small table.  When the men had
finished, they came individually to express some kind of condolence to
Rebekah.  Morris hugged her, fighting the tears that threatened to spill onto
his cheeks.

“I saw little
Samuel in the kitchen,” he said. “He was Michael’s life. That’s why he hired
Schmuel as an apprentice.  He had such dreams for Samuel. ‘Samuel will not be a
cobbler like me,’ he would say. ‘Schmuel will become a cobbler.  I will be able
to do twice as much business.  Samuel will go to the university in St.
Petersburg.’”  This was a very ambitious dream as there were extremely strict
quotas for Jews who wanted to enter the university, and it usually took some
political connections to make it happen.

“I know, Morris.
Thank Schmuel for coming. I’ll need to talk to him about the shop, but not
now.”

“Of course.  Let
me know how I can help, Rebekah.”

Rose came out and
told everyone to eat.  The next few hours passed with others stopping by to pay
their respects.  Rebekah just sat.  Rose put Samuel to bed.  Other women helped
clean up and refresh the food. This was typical of the Jewish tradition.  For
the next seven days, except for the Sabbath, people would continue to come.

“At least it’s
Thursday,” Rebekah thought to herself. “I’ll have tomorrow night and Saturday
to think.”

When everyone had
gone, Rose sat down next to Rebekah on the couch.

“I’ll telegraph
Jacob in the morning.  I don’t know how long it will take for Misha to find out
Michael has died, but you need to start getting ready to go to America.  You’ll
need papers.  No one at the emigration office knows about Misha now, but once
Misha knows about Michael, he may have people there looking for you.  I’ll find
out tomorrow how long papers take and what is required.”

Rebekah could hear
the harshness in her mother’s voice.  She knew what she and Samuel leaving
would do to her. “I’m so sorry, Mama.”

“I know, Rebekah,
but sorry won’t help.  What’s done is done.  You must concentrate on saving
Samuel.”

CHAPTER 12

A
pril 1912

Jacob sat
pensively as the ferry made its way through the choppy water.  It was storming
pretty badly, and he could see the whitecaps in the river.  Rachael had wanted
him to wait until tomorrow to pick up his package. “You’ll get soaked,” she
told him.  “It will be there tomorrow. Wait until then to go.”

“It can’t wait,”
he told her.  “I need to get it today.”  He had never lied to Rachael and was
trying very hard to keep from doing so now, but she was making it difficult.  The
package he was going to pick up was Rebekah and her child, but he really wanted
to surprise her.

It had been over
two years since Jacob had opened the store.  He had done almost exactly what he
had told Rachael he would do.  The store owner who was a friend of David’s had
given him a real break on the first six month’s rent.

“If you make it
through that,” he told Jacob. “I’ll be giving you a substantial increase.”

            The vendors from whom he
was already getting materials continued to supply him, and he had gone from
manufacturer to manufacturer getting more products.  The first company he had
approached was very skeptical about issuing him credit.

Morris, the owner
asked, “How do I know you will pay me? Why should I believe this store of yours
will be a success?”

“Because I’ve done
it before,” Jacob answered. “And, look at it this way. If I don’t pay you, how
much are you really out?  And, if I do pay you, how much future business will
you get from me?  I could end up one of your best accounts!”

            Morris was impressed
and allowed him a small amount of credit.  When Jacob shook hands with him he
said, “And, Morris, I’m going to tell Benny down the street that I have credit
with you!”

            Morris just smiled. He
knew that Jacob was doing that so he could get additional credit from other
suppliers. “This is an ambitious man,” he thought to himself.  “I have a
feeling nobody will be left unpaid by him.”

            The store enjoyed success
from the day it opened its doors.  Jacob had stocked it with fabrics and sewing
notions that women needed.  He had also imported fabrics from Europe and the Far
East that were hard to come by.  Soon he had women coming with their
seamstresses from the more “exclusive” Jewish areas to purchase his wares.

            Rachael helped every
day in the store in addition to taking care of the kids and providing her
wonderful meals.  All the children were in school and the boys both had jobs
after school. At night, when the store was closed and they sat down to dinner,
Jacob was very proud of what they had done together.

            The biggest surprise
had occurred one evening at Sabbath dinner.  In between the matzo-ball soup and
the roasted chicken, Rachael announced that she had something to tell the family.
 The table fell silent.  She looked at each of the children and then Jacob.  Blushing
she said, “We’re going to have another child, Jacob,” And then softly she
added, “And we have no cradle.”

            Jacob was elated.  He
jumped up from the table and pulled her from her seat.  Hugging her, he
proclaimed. “This is America, Rachael.  We will buy a new cradle for this
baby.”  Then he turned to the children who were sitting there with shocked
looks on their faces.  “Do I hear everyone congratulating Mama?” he bellowed.

            One at a time they rose
and hugged her.  Leah, who had just turned seven, said she was big enough to
help now.  Solomon, who was becoming more grown up every day hugged her and
asked, “If it is a boy, Mama, can we name him Levi?”

            “Of course we can,
Sollie,” she replied hugging him tightly.

            In some sects of
Judaism, it is not uncommon to give the baby a Hebrew name that is different
from the English name and is used for religious ceremonies.  The baby was born
in January, a beautiful baby boy whom they named after Levi for his Hebrew name
and Gabriel Eli on his birth certificate.  Before long, Gabriel got shortened
to Gabe as a nickname.

There had been a
great deal of discussion about where Rachael would have the baby.  It had been
most common for women to give birth at home with the aid of a midwife and
family members.  Social taboos rooted in gender kept women from going to a male
doctor.  They were too embarrassed at the thought of being touched by an
outsider, especially a male.  However the Jewish Maternity Hospital had opened
in the middle of the Lower East Side and Jacob believed she would get the best
care there. “What care?” Rachael cried. “I’ve had five babies.  I know how to
do it.”

            “Yes,” Jacob answered
gently. “But this is a place where they will care for you before and after the
baby is born.  Please.  Go with me to visit the hospital.  If you are not
comfortable, you can do as you please.”

            Rachael went and she
was indeed impressed.  The nurses were attentive and the doctor seemed caring,
and they even had kosher food.  Fortunately, everything went well and it was an
easy birth.

Gabriel was a good
baby, and the children were all enamored with him.  And while Solomon would
never forget his brother who had died, he let little Gabe fill the hole in his
heart that had never healed.   With all the help from the children, Rachael was
soon able to help Jacob in the store again.  

Now he was on his
way to get Rebekah.  He knew about Michael’s death, but with the business he
had and an apprentice to run it, he wasn’t sure what the urgency was for
Rebekah to come to America so suddenly.  The telegram he had gotten from Rose
was sketchy.  But it said that Rachael and Samuel were in danger and had to
come to America as quickly as possible. That was enough for Jacob to do
whatever he had to do to make it happen.

 Jacob remembered
the meeting he had had with her before leaving Yelizavetgrad.  He and Rachael
had gone to Rebekah’s to say good-bye.  Rebekah had grabbed Jacob sobbing.  “How
can you do this to me?  How can you take my family away to America?  What will
I do?  I have nothing.  No children and now no family.” 

Jacob tried to
calm her down.  “Mama is here,” he said. “And Michael and his family are here.”

“But not Rachael!
And not my nieces and nephews.  You don’t understand. I’ll be so lonely.”

Rachael stepped in.
“Jacob is going to bring you, Michael and Mama to America as soon as we can,”
she promised. “Please, Rebekah, you need to be strong for Mama.”

When they left,
Rebekah’s parting words were, “Don’t forget your promise, Jacob.  Bring us to
America as soon as you can.”

             “Well, now I’m keeping
my promise,” he thought, but he felt terrible that he couldn’t bring Rose.  As
it was he had had to go to the American Jewish Committee to help with the money
for Rebekah’s passage.  This was the same organization that had helped him and
his family come to America.  Jacob had vowed to pay them back three times over,
and he had been giving them a little bit every month since the store had opened.
 Rebekah had always been a saver and had some monies from the cobbler shop, but
the tickets had to be obtained discreetly, according to Rose.

CHAPTER 13

Rebekah sat on the
steps of the main building at Ellis Island holding Samuel on her lap.  Someone
had helped her place a call to Jacob’s store so she could let him know that she
had arrived and been processed.  She could hardly believe she was in America.  Everything
had happened so fast that she had felt little emotion or excitement about the
act of actually going to America.  It was just a means of keeping Samuel safe
and with her.  But as the ship had sailed into the harbor, and she stood on
deck with Samuel, she felt a sense of relief and excitement that was overwhelming.

            She took it all in.  Entering
from the Atlantic Ocean into Lower Bay and The Narrows, Staten Island was to
her left and Brooklyn to her right, gradually opening up into Upper Bay with
New Jersey to her left, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and Manhattan with
its large buildings straight ahead and Brooklyn still to her right.  Someone on
deck had a map he had received from a relative in New York and was pointing
these places out to everyone who would listen.  Rebekah was surprised by the
forts guarding the entrance to the harbor.

Sitting there in the
harbor, she suddenly suffered a deep sadness and guilt about leaving her mother.
 Rose had been unbelievable.  She’d paid for and made arrangements for the
train, helped Rebekah pack everything, and made arrangements to get with
Schmuel on working things out with Michael’s cobbler business.  But she
couldn’t get enough of Samuel.  Every time Rebekah turned around she was
holding him and saying, “Bubbe will miss you, my little Sammy.  Don’t forget
your Bubbe.”   

Rose had refused
to go to the train with Rebekah and Samuel. “We’ll say good-bye here,” she said
as she hugged Samuel.  Then she hugged Rebekah. “Be safe and well, Rebekah. Take
a hug to Rachael and her family.  You know I love you.  Always do what’s right.
 You know what is and isn’t right.”

Rebekah could
hardly speak. “I love you too, Mama.  We’ll bring to you America.  I promise.”

The trip had been
eventful, to say the least.  Rebekah was in a section that was a mixture of families
and single women.  In the bunk above her was a lovely twenty-two-year-old girl
named Rivka who was coming to America by herself.  Her parents had been killed
in the last pogrom in a small town not far from Yelizavetgrad.  Rivka had been
living with family friends and helping them with their small farm.  At night
she had embroidered tablecloths which she sold.  Finally she had saved enough
money to make the trip.  She was going to live with the only family relative
she knew of, her mother’s brother, Uncle Saul, who lived in Chicago.

            Rebekah had taken an
instant liking to Rivka.  She was an exceptionally beautiful girl.  Her skin
was an olive color which set off her unusual golden eyes, with dark brown,
thick lashes.  Rebekah noticed that she had difficulty keeping her long, curly
brown hair pulled back.  Rivka was elated to have someone befriend her.  They
spent most of the time together, and Rivka was a great help with Samuel, who,
by the end of the voyage, was calling her “Kivra.”

The eating situation
was very rigid.  Food was put out three times a day and quickly cleared away.  People
pushed and shoved to get at the meager offerings.  One morning when Rebekah
wasn’t feeling very well, Rivka offered to go and bring back some breakfast for
her and Samuel.  When she got to the table, the kitchen staff was already
clearing it.  She tried to grab a few pieces of bread and some milk.  A greasy
looking young boy grabbed her arm.

            “We’re cleaning up now,”
he barked in Russian. “Go back to your bunk.” 

            Rivka recognized him as
one of the young men who had been setting up the meals since the first day.  He
was one of several boys making the voyage who were working in the kitchen in
order to have more food for themselves and to steal as much as they could for
their families.

 Pleadingly she
asked. “Please. This is for a woman and her small baby.  She is not feeling
well.”

The boy sneered. “A
lot of people aren’t feeling well.” Then, unexpectedly, he put a few things on
a plate and got her some milk.  “Here,” he said gruffly.  “Take this.  But you
owe me.  And I will collect.”

Rivka quickly took
the meager offering and went back to Rebekah.

Later that evening
as Rivka made her way to the bathroom, someone grabbed her around the waist and
pulled her out into the hall and then into a closet.  With his hand, the
abductor shoved her against the wall.  She tried to scream as she realized it
was the boy who had given her the food.  Suddenly he produced a small knife
which he held in front of her face. “Make one sound, and I will use this on
you,” he whispered.

 She stood silent
while she suffered the sexual attack.  He smelled like the grease of the
kitchen coupled with a horrible body order that made her gag.  When he was
finished, he threatened her again, telling her that if she told anyone, she
would never get to America because he would kill her and toss her body in the
sea.

Rivka made her way
back to her bunk and climbed in.  Rebekah heard her crying softly all night.  “She
must be really scared,” Rebekah thought to herself.

In the morning
Rebekah questioned her. “Are you all right Rivka?”

“Yes, fine
Rebekah.”

“Well, you look
awful,” Rebekah answered.

            “It’s nothing,” she
replied. “I’ll be okay.”

            But after two or three
days, Rivka was still crying.  Finally Rebekah stopped her as she was headed to
her bunk.  Most of the people around them had headed to lunch.  She pulled on
Rivka’s arm.  “Sit a minute, Rivka,” she said softly.

            Rivka let her pull her
down onto the bunk.  “What is it, Rivka?” Rebekah implored.  “I can see in your
face something is terribly wrong.  Please tell me so I can help you.”

            “Nobody can help me,”
she answered.

            “Of course they can,”
Rebekah insisted.  “Tell me. I’ll help you.”

            Rivka turned scarlet as
the tears came and she told Rebekah what had happened.  Rebekah held her.  “You
poor thing,” she whispered.  “But it wasn’t your fault, Rivka,” she assured her.
 

            “But what if I get with
child?” she asked.

            “Let’s not worry about
that.  We’ll watch for your cycle. Meanwhile, you must show me who he is.  He
must be punished.”

            Rivka looked terrified.
 “You can’t,” she exclaimed. “He’ll kill me if we tell anyone.”

            “Oh, we’re not going to
tell anyone, Rivka.  I’ll take care of this and nobody will ever know.”

            A week later Rivka got
her period.  The two of them were elated.  Rivka would have killed herself
before showing up at her uncle’s house expecting a child.

            Meanwhile, Rebekah had
made her point out the boy was who raped her.  Rebekah watched him for a few
days before putting her plan together.

            One afternoon as they
were clearing the tables from lunch, Rebekah approached him.  “I am the woman
that my friend said wasn’t feeling well and needed food.  I wanted to thank you
for letting her bring me some.”

            He was not a very
attractive young man.  Rebekah guessed he was about eighteen or nineteen.  His
jet black hair was greasy and his sallow complexion was dotted with small
pimples.  Not quite six feet tall, he had a lean but muscular frame like one
who had done a lot of physical labor.  The young boy looked her up and down.  “It
would have been a shame for someone as beautiful as you to stay ill,” he said
smiling at her.

            Gently she touched his
arm. “Well,” she said. “I am much better now and wanted so much to be able to
thank you myself. This trip is so difficult and so boring.”

            “I know,” he answered. “But
meeting you has instantly stopped my boredom.”

            Rebekah feigned
embarrassment. “Oh, please. You probably say that to everyone.”

            “No,” he answered
swiftly. “You are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.  Not just on
this awful ship, but anywhere.”

            “Thank you,” Rebekah
answered demurely and turned and walked away. “Part one accomplished,” she
thought to herself. She had watched for him during the day to see what he did
and where he went.

            To her dismay she
learned he worked directly for the ship. She also discovered that he was hiding
money routinely under a plank on the deck where he had met her.

            At the next two meals,
she smiled and flirted with him discreetly.  At the end of dinner one evening
when he was clearing the tables, she lingered.  As she expected he approached
her.  “There is a way to get up on deck in the evening,” he said.  “Want to
meet me here later and we can take a stroll?”

            That was all Rebekah
needed. “Oh, that would be delightful. I’ve gotten so little fresh air.  I’ll
watch for you later.”

            His whole face lit up
as she turned and walked back to the bunks.

            After Samuel was
asleep, Rebekah asked Rivka if she would watch him for a while. “I’m going to take
a walk on deck,” she explained. “I’m going crazy down here and need to have
some fresh air.”

            “Be careful,” Rivka
cautioned. “You know they don’t like us mingling with the other passengers.”

            “I will,” Rebekah
replied as she gathered her cloak and headed toward the doorway where she knew
she would find the young man.

            He was leaning against
the wall waiting for her.  Rebekah’s skin crawled at the thought of him
touching Rivka.  She followed him up the stairs which, in reality, she already
knew about and had used before to get to the deck where she could lean against
the rail and smell the sea.

            When they got to the
top, they stood silently at the rail.  “You’re really beautiful,” he told her,
as he turned and roughly pulled her toward him.

            She looked into his
eyes and pushed him away from her. “And you are a pig,” she said venomously,
pushing him away from her.  “I know what you did to my friend. And you are
going to pay for it.”

            “And how is that going
to happen?” he sneered.

            “Why don’t you go check
where you hide your money?” she answered and paused.  His eyes registered
panic.  “Never mind, I’ll save you the trouble. I have it.  And if you want it
back when we get to America, you better not even think about going near me or
my friend.”

            “You bitch,” he almost
growled.

            “You have no idea,” she
said, her heart racing. “I know what you did to that poor little girl, and if
you go near her, or bother either of us, you will never see any of your money
again.”  Then, she turned and headed toward the door.  She would give him back
the money when they docked, less a little cash for Rivka for her start in a new
country.

When Rebekah
returned, Rivka was still up. “Are you feeling better, Rebekah?” she asked.

            “Yes I am, Rivka,” she
replied.  “Thank you for watching Samuel.”

            At the next meal, the
young man was not helping.  But a couple of meals later he was back.  Rebekah
would fill her plate with extra food and he would start to say something, but
Rebekah would glare at him and he would walk away.

            Rebekah smiled to
herself remembering what she had done. She believed that her mother would think
she had done what was right.  Already she missed her.  Rebekah prayed Jacob
would be able to bring Rose to America and vowed to get a job and save money to
send for her.

            Samuel was getting
restless and pulling at her skirt.  She stood up to walk with him when she saw
Jacob walking toward the steps where she had been sitting. “Jacob,” she yelled.
“Over here.”  At the sight of him, she filled with emotion.  He looked as
strong and confident as ever.

            He spotted her at once
and hurried towards her, a big smile on his face.  She hugged him and held him tightly,
and suddenly felt tears of relief running down her face.  She pulled away
wiping her eyes.  “And this is little Samuel,” she said picking him up. “This
is your Uncle Jacob, Samuel. Give him a big hug.”

            Jacob took Samuel from
her, kissed him, and held him out in front of him. “What a big boy you are,” he
said. “And how handsome.  He has your mouth and chin, Rebekah, but he looks
nothing like Michael.”

            “I know,” she replied. Looking
around she asked excitedly, "Did you bring Rachael with you?"

            “No.  She doesn’t even
know you are coming.  I wanted to surprise her.”  Handing Samuel back to her,
he picked up her two suitcases. “Come.  We will take the ferry and then the
train to get home. I can’t wait to surprise Rachael.”

            As they walked, Rebekah
had a million questions.  Where would she live? How will she be able to find a
job to take care of Samuel?  How was the store doing? How old was Gabe now? Was
Rachael really okay?

            Jacob answered her
questions, but didn’t ask many of her except for how her trip was and how Rose was
doing.  Rebekah told him the truth. “This was very hard for her, Jacob.  We
must find a way to bring her to America.  I made a vow that I will do whatever
it takes to get the money to do so.”

            “It isn’t always so
easy, Rebekah, but I will do all I can to make it happen.”

            It was just turning
dark when they got to the store.  Jacob walked in letting Rebekah linger a
little behind him with Samuel.  Rachael was sweeping the floor and humming. “I’m
back,” he declared. Rachael finished sweeping some dirt in a little pile before
turning around. “And did you get your package?” she asked, not seeing him carrying
anything.