Casting Lots by Susan Silverman

Author:Susan Silverman [Silverman, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780306824623
Publisher: Da Capo Press
Published: 2016-02-12T08:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Our Dream

October 1999

From Addis Ababa to London, and now over the Atlantic to New York, almost everyone smiled at us. Maybe they were nervous smiles in response to my staring them down with my grin. I liked to think that together Adar and I represented something that made people happy, that transcended the two of us. He sat on my lap by the window and we watched morning break across the sky. The pink dawn rose like steam above the dark blue sea as if recalling the divine kee tov, “It is good,” God’s pronouncement on the formation of a new day. Like the dawn that was no longer night and not yet day, Adar and I were in the process of becoming. We were a weaving of opposites—tragedy and joy, mystery and intimacy. Perfection in all its fractured pieces, made in the image of God.

I had dressed him in the traditional Ethiopian outfit that Jody and I bought for him at macala, the outdoor market in Addis Ababa. The red tones of his brown skin deepened against the stark white cotton with hand stitching. His little bare feet were heart-burstingly soft against the bumpy blue embroidery at the hem of the pant legs, and the large four-petal blue and black flower embroidered on the shirt seemed to reflect the expansiveness in his huge dark eyes.

I had two larger outfits with the same design packed away for the girls. I couldn’t wait to take pictures of my three children in their matching Ethiopian outfits with the embroidered starburst of a flower in the center of each shirt. I pictured them laughing together, the girls on either side of Adar, or standing in a row by size order, the Ethiopian garb embroidering their lives together.

“Excuse me,” said an Ethiopian flight attendant. “Your son looks so beautiful in his traditional clothing.”

“Thank you,” I glowed. “I love the flower burst.” I pointed to the stitching.

“Oh, that’s very special,” she said. “It’s a traditional Ethiopian cross.”

It seems the rabbi had bought her children the fall crucifix collection.

“Get me my bag,” I whispered urgently to Jody.

As we began our descent to Kennedy Airport, the sky turned from pink to purple to blue, as if a rainbow were leaking into the atmosphere. When we exited through customs, Adar was dressed in a tie-dyed purple and blue onesie.

“I have never seen you change him so fast,” Jody marveled. “It was like ripping the cloth off a table without moving a dish.”

Sarah was jumping and waving from behind the waist-high metal barrier. The four of us hugged in a huddle. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” she gushed, looking into Adar’s face. “Wow, Susie, I remember this outfit from when your girls were little, but he’s gonna freeze.” We pulled sweatpants and a sweatshirt out of the suitcase for him. Jody put fresh socks on his feet and kissed his cheeks.

“I’m your pretty auntie,” Sarah said to Adar with a straight face.

“Hey, who’s your favorite auntie?” said Jody.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.