The Family Affair by Leon Gildin

Author:Leon Gildin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: israel, warsaw ghetto, jews in war
Publisher: Diamond River Books

Chapter XIV

My parents wouldn’t dare walk into the apartment without gifts for the children. Ari runs to them with hugs and kisses, and when he gets his present, he races back to his room to tear off the wrapping paper and starts to play with the new game or toy. Yehudit, whom we call Hudi, is just as loveable. There is nothing she likes more than to crawl up onto her Sabah’s lap and have him look at a picture book with her.

When we have company, we usually feed the children first and put them to bed so that our evening is undisturbed. When the company is my parents, however, my mother loves to feed Hudi while Rina prepares Ari’s dinner and then sees to it that he eats it. While the children are eating abba brings me up to date on what is happening in the store and I tell him what is happening at school. Then, when the house is quiet, we all have a glass of wine and sit down for dinner.

“Nu” said eema, “to what do we owe the honor of being invited to dinner?”

Not yet ready to get into the subject while we were eating, I replied, “I wasn’t aware it was such an honor. I think I’ve seen you here once or twice before.” And with a laugh and a joke, we spoke of other things. We learned that they had gone to a concert with Rina’s parents but never told us. Rina was thrilled to know that our families were seeing each other and promised to give her mother a piece of her mind for not sharing the gossip.

When coffee and dessert were served, I finally admitted, “There is something we want to share with you.”

“Aha,” said eema, as she shook her finger at my father. “I knew there was something we didn’t know.” Turning to Rina, she asked, “You’re not pregnant again, are you?”

With a big laugh, I responded. “No, eema. There are other things in life to talk about besides being pregnant.”

To which she shot back, “What else is so important?”

“Let me tell you,” I replied. I got up from the table, and as I was walking out of the room to get the envelope from Germany, I asked, “Are you still up on your German?”

Returning to the table, I heard eema ask, “Why, do I have to be?”

“Because I received a letter from some German lawyers I want to share with you and abba to tell me if I am missing anything.”

Removing the letter from the envelope, I handed it to abba and he moved closer to eema so that they could read it together.

Abba was the first to react. “So, you are now an heir to a rather sizeable sum of money.”

“I was quite sure that’s what it said,” I responded. “I also have a copy of the will that I would like you to look at. It’s not very long.”

As I handed him the will, eema looked up and said with suppressed anger, “Son of a bitch, it never ends, does it?”

I was shocked.

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