The Smartest Girl in the Room (36 page)

"Are you lost?" someone asked quietly. He
turned around and there she was. The first thing he saw, of course,
were the beautiful eyes. And then the smile. He had to smile back.
Then he saw the rest of the face, perfectly oval, perfectly
smooth.

"I think so," he said after a moment. "Lost
and a little out of my element. I didn't realize it was going to be
so cold today.

"I guess not," she laughed. Her laugh was
huskier than her voice. "You were looking for a clothing
store?"

"Yes, but not too expensive. I'm a
tourist-"

"Really? I never would have guessed by the
accent."

"Oh, aren't you smart? So can you tell me
where I'm from?"

She winked one eye shut and wrinkled her
nose. "Germany?"

"Ha!" Ash involuntarily laughed. "No, not for
some time."

"Then where?"

"Israel."

"Oh." She nodded knowingly. "I guess that
will do as well."

"But where is your accent?" he asked. "You
don't sound like the other Bostonians."

She giggled. "Thank you. My grandmother will
be very pleased to hear you say that. I'm not from Boston."

"Then where are you from?"

"You haven't heard of it, I promise."

"So tell me now and the next time someone
asks me where the prettiest girls live, I can tell them."

"And why would anyone believe you about
anything when you can't even bring a sweater to Boston in the
middle of winter?"

"It's supposed to be spring!" he laughed.

"Never listen to the weather reports in
Boston- everyone will believe you about that."

By the time they had walked down Congress
Street, he had told her his name. By the time they walked down
Washington Street to Filene's Basement, she had told him his. They
learned each other's life stories as he picked out his sweater, and
by the time they were at the checkout he had decided he wanted to
spend the rest of his life with her.

"When do I get to meet this grandmother of
yours?" he asked as they got a cup of coffee at a Dunkin
Donuts.

"She doesn't always like strangers. It might
take a little time."

"No, I have only a little time to convince
her that she should let you come back to Israel with me. I must
meet her as soon as possible."

"Do you want...." She smiled and looked away.
"Never mind."

"I'm sure I want it, whatever it is."

She looked back at him. It was a look he had
seen when he was younger, but one he never thought he’d get. "The
train leaves in two hours. I suppose you could come with me-"

"I think that's a great idea," he said
quickly.

"-but it will be really late when you have to
take the return train, and you won't get back until about
eleven-thirty."

"Is that late?"

"It is here."

"I'm willing to take my chances."

"Don't worry, I'm not very dangerous."

"I don't believe that's the case."

Ash stayed at Tatiana’s house for hours,
talking long into the night with her and her grandmother Helen. She
was not easy to draw a smile from, but by the end of the evening
she wouldn't hear of him going anywhere at such a late hour and set
up a bed for him on the couch.

When they awoke the next morning, they found
Ash had already made breakfast for them. (He was suddenly very
grateful to his mother for all of those times he had to make
breakfast while she got the younger children ready.) After that
morning, Helen didn’t object when Tatiana would leave with Ash, and
didn’t mention anything when they didn’t come back. Her smile was
enough for him to know that she approved.

Helen, he repeated to himself. That's a nice
name. So was Judah, his brave, stubborn grandfather who’d willed
himself and his only surviving son to live through Hell. Tatiana
had cried when he’d told her how his grandfather and father had
lived through the concentration camps. She promised that she would
never forget.

She cried again when he told her he would
have to return to Israel. He made his decision at that moment.
"We’re getting married," he said simply. "Stupid idiot war- I’m
going to do what I have to do, then I’m coming back and we’re never
going to be apart again."

Her pretty eyes were bloodshot. "You’re just
saying that. You’re never coming back again after you leave."

"How can you say that?"

"Because no one ever comes back."

"I swear on my grandfather’s life, I’m coming
back for you."

"Don’t swear anything. Just do something! If
you want to marry me, take me back to Israel with you."

"Are you crazy? There’s a war now."

"Didn’t you say there was always a war?"

"Yes, but this one is new. Please, Tatiana,
it’s so much more dangerous now."

"But that’s where you’re going! And you’re
going into battle!"

"I am not going into battle, alright? My
father... I’m not proud, but I’m on patrol duty, not infantry. It’s
much safer."

"Fine, then take me with you."

"God, my grandfather will love you. You’re as
stubborn as he is."

"Is that a yes?

"No, you crazy fool. I’d kill myself if
anything happened to you there."

"Oh really? And you want to marry me? So
where do you suppose we’re going to live if Israel isn’t safe?"

"Darling, the war isn’t going to go on
forever."

"There’s always a war..."

"Yes, fine, but it will be safe in a few
months, and then you’ll come over."

"And do you have a date for that?"

"Yes- right after Yom Kippur."

"I don’t believe you."

He put his arms around her and kissed her. He
meant every word. She kissed him back. "So marry me now," she
whispered.

"I think my family is going to want a bigger
wedding, and I’m not sure we have enough time to sort out all of
the arrangements before I have to leave- "

"We can get married again and everyone can be
with us, but if you want me to believe you, then you have to marry
me now."

He racked his brain to see if there was
anything wrong with what she was proposing. And there wasn’t. So he
kissed her again. "Alright then, let’s get married. We'll do it as
soon as the sun comes up."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and
grinned. He realized that at this late hour, they had the beach all
to themselves. So they used it. Ash smiled at the memory. Of
course, that must have been when it happened.

They had gotten out of the jeep by now.
Automatically, he began to check his weapon. Good call, he thought.
Now no one could count on their fingers around his child, not that
those things should matter anyway. And this made things a little
easier. His parents, he knew, were not so crazy about his marriage
to an American, but he knew that they couldn’t say no to their own
grandchild. And his grandfather… as long as the baby was raised as
a Jew, he’d be happy.

"Ash, look out!" But Ash had been too
preoccupied thinking about his pretty new wife and the child they’d
have by next year to move out of the way quickly enough. He died
from the explosion instantly, but her face was the last image in
his mind.

Deborah Nam-Krane was born in New York,
raised in Cambridge and went to school in Boston. You’re forgiven
for assuming she’s prejudiced toward anything city or urban. She’s
been writing in one way or another since she was eight years old
(and telling stories well before that). She first met some of the
characters in this story when she was thirteen years old, but it
took two decades- and a couple of other characters- to get the
story just right.

In 2012 she wrote the History section of her
sister Suzanne Nam’s
Moon Thailand
(Moon Handbooks).

Like other indie authors, she hopes her
readers will leave reviews on retail sites, Goodreads, and/or their
blogs. Nothing helps an indie more!

A blogger since 2006, she can be found in a
number of places:

Written By Deb

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