Street Dreams (53 page)

“You could have a home if you wanted one.”

“Well, I don’t got one now.”

“You may not have an apartment at this moment, but we can get you one.”

“I want to see Sarah.”

“I’m sure that can be arranged.”

“No. Her sister won’t let me.”

“Have you ever asked Sarah’s sister?”

David didn’t answer.

“Things might be different with the baby. It’s worth a try.”

Again I extended my hand. This time, he took it and I hoisted him to his feet. His smell was strong, even in the open air.
He was short and appeared squat, but that could have been the layers of clothes. Immediately, he began to scratch his hands,
arms, and head. I got itchy just looking at him. “Those cuts and sores … do they hurt?”

“Sometimes.”

“They look like bites.”

“Could be. Lots of bugs and rats around when I sleep.”

“We need to get you looked at and cleaned up. I have a friend who works in a hospital. Mind if we go there?”

“What hospital?”

“Mid-City Pediatric.”

“That’s for kids.”

“They have adults. And they have lots of good doctors.”

“All right.”

“So should we go now?”

“All right.”

I looked at the piles of clothing on the ground. “Anything you want to take with you?”

He thought a moment, then shook his head. “It’s all garbage.”

“You deserve better than garbage.”

He didn’t answer me. He concentrated as he walked. I could tell his feet were tender. Slowly, we made it back to my car and
I settled him inside. In closed quarters, his stench was foul, not just a dirty smell but reeking of infections. I rolled
down the windows, started the engine, and pulled away from the curb.

“When can I see Sarah?” he asked me.

“First we have to clean you up.”

“How long will that take?”

“I don’t know. We just have to make sure you’re not sick before you see Sarah—because of the baby.”

“How is the baby?”

“She’s wonderful. Very, very cute.”

“Good.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“There’s a McDonald’s at the hospital. If the doctor says it’s okay, I’ll buy you a meal.”

“Thank you.”

As I drove to Mid-City, I called up Koby on my cell. It was wonderful to know someone in the medical field; it just streamlined
everything. By the time I pulled up to the main entrance, Koby, dressed in scrubs, masked, gloved, and wearing a hair cap,
was outside with a wheelchair. I helped David out of the car and into the wheelchair.

“This is David.”

“Hey, David,” Koby said. “I’m going to put a cap on your hair, all right?”

“Okay.”

“Maybe we take it off later.”

“Okay.”

“Maybe we give you a short haircut like in the army.”

“Okay.”

Koby picked up the boy’s hands and I saw his eyebrows go up. “I take you to see a doctor, David. But I tell you now, I’m sure
we admit you overnight.”

“David, I’m going to call Mr. Paxton,” I told him. “He can help you with all this.”

“Okay.”

“Your daughter was brought here after she was born,” Koby said. “I took care of her.”

David looked up at Koby, and for the first time, I saw him smile. It opened his face and clogged in my throat.

Koby said, “I take it from here, Cindy.”

“He’s hungry, Yaakov.”

“We take good care of him. I shall talk to the attending. I make sure he gets fed. I see you when I get off … around eleven.”

“I’ll be waiting.” I went around to the driver’s side of the car.

“Cindy?” Koby said.

I turned around.

“He has infestation of lice. Go to the pharmacy and buy a special shampoo—Nix or Rid. You can buy them over the counter. Take
a hot shower when you get home and use it as directed. Also, they make a special spray for upholstery. You need to disinfect
your car.”

I looked at my beautiful, recently washed-and-waxed Lexus. I frowned. What could I do? The drawbacks of altruism, but on balance,
the positives greatly outweighed the negatives.

T
o T. S. Eliot,
April was the cruelest month, but for Angelinos September was the hottest. And if you asked Rina, the hottest day of the
year always fell on Yom Kippur, when religious Jews refrained from food and drink for over twenty-six hours. It wasn’t Yom
Kippur today, but the afternoon had been a scorcher, not all that unusual even at this late date in the ninth month.

Even now, as the hour approached six in the evening, the temperatures in the West Valley were still in the high 80s. Koby’s
newest set of wheels, a ten-year-old black BMW 323, had workable air-conditioning, but the temperature gauge had been steadily
rising as we tooled down the freeway. So as soon as we hit local streets, he turned it off and we opened the windows. When
we got to my father’s house, the sun was an orange ball of fire sinking in the sky. I checked my watch. We had made good time.

We both had dressed for the heat—comfortably but appropriate for
Shabbat.
Koby had on an off-white linen suit over a white T-shirt. No tie, obviously, calling it Israeli style, but he satisfied his
color fix by wearing a gigantic red-green-and-yellow-striped yarmulke, the colors of Ethiopia. This evening, he was my chieftain
prince—tall, lean, aristocratic, and incredibly handsome— real eye candy. My heart did a little tap dance every time I looked
at him. I had on an ice blue sleeveless dress, but I carried a white cotton blazer to cover my bare arms in case I decided
to go to synagogue.

I paused before I knocked on the door. I regarded Koby’s eyes made gold by the strong light of sunset. “Will you sing ‘
Eshet Chayil
’ for me tonight?”

He grinned. “Of course. In my heart, I sing it for you every night.”

“But tonight is different.”

“Indeed. If you want, I will sing it for you a hundred times.”

I leaned my head against his arm. “Once with meaning will suffice.” I exhaled and smiled. “Here we go.”

I knocked and my father opened the door. First his eyes went to Koby’s face, then to mine. He gave me a stern look. “What
brings you here on my off-hours, Detective?”

“Well, Lieutenant,” I answered, “Yaakov and I were trying to figure out how to celebrate my promotion. We ran through some
ideas. One of them was
Shabbat
dinner with you and the family.”

Dad broke into a smile exuding pride. “I’ll see if Rina has any champagne.”

Koby lifted a bottle of Kedem bubbly. “I’m one step ahead of you, sir.”

“Hmm …” Dad sneered at my date. “And just what have you
personally
done to celebrate my little girl’s promotion?”

Koby lifted up my left hand. “I’m one step ahead of you, sir.”

My father’s eyes widened. They went from my hand to my face to Koby’s and back to my hand.

Koby said, “I brought a magnifying glass if it would help.”

“It’s not
that
small. It’s not small at all. What is it? A carat?”

“One point four, actually.”

“Shiny little bugger, isn’t it?”

“It is a very good stone—E flawless. I could have gotten bigger, but your daughter wanted quality. I have good friends in
the diamond bursa in Israel.”

“I’ve been there, so don’t even try to pull rank.” He stared at Koby, his expression sour. “Does this mean you’re going to
be a fixture here?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Dad broke into a grin.

Then he hugged Koby.

Not me. Koby.

I tapped my father on the shoulder. “Uh, remember me? Your daughter?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He broke away from Koby, hugged me hard, gripping me with his fingers. As soon as his eyes moistened, he averted
his gaze. “Come on in.” To me: “Did you tell your mother?”

“We just came from there. We told her first.”

“Smart girl. Set a date?”

“Mom’s working on it,” I answered. “She’s thinking about squeezing us in somewhere between her trip to the Far East and the
Food Is Life banquet.” I laughed. “I’m being mean. She offered to cancel her trip to the Far East, but I told her to work
around it. We’re flexible.”

Koby said, “Actually, I wanted to marry in Israel, save you time and money, but Cindy said Jan would kill her.”

“She would have,” Decker concurred.

“So now you are stuck with my family coming out here. With all of my siblings and step-siblings and cousins and their families,
it will be between thirty and sixty people.”

Decker opened and closed his mouth. “Okay.”

“His father and stepmother are real, real,
real
religious, Daddy,” I said.

My father looked ill. “More than Rina?”

Koby thought about it. “Not more religious, but Rina is more … sophisticated. My stepmother is Canadian, but my father is
very, very old-fashioned. He doesn’t speak English all that well.”

“He doesn’t speak it at all,” I corrected. “But he understands. He’s very cute. He’s really, really skinny. And his stepmother’s
a doll. When they come out, can they stay here? Rina not only knows the religious etiquette, but she also knows Hebrew. If
they stay with Mom, it’ll be a disaster. She won’t know what to do with them.”

“Uh … of course.” Decker smiled weakly. “But only if it’s okay with your mother, Cindy.”

“I thought I’d set her up with some of Koby’s English-speaking, less religious siblings. Maybe a few could stay with Grandpa.”

“Your mother’s father?”

“Yes, Dad. I wasn’t thinking of your dad in Florida.”

“You’re going to sic Jack Cohen on Koby’s relatives?”

“Stop that!” I scolded. “I love Grandpa.”

“I love Jack, too,” Dad answered. “He was the best part about your mother. But he’s different.” He shook his head. “Have you
really thought about this?”

I noticed my father turning a slight shade of green. “Maybe we should discuss this later and just celebrate my promotion tonight?”

“Good idea.” My father looked as if a headache were coming on. Just then Sammy walked in. “Dad, could you— Oh, hi, guys.”
He homed in on my fiancé. “Koby, we need to talk. I’ve got this emergency situation. A basketball game on Sunday.”

“I’m
working,
Shmuel.”

“What time do you start?” Sammy asked.

“Three.”

“No problem. The game’s at ten.”

“Sammy, that’s enough,”’ Decker said.

“Our star forward’s grandmother died. I promise you’ll be out by one because we’re all going to the funeral at two.”

“Sammy, you are truly sick,” I told him.

My stepbrother ignored me. “Koby, we really
need
you. Otherwise it’s going to be embarrassing.”

“Surely there are other token blacks in this area.”

“Not this late in the series. They’ve already been snapped up. C’mon. I’m going back to New York next week.
Please?
”

“I have to help Cindy pack.”

“I’ll help her pack after the funeral.” Sammy looked at me. “Where are you going?”

“I’m moving,” I told him.

“Oh. Where?”

Koby raised his eyebrows.

“Oh.” Sammy looked at Daddy, trying not to smile. “Okay. I’ll help you pack, Cin. I promise.”

“I can manage. I don’t own that much.” I regarded Koby. “You can play.” I elbowed my stepbrother in the ribs. “Anything to
shut him up.”

Koby rubbed his forehead. “You are a nag, Shmuel.”

“Persistent.”

“Just this one last time.”

“Thank you, thank you.”

“Don’t expect miracles.”

“Koby, it’s all a matter of image! Skill doesn’t hurt, either.”

Decker wagged a finger at him. “You’re overstepping your bounds, young man. I’m only permitting it because he’s now family.
Say hello to your brother-in-law.”

I showed Sammy my ring.

“Really? Cool!” He kissed my cheek. “I gotta go call Yossi before
Shabbat.
He’s gonna freak when I tell him. Thanks, Koby.”

“And
mazel tov?”
Koby prompted.

“Oh sure.
Mazel tov,
although it wasn’t exactly unexpected. But it’s still neat.”

He left.

“Well, he was certainly excited,” I commented.

My father laughed. “Sammy was born politically incorrect, God bless him.”

Rina came into the living room. “I thought I heard voices.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “Dressed like that, I’m assuming
you’re staying?”

“If it’s okay with you.”

“Of course.” She kissed my cheek. “
Shabbat Shalom.
”

Without a word, Koby showed her my finger. My stepmother’s eyes lit up. “Oh my goodness, it’s
beautiful!
” She hugged me hard. “Did you tell your mother?”

“Yes, she was the first one we told.”

“Perfect!” Rina hugged Koby and kissed his cheek. “
Mazel tov, mazel tov!
This is so incredibly exciting!”

“All this and a gold shield, too,” I said.

“Oh, that’s right! We
definitely
need champagne!”

Koby lifted the bottle.

Rina said, “I’ll go chill it.” Her face was suffused with pure happiness, unlike the happy but wistful expression that my
father wore. “Have you set a date?”

“We were just talking about this,” I said. “I asked Dad if you could put up Koby’s parents because they’re—”

“Of course!” Rina said. “We’ll put up anyone you want.”

“He has between thirty and sixty relatives, dear,” my father remarked.

“Okay. As soon as you set the date, let me know so I can call the caterer for
Shabbat
dinner and lunch on the day of the
aufruf.
” She spoke to Koby. “You’ll have it in our shul, I take it. Unless you want to do it in your shul.”

“Your
beit knesset
is fine.”

Rina was beaming. “This is so exciting. I can’t wait to meet your family. And don’t worry, Koby. We’ll put them all up. It’s
not a problem.”

My dad was massaging a wrinkled forehead. Koby put his arm around his shoulder. “Now you see why I left.”

Sammy came back in and kissed his mother. “Eema, Eema, you’ve gained a son and I’ve gained a forward!” He scrutinized Koby’s
face. “I guess you can call her Eema although she’s only what, ten years older than you?”