Jacob's Way (9 page)

Seven

A
lmost quitting time. I'll be glad to get out of this place.”

Reisa, who was sitting on a stool tying strings around the necks of small bottles, looked up at the girl who spoke. Her name was Hannah Marsh. She was a plain girl of seventeen years old, and fatigue had bent her shoulders and drawn lines in her face. “We can go home and rest up,” Hannah said.

Reisa straightened her own back, aware of the pain there. She had been working at the medicine plant, which was simply one floor of a large brick building, gloomy and airless and dark. She had been eager to come to work to make money, but Joseph had warned her that it would not be pleasant.

Indeed, it had been most unpleasant. The hours were long, from six in the morning until six at night. The work was boring and monotonous, tying strings around an endless series of small bottles containing a dark liquid. Reisa had learned on her first day that the medicine was worthless—colored water with a few things added to make it taste extremely bad. Sitting in one cramped position for twelve hours with only brief breaks three times a day was almost more than Reisa could bear.

But the worst thing was the owner, Mr. Oscar Trunion. He was a greasy-looking man of fifty who apparently never bathed and who took liberties with the young women who worked for him. Reisa had recoiled the first time he had laid his hand on her shoulder, but he had laughed at her, exposing stained teeth. “You little rabbit,” he said. “You and I will get better acquainted.”

Each day grew worse, and Reisa woke up dreading the job—not so much the hard work and the long hours, but the unwelcome attentions of the owner.

But there was nothing else to do, and she had to work. Besides, she had been assured by Hannah that other jobs were just as bad. She longed for the times back on her small farm when all she had to do was milk the cows, tend the garden, and do the housework. She wished often that they had never come. However, she never complained of this to Jacob, who asked her often how her day was. She would always say, “It was fine,
Zaideh
.”

When Friday came, Mrs. Gold was busy all day cleaning the house and cooking, for the next day was the Sabbath, a day of rest, when no work nor cooking could be done. When Reisa arrived home tired and discouraged, she smelled the odor of good food cooking. She went at once to her room, washed, and lay down on her bed until the evening meal. She actually fell asleep, so that a knock on her door caused her to start.

Her grandfather called, “Reisa, come. We're ready.”

Reisa pushed aside Boris, who did not smile at her but grunted and growled deep in his throat. Coming off the bed, she quickly pulled off her old dress and put on her one good dress, a garment that had once been dark green but was now faded. Well aware that the Sabbath began at sunset on Friday evening, she hurried downstairs.

The
shibak
dinner was the most important dinner of the week, and she entered the room to find that the table was already set, covered with a clean white cloth. Everyone was there, and her grandfather smiled at her. “We're waiting on you, Reisa.”

“I'm sorry, Grandfather,” Reisa said.

“It's all right,” Mr. Gold said quickly. “Plenty of time.”

“Would you recite the
kiddush
, friend?”

Jacob took the cup of wine and said a long blessing. “God blessed the seventh day and pronounced it holy, for on it he rested from all the work which he had created to set the universe in motion.

“You are blessed, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine. You are blessed, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has made us holy with his commandments and desired us and who, with love and good will, has made us inherit his holy Sabbath—a remembrance of the work of creation. Today is the day which is the beginning of all holy celebrations, a remembrance of the departure from Egypt. For you have chosen us and sanctified us from among the nations, and you have made us inherit your holy Sabbath in love and good will. You are blessed, Lord, who makes the Sabbath holy.”

“Amen,” Mr. Gold said, and then they ate their food. The meal was the same that they had always had on the Sabbath: chopped liver, chicken soup with dumplings, roast chicken, and two loaves of bread called
challah
especially baked for the Sabbath.

Reisa was so tired she could scarcely keep her eyes open. Although there was much talk among the family, she finally excused herself and went to bed. As she went to sleep, she wondered how she would stand the factory. She looked forward to the
Shabbat
the next day, but beyond that came the factory, which was always a nightmare to her.

The din of the factory had given Reisa a terrible headache that would not go away. All morning she had suffered in silence, and at the half-hour lunch break she ate her meager lunch sitting all alone. Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the throbbing pain, and memories of her old home in Russia came to her. She was able to see the cozy little house and summoned up pictures of her tiny stove and the narrow bed which had been hers. Suddenly she thought of the goose she had nursed back to health, and wondered what had become of him.
I hope you're happier than I am, goose!

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted when she felt a hand run over her shoulder and down her arm. Her eyes flew open and she saw Oscar Trunion's greasy smile as he bent over and leered at her. Without conscious thought, Reisa struck out, and her open palm caught the owner on the cheek with a meaty sound.

“Why—you little cat!” Trunion glanced around, and noted that other workers were watching him. His face flushed, and he said loudly, “You're fired! Get out of here!”

Reisa came to her feet, anger racing through her, and she spoke in Russian without being aware of it. “You are a mangy dog of a man!” She shoved Trunion aside and almost ran out of the room. She stopped long enough to pick up her coat, aware of Trunion's angry voice shouting curses at her. Leaving the factory, she took a deep breath, then forced herself to calm down. As she made her way home, she found herself praying silently.
Father of the Universe, forgive me for my anger. You have said that your people are to be humble, and I broke that law. Forgive me, and please, O great Maker of all things, make a way for me and my grandfather!

Jacob had been surprised to see Reisa come home early. He listened while she told him that she had left her job, then said, “It's all right. We will find a way. God will help us.”

Reisa took a quick breath and wondered if she should speak. For the past two weeks she had suffered at the factory, and every day had spent an enormous amount of time trying to think of some way out. She had listened to the girls at work and to the conversation at the table. She had talked with Dov, with Petya, and with others that she had met, and out of all of this had come what amounted to a dream. She had nurtured it and worked it out in her mind, waiting for the right moment to come to speak to her grandfather, and now she felt that the moment had come.

“Grandfather, I think I know how we can make our bread.”

“What way is that?”

“I think we should become pushcart peddlers.” She saw his look change to one of immense surprise, and hurriedly spoke as if to head off his objections. “I've been talking to some of them and to Mr. Gold, and I know we can do it.”

“But we know nothing about it. We have nothing to sell.”

“We have a little money. A pushcart can be rented for ten cents a day,
Zaideh
. I've already seen to that. All we have to do is buy enough merchandise for one day. We will sell it, and then we'll have enough money to buy some for the next day. If others can do it, we can do it as well.”

Jacob was shocked into silence. He had never thought of such a thing. He was well aware, however, that they could not go on as they were. He thought for a long time, his face intent, and finally he lifted his eyes. “It is a gamble, Reisa.”

“Not so much as you think. We will sell things. I have met a street peddler named Jake Cantor—”

“Yes,” Jacob interrupted. “I know him. He has been to the synagogue often.”

“Well, he has offered to teach us. It will take all the money we have, I know, but God will be with us.”

Jacob nodded, his face worried but resolved. “Well, my Reisa, we will do it. Tomorrow, as soon as possible, we will take to the streets!”

Reisa was a busy young woman for the next twenty-four hours. She asked Jake Cantor to help them, and early in the afternoon, Cantor arrived at their rooms. He was a short, fat, balding man with rather merry brown eyes and a cheerful air. “Ah, Miss Reisa. You are ready to launch into your new profession?”

“Yes, Mr. Cantor. We are so grateful for your help.”

“There is not much skill to it. Come, I will take you, and we will buy your stock.”

The entire day was spent in buying stock. They had to buy carefully and in small amounts, but they got a sampling of everything, including razors, carpet slippers, snuff boxes, tobacco, spectacles, sassafras, peppermint, needles and thread, ribbons, and suspenders.

“You can't sell out of an empty wagon,” Mr. Cantor said firmly as they collected the merchandise. “It's a funny thing, you may have the greatest bargain in the world, but if it's the last thing in your cart, nobody will buy it. But if you have a full cart, people will always buy. I've never understood it, but I always try to keep my cart full.”

The next morning Reisa and Jacob took their purchases and rented the cart. Reisa arranged it neatly, and by seven o'clock they were ready to go out on the street. Reisa felt some fear, but she never showed it to Jacob. “Come,
Zaideh
,” she said. “We will go now and sell on the streets.”

“May the God of heaven be with us,” Jacob said. He was even more reluctant to go than his granddaughter, but they had no choice. They had burned their bridges.

The next two hours were a trial, for despite many people stopping to look, no one bought anything. Reisa's heart fell, but she kept a smile on her face. She chatted constantly to Jacob to keep his spirits up, and finally when a woman stopped and bought three ribbons for twenty cents, she turned to Jacob and said, “See, we're already successful!”