I Will Love You Forever Pt. 2 Ch. 08

In the end, he admitted to himself that she held a certain fascination for him. He went as far as to admit that he found her attractive and that in another place and time... maybe. However, it wasn't another place and time, it was the here and now and she, her husband and the Jew were enemies and had to be treated as such.

He now knew where they lived and had even driven by a few times and even sat in his car watching it one day. It angered him that they lived in a house bigger and much nicer than he and his family did. Then he saw Ralph and Marie in the front yard. His initial reaction was that they were beautiful children; the second one was that it was too bad that they had been born into a world like this and his last thought was that he had to do what he had to do. There would be casualties and unfortunately, those casualties would include children on both sides.

Without realizing it, he had just crossed a line that it wasn't too late to go back over. He looked at the house again and got angry again. It was the realization that the Jap and his wife were living better than he was that made his anger grow. As he stared at the house, he was unaware that Ralph was staring at him wondering who he was and why he was watching the house.

Andrew shook himself back to attention, saw Ralph staring at him, cursed and took off. He could only hope that the boy would forget about seeing him.

Even with the summer classes, the summer for Kenji, Patricia and everyone else had been a pleasant one with the pending wedding being the highlight. Ralph was still missed but the brunt of the pain of his passing had eased with time. Penny had become a frequent houseguest, was readily accepted into the "family" in no time, and was active in the planning for the wedding. When they weren't studying and everyone was free there were frequent get togethers with the last week of August being used to finalize wedding plans.

Patricia loved seeing Kenji relaxed as he played with the children, all four of them and taught them basic martial arts moves. Eli loved it and asked Kenji about advanced lessons.

"You must ask your mother first." Kenji said pleased to have another student.

When the children were in bed, he and Patricia had their own private lessons that he couched in the terms of something for them to do together. However, she wasn't fooled; she knew what he was thinking. He was trying to prepare her so that she could defend herself if she had to. Even so, she loved the private time especially the kisses when she did something well and the touches that included a caress when he corrected her position.

Joel and Penny's relationship grew to the point where everyone was wondering when there would be an engagement announcement but they were too polite to ask.

The only thing that would have marred the summer was if Ralph would have remembered to tell Kenji about the car that he saw watching the house.

Marji made Hathaway's dinner without comment. Her several days of peace and solitude were over with. Michael had been gone for several days and hadn't told her where he was going or when he would be back. She took the time to count the cash that she had hidden in the chest and began to think about leaving. The issue that remained was what she was going to do if he killed her niece as he promised.

One thing was for sure, she couldn't take much more of his hatred and abuse. She began to examine her reasons for staying and came up with several. Shame was at the top of the list. She didn't want to be the first in her family to have a failed marriage. She also didn't want to explain how she was married to an anti-Semite and racist. The second thing was Naomi, Michael wasn't bluffing-he really would hurt her and other members of her family if she left and then there was the money. If she left, she would have nothing except for her life.

She weighed her options and it came down to two or three. She could call her family, tell them what was happening and leave with the money she had, she could stay and finally, she could kill him and be free of him forever. Her stomach roiled at the thought of murdering Michael and what would happen to her if she were caught. She wasn't sure if she could survive prison.

The front door slammed signaling that Michael was home. As usual, he stomped into the kitchen without speaking to her, sat at the table and waited expectantly for dinner to be served. What he didn't know was that she had started making his meals kosher and had started praying over them in the prayers that she remembered from her childhood. If he had even suspected, he would have beaten her to within an inch of her life.

"What is this shit?" Michael asked as he looked at the food in front of him.

"A new recipe." Marji replied. "I thought that you might like something different.

He looked at her and then looked at the plate that contained what looked like beef stew. He didn't like his foods combined and she knew it.

"You know that I don't like combined dishes." he said.

"You don't like casseroles but this isn't a casserole." Marji said softly.

"Fix me something else and make it quick I have a meeting."

"I... is a sandwich alright?"

"Just hurry up!" he snapped.

Marji quickly removed the offending food and made him a sandwich surprised that he wasn't angry enough to hurt her.

She set the sandwich in front of him and backed away her eyes on his hands. She watched as he quickly ate the sandwich barely chewing before swallowing and wondered what was going on that he was so preoccupied. Without a word, he finished his meal, got up and left.

Marji let out a sigh of relief and slumped against the kitchen counter. After several minutes, she moved away from the counter, looked at the calendar and did a mental calculation. The phone bill had just been paid and wouldn't be due for another month. With any luck, he wouldn't be here to see it. She took a deep shaky breath and closed her eyes not believing what she was about to do.

She looked around as if she expected her husband to materialize out of thin air, picked up the phone and made a call.

"Meyer? This is Marji."

Ernie's summer was even more miserable than Andrew's had been. He was still on the outside looking in. He wasn't invited to any of the special meetings and wasn't privy to what was happening with the group. He had even tried talking to Andrew to tell him that he had learned his lesson. Andrew let him have his say but made no comment either way. By the end of June, Ernie realized that he would never be accepted back into the group, which meant that in essence, he had no real friends.

He heard that Becca was back in town but as of yet he hadn't seen her. She was the cause of all of his troubles, he still wanted retribution, and he was determined to have it. That was the only thing that kept him sane as the summer days slowly passed by.

It was now September and he still hadn't seen Rebecca, he had given up on talking to Andrew and for all practical purposes dropped out of the group. No one had even questioned his absence which told him several things, they weren't' afraid that he would talk; if he did he would be beaten again. It also told him that Andrew Kelley wasn't and had never been his friend, none of them had. If they had been, they would have punished him for his stupidity and then moved on but they hadn't, he was still being punished for one stupid mistake.

He was no longer concerned about what Andrew called the "melting pot" instead he became curious about them and that led him to examining why he was so concerned about them to begin with. He realized that it was because of Andrew and his need to belong somewhere. If it hadn't been for Andrew, he wouldn't have given the small group a second thought. And who knew? He might have even become friends with them. Of the group, he admired Kenji the most.

He liked his calm demeanor and the way that he carried himself. There was something else; he was strong enough to stand-alone. He didn't seem to need anyone or anything to make him feel strong. Ernie envied him and wondered if there was anyway...

No he decided, there was no way that he could look Kenji in the face after what he did and after how he treated the Jew. "Joel" he corrected himself. "His name is Joel and not Jew boy," he muttered.

With nothing else to do with his time, he began to look through the textbooks. Classes would be starting in a couple of weeks.

Sally looked at herself in the mirror and had to admit that she looked beautiful. She smoothed the skirt of the powder blue dress that she had chosen for the wedding and then patted her hair that Hattie had fixed into an elaborate bun.

"You look beautiful." Patricia told her.

"Do you think that my future husband will agree with you?" she asked.

"I have no doubts about that." Patricia replied smiling at her.

"I can't believe that this is really happening." Sally said as she turned to face Patricia

"It's about time!" Patricia replied.

Sally hesitated and then spoke.

"I want to tell you something before we go out." she said. "When we moved here I really didn't know the depths of Lawrence's hatred. I never wanted anyone hurt but I am ashamed to say that I did hold to some of his beliefs enough to begin to teach them to our children. What I didn't expect was to find another family and to be shown just how wrong we were.

You, Kenji and the rest showed the kids and me a kindness that we really didn't deserve in spite of Lawrence. I can't undo anything that was done or take back anything that was said but .... I am so happy to be here and I am pleased to call you my friend."

The two women hugged until Hattie tapped on the door.

"It's time!"

Will stood with Nick standing to his left with Ralph and Eli standing beside him. He looked up when he heard the back door open. Marie came out wearing a blue dress and carrying a basket filled with the petals of various kinds of flowers. Patricia came out next followed by a very nervous Sally and Dianne. The music was provided by the radio that John turned on to the already selected station when Marie began her walk. He turned it off when Marie, Patricia and Sally reached their spots and then took is place next to Hattie. The only other guests were a few people from Will and Nick's office who knew about the eclectic family and considered themselves friends. Overall, there were twelve guests, which included Paul, Joel, Abby and Penny.

The minister began the service right at five pm and by five thirty; it was over. As the minister spoke, Nick looked at Hana and wished that he could legally marry her and wondered if that day would ever come. He looked at the faces watching the ceremony. None of the people from the office knew about the true relationship between him and Hana and if they did, they didn't say anything or gave any indication that they knew. As far as they were concerned, Hana was his housekeeper whose son was a friend of his. As much as he hated the way things were, there was nothing that he could do about it.

After the ceremony and while everyone was eating, Nick pulled Kenji aside.

"I want to have a meeting with everyone sometime in the next couple of weeks. We need to start planning for Goodman's eventual release."

"Have you heard something?" Kenji asked.

"No but I just want to be ready. I don't need to remind you to watch your back." Nick replied.

Kenji nodded. He sensed Nick's unease and wondered about it.

Ralph, Eli, Dianne and Marie ran around the house playing tag always letting Marie win.

"Awww you got me!" Eli said to her laughing as he picked her up and spun her around.

None of them with the exception of Ralph noticed the car parked across the street. He recognized the man as the same one who had been watching the house before. Whoever he was, Ralph didn't like him. When the man saw Ralph looking at him, he sped off.

"Tag!" Marie screamed and took off pulling Ralph's attention from the car.

Andrew swore. This was the second time that he had been spotted and by the same kid. But what had disturbed him even more was the fact that there were two other children- white children playing with the mixed kids. He wondered where their parents were that they would allow such a thing. Hathaway was right, he thought to himself, if they weren't careful, marriage between the races would become legal and if that happened, the white race would become the minority if not extinct.

It wasn't until the guests had gone and Ralph, Dianne and Eli were picking up the dirty dishes that Ralph remembered the car. He looked around for Kenji and saw him in the far corner of the yard talking with Nick. He was going to wait but was afraid that he would forget again so he handed the plate that he was holding to Eli and ran over to Kenji and Nick.

He waited until Kenji acknowledged him before speaking.

"Do you need me?" Kenji asked.

"Yes papa." Ralph replied. "I want to tell you something."

"Of course, do we need to speak privately?" Kenji asked.

Ralph thought about it for a minute before answering.

"Grampa Nick can stay." he replied.

"Alright then, what do you need to tell me?" Kenji asked.

Both men listened as Ralph told them about the car that he had seen watching the house not once but twice.

"Ralph," Nick said, "can you tell me what the man looked like?"

"He is white and has yellow hair."

"Did he say anything?" Nick asked.

"No grampa, he just watched the house."

Kenji knew who the man was and couldn't believe that he had allowed himself to be seen.

"Is there anything else?" Kenji asked.

"No papa."

Kenji picked Ralph up and hugged him. "Thank you for telling us, you have done well in helping to protect your family."

Ralph glowed under the praise and hugged Kenji back.

"Now go finish your chores and we will read together before bedtime." Kenji said putting him down.

When he was out of earshot, Nick looked at Kenji.

"That is one smart kid you have there."

Kenji nodded his agreement. A normal child wouldn't have thought anything about a car parked across the street from their home. Ralph noticed the car twice and followed his instincts. He knew that the car meant trouble.

"Do you know who it is?" Nick asked.

"I do." Kenji replied. "Andrew Kelley."

"The punk from school?" Nick asked.

"Yes that is the one." Kenji replied as he wondered how long Andrew had been watching the house. Later when the children were in bed, he and Patricia had to talk.

Becca looked at the simple white dress that hung in her closet. By Monday afternoon, she would be a married woman and in eight months, she would be a mother. She didn't know which scared her more and after several minutes of deliberation, she decided that motherhood was more frightening than getting married.

She had tried unsuccessfully to get her parents to agree to a small wedding. She almost had her mother convinced but her father vetoed the idea.

"You don't deserve a wedding! The money that would have been for your wedding is going toward the purchase of a house now don't bring it up again!"

A tear escaped as she looked at the dress. This wasn't how it was supposed to be she thought as she bitterly wiped away a tear. There was supposed to be bridal showers and a huge wedding at the church. Her friends were supposed to be looking at her with envy as she married Andrew. She didn't want to be married to anyone except Andrew and god help her she was still in love with him. If she had only kept her mouth shut and not gotten involved with Ernie, she wouldn't be getting married to a man that she had convinced herself that she loved. The reality of it was that she didn't love Tyrone and now it was too late.

The bad part about it was she was coming to realize that Tyrone didn't love her any more than she loved him. He hadn't called or come to see her since they broke the news to her parents. When she called the hotel to talk to him, he was never there and hadn't returned any of her phone calls.

She turned away from the dress wishing that there was a way out of the mess that she had gotten herself into. Andrew was out of the question and there was no point in even thinking about him, he wouldn't give her a second look even if he wanted to. No one would she realized. Her only option was to run away but to where? In addition, how would she survive? She had no money-she had given it all to Tyrone.

She was trapped.

"Kirei we need to talk." Kenji said once the children were in bed.

"What's wrong?" Patricia asked not liking the worried tone of his voice.

"Let's talk downstairs. Joel should here this too."

Joel and Penny had just finished the last of the dishes when Kenji and Patricia got to the kitchen.

"All done!" Penny said in her usual cheery voice.

"Thank you but you really didn't have to wash dishes." Patricia said.

"No bother! And besides I got to attend a lovely wedding and got to eat some of the most delicious food I've ever had."

Joel wasn't listening but watching Kenji. Something was wrong.

"Kenji? What's going on?" Joel asked.

"We need to talk." Kenji replied.

Thirty minutes later, Joel and Penny were aware of the situation.

"He was here twice?" Penny asked.

"At least." Kenji replied.

"What do you want to do?" Joel asked. "I can move back here if it'll help."

"That is a possibility but my concern lies more for when we are at school." Kenji said. "During the day Abby, my mother and Patricia's parent's are here alone with the children."

"Can they go somewhere else during the day?" Penny asked.

After discussing it for several minutes, having them go to another house during the day was the only viable option that they could come up with.

"We have four homes available to us." Kenji said. "Nick's, Abby's, John's and Sally's."

"Do you think that Andrew knows about them?" Penny asked.

"I don't believe so but we'll tell the others to be aware of any strange vehicles parked in front of their homes." Kenji replied. "We'll call them tomorrow. When we take them to any of those places we'll have to leave earlier for school."

"If I'm off...."

"You will go where the children go." Kenji said interrupting her, "and it isn't up for negotiation." he said firmly.

Joel and Penny left shortly after they formulated a plan leaving Patricia and Kenji alone to finish their conversation.

"Do you really think he'll do something?" Patricia asked.

"I do not know but we need to be prepared." Kenji replied. He hesitated in completing his thought already knowing how she would react.

"Kirei, we need to pack a bag for each child and one for us just in....."

"No.... not again." she whispered as the memories of always having to be ready to leave at a moments notice hit her. She had believed those days to be long gone.

Kenji pulled her close and began to rub her arm and back. When she calmed he continued.

"I know that this is difficult for you, it is difficult for me as well but Kirei, we have to do this until Andrew is taken care of."

Patricia sat up not liking the tone of his voice.

"Wh... what are you going to do?"

"It is one thing to try to harass me at school; it is one thing to have his anger directed at me but another thing altogether when he brings it to our home. I will not allow him to come here and frighten our children and our family."

Patricia had only heard that tone in his voice only once before and that was when he saw the cut on her face and wanted to know who had done it. She managed to keep it from him then by telling him that her father was handling it, which had been true, but now he knew who the threat was.