Another Generation
Page 20
“You know, Mother, I was afraid you would be upset because I am marrying an American and a Jewish girl.”
“I can see how much you love her. I am not blind, Rashad. She makes you happy. You have a good life here in the United States. Please, don’t let the sadness of your father’s passing put a damper on your wedding day. Your father would not have wanted that.”
“But I feel so miserable and empty inside.”
“Yes, I know. But if you want to make your father happy then go on and get married and live your life here in America with your new wife.”
Rashad contemplated what she said.
“I still feel guilty for not going back to Egypt with you.”
“Your sister and I are fine. You and your wife can come and visit us. You will never get an opportunity to make something of yourself in Egypt like you have here.”
“Do you like Abby, Mother?”
“Very much.”
“Is she moving to New York after the wedding?”
“No. I found a good job here in Chicago. Her family and her business are here. I wouldn’t ask her to leave. The pay at my new job will be even better than what I was earning in New York. I am supposed to start in two weeks. It’s easy to get to from here. I don’t need a car; I can take the subway every day. And of course, I will continue to send money for you and my sister each month.”
“Have you told your wife that you send money home?”
“Not yet, but I know Abby and she will understand.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY TWO
The rehearsal dinner and the wedding created such a whirlwind of activity that Rashad was distracted from the sadness of the loss of his father. He was so busy trying to make sure everything went as planned that he couldn’t focus on much else. Even still, every so often he felt a pang of grief but then some situation would require his attention and he’d find himself sidetracked.
Finally, Rashad and Abby were man and wife. Their wedding night was even more blissful than the night they’d made love several months before. The morning after the wedding, Rashad’s mother and sister were flying to Michigan to visit his mother’s cousin. They planned to stay with her for several weeks. Rashad had to see his mother and sister off and then go into his new job to fill out some paperwork, so he and Abby decided to wait and leave for their honeymoon on Thursday. They would have a week in Maui before Rashad had to start work at his new company.
Abby was glad to have the extra days to pack and get ready. She had arranged for Eidel to stay at Haley’s house while she was gone.
“I don’t want to leave Mom alone. She hasn’t been herself since the surgery.”
“What are you going to do when you get back?” Haley asked.
“Mom asked Rashad and me if we would come and live with her.”
“Rashad said yes?”
“He said that he would do whatever I wanted.”
“Are you two going to move in with Mom?”
“I think so.”
“That’s good. I was going to ask her to come and live with Warren and me if you moved out.”
That day, Abby drove her mother-in-law and sister-in-law to the airport then she and Rashad went back to the house to relax. The last several days had been intense. Abby knew she needed to pack, but she was worn out and decided to take the day off from doing anything. She and Rashad took a walk along Lake Michigan then they drove downtown and he showed her where his new office was located. They stopped at an outdoor café on Rush Street. It was a little chilly, but they had hot chocolate and marveled at the fact that they were married.
“Mrs. Haley Muhamud,” Rashad said it aloud. “Has a nice sound, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, I like it,” she nodded. “By the way, you need to get a driver’s license. I am tired of driving.”
He laughed. “We just got married and already you’re ordering me around.”
“You don’t want one?”
“Sure, I’d love to drive. I just never had any use for a car in New York.”
“I know; that’s what Mark says. Chicago is a little bit different. Especially living in the suburbs.”
“You’ll teach me to drive?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Let’s start tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow is Tuesday. We’re leaving on Thursday. You think you can learn in two days? Or should we wait until we get back to start?”
“We’re both off work tomorrow. Why not start?”
“Tomorrow it is,” she said.
CHAPTER SEVENTY THREE
That night, Rashad and Abby made love until the sunrise. They fell asleep at seven in the morning, exhausted but exhilarated and madly in love. When they awakened the following morning, it was already ten-thirty.
“Let’s have some breakfast and then we can start your driving lessons,” Abby said, throwing on her robe.
“Sounds good to me.” Rashad pulled on a pair of gray sweatpants and a white T-shirt.
On their way to the kitchen, they saw Eidel sitting in front of the television. Her face was like a white, clay mask.
“Two airplanes flew into the twin towers in New York. Another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington and another one just crashed in Pennsylvania. The newscasters are saying that there is a possibility we are being attacked,” Eidel said. She was shaking.
“What?” Rashad said. “Attacked by who? And did you say the twin towers in New York? What is going on here? I worked at the twin towers. What happened?”
“Sit down, watch this. You’ll see pictures of everything. It’s all over the television. I almost woke you both up.”
Abby and Rashad sat down on the sofa next to Eidel and held hands.
“Mark,” Abby gasped when she saw the video of the planes crashing into the buildings. She jumped up and went to the phone and dialed Mark’s number. It rang and rang but there was no answer. She hung up and turned to Rashad and her mother. “Mark isn’t answering his phone.”
“Abby, you’ve been to Mark’s house. How far away is he from the twin towers?” Eidel asked.
“Not close. Don’t worry, Mom,” Abby said, but she gave Rashad a look of deep concern and he returned it.
The phone rang. Abby almost tripped over her own feet running to answer it. “Hello?”
“Abby. Have you heard?” Haley sounded frantic.
“You mean all these planes crashing and all of the stuff going on in New York?”
“Yes. I tried to call Mark but I can’t reach him. He doesn’t answer,” Haley said.
“I tried to call him too.”
Rashad said, “Tell Haley to close the shop and go home. She should be with Warren and the baby right now. The news people on television are saying we might be under attack.”
“Attack from who, why?” Abby said.
“I don’t know. But we should all be together,” Eidel said. “Tell her to call Warren and pick up the baby. Everyone should be here just in case.”
“In case of what?” Abby asked. “What?’
“The whole country could be bombed. We should all be here together. If this is the end, then we should face it together. I am going to call Ida and Sam and tell them to come here too. We can watch the news and keep updated here,” Eidel said.
“Did you hear Mom?” Abby asked Haley.
“Yes, and I think she might be right,” Haley answered. “I’m scared, Ab.”
“Me too.”
Everyone arrived at the house at different times, but by one o’clock that afternoon they were all gathered around the television at the Levi house.
For the first time in her life, Abby heard of a group called Al-Qaeda with its terrible leader who was known for hating Americans named Osama bin Laden. She saw pictures of him on the TV and learned about Islamic extremists and how they hated the United States. According to the news, there had been a bombing in the garage of the twin towers a few years earlier but at that time, Abby wasn’t paying attention. She was certainly paying attention now.
“I don’t think so,” Abby said. “There is no reason for something like that to happen. This was done by terrorists, not Muslims.”
“Yes, you’re right. But the terrorists are calling themselves Muslims, even though they are not. They have manipulated the Koran to give them the right to do terrible things. This is not a part of the real Muslim religion. Still, I am afraid that all Muslims will pay a dear price.”
Over the next few hours, the twin towers tumbled like sand castles and crumbled, sprouting fires and tossing debris all over New York City. People inside the building were buried in rubble, some dead, some still alive, many, many, unaccounted for. The city’s fire, police, and rescue units ran bravely into the burning buildings to rescue those who were trapped. Many of them did not survive. Instead, they too were swept into the falling concrete.
There was a massive loss of life. Not only was America faced with death and destruction but there was something else; something that crept like a black widow spider into the hearts of even the kindest Americans. It was fear . . . real, raw and dangerous. Not since Pearl Harbor was attacked had America feared and hated an ethnic group of people so deeply. In the Second World War, America’s fear and hatred of the Japanese, even Japanese Americans, caused them to detain all people of Japanese descent in internment camps. Now in 2001, because of a group of terrorists that were filled with hatred, Middle Eastern people became the target of fear. America witnessed atrocities of such a great magnitude that day that it left them consumed by anger and terror. They began looking at their brown-skinned neighbors with distrust. Even if they were people they’d known for years, people whose children had played with their children. The terrorists who had bombed the towers and the Pentagon had lived in the U.S. amongst the American people before committing these heinous acts. All people of Middle Eastern descent were under severe scrutiny.
On the Monday of the following week, Abby was still unable to reach Mark. When she tried to call him, the phone rang and then a strange fast busy signal came on the line before it ultimately disconnected. Abby was panicked inside, but she was trying to appear calm so as not to add to her mother’s nervousness. Abby and Rashad cancelled their honeymoon because Abby told Rashad that she couldn’t go until she knew Mark was all right. The newscasters on television explained that the phone lines were overloaded with people trying to call in and out and that was why it was so difficult to reach anyone in New York. Abby knew by the strange sound the telephone was making that the lines were indeed overloaded but still, she couldn’t be sure that Mark and John were all right until she heard their voices. So many dead, so many wounded. The images of dead bodies on the TV were disturbing. Eidel began awakening in the middle of the night screaming from nightmares that she refused to talk about.
There was always an unspoken terror amongst everyone in the house that Chicago might be next. Would the terrorists attack the Sears Tower? Somewhere else? No one knew what lay around the corner. The entire United States of America waited with unease from minute to minute.
One week after the attack, Warren declared to the whole family that he planned to go to New York and volunteer his services to help at the bombing site. Several of his officer friends had gone and he felt compelled to go too.
“I should go with you,” Rashad said.
“Are you crazy?” Abby said. “You can’t go, Rashad. Not with the way the country feels toward Muslims. Your skin is dark, and you shouldn’t be anywhere near the twin towers. Not with the way the country is feeling about anyone who looks Middle Eastern. Besides, it’s a dangerous place to be. I can’t let you go.”
Then Warren seemed to change. Within seconds his face turned as red as a cup of beet borscht. He glared at Rashad and said, “It sure is convenient that you planned to have your wedding on this particular week. Coming here to Chicago got you out of New York and away from the twin towers just in the nick of time.”
“What do you mean by that?” Rashad said.
“I mean you’re a Muslim. And I just can’t be sure that you’re not one of them.” Warren glared at him.
“Warren? What the hell is the matter with you?” Abby shouted. “He’s my husband. You stood up at our wedding. You two were friends a few days ago. Now all of a sudden you think Rashad’s a terrorist. Have you gone crazy?”
“Really, Warren, that was uncalled for,” Haley said.
“I am a Muslim, that’s true,” Rashad said looking right into Warren’s eyes. “But I am not one of them. I am no terrorist. I would never hurt anyone. My wife is a Jewish American woman. I love her with all my heart. That alone should tell you something about who I am, in case you’ve forgotten.”
“It tells me that you must have known this was planned. Maybe you’re a part of that Al-Qaeda and you decided to set the wedding date accordingly. You have to admit having a wedding set on the ninth was the perfect alibi to get you out of New York right before this happened. You were getting married, that’s why you weren’t at your job. Who could blame you for that? And it just so happened that you worked at the twin towers. Sort of funny how you managed to slip away safely right before bin Laden, the bastard, bombed the fuck out of us.”
“Warren, how can you say these things to Rashad? You’re really surprising me. I never thought you could be this small-minded. You don’t know what you’re saying. It was me, Warren, me . . . I picked the wedding date. I picked it because spring was too soon and summer was too hot. The second Sunday of September fell on the ninth. Nine is my lucky number so it seemed like the perfect day for us. Who the hell would think something like this could ever happen?” Abby said. Her face was red and her fists were clenched.
“Can’t you see how this is all very suspicious? The guys at the station brought it to my attention.”
“No, Warren, it doesn’t look suspicious to me. I know Rashad. And as I told you, I picked the date,” Abby said, folding her arms across her chest.
“You did work in an office in the twin towers right, Rashad? At an investment firm?” Warren asked, his voice accusing.
“Yes, I did. And everyone who worked there with me is dead. Don’t you think that breaks my heart? These people were my friends. I ate lunch with them every day . . . ”
“Yeah, I had friends who were killed too. Just to let you know, two of the cops who died trying to save the people trapped in those buildings were friends of mine. They had families, kids. I want you both to know that no matter what happens, I’m going to New York, to the site of the bombings to help out wherever I can.”
“That’s so dangerous, Warren. Haley, are you okay with this?” Abby asked.
“Not really,” Haley said. “Not at all. We’ve been arguing about it every night since this all happened.”
“Don’t go. You have Haley and little Julie to think of. They need you,” Abby shook her head.
“I have to go, Abby. I can’t sit here and do nothing while other people are risking their lives to help.”
“Warren, we’ve been friends. It’s important to me that you believe me. You must believe me. I had no knowledge of this terrible thing. If I did, I would have done something to stop it,” Rashad said. “I understand how you feel right now. What happened to America is so horrific I can’t even express how awful I feel. But please, Warren, you know me. I would never be involved in something like this.”
Warren looked at Rashad then he looked at Abby and threw his hands up in the air. He said, “Maybe I am being an asshole. I’m sorry. I lost my temper and maybe even my mind. It’s just a real witchhunt out there right now and I guess I got swept into it. The guys on the force are talking. Everyone is so afraid. All of a sudden, our country is faced with a real threat. This is a threat that is different than anything any of us have ever experienced in our lifetimes, exc
ept maybe Mom during the war.”
“Believe me, I know,” Rashad said. “My Muslim friends who were born here in America and who have never been and would never be a threat to this country are terrified. It is a witch hunt and anyone with dark skin who looks Middle Eastern is in constant danger of being attacked or ridiculed on the street.”
Rashad continued, “I was waiting to tell Abby. I know how upset she is, and so I didn’t want to say anything. But I might as well tell all of you now. The firm where I was supposed to start working next week called me. They told me that they no longer need me. I guess I have been fired before I ever even started.”
“You lost your job?” Abby said. “When?”
“This morning. I would have told you when we were alone later tonight but I knew you had so much on your mind.”
“I never heard the phone ring.”
“You had finally fallen asleep. I didn’t want to wake you. I picked up as soon as I heard it. I thought it might be Mark,” Rashad said.
“I’m so sorry. I know how much you were looking forward to living and working here in Chicago. And how excited you were about this job.”
“I was happy about it because I could be here with you.”
“I know. And I am sorry. So sorry.”
“Never mind about it, Ab. I’ll get another job. I’ll send out resumes and start going on foot to companies to see if I can get an interview. I’ll start tomorrow.” Rashad mustered a sad smile.
Everyone was staying at the Levi house. They were uncertain as to what the future might bring and whatever it was, they all chose to face it together. Haley and Warren had the third bedroom while Julie opted to sleep in bed with Eidel. Ida and Sam turned the two sofas in the living room into a place to sleep and Rashad and Abby were staying in her room. Watching the news all day took its toll on them. By nine that night, they all went to their respective rooms. Abby could hear Warren and Haley arguing. They were trying not to yell, but their voices were raised. He insisted that he wanted to go to New York. At first, she pleaded with him and when that was ineffective her voice grew angry and she fought with him.