“Hey, Becky.” Danny was grinning at her. She hugged him, and then all three, arms entwined, walked to the front entrance of the airport, where Herschel’s car was waiting.
There was much for her to learn and much she already knew from Herschel’s letters. Herschel was an officer in the army, in charge of munitions development. Several modifications had been made in his gun design. It looked as if the weapon was going to fulfill its promise.
Danny worked for the air transport program. Herschel had lent him the money to purchase several old cargo planes, and now Danny and his partners—a group of the pilots who had flown some of the country’s first fighters together—had a company of their own.
“You haven’t heard the latest,” Danny was saying. “Me and the guys are going to start building planes here.” He winked. “Not bad for your little brother, huh?”
Becky laughed. “Now all you need is to find a girl and settle down.”
“Well, maybe I’ll just wait to see how marriage works out for you two.”
Becky colored. “Nobody’s asked me.”
“If they did, would you say yes?” Herschel demanded.
She nodded, and Herschel beamed and kissed her again. She said, “I love you, and I’m so happy.”
“You know we must live here?”
She nodded. “I thought about it on the plane. Philip Cooper has always stood by me. Together the two of us control the majority of stock in Pickman’s. He’s allowed me to be president, and now I intend to repay the favor by letting him have a chance at the job.” She giggled. “Maybe I’ll start a Pickman’s branch here in Israel. You all can’t wear khaki forever.”
“First we’ll start a family,” Herschel insisted.
“First a family,” she agreed.
“Hey,” Danny cut in, “tell her about the portrait.”
“Don’t spoil the surprise,” Herschel replied.
“What are you talking about?” Becky demanded. “What surprise?”
“You’ll see it, but not until tomorrow, when we drive out to Degania,” Herschel said. “There you’ll meet my mother and Yol, and you’ll see what we’re talking about. It’s a portrait of two men. My father brought it from Russia. Tell me, Becky—your own father, he’s well?”
“Why, yes.”
“Good.” Danny chuckled. “Man, I can’t wait to see Pop’s face when he gets here.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’ll make the trip, Danny.”
“I think he will,” Danny said, his eyes gleaming. “You’ll understand later. When I visited Herschel at Degania and he showed it to me, I felt like I was dreaming. You’ll understand everything when you see the portrait.”
“I want your father to meet my mother. I want us all to have a most joyous reunion—”
“Hey,” Danny complained, “now you’re going to give it away.”
“All right,” Herschel laughed. “No more about it until tomorrow.”
They went out to the car, Becky happier than she could ever have imagined possible. She’d promised her husband-to-be that there would be children, but once they were born—
She was, after all, her father’s daughter, and this country would need a decent department store.
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