“This is Robert Bentley. I’m calling from the Federal Detention Center.”
“The young man who wouldn’t talk to me?”
“Yeah. I’ve changed my mind. You said to call you if I want help.”
“Are you sure? Will you answer my questions if I come back?”
“Yeah.”
“OK. I can’t come today, but will try for tomorrow.”
Conrad and Lorraine Bentley spent the day asking themselves what they had done to create so much anger in Robert. It had something to do with their putting work and money ahead of time with their son.
The next day as they entered the center, Conrad Bentley watched his wife being patted down by a female employee at the metal detector. It had squealed.
McKenzie opened the door of the cell this time. Robert stood, his back to his parents as they walked in and heard the door close and lock behind them. “I’m just around the corner if you need me,” McKenzie reminded the Bentleys.
“Robert. We’re here again because we love you,” Conrad began.
“I hope you know that, Robert.” His mother’s voice cracked. “Your dad and I have had long discussions, and we realize now that we failed you, son—that we were not there when you needed us. We’re sorry.” Robert wheeled around. He wasn’t smiling, but he didn’t have that hard squinting-eyed expression that frightened them two days ago. He nodded as he looked at his parents.
“Yeah, I understand that now.”
McKenzie, listening in the hall, tiptoed away.
Lorraine wept quietly while Conrad enclosed Robert in his arms, patting his back repeatedly. Robert seemed a little stiff but accepted his dad’s hug. Then he put his arms around his mom. Conrad sat on the small table, Lorraine on the metal chair and Robert on his bed. Conrad felt like the darkness had lifted a bit, but clouds still hid the sun. They sat quietly looking at each other. Robert gazed at them, and then dropped his eyes.
“What happened, Robert?” Lorraine asked. “You’re so different today. We love you—” Her voice broke.
“It’s true, Robert. Although I’m not sure I’ve ever said that to you.” Conrad shook his head, thinking about the past twenty-two years of his busy life. It seemed difficult now, but he would actually say it: “I love you, son.”
Robert told of Ashley’s visit and how she had forgiven him. He described her letter and their subsequent conversation. Then he mentioned that Charles Rand would be coming back tomorrow.
“How did you get Mr. Rand to come back?”
“I called him. He left his card and said to call if I wanted his help.”
“So he’s on now as your defense counsel?”
“Yeah, I think so. He said he’s coming tomorrow.” Robert dropped his head. “I’m sorry for treating you and him so badly.” He paused, gazing at the floor. “Uh, please … for-forgive me. And thanks for hiring him for me.”
Mr. Charles Rand entered with a quizzical expression on his face. Robert studied the short, bald man with intense blue eyes, opening his laptop computer.
After they shook hands, Mr. Rand began, “Why did you call me back?”
“It’s a long story, you know, but after a visit from a friend, I realized I should do it for my own good. So I’m glad you came back, and I apologize for my treatment of you the other day.”
“That’s OK. It’s your life and risk. Apology accepted.”
Mr. Rand began by outlining the charges against Robert, and he summarized the legal steps they would go through together. Robert already knew most of them in general. The attorney impressed Robert with the seriousness of the charges. He should talk to no one about the case, including law enforcement officers, parents, or friends.
“You mean I can’t see the only friend who has come to see me?”
“Not if the person is a potential witness.”
“What if she was a victim of the bombing?”
“Definitely not! You must not see or talk to her on the telephone. She of all people could literally end your life.”
Robert sighed. He sank back into the darkness that had only recently lifted with Ashley’s visit.
“Are you with me, Robert? This is stuff you need to know.”
Robert snapped back to the subject at hand. “Yeah, my mind drifted a bit, but I’m with you now.”
“OK.” Mr. Rand continued: “First, I need you to be completely open and honest with me. No hiding of any facts. If you are guilty of any of the charges, tell me the whole story. Answer any of my questions fully. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
That began his attorney’s investigation into Robert’s past and recent activities. Over several weeks no subject escaped exploration. The sessions included legal education about the process and various defense options, including plea bargaining.
After his parents had returned to Long Island, Robert looked forward to Rand’s sessions. He had no other visitors.
Chapter 70
Ashley believed Robert had not hired hit men in Seattle. But Gordon Appleby did, and felt Ashley still might be a target. She called again to arrange a visit with Robert. But McKenzie informed her that Robert could not see her or anyone who might be involved in Robert’s case or might be called on to testify in a trial. Disappointed, she hung up the phone thinking that Robert needed her. But right now he needed his lawyer most of all. He must have accepted one.
She had briefly met his parents before they left for New York. They expressed their appreciation for Ashley’s reaching out to their son. “We could hardly believe the change in Robert after your visit,” Lorraine added.
Mr. Bentley repeatedly thanked her for persuading Robert to call the lawyer he’d hired. “I can’t believe you did this after what he allegedly did to you.”
After dinner with Ashley’s housemates, she and Najid went out to walk around Green Lake. The sun shone in the July evening. Ashley took his arm. She loved being with Najid, and he seemed to enjoy being with her.
Ashley guided Najid to a park bench. Najid slipped his arm around her shoulders and drew her close.
“Let’s see … I forgot what I was saying … oh yeah, what’s happening at our church?”
“Maybe a bar mitzvah?”
Ashley couldn’t keep from laughing with this Palestinian who seemed to become more American every day. “You silly man!” She elbowed him in the ribs. She had not asked him to attend her church, knowing he might not feel comfortable with its Israeli tilt. “I’ve been thinking about dragging you there.”
“The last time you ‘dragged’ me to a place of worship it didn’t turn out so well.”
“Sick humor,” Ashley chuckled. “OK, but this time it’ll be fun. Our travel team is having a debriefing after church this Sunday.”
“What’s a ‘debriefing’?”
“It’s where people talk about their experiences on the trip and try to make sense of them. You hear from others, what they saw and learned. It helps to sort out your own impressions.”
“So why would you want me to come? I wasn’t on the trip.”
“Well, first you could hear what some Americans think about their observations in the Holy Land. I think some of us came back with a lot of questions. Maybe you’d get some insights on why we’re so confused.”
“Like what?”
“Like Bethlehem, for example. Confronting the wall of separation, right in the city where the Prince of Peace was born. A few short years ago it became a war zone, and now it’s a prison for many residents. What do you do with that?”
Najid turned toward her and looked into Ashley’s eyes. “Right. What do you do with that?”
“I don’t know what to do with it. I’m hearing so many different voices. That is why I want you to come.”
“You think I can sort out such complicated issues for you?”
“You know, Najid, you and your family and this trip and my struggles with jihadists have had a profound effect on me. I’m not asking you to sort it all out for me. I need to come
to my own conclusions someday. But after meeting your family in Galilee, I’ll never be the same. I want you to come and simply tell your story, and that of your family, going back beyond 1948. A story can be an image that says so much more than words alone can express. You and your family are part of the ‘living stones’ that we encountered. If you came, that picture would show up so much more clearly than my telling about your family. I’m not asking you to draw any conclusions either. Just tell your story.”
Najid gazed into the distance beyond Ashley, apparently thinking and enjoying the peaceful lake with people swimming and scullers out in the middle, rowing their long, sleek boats. “Would I be welcome there? I don’t want to upset anyone who has strong Zionist beliefs. Or anyone else. That’s why I determined not to get into that conflict here in America or tell my family story. It upsets some people, and I don’t want to do that.”
“But it’s real, Najid. It happened. And it’s a story we in the United States rarely hear. You are a living, breathing example of what God can do in the life of one who loves others and longs for reconciliation between people who sometimes hate each other. So what do you say? Will you come on Sunday? You don’t have to be in the church service.”
Najid laughed. “I’ll come even for that. For peacemaking.” He winked at Ashley. “But mostly for you.” His arm tightened around her shoulder as she reached for his other hand and squeezed it.
Ashley watched Najid’s face glow as he experienced such a large crowd at her church, singing a lively worship song. The words projected on large screens and the music leaders playing their electronic instruments and drums seemed to fascinate him. She watched his face as Senior Pastor Tom Evans sat on a high stool, dressed in jeans, discussing a fundraiser for Israel. She couldn’t tell what Najid was thinking.
The pastor then taught from the Bible. He referenced Jesus’s sermon on the mountain that overlooks the Sea of Galilee. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God.”
Ashley looked at Najid, who nodded several times. He seemed to track completely with the ideas.
After the church service and some general visiting, the travel group and Najid walked to Pastor Jim’s office for their debriefing. They sat in a circle and talked while Jim finished his phone call. He hung up, smiled, and looked up as the door opened suddenly. Pastor Tom appeared. “I’ve had a schedule change. May I sit in on your debriefing? I’d like to hear more of your stories. We might have a couple of you share for a few minutes some Sunday morning.”
“We’re delighted to have you join us,” Jim said. Addressing his tour group, Jim welcomed them back together and asked each person to introduce themselves so Pastor Tom and their guest would know who was who. Ashley introduced Najid, explaining that she had visited his family in Galilee and had invited him to join them.
“We’re going to share informally,” Jim advised. Then several people shared what had impressed them, and what they learned. Finally they all turned to Ashley.
She began softly, “You all prayed for me in Jerusalem, and God heard you and saved my life. I love you guys. But I’m not talking about that today. We all visited many churches and shrines built from the ancient stones in the Holy Land. These are the ones that have lasted for centuries and should endure for many years to come.” She took a deep breath and looked at Najid. “I’d like to tell my impressions about the people I met, our Jewish guides, two rabbis, our new Muslim and Christian friends—but I don’t have time. It’s because I’ve asked my friend Najid, one of those living stones, from a town near Nazareth, to share his family story. I visited them, wonderful Christians whose family history goes back for many generations on a farm in Galilee. He’s a graduate student at the U. Also a peacemaker.” She nodded toward Pastor Tom.
Najid proceeded to tell of his ancient church, the olive orchards, and the home that his parents shared happily as children with his grandparents. He explained how in Irgit, a Galilean village, Jews, Palestinian Christians, and Muslims had lived peacefully together on their family farms of mostly olives and figs for centuries until 1948, when Israeli soldiers took over their house and ordered them to leave. He shared all that happened to his family and others after that—the lost farms, businesses, homes, refugee camps. He told of friendships, of walls, checkpoints, and more. He revealed his longing, and the longing of so many good people he knew from so many backgrounds, for an end to the military occupation. For justice, for peace. Not peace at any price. But a just peace and ultimate reconciliation.
Jim sat, chin in hand, slowly shaking his head. Ashley saw Pastor Tom sit motionless, his eyes searching Najid’s face.
Najid ended by mentioning Jewish, Muslim, and Christian organizations working together for justice and peace using nonviolent resistance.
Najid looked at Ashley with a nod of conclusion. The group sat in silence.
Ashley looked at Pastor Tom, wondering what he would say. He held his handkerchief. He looked ready to speak, but signaled he needed a moment, swallowed, then finally spoke: “I think we’ve heard from heaven just now.” He paused again, nodding and biting his lower lip. Then he continued, shaking his head. “I’ve been arrogant, hard, and judgmental against Palestinians, not having any idea what they have gone through over so many years.” He shook his head. “Please God, forgive me.”
Chapter 71
Ashley and Najid had found a spot on the sidewalk downtown with thousands of people watching the Friday night Seafair Torchlight Parade. “I’ve got something to tell you, Najid.” She looked up into his eyes, grimacing and gritting her teeth while taking in a deep breath. “My parents will be coming for a visit in three weeks. I know it will be a difficult time for all of us.” She finally exhaled.
Najid nodded and remained silent for several moments. “They’ll be interested to hear face to face about your trip, and …” His voice trailed off.
Ashley waited for him to finish, but he seemed lost in thought. “I’ve explained over the telephone some of what happened. I didn’t want to scare them over the phone.”
“Yeah,” he said, nodding slowly. “That’s probably wise.”
Najid slipped his arm around her waist and drew her close as a float came by with the Seafair Queen and her court. Ashley leaned her head on the front of his shoulder, quickly changing her mind about further discussion of her parents’ visit. She should never have brought it up. She would ruin an enchanted evening.
Moments later, Najid scarcely noticed the huge red paper dragon with many Chinese boys’ legs underneath, hurrying it along, crisscrossing down the street in serpentine fashion. It looked fierce with flashing red eyes. But Najid paid no attention to the rest of the parade. His heart raced as he held Ashley. He instinctively wanted to turn her toward him and kiss her. But he could not bring himself to do it in public. So he kissed her hair and reveled in the ecstasy of the moment. He didn’t want the parade to end. But soon the last of the horses, floats, and bands passed.
They stood quietly as people walked by, leaving the parade route. Najid enjoyed the soft summer evening as he drew her closer. The red glow over the Olympic Mountains and Puget Sound darkened slowly. The moon rose in the southeast, almost full and glowing brighter as the twilight faded. Moonlight brightened her silken hair. They stood silent, neither one speaking; it seemed to him that time stood still.
The silence broke as cars again filled the street. Najid’s mind continued to race. He couldn’t put his feelings into words and didn’t know what to say to Ashley.
He had never experienced these sensations before, these intense desires. He couldn’t get close enough to her. His excitement rose as he pulled her even closer, then cupping his hands around her cheeks. He kissed her. She grasped his hands, squeezing them. He heard her sigh and sensed her tremble against him.
A little boy ran by, and looking up at Najid, tripped and fell. Screaming, his mother picked him up and examined his skinned knees. It broke the enchantment and they strolled silently toward the bus stop han
d in hand.
As Najid said good night to Ashley on the front porch of her house, the moon cast a silver glow on her hair. His excitement rebounded. He drew her close as her soft body melted into his embrace, both their arms around each other, hers around his neck. After several moments, she stepped back, silently holding his hands, smiling. He felt confused, somewhat embarrassed, not knowing what to say.
“Ashley … I don’t know what is happening to me. I’ve never wanted to be so close to anyone like this. I hope I have not offended you.” He looked into her eyes and saw her smile.
“Najid, you have done nothing but make me happy. I have never met anyone like you. I love being with you.”
She pulled his head down, and they kissed each other.
Ashley’s mind raced as she went to bed. She loved him; she knew it. And now he loved her. It had become obvious. He treaded so carefully to not offend her, uncertain how to proceed in a relationship of love for the first time ever, and in a foreign culture. She had no idea what his family would think of his bringing her into their circle. Would she as an American be accepted in his family?
But the main problem would be her parents, not his. And to complicate things, her parents would arrive for a visit soon. She so wanted her mother and father to accept and even love Najid. He would be the most gracious and loving son-in-law they could ever imagine.
Ashley turned over in bed, unsettled. She was an adult now and could make her own decisions. She and Najid could marry despite her parents’ objections. But could she risk breaking her relationship with her parents, who had cared for her lifelong? She loved them. How would they handle bringing Najid into the family over their objections? What would it do to Najid or to her? What about children in years to come? Would they be accepted?
She tossed and turned, trying to turn off her mind and sleep. But the nagging, immediate questions kept recurring in her mind: What to do in three weeks when her parents arrive? Would she bring Najid to see them? Would they walk out and refuse to talk to him again? If only they could get acquainted, they would learn to love him. The ethnic and cultural differences wouldn’t matter. They could blend and work through those in love and respect. Najid was a loving human being, courageous, unselfish, bright, and loved God. What more could you ask for your daughter? But if you coldly reject someone before you get to know him, how can you ever establish a relationship or friendship? Would Najid ever get over being rejected by them? Would he even want to try to establish a friendship?
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