Finding a Soul Mate (Meant to be Together Book 1)

by Ally Richards

  As the meal ended, I found the girls gathered around me and the boys gathered around Morris. We girls talked about dating and men—what guys wanted and what girls wanted. We talked about the importance of communication and how to talk to men. I felt like a big sister to those young girls. Maybe I was paying back Meyer for being a big brother to me.

  As the students were leaving, one of the girls came up to me and said, “Thanks for being here. I feel much better having talked to you about boys. My parents aren’t great communicators, so dating is one big surprise after another for me. I hope you’ll be here again so we can talk.”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Morris heard what the girl said. He was grinning from ear to ear.

  “I have a feeling I’ll be back,” I told her, while smiling at Morris.

  After the students left, we cleaned up his apartment, washed the dishes, and put the leftover food away. We sat in his living room and kept talking until after two o’clock in the morning, and we never seemed to have a moment when there was nothing to say.

  Looking back, I have to tell you that it was more than talking. Each time we laughed or shared an idea, I felt closer to him. We laughed a lot, even on that first Sabbath. I felt an incredible love building in my heart. I finally said it was late and I needed to go back to my own apartment. He said he would walk with me. We put on our layers of clothing to ward off the New England winter’s cold.

  As I arrived at his front door, I turned to thank him for the lovely evening. He smiled that amazing smile of his. He told me he was overjoyed his students could relate to me so quickly. He also told me it was an honor for him that such a kind person would share the Sabbath with him and his students.

  That was it. Off came the coat and gloves—and more than I should tell my niece about. I’ve been holding him and loving him ever since. Two weeks later, I moved in with him. We started planning our wedding, and we haven’t had a night apart since.

  Chapter Fifteen

  ~ Crisis at Sea

  On Friday morning some of us headed to the harbor for a ride in Larry’s Magnum Marine Sixty-footer. As he started the first of the CAT sixteen hundred horsepower diesels, you could see Ari’s face light up. When the second engine came to life, Ari’s grin broadened even more. He intently scanned the instrumentation of the engines to ensure they were both operating in the green.

  Austin threw the last of the mooring lines on board and jumped on the boat. Larry told Ari to get behind the wheel and put the transmission levers in reverse and we gently slid out of the slip. As soon as we were clear, Larry told to Ari move the right transmission lever to forward which pivoted the boat to the left. When we had turned nearly ninety degrees, Ari moved the left transmission lever into forward. We slowly motored out of the harbor and into the inter-coastal canal.

  Leaving the harbor and under Larry’s watchful eye, Ari brought the engines up so we quickly came on plane. Ari set the engines to cruise at a leisurely twenty knots. Ari was wearing his baseball cap and his aviator sunglasses, but the most remarkable feature of his appearance at that moment was the big grin on his face. Larry told him to head for the outlet and out onto the Atlantic.

  As soon as we were on the Atlantic, Larry had Ari increase the speed to a comfortable thirty-five knots and told him to follow a course of one hundred eighty degrees—straight south. He explained how the throttles and trim needed to be watched carefully and how to know when to adjust them. Ari was in heaven. I think the only thing stopping his grin from being any bigger was he didn’t have a bigger face.

  When we had been cruising for at least an hour, Austin was looking out to sea through his Marine binoculars when he yelled to us, “I see smoke on the horizon at one hundred forty-four degrees magnetic.”

  He gave the binoculars to Larry who looked and yelled, “Helm, come to one hundred forty degrees magnetic.”

  “Aye, Captain,” yelled Ari, who seemed to be having the time of his life as he carefully leaned the big Magnum into a gentle turn, now adding the compass to his vision to bring the boat to the new heading.

  They all searched desperately for the smoke, but only Austin and I could see it through our powerful binoculars. Austin told us he could see flame and he asked Ari to come to a one hundred thirty-five degrees heading.

  I saw the smoke too, with flame at its base. I started opening first-aid kits and assigning duties while we maneuvered closer to the burning boat. Samantha and Leah pulled the inflate cord on the nine-foot inflatable raft and put the oars in their oarlocks once it was fully inflated. They put a boat hook and a couple of short lines in the raft. Leah retrieved blankets and towels from the cabin. By the time she arrived back on deck, Ari was slowing the Magnum and we were only fifty yards from the burning boat. It was half under water and the fire was dying at that point. We saw people in the water waving at us.

  Larry had Ari rotate the Magnum so its swim platform was closer to the survivors. He and Austin launched the inflatable. It looked like two adults and three children were in the water. All of them seemed to be conscious, but appeared to be in a lot of pain.

  I instructed Leah to stand on the front deck of the Magnum to keep an eye on the inflatable and the survivors. The Magnum’s high sides made it hard for Ari to keep track of them at close range, but from the height of the forward deck Leah could direct Ari to put the Magnum in gear and slowly back her down toward the inflatable or one of the survivors.

  Ann and I stood at the back of the boat on the swim platform. Larry and Austin started pulling the survivors out of the water and into the inflatable, the parents insisting their children be pulled out first. As soon as Austin touched the first of the children, she started screaming in pain.

  I turned back toward the kids and said, “Burns—they have bad burns. Leah, keep an eye out for sharks.”

  With a few powerful strokes, Austin rowed the Avon over to our boat. Samantha placed towels and cushions from the boat’s cabins on the deck and had blankets ready if needed. Ari ran to the back of the boat then helped Samantha and me bring the children through the transom. They were shivering so bad it looked more like they were vibrating; Samantha and Ari covered them with blankets. Their burned and charred skin looked terrible. Larry and Austin returned with the parents and we helped them on board.

  They all had a number of bad cuts and bruises. The children had greenstick fractures, and the wife’s face looked like she had gone ten rounds in a boxing match. He husband said the force of the explosion on their boat caused her to crash face first into a bulkhead.

  I radioed the coastguard, telling them our position, and we would be at the outlet in twenty-five minutes. I had to mention that we were in a Magnum, because based on our position, most boats couldn’t get back to the outlet that quickly.

  Being a Vietnam combat veteran, I took charge of applying bandages and directing first aid. Ari confidently pitched right in as well, bandaging and splinting some of the bloodiest wounds.

  Some of the injuries smelled of burned flesh, were quite bloody, and difficult to look at, let alone bandage and perform any type of first aid on.

  Ari asked Leah to help, so she put on plastic gloves and assisted with some of the wound care. There they were, side by side, bandaging and helping the survivors. He just told her what to do and no matter how sick she looked seeing the bloody carnage she just did what he asked.

  Ari and I kept talking to the injured parents in calm tones, trying to keep them as relaxed as possible, while Samantha and Ann did the same with the children. They were holding the children’s hands while their wounds were being dressed.

  Larry and Austin recovered the inflatable from the water, deflated it, and stored it. Ari and I showed Samantha and Ann what to do to try to minimize shock and further blood loss. Ann kept looking at the mom’s battered face, and she started turning pale. Ann ran to the rail, and started vomiting. Austin went over to his sister and put his hand on her shoulder.

  She waved him away, saying, “Take care of t
hem. I’ll be okay.”

  Larry barely finished saying they needed to get to a hospital as quickly as possible, when Ari immediately yelled, “Aye, Captain.”

  I turned toward Ari just in time to see him get to the helm, turn his baseball cap backwards, place the transmissions in forward, and smoothly advance the throttles of the twin CATs. The mighty diesels went from idle, to deep rumble, to full throated thunderous roar. As the boat gathered herself under the force of thirty-two hundred diesel horsepower, Ari adjusted the trim and the boat moved out at what Larry later referred to as “ludicrous speed.”

  I tried to yell to Ari to go gently, but my words were swallowed by the constant thunder of the twin CATs. Under the direction of Ari’s capable hand, the big Magnum raged forward through the sea. As she gained speed Ari kept adjusting the throttles and trim until we were doing fifty-five knots. The mighty Magnum knifed its way through the water, smoothly splitting the ocean’s swells. This allowed Ari to keep us on a smooth, laser sharp course to the outlet. Austin called out small adjustments to our heading which Ari complied with.

  I smiled as I watched Ari’s careful piloting of the high-speed boat. Then I looked at Larry and said, “Quick learner and one hell of a boat pilot.”

  “Like his dad,” a grinning Larry added.

  Ari was in his driving zone. He put one hundred percent of his concentration into the high-speed driving of the Magnum. With one hand on the throttles and the other on the wheel, he was all business getting the boat to a hospital.

  While Ari was driving, Leah sat next to him on the wide helm seat, careful to avoid getting in his way.

  The coastguard called and told us a police boat would meet us at the inlet and we should follow it to a dock where ambulances were also waiting. As we approached the inlet, Ari started bringing the throttles back to slow down for our entry. A police boat with three huge outboards was waiting, Ari maneuvered the Magnum behind them, and we cruised at about thirty-five knots to a large dock where paramedics were waiting. As the Magnum came to a stop, the paramedics jumped on board and starting treating the survivors.

  As they watched the paramedics, Larry had his arms around Samantha and Ann. Even big Austin looked horrified, as the survivors were loaded on stretchers. Ari and I were only too happy to assist the paramedics.

  Leah understood that my experience in the army prepared me for such things, but she didn’t seem to know how Ari developed the confidence to do what he did. I wondered a bit too. She asked Ari about his calm take-charge abilities.

  “We had a lot to do. I noticed years ago that my dad stayed calm in emergency situations. Whether he was calm or not, he wouldn’t expose his feelings, probably because he thought exposing them might compromise the job he had to do, or in this case would frighten the survivors. Besides, you did great. I didn’t see you showing how you felt.”

  She assured Ari that she felt sick to her stomach looking at the terrible condition of the survivors but because he stayed so calm, she forced herself to stay calm as well.

  He smiled at her and said, “I know. I was watching you. You did exactly what I asked. You are one fine lady. You set your feelings aside and did what was necessary to treat the survivors. I am so proud of you.”

  “Thank you Ari,” she said and kissed his cheek.

  I decided it was a good time to tease them a little. “What?” I asked in mock surprise. “I performed all that first aid and Ari gets kissed?”

  Leah walked over to me and kissed me on the cheek. “You did great, too.”

  As we slowly cruised back into the harbor, I told everyone what they had accomplished was a good deed—a real Mitzvah. “From eagle-eye Austin to everyone’s help at the scene, you guys did great.”

  Larry added, “I am proud of each and every one of you, too.”

  There we stood, two former college roommates, now proud fathers, grinning at our children— proud of what they accomplished. I nudged Larry with my elbow and said, “We did good raising these clowns.”

  He grinned and nodded his agreement.

  Once we gathered at the house I explained to the kids, “Sometimes you might relive the emotions you felt during the rescue and you may feel sad or get sick again. Take it from a combat vet—these feelings are normal. It helps to tell someone else how you feel. Not everyone reacts the same way in these situations, so don’t feel bad if you think you are reacting differently than anyone else.”

  An hour later, Ann looked like she was about to start crying and she walked off toward her room. Leah followed and I knew she would be strong for her sister.

  * * *

  At dinner on Thursday night, I announced that the following summer my family and my nephew, Nathan, were going to take the inside passage to Alaska on a three-month boat cruise.

  Leah looked sad until she noticed Ari had a huge smile on his face. She looked to me; I also wore a silly grin. “Leah, would you like to join us?” I asked.

  She beamed at Ari and yelled, “Yes, I would. Thank you!”

  “Leah, maybe you should check with your parents first?” I suggested, knowing I had already done so.

  She looked at her dad who told her in a stern tone, “You’ll be stuck on a small boat for a long time, with these people.”

  Leah, staring directly in Ari’s eyes, said, “I can manage it.”

  Larry laughed. “Of course, you can go. Your mother and I already discussed it with Meyer and Joan.”

  We all enjoyed the rest of the week together, as we always did, and Leah’s Bat Mitzvah was a wonderful celebration. Her project, combined with Ari’s, brought in a hundred and eleven thousand dollars for research into neuromuscular disease.

  After expressing her appreciation to those who helped in her Bat Mitzvah preparation, she said special thanks, “To Samantha Minkowski, who started the Kids Don’t Belong in Wheelchairs campaign that became my Bat Mitzvah project. Thank you for the inspiration and guidance.”

  Then, looking directly at Ari, Leah ended her Bat Mitzvah speech nearly quoting the final lines of Ari’s Bar Mitzvah speech, saying, “Lastly, I wish to thank God, who puts partners in our lives that lift us when we’re down, with whom we can share the joy of our successes, and have such insight into our character they can easily remove anger from our hearts and replace it with peace and joy.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~ The Inside Passage

  The following summer, our trip up the inside passage to Alaska was under way. We’d just let customs on the Canadian side of the passage. It would be an interesting trip for Leah and Ari as they discovered photography a few summers ago. It became a frequent discussion topic for them. They were becoming the families’ photo documentarians. Sometimes it seemed they spent more time looking through their cameras, than using their eyes.

  My trawler had three bedroom-cabins, each with its own complete bath. Samantha and Leah shared one bedroom that had a bed and a couch that could be used as a bed. Nathan and Ari shared a cabin that contained two bunks, one over the other, and Joan and I slept in the master cabin.

  The main deck of the trawler had a large living room and dining area that easily seated ten people. At the forward end of this living area was the kitchen with a large refrigerator, Viking stove and oven, a microwave, sinks, prep counters, a trash compactor, and a dishwasher. Up the ten steps to the enclosed pilothouse, located at the front of the living area, were the engine controls, electronic navigation readouts, steering wheel, and radios. There was also an elevated table and settee behind the helm. It was high enough for people sitting there to see out the pilothouse windows.

  I think this was Ari and Leah’s favorite perch, other than the flybridge. The front deck forward of the Portuguese bridge had a small settee that would allow up to three people to sit in the breeze at the front of the trawler.

  We traveled north in the company of seven other trawlers, one of which was run by the company who had organized the voyage. They had reserved dock space and side trips for our flotilla. They
also provided a naturalist to accompany us and she provided fascinating details about the flora and fauna we observed. The beauty of the mountains and fjords left us all speechless.

  The amount of bird life we saw was astounding. Golden and Bald Eagles were almost common, but never boring in their majestic flight. We often knew where to look for the Bald Eagles by listening for their scream.

  The water we traveled through was entertaining as well, with many orcas appearing around us. Some of the other boats put out crab traps at night. Seeing as they used well-rotted chicken necks for bait, it wasn’t something I was interested in doing, but we did enjoy occasionally sharing in their bounty.

  Ari and Leah busied themselves as the flotilla’s photographers and videographers. Some days they traveled on other peoples’ trawlers to interview them and to get more shots of our trawler. They spent their evenings on the computer editing their photos and video.

  Samantha had Joan’s love of the outdoors, and Nathan and Samantha were continually reading about which areas we would be traveling to and how the flora and fauna would be changing. We had one of the biggest trawlers so we took up the rearmost position of the flotilla.

  We arrived in one small Alaskan town on a Friday and found a small Jewish community there. Samantha made a few phone calls and found out which home was having Sabbath services. In preparation for the oneg after the services, Joan, Leah, and Samantha made some desserts to take to contribute to the refreshments. We all walked from the dock to share Sabbath services with the congregants, who made us feel most welcome.

  The best part of all, I was able to share this adventure with Joan and our whole family. It seemed like every time I looked at her, she was smiling over some new scenery or wildlife. Even though we made this trip before, when Samantha was young, Joan was just as excited to travel the inside passage again as she was on our first trip. Occasionally I would catch her just looking at me and smiling.