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Sarah and David: The Sequel

Nobody Wants This (2024) [TV-MA] ****

A film review by Richard Roeper on September 26, 2024.

In lesser hands, the premise for the latest Netflix comedy series might have resulted in Cringe TV, like something out of a TikTok parody video or SNL sketch:

It’s the mid-2000s crossover we always wanted! Kristen Bell from ‘Veronica Mars’ is Joanne, an outspoken and agnostic blonde with a sexually explicit podcast, and Adam Brody from ‘The O.C.’ is Noah, a hot rabbi from a traditional Jewish family. How can these two VERY different people make a romance work? After all ... Nobody Wants This!

Talk about a title that could be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course, it’s all in the execution, and the good news is that Nobody Wants This is a smart, breezy, warmhearted and consistently funny show, with each episode playing like a mini version of an endearing rom-com. Inspired by the real-life experience of creator Erin Foster, this is a sweet confection that nevertheless has enough bite and edge to avoid delving into the mawkish. It’s also refreshingly candid while being respectful in its treatment of Judaism, and yet not shying away from mining humor from certain tropes and misconceptions.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the leads in rom-com series and films would often work in magazine publishing or advertising or at TV station; these days, they have a podcast. So it goes with Kristen Bell’s Joanne and her sister and best friend Morgan (Justine Lupe, Willa on Succession). They’re both single and they’ve been through all the dating apps more than once, and they mine their experiences and observations for frank discussions on their increasingly popular podcast, which actually does sound like it could be a hit.

At a party thrown by their producer, Ashley (Sherry Cola), Joanne has a Meet Cute with Adam Brody’s Noah, a handsome and witty rabbi who has recently ended things with his longtime girlfriend Rebecca (Emily Arlook). From the get-go, Joanne and Noah acknowledge there’s a mutual attraction, but also there’s no point in pursuing a romance because despite Noah’s hipster quipping and cool, he’s a very traditional rabbi who is all-in, while Joanne is the very definition of the classic shiksa. They’ll just stay in the Friend Zone.

You can guess how long that lasts.

Over the course of 10 fast-paced episodes, none longer than 31 minutes, Nobody Wants This follows these two flawed but relatable and essentially good people who are so obviously right for one another but face a checklist of rom-com obstacles along the way, from the religious and cultural divide to the craziness of their respective families to social media-fueled misunderstandings to the ex-girlfriend who might still be in the picture.

Bell and Brody are natural actors who click wonderfully together, and the supporting cast is filled with terrific and familiar talents. Justine Lupe is a scene-stealing comedic force as Morgan, while Timothy Simons (Veep) turns in typically hilarious work as Noah’s cloddy but endearing brother Sasha. Legendary Broadway star Tovah Feldshuh plays Noah’s rigid and controlling mother, Bina, in a role that brushes up against stereotypes but is saved by the sharp writing and commanding performance.

At times, Joanne’s lack of knowledge about anything Jewish strains credulity. It’s hard to believe she’s never heard the term shalom, and when she learns it means hello, goodbye and peace, she chirps, Oh, it’s like the Jewish ‘aloha’!

Mostly, though, Nobody Wants This has fun with clichés and tropes, as when Noah and Sasha hear a message from Morgan telling Joanne that Noah is cuter than I expected, he doesn’t look that Jewish, and Noah says, What does Jewish look like to you? Are you picturing a bigger nose, or like curlier hair and Sasha chimes in with, Does my brother not look like he could control the media? (That it’s done in a teasing and affectionate fashion makes all the difference.)

Other times, Noah’s passion for his faith and Joanne’s willingness to learn is handled with grace, as when Noah explains the rituals and meaning of Havdalah, the ceremony marking the end of Shabbat, and Joanne finds it quite lovely. (There are also plenty of current-day touches, from the use of Olivia Rodrigo songs to a reference to the Call Her Daddy podcast.)

This is also a great-looking show, painting L.A. in the most flattering light. Everyone lives in places that could be photo spreads in the Los Angeles Times, and they hang out at picturesque places like the rooftop at Mama Shelter in Hollywood for brunch. Powered by the enduring likability of Bell and Brody, that wonderful supporting cast and the consistently strong writing, Nobody Wants This has all the ingredients for a multi-season run. [Roeper’s rating: 3 stars out of 4]

Labels: comedy
IMDb 81/100 
MetaScore (critics=73, viewers=61) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=78, viewers=86) 
Netflix 

 

The Boys in the Boat (2023) [PG13] ****

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net on December 26, 2023.

The Boys in the Boat is an old-fashioned, uplifting story about the triumph of underdogs. The film radiates the same level of classiness often associated with its director, George Clooney. Sentimental without being saccharine, this based-on-history account of the victory of the U.S. rowing team at the 1936 Berlin Olympics offers likeable characters in a well-structured narrative that never becomes bogged down by extraneous elements.

Mark L. Smith’s screenplay relies heavily on the source material, Daniel James Brown’s 2013 account of how an unsung University of Washington J.V. rowing team ascended to the upper echelon of the sport, winning a gold medal with Adolf Hitler in attendance. Because those Olympics are remembered primarily for the images crafted by Leni Riefenstahl in Olympia and the triumphs of Jesse Owens, the victory of the rowing team was for many years regarded as a footnote. That changed with the success of Brown’s book, which ascended to #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list. Although the movie rights were quickly optioned (with Kenneth Branagh attached as director), it took a decade for a film to reach movie theaters.

The book The Boys in the Boat offers a two-pronged approach to the climactic Olympic contest that took place from August 12-14, 1936. To streamline the film’s narrative, the backstory related to the Nazi preparation for the games has been elided, resulting in a focus on the University of Washington’s team as seen primarily through the eyes of one of the rowers, Joe Rantz (Callum Turner). Although several of the other eight boys in the boat are given moments to help differentiate them from one another, Rantz is the lone rower with a fully developed character. The only other three-dimensional individual is Coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton). Aside from Joyce Simdars (Hadley Robinson) and Hazel Ulbrickson (Courtney Henggeler) – token roles as Joe’s girlfriend and Al’s wife, respectively – there are no women to speak of.

The curtain rises on 1935 Seattle, with the world mired in the depths of the Great Depression. Joe Rantz, a student at the University of Washington, is facing expulsion from college due to an unpaid tuition bill. Unable to find a job and with day work at a premium, he decides to try out for the school’s rowing team after learning that participants are given paid part-time positions. Of the hundreds of would-be rowers, only eight are selected following a grueling series of try-outs. Joe is one of them. With his economic issues at least temporarily resolved, he settles into bonding with the eight other young men in the Junior Varsity boat as they develop into what would become, in the coach’s words, the best team he has ever seen.

The movie’s sports elements are impeccably recreated; even those who know the ending (as a matter of the historical record) will find an element of suspense in the way Clooney frames them. He does this not by fast-cutting or overly relying on editing but by clean, clear shots both at the boat level and from above. Winning becomes important because we are invested in Joe, who at one point states that being on the team is all he has.

Although The Boys in the Boat doesn’t have a political agenda, it makes a point of acknowledging Jesse Owens’ importance to the Olympics. Owens doesn’t have a large role in the film – to give him one would unbalance the narrative and take the focus away from the main characters – but he notes that he’s in Berlin not so much to thumb his nose at the Germans but to prove something to everyone back home who doubted him.

Tonally, The Boys in the Boat is a relatively low-key affair, lacking the overt melodrama that characterizes many sports movies. Nevertheless, in part because of a strong lead performance by Callum Turner, solid supporting work from Joel Edgerton and Peter Guinness (as George Pocock, the boat-builder), and a well-honed screenplay, the film engages viewers on its intended level. The period detail is evocative but not overbearing and there are no forced allegories. Offering inspiration in both the truth of its basis and the way in which it is presented, The Boys in the Boat is an antidote to the pervasive cynicism of the modern era. [Beradinelli’s rating: 3 stars out of 4 = 75%]

Labels: biography, drama, history, sport
IMDb 70/100 
MetaScore (critics=54, viewers=66) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=61, viewers=94) 
Blu-ray 
Berardinelli’s review 

Find Me Falling (2024) [TV-MA] ****

A film review by Monica Castillo for rogerebert.com on July 19, 2024.

When many of us think of vacationing on the Mediterranean, the first things that come to mind might be the gorgeous blue-green crystalline waters, the picturesque villages anchored on the shoreline, and the many variations of seafood fare available within walking distance. Perhaps that’s part of what inspired rock star John Allman (Harry Connick Jr.) to escape the pressures of the music business to catch a little rest and relaxation on the scenic island of Cyprus. Unfortunately, he’s confronted with a more serious problem when the house on a cliff he purchased turns out to be a destination for people looking to end their life. As he tries to connect with other locals about what he can do to stop the practice, he meets an aspiring singer named Melina (Ali Fumiko Whitney) and her mother, Sia (Agni Scott), an accomplished doctor on the island who once had a relationship with John many years before – and who now has another chance at love.

Writer-director Stelana Kliris follows the well-worn beats of a romantic comedy with her follow-up to her 2014 feature debut, Committed. In Find Me Falling, she gives the audience a few surprises and instead follows a predictable story of a long-delayed romantic reconnection featuring two handsome leads. However, the subplot about suicide just outside John’s doorstep feels strangely glib, dampening the mood of this escapist rom-com from the jump: the movie is called Find Me Falling after all. In some scenes, this plot detail is played for laughs, like when an exasperated John scolds a man looking downcast and heading to the cliff, Now is not a good day to die! Embarrassed, the man turns back, and John continues his emotional conversation with Sia. Other moments are much more sympathetic, like when John coaxes a scared young woman off the edge and promises to help her, but it’s a tonal whiplash from nights spent at a music-filled taverna, getting sunburnt on the beach, or reigniting a long-lost romantic flame.

As a tired rock star looking to get away from it all, Harry Connick Jr. looks a little too polished but acts appropriately tired by all the small town culture he finds on arrival. He seems embarrassed that people recognize him and is maybe one of the most unpretentious rock stars ever written for a movie. As Sia, Agni Scott plays the part of the accomplished woman who soldiered on with her career and single motherhood well, and she struts through the film with a stylish sense of nonchalance. It’s a performance that’s almost too cool and aloof, because as their characters may verbally pine for each other, the physical chemistry feels less evident, and their moments of passion look less exciting than some of their arguments.

However, Kliris’s script doesn’t just center on the film’s two lovebirds. She builds out Sia’s relationship with her daughter, Melina; her concerned sister Koula (Lea Maleni), who is weary of this dashing stranger who’s returned to Cyprus for what may be more than a change of scenery; and the family’s matriarch Marikou (Aggeliki Filippidou), who is always on hand to lend an ear, share her wisdom with her family, and cool tempers between family members. There’s a loving familial dynamic that develops alongside the romance that also grounds the story in the culture and place, not just using it as a narrative backdrop. Even Captain Manoli (Tony Demetriou) plays a vital role in giving John a tour of the town, introducing him to the taverna where John sees Sia for the first time in years, and has his own issues that John then helps him and his family in return.

By the end, Find Me Falling lands on uneven ground. It’s as if this lighthearted romantic comedy has its frothy bubbles burst by the sudden encroachment of dramatic interruptions and uninspired pop music and lyrics (John’s big hit is called Girl on the Beach and the song does not sound better than the title). It’s an odd choice that may affect some viewer’s expectations for a frivolous getaway romance, like using lime for a Greek dish that calls for lemon. It changes the profile of the movie, leaving an aftertaste that feels slightly off an otherwise decent meal. [Castillo’s rating: 2 stars out of 4 = 50%]

Labels: comedy, drama, music, Netflix, romance
IMDb 64/100 
MetaScore (critics=50, viewers=76) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=49, viewers=76) 
Netflix 
Monica Castillo’s review 

Past Lives (2023) [PG-13] *****

A film review by James Berardinelli for ReelViews.net on July 16, 2023. This review could be considered to contain spoilers.

Past Lives is quietly powerful – an understated examination of longing, connection, and unconsummated love. In the way it plays with concepts like fate and soul mates, it is sort-of an anti-Sleepless in Seattle. There’s something bittersweet yet reassuring about the way the movie approaches its central relationship. Many of the beats and emotions are universal even if the story is specific to these characters and their circumstances. And, by relying on long, lingering takes and non-verbal moments, first-time director Celine Song captures details that a more hurried approach would gloss over. The climactic encounter between the leads, so pregnant with unspoken feelings that are apparent in their body language, reminded me of the final sequence of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights, the greatest of the silent star’s repertoire.

Song’s overall approach recalls Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love. Although less reflective and more grounded, Past Lives evokes some of the same feelings. Perhaps one reason why the film works as well as it does is because it encapsulates a reality that most romantic movies ignore in their quest for box office gold and happily ever after endings. Past Lives acknowledges the longing, dreaming, and barrage of what ifs while recognizing that there is no one true path to contentment.

Past Lives opens in the present day (2022) with an unseen couple observing the interactions among three people sitting at a bar: Hae Sung (Teo Yoo), Nora (Greta Lee), and Arthur (John Magaro). Noting the seeming intimacy between Hae Sung and Nora and the way in which Arthur seems to be an outsider, the observers wonder about the relationships between the two Asians and their Caucasian companion. Although they will never know the truth, the movie proceeds to inform viewers.

The time frame jumps back 22 years to the turn of the century and the location switches from New York City to South Korea. We meet a young Hae Sung (Seung Min Yim) and Nora (who goes by her Korean name of Na Young, and is played by Seung Ah Moon), who are best friends. Every day, they walk home from school together and compete to see who can get the best grades on tests. Their friendship is severed when Na Young’s parents decide to immigrate to Toronto. They lose touch but neither completely forgets the other. A dozen years pass and in 2012 Hae Sung decides to find Nora, who is now living in New York. The two reconnect via Skype and become obsessed with on-line chats. Long-distance romantic sparks fly but Hae Sung won’t commit to visiting New York and Nora has no interest in returning to her homeland. Recognizing the futility of pursuing a relationship, Nora suggests that they no longer talk. Fast-forwarding another 10 years, the narrative comes to the present where circumstances have changed for both parties. Hae Sung has just broken up with a long-term girlfriend and decided to come to New York to visit Nora, who is married to Arthur. When the two old friends meet face-to-face for the first time in 22 years, the romantic tension is palpable. The connection is so strong that it worries Arthur, but both Nora and Hae Sung attempt to reassure him that, whatever exists between them, Hae Sung has not come to ruin their marriage. Hae Sung believes it. Nora believes it. But, as impartial viewers, do we?

The title comes from the concept of in-yun, which suggests that when a person encounters another person and has even a brief interaction, it means they have met in a past life. Lovers have an even deeper connection, having met repeatedly in past lives. The implication is that, although Hae Sung and Na Young are destined not to be with each other in this life, they may have been together in an earlier life and/or could potentially be together in the future.

The emotions roiling beneath the surface of this seemingly placid drama make watching it an intense and involving experience. The acting by Greta Lee and Teo Yoo emphasizes all the underlying things transpiring just beneath the dialogue and interpersonal interactions. Parts of Past Lives are in Korean, and there are subtitles, but no subtitles are needed to read body language. Many movies have been made that explore the sweet anguish accompanying unrequited love but few films explore requited but repressed emotions this deeply. Although the movie is primarily told from Nora’s perspective, Past Lives takes the time to flesh out both Hae Sung and Arthur’s characters. In Casablanca, which plumbs a not-dissimilar triangle, Rick and Ilsa will always have Paris. In Past Lives, Hae Sung and Na Young will always have Korea. And, perhaps in another lifetime, they can have more. [Berardinelli’s rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars]

Blogger's comment: The concept of in-yun, of the possibility of two souls having known each other in the past, or even being soulmates, is at the foundation of my romantic drama Sarah and David - the Sequel. 

Labels: drama, romance
IMDb 79/100 
MetaScore (critics=94, viewers=83) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=91, viewers=84) 
Blu-ray 
James Berardinelli’s review (3.5 out of 4 stars) 
Maggie McPhee's review 

Love at First Sight (2023) [PG-13] ****

A film review by Nell Minow for RogerEbert.com on Sept. 15, 2023.

I get it. I know how hard it is to write modern romance. Audiences love them, but it's increasingly harder to find a plausible and compelling reason why the couple doesn’t just fall in love and go straight on to happily ever after. These days, it's very difficult to find a reason to keep them apart for 70 minutes or so that will keep us intrigued and ensure they are relatable yet aspirational enough to make it feel urgent. The reliable obstacles to romance that worked for so many years, often some lie or misunderstanding, or literal or symbolic societal strictures (Abie’s Irish Rose, about a Jewish man in love with a Catholic girl, had a record-setting Broadway run) are as out of date as racing to the airport to deliver a declaration of love when everyone has a cell phone.

Unfortunately, Love at First Sight can’t do better than a cell phone’s unreliable battery as the culprit, and its lackluster script never gives us enough reason to believe in the couple’s rightness for each other or care about how they get to the happy ending.

This is not a story about love, the narrator (Jameela Jamil) tells us. It is a story about fate. And statistics. I would argue the story is not about any of those things, though plenty of numbers are thrown at us, and one of the leading characters is a self-described maths geek (he’s British). And, per the title, there's a couple who find an immediate attraction when they meet at an airport. But banter and a few exchanged confidences do not equal love, no matter how many pop songs are on the soundtrack.

We first see Hadley (Haley Lu Richardson) racing through JFK Airport in New York to catch a plane to London. The narrator explains that December 20 is the worst day of the year there, with over 193,000 passengers arriving and departing, causing an average of 23-minute delays at check-in and a peak wait time of 117 minutes at security. It's not quite a once upon a time opening, but it explains why Hadley misses her plane by four minutes and has to wait for the next one when the only seat available is business class.

This gives her time to look for a place to charge her cell phone, and that's how she meets Oliver (Ben Hardy), who is studying, yes, statistics and data science at Yale. He gallantly offers her a charge, and she responds, Sorry, I don’t share electronics until the third date. He tells her his name, and she says, Like Oliver Twist. He wryly replies, And they say Americans are uncultured. Soon, they’re sharing some airport food and then racing to get on the plane, where he unexpectedly gets bumped up to business class—the very next seat to Hadley!—because his seatbelt is broken. This would be very unrealistic if we didn't see that none other than our narrator is somehow the flight attendant making it happen. They share a cheesy rom-com before bedtime. She says she will only watch if there’s a happy ending, and he says she's dangerous because he finds himself being honest with her. Except, as we will find out, he is not.

Still, we know they have a very strong romantic connection because the movie keeps telling us that. Yet when he gives her his phone number, where do you think it goes? Yes, into that very unreliable phone. So maybe his studies of statistics and probability are less than comprehensive, especially when you realize they didn't even exchange last names. The rest of the movie is about the two of them trying to find each other in one of the world’s biggest cities.

Now, about fate. The narrator nonsensically tells us, Fate can only be fate if we decide that we want it to be. I have no idea what that means, but I do know that the concept of fate does not include an omniscient, statistics-spouting narrator magically turning up over and over to guide our lovebirds to the next stage. There’s also a completely superfluous rewind of footage to introduce another perspective on the past and, wait for it, a makeover scene as our heroine, just off a transatlantic flight, gets into her bridesmaid attire.

The exceptionally talented Richardson does her best with a woefully underwritten character. Her complicated feelings about her father (a game Rob Delaney) marrying a woman she’s never met are just a plot contrivance. The same goes for Hardy, who also is allotted one over-arching characteristic: a belief in his ability, with enough data, to prevent surprises. Oliver has an even tougher challenge with his parents, played by Sally Phillips and Dexter Fletcher, with charming costumes from designer Kirsty Halliday for their bittersweet Shakespeare costume party. If a real-life Hadley and Oliver wanted a cheesy rom-com with a happy ending to watch on a plane, I hope they do better than Love at First Sight. [Minow’s rating: 2 stars out of 4]

Labels: drama, Netflix, romance
IMDb 68/100
MetaScore (critics=55, viewers=55) 
RottenTomatoes Averages (critics=63, viewers=82) 
Netflix  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sarah and David: The Sequel

Sarah and David: The Sequel
Copyright © 2022, 2023, 2024 by Peter A Bock
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last update at 10 am, October 17th, 2024
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INTRODUCTION

The film Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986) is the love story of Sarah Perrera (played by Cristina Marsillach), a Sephardic Jewish girl, and David Bradley (played by Tom Hanks), an American pilot from Missoula, Montana, the son of a Presbyterian minister, who is flying fighter aircraft for the British Royal Air Force in North Africa during World War II. Their love story takes place in Jerusalem, in the British Mandate of Palestine. Here is a picture of David and Sarah, the first time they meet, at the Garden Café, King David Hotel, Jerusalem, on Wednesday, September 16th, 1942.

By the end of the film, Sarah has decided to honor her family's religious tradition and marry her Sephardic cousin Nessim, even though she loves David. In the final scene, with tears in her eyes, she waves goodbye to David after she has lied to him, promising him she will wait for him as long as she must. She is certain they will never see each other again.

It is a tragic ending. However, Israeli writer/director Moshe Mizrahi (1930-2018) said in an interview that the women in his films are strong but not tragic figures. They have the ability to live their lives consistent with fulfilling their need for love. He was interested in the mysterious ways of love, and the quality of grace that develops in adults when they give and receive love. His philosophy was that if your story is not about love, then there is no need to tell it. 

 

I could not reconcile Mizrahi's philosophy with his film's ending, with Sarah believing that fulfilling her need for love meant sacrificing her love for David for a lifetime without love. Sarah and David are soulmates; it is their destiny to be together, and Sarah knows this, although David does not. But she has free will to accept their destiny and decides not to accept it. I wanted them to find happiness together, first in Jerusalem and later in Missoula, Montana. And since they did not find it in the film, they would have to find it in a sequel. So, I felt inspired to write it.

While the sequel stands on its own because I reference the film, you may appreciate it more if you have seen the film or my YouTube playlist of eight videos from the film, or have read the synopsis in my review of Every Time We Say Goodbye. The film is available for rent on Amazon Prime Video, VUDU, Apple TV, or from Sony on Xfinity. It is also available on DVD.

The sequel is a tender, uplifting romantic drama. It is a seamless extension of the film, comprising forty scenes, beginning in 1942 and extending over the rest of Sarah and David's lives. It includes dialogue, narrative, and pictures, and may take two or three hours to read. To give you an even richer experience, I added background music to the scenes as YouTube links below the scene titles.

Here are pictures of the rest of the nine central characters from the film.

Victoria Sasson, Sarah's closest friend, and Peter Ross, David's squadron leader. They are engaged to be married.

Joseph, Sarah's favorite brother; Lea, her mother; and Raphael, her Papa. This is at the Perrera family home, Sabbath dinner, Friday, September 18th, to which Sarah's cousin Nessim has invited David.

Raphael and Sarah.

Nessim, Sarah's cousin, and Rosa, her grandmother.

SCENE 0 - WAVING GOODBYE
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Swept From The Sea - John Barry - 12:36

The film ends at Atarot Airfield, eight miles north of Jerusalem, on Thursday, November 19th, 1942, as David boards a C-47 cargo aircraft for the two-hour flight to his base, RAF Alexandria, Egypt, and he and Sarah wave goodbye to each other.

These are the last images of them at the end of the film and on this YouTube video. You can see the anguish on Sarah's face, and the tears in her eyes. Although she has told David that she will wait for him, she has asked her cousin Nessim to marry her. She has said goodbye to David for the last time and they will never see each other again. She has lied to him because she knows the truth would break his heart.


SCENE 1 - SARAH POSTPONES HER WEDDING
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Swept From The Sea - John Barry - 12:36

After David's plane departs, Sarah takes a cab back to Victoria's home in the early morning, just after dawn. She will marry Nessim today, even though she has told him she does not love him and has hinted that she is no longer a virgin. He has told her he does not care; he has enough love for both of them and perhaps someday she will love him.

She knocks on Victoria's door. Victoria opens it and greets her.

It's really cold out here. Come inside. Did you find David? Did you talk to him? What did he say?

He was waiting for me at the Garden Café. I wanted to tell him it was impossible for us to be together, and that I had to marry Nessim, but I couldn't say the words. And when he threw his duffel bag on the ground and told me I could not marry anybody else, I realized how much I loved him. And for a moment, I forgot all about Nessim and agreed with him that I couldn't marry anybody else. And it felt so good to say the words. Then he kissed me, and I said I would wait for him as long as I had to. I knew it was what he wanted to hear, even though I wasn't being truthful with him. And then he asked me to come with him to the airfield, and I couldn't say no.

Did you explain why you wouldn't talk to him yesterday? And that you're marrying Nessim?

No, I didn't tell him I'm marrying Nessim. I said I didn't want to talk to him because I was afraid Nessim would find out, realize I was in love with him, and refuse to marry me. And then I said Papa had reminded me there was no pressure on me to marry anybody, so I called off my wedding.

So you lied to him. He's flying back to the war thinking you love him and you'll wait for him, and you lied to him. Oh, Sarah.

I know, but I just couldn't bear to tell him I'm marrying Nessim today and we'll never see each other again. It would have broken his heart.

So you'll do it later in a letter. Do you think that will make it any easier for him to accept?

No, I guess not.

So, you're marrying a man you don't love, you've lied to the man you do love, and you've put off telling him the truth until he reads it in a letter, so you won't have to see his face when you break his heart. I think you've made it easier on yourself and harder on him. He spent two days crossing the Sinai Desert in the back of a truck to get here, and a third day trying to get you to explain why you're marrying Nessim. And you waited until he had to leave and then you lied to him. Honestly, Sarah, I think he deserved better than that, and I feel sorry for him. Well, it's done now. So, your father said there's no pressure on you to marry Nessim. What does your grandmother say about marrying him?

That I'm ruining my life.

Well, I'd agree with that, except that I think you're ruining David's and Nessim's lives as well as your own. If there's no pressure on you to marry Nessim, why are you doing this? You're not pregnant, are you?

No, I'm not pregnant.

So, why are you marrying a man you don't love, knowing you'll be miserable for the rest of your life? Are you just bowing to parental pressure and Sephardic tradition? And if you are, why? This is 1942. You have a right to live your own life and marry the man you love.

 
I don't know. Maybe I am, but isn't that what you did when you let your father have your marriage to Peter annulled?

It's not the same thing. You have half a dozen brothers and sisters. Your parents will be well cared for in their old age. But I'm an only child. If I had stayed married to Peter, I would have gone to England with him after the war ended, my mother and father would have lost their only child, and they would never have known their grandchildren. I love my parents and I realized I couldn't do that to them. Anyway, I'm curious. Your grandmother is clairvoyant, isn't she? What did she say about David?

That he's the one. He's the stranger from the New World who has come to Jerusalem to find me and marry me and take me to the New World, to America, with him.

So, if David is the one, why are you marrying Nessim?

I love David, but I'm afraid to marry him and go to America with him.

I don't understand. What are you afraid of?

Papa said if I choose David I will be an outcast from my family. I will no longer be his daughter. If I marry David and go to America with him and I don't like it, if it is too strange and too different, if I don't fit in, I won't be able to come back.

I see. So you're afraid to leave. Did your grandmother say this might happen?

Yes, she said, because I was born and raised here, I might not be able to separate myself from my family and my life here in Jerusalem.

So, you want a guarantee that you'll be happy in America, is that it? But your grandmother says she can see your future in America with David, and you're ruining your life by marrying Nessim. Can't you have a little faith in her and trust her vision of your future?

I guess I didn't think about it that way.

Has David ever asked you to marry him?

No, and now he never will ask me.

There's something I should tell you about David. After I had written to Peter and said I had decided to let my father have my marriage to him annulled, he wrote back to me. I think he was very frustrated. He said that that day at the Garden Café when he asked David to be his best man, David had reminded him that marriage didn't make any sense because there wasn't a single aspect of their lives that they controlled.

So, what are you saying?

When David got on that plane this morning, he had no idea you had lied to him, you were marrying Nessim today, and he would never see you again. He thought you would wait for him because that's what you told him, and he trusted you. He's in the middle of a war, he has no control over his life and no idea when the war will end or even if he will survive it. So, waiting until the war ends before he asks you to marry him and go to America with him makes sense to him. But if he had known you were marrying Nessim, he might have asked you to marry him.

Now I will never know.

Well, instead of marrying a man you don't love and ruining your life, why don't you find out if David does want to marry you? Suppose you postpone your wedding for a month and write a letter to him. Be honest with him. Explain that you lied to him, you were marrying Nessim, but you've postponed your wedding. Tell him how sorry you are and ask him to forgive you. You'll find out if he loves you enough to forgive you and ask you to marry him.

If I tell him the truth, that I lied to him, he might be so angry with me he would never forgive me. I don't know if I'd forgive myself.

He might not, but don't you think he's worth the risk?

Yes, of course. But it won't solve my problem of being afraid to leave my family and my life here in Jerusalem.

I see. But, you're clairvoyant, too, aren't you?

A little, yes.

Well, maybe in the next month, you'll have a vision that will help you make a decision. In any case, you won't have lost anything except time. You won't be the first girl to postpone or call off her wedding.

My mother would kill me if I postponed my wedding, considering all the preparations and the expense.

Your mother? The one who had your brothers drag you out of David's pension room and assault him, who called you a prostitute, hid your clothes, and kept you prisoner in your own home?

Yes.

Forgive me for saying it but I don't think she deserves your loyalty. Your father said there's no pressure on you to marry anybody?

Papa thinks I'm rushing into marrying Nessim. I think he'd be relieved if I didn't marry him at all.

All I'm suggesting is that you think about what your father and your grandmother are saying, and consider postponing your wedding.

Sarah stands there quietly, thinking about what Victoria is suggesting.

I didn't get very much sleep last night, and I'm a little tired. Can I come in and lie down for an hour, and then I'll decide if I want to marry Nessim or postpone the wedding. If I do postpone it, will you come with me to Nessim's house for support? I'd really appreciate it.

Of course, I'll come with you, and then we'll call your father. And if you do postpone it, you're welcome to stay here for the month. It might be good for you to get out of your house, and we have plenty of room. It'll be like we're sisters.

Thank you. I think I'd like that. Alright, wake me around eight a.m., and then I'll decide.

* * * * *

Sometime later, Victoria awakens her.

What time is it?

It's eight-thirty. I thought you needed to sleep a little longer. Here, drink this. It's freshly squeezed orange and pomegranate juice.

I did. Mm, this is delicious. It's just what I needed. Thank you.

Sarah hands the empty glass back to Victoria, folds her hands in her lap, closes her eyes, and sits quietly for a long moment. Then she sighs deeply, nods her head slightly, and opens her eyes.

Alright, I've thought about your suggestion, and I like it. The truth is, it would be a relief not to have to marry Nessim today. Let's go and see him, and I'll explain that I want to postpone the wedding for a month. Then I'll call Papa and tell him. And I'm happy to pay your parents for my room and my meals.

Don't be silly. I'll tell my parents I've invited you to stay here with me. You'll be like my younger sister. Since I let my father have my marriage to Peter annulled, it's the least they can do for me. And the way my father and Nessim make you work in their import-export business, they should pay you to stay here.

Thank you, I really appreciate this. There is one more thing, and you'll probably think I'm being paranoid.

No, I won't. What is it?

The last time my mother was really angry with me, she hid my clothes. This time she might burn them or shred them or give them away.

So, what do you want to do?

I was thinking if Joseph could go to my room without her knowing, he could lay all my clothes, underwear, handbags, and shoes on a bed sheet, tie it up in a big bundle, and drop it off my bedroom balcony. Then, later, he could bring it to me here. What do you think?

I think it might work. Let's call Joseph now and explain the plan to him.

You know, the more I think about this, the more I like it. You're a real treasure, Victoria. I love you.

I love you, too, Sarah. Alright, let's call your brother.

* * * * *

Nessim is very disappointed when Sarah tells him she wants to postpone their wedding for a month. But he takes comfort in knowing it is only one month, and she is not calling it off entirely.

As she had predicted, her mother is very angry with her for postponing her wedding, especially since they have gone to considerable expense. But she cannot force Sarah to marry Nessim, and her father is secretly very relieved that she is postponing it. While this drama is playing out, Joseph is able to slip into her bedroom unnoticed, pile all of her clothes, handbags, shoes, hats, and even her jewelry box, on a couple of bed sheets, tie them up, drop them off her balcony and bring them to her at Victoria's home.

* * * * *

Hannah and Moshe, Victoria's mother and father, are delighted that Victoria will have a Sephardic sister, especially since she let her father have her marriage to Peter, David's squadron leader, annulled. They welcome Sarah into their home as a new family member, and they will not allow her to pay them for her room or her meals, just as Victoria had predicted.


SCENE 2 - DAVID AND SARAH WRITE TO EACH OTHER
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Swept From The Sea - John Barry - 12:36

That same morning, Thursday, November 19th, David writes a letter to Sarah while flying from Atarot Airfield to RAF Alexandria, mailing it just after he lands. He is deliriously happy, telling her how much he loves her and how thrilled he is that she has decided not to marry Nessim and will wait for him to come to her. He tells her he will get a three-day pass and come to her as soon as possible.

* * * * *

His letter arrives at Victoria's home the following Monday. Now Sarah has the impossible task of replying to him. She mails her letter the same day and he receives it that Friday, the 27th.

Monday, November 23rd

Dear David,

This is the hardest letter I have ever had to write, and I hope you will understand and forgive me.

I was not honest with you last Thursday morning before you left Atarot Airfield. I said I would be here waiting for you, but the truth is I had planned to marry Nessim later that same day, and you and I would never see each other again. I lied to you because I knew the truth would break your heart, and I could not bear to do that to you.

I am so sorry I did not have the courage to tell you the truth. I know it was selfish and cowardly of me. I am ashamed of myself, and I cannot imagine what you must think of me.

I have to honor my parents' wishes and our religious tradition and marry a Sephardi. If I don't, Papa says I will no longer be his daughter. I will be an outcast from my family for the rest of my life, and I don't think I could bear that. So I don't have any other choice, even though my grandmother has told me I am ruining my life by marrying Nessim.

After you left, I went to Victoria's home and talked with her. When I told her Papa had said nobody was forcing me to marry Nessim, she convinced me to postpone my wedding for a month. So, I have postponed it, but someday I will have to marry Nessim or some other Sephardi.

The truth is, David, I love you more than you will ever know. I will treasure my memories of you and our time together for the rest of my life - Sabbath dinner, Victoria and Peter's wedding, dancing at the Garden Café, our day at Ein Gedi, and our night making love in your pension room.

That is why saying goodbye to you at the airfield last week was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Please try to understand and forgive me. I love you, but it is not possible for us to have a life together. I am sure you will survive the war, and I hope you have a wonderful life in America afterward. I am only sorry I cannot share it with you.

I am so sorry. Please forgive me.
Sarah


David reads her letter again and again, not quite able to believe what he is reading. A great feeling of sadness and hopelessness washes over him, and he feels a terrible, aching emptiness in his chest. He does not even notice the stains from her tears at the bottom of the letter, as his own eyes well up with tears.

He shows the letter to Peter.

It's from Sarah. She says she's marrying Nessim next month, and we'll never see each other again. So, hitchhiking across the Sinai last week to try to talk her out of marrying him was all for nothing. Here, you can read her letter yourself.

Peter knows from experience that it is especially hard for a pilot to get a letter like this during wartime. Sometimes, he will just lose the will to live, and Peter is afraid that David will be so discouraged that he will do something heroic but foolish in the air and sacrifice his life.

The next day, Peter writes to Victoria that David was crushed by Sarah's letter. David had let him read it, and Peter cannot understand how she could be so cruel and heartless to someone she says she loves. He ends his letter by saying that David is writing a letter to Sarah and he hopes she will at least read it and not just throw it away.

The following Monday, David shows Peter the letter he has written to Sarah before he mails it. Peter is impressed by how positive and uplifting it is and that David does not express any anger or bitterness toward her. He understands how much David loves her and how little time he has left before she marries Nessim. The next morning, Peter goes to his wing commander, tells him about David and Sarah and his concerns for David, and offers to trade a future three-day pass for himself for one the following Tuesday for David. Then he talks to David.

You wrote her a beautiful letter, but it's still only a letter, and you probably have less than two weeks before she marries Nessim. Here's a three-day pass for next Tuesday. Take it and go to her. This could be your last chance. In any case, you don't have anything to lose.

No, I don't have anything to lose. Thank you for doing this for me, Peter. I really appreciate it. It's ironic, isn't it? Two months ago, I was trying to talk you out of marrying Victoria, and now you're giving me your three-day pass so I can fly to Jerusalem and ask Sarah to marry me. I just hope I can get on the C-47 flight to Atarot.

I hope so, too. But, you know, she might be married by the time you get there.

I know. I guess I'll just have to take that chance.

* * * * *

David's letter to Sarah arrives that Friday, December 4th. She opens it with trembling hands, not sure if she wants to read it.

Monday, November 30th

Dearest Sarah,

I understand that you feel you must honor your parents' wishes and your religious tradition and marry a Sephardi. I can only repeat what Soren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, wrote long ago: 'To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception; it is an eternal loss for which there is no reparation, either in time or in eternity.'

Please, do not marry out of duty or obligation. Do not cheat yourself out of love. Marry me and come with me to America after this war ends. I promise I will love you more than anyone else could possibly love you. I will make you happy, and we will have a wonderful life together in America. Please, Sarah, marry me.

I know this is the first time I have asked you to marry me, and I am asking you in a letter, and I apologize for that. I love you more than I have ever loved anyone, and I cannot imagine my life without you. I can only hope I am not too late. Please, do not cheat yourself out of love, Sarah. Marry me, please.

I love you.
David


By the time she has read his letter for the third time, she has tears in her eyes. He is not angry or bitter; he does not criticize her for lying to him. She traces her fingertips over his heart-breaking words - Please, do not cheat yourself out of love, Sarah. Marry me, please. I love you. And she asks herself if she really is cheating herself out of love and if she will regret it for the rest of her life, as her grandmother cautioned her and as Kierkegaard expressed so eloquently.


SCENE 3 - DAVID PROPOSES TO SARAH
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Give Me a Smile - John Barry - 4:49

The following Tuesday, December 8th, David waits standby at RAF Alexandria Flight Operations. Fortunately, he is able to get a seat on the C-47 flight to Atarot Airfield. He arrives just after eight a.m., takes a cab to Victoria's home, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, reminds himself this is his last chance, and he has nothing to lose, and knocks on the front door. Sarah is not working that morning; she opens the door and cannot believe her eyes.

David is standing there, vulnerable, defenseless, with an expression of uncertainty and anxiety on his face.

She gasps, covering her mouth with both hands, and he is relieved to see that she is not wearing a wedding ring. And then, all of her pent-up emotions rise to the surface and she bursts into tears.

David! Oh, David.

Reaching out, she goes to him and melts into his arms, twining her arms around his neck, clinging to him, sobbing uncontrollably. Lovingly, protectively he enfolds her in his arms, rocking gently from side to side. Their tender, silent embrace goes on and on as tears stream down their cheeks. Neither of them wants it to end, but finally, she looks up into his eyes.

You came back to me. After the way I treated you, after I lied to you, after I wrote that terrible letter to you. How can you possibly forgive me?

Because I love you. I love you, and I can forgive you anything. I love you, and I want to marry you. Please, don't marry Nessim. If you're not sure you want to marry me, then just wait.

Oh, David, I love you, too, more than you can possibly imagine. Come inside with me so we can talk.

She takes his hand and leads him into the parlor. They sit together, holding hands and talking quietly.

I wish it was as simple as just loving each other, but it isn't. There are traditions in the Sephardic community, and especially in my family. Papa said if I choose you, I will be an outcast from my family for the rest of my life. I will no longer be his daughter.

I understand, but if we're married and living in America, those traditions won't be important, will they? Suppose I apply for permission to marry you under the Mandatory Palestine Foreign Marriage Act. After we're married, we'll apply for your immigrant visa. And as soon as the war ends, I'll resign my RAF commission and take you to America with me. Could you do that? Do you think Victoria's mother and father would let you live here after we're married, until the war ends?

She closes her eyes, recalling the vision her grandmother had shared with her years earlier about her future; that she would fall in love with a stranger from the New World who would not be Sephardi and who would marry her and take her to America with him. Then, after Nessim had brought David to Sabbath dinner nearly three months earlier, Rosa had told her that the stranger she had seen in her vision was David. And now that it is finally happening, that David has asked her to marry him and go to America with him and she has to make a decision, she is both excited and fearful.

There's something else, David. Jerusalem is my home. It's where I was born, where I've lived my whole life. It's familiar to me. If I marry you and go to America with you, and it's too different, too strange, and I don't fit in, and I'm not comfortable there, I'm not happy, I won't be able to come back here because I'll be an outcast from my family.

David sits back, nodding his head slowly, thoughtfully.

I see. I don't know what else to say other than I will do everything I possibly can to make you comfortable there, to make you happy, so you will like it in America and you won't want to come back here.

I'm sure you will, but it's a big decision, and there are so many things to consider. I don't have to decide right now, do I? You just got here.

No, of course not. I'm just happy you're willing to consider it. But, please, be honest with me, alright?

Yes, I will, and I'm so sorry I lied to you. You have a three-day pass, don't you? So let's spend these three days together, and then I'll decide, alright?

That first day they spend every moment they can together, talking quietly, their arms around each other or holding hands. She wants to know everything about life in America, especially in Montana, beginning with where they would live.

Well, we would live in Missoula. It's a town of about eighteen thousand in western Montana. It's surrounded by mountains, and a river runs through it, and it's just beautiful. The main industries are timber and farming. There's a lumber mill and a paper mill. They grow sugar beets, and there's a sugar processing plant. And there are dairy farms. Oh, and there's a university, too.

You said your father is a Presbyterian minister. Is his church in Missoula? Would we live with him?

Yes, he lives in a house that's owned by the church, and I thought we could live there with him when we first arrive, at least until I find a job and we can afford to rent our own place. It's a large house, and he's living there all alone, so there will be plenty of room for all of us, and I'm sure he would love to have us live there with him.

And, before long, she wants to be in his arms again. She reaches out to him, and they embrace again, her eyes glistening with tears. Tenderly he kisses her forehead, then her eyelids, her cheeks, and finally her lips.

Oh, David, I love you so much. I feel so silly.

It's alright, sweetheart. I cannot imagine how hard this must be for you, to think about leaving your family, your home, where you were born and grew up. It must be terribly hard to think about.

Yes, it is, but I love you so much I have to think about it.

They had talked about his family two months earlier, during their walk to King David's Tomb after Victoria and Peter's wedding, and later at Ein Gedi. David had explained that his mother had died of influenza in 1920 during the epidemic. He had only been three, so he didn't remember her, except from photos. He had been raised by his father and his sister.

He had also explained that his brother and sister were about ten years older than he was and that they had both left home before he had graduated from Missoula County High School in 1935. They had both gone to Seattle, where his brother had joined the Merchant Marine, and his sister had gone to nursing school. He had thought she had probably decided on nursing school after raising him.

Sarah had thought that losing their mother must have been hard on everyone. David had agreed that it was, especially on their father, who was a widower at forty with three children. But David had thought he had always been independent, which might have been why he had been comfortable going away to college, then leaving home and joining the RAF after college.

Now Sarah wants to know what kind of work he hopes to do, if he will be able to support them or if she will have to work, too, and what kind of work could she do? If she doesn't have to work, could she go to the university? She would like to study art, maybe painting, and could she do that? Would the community accept her, or would being Jewish be a problem? How do people dress, and what kind of food do they eat, and what do they do for fun? Do they ride horses? Are there Indians in Montana? And what about wolves and bears? What are the seasons like, and does it snow in the winter? She asks him every question she can think of, and he tries to be as honest and truthful as possible. And as he describes what life in Montana would be like, he finds himself becoming more and more excited about the possibility of them living there together, as husband and wife. By the time the shadows have lengthened in the late afternoon, she has a pretty good idea of what life with him in Montana would be like, and it sounds exciting to her, too.

That night they sleep together in her bedroom. David offers to sleep under a blanket on the carpet next to her bed so she does not feel any pressure to make love with him. But the nights are cold, and she wants him to sleep in her bed with her so they can snuggle and keep each other warm. And secretly she does want to make love with him. That night they make love slowly, gently, and tenderly, with a trust and an intimacy they had not experienced two months earlier in David's pension room. The joy of being in each other's arms and making love soothes and heals them, erasing the anxieties of the past two months and creating a stronger bond between them than either of them would have believed possible.

Late that night, while David is asleep, she lies awake in his arms and has a vision of their future together, and what she sees amazes and thrills her. She sees them several years in the future, laughing and wading hand in hand along the shore of a cold, clear, rapidly-flowing river, with majestic, snow-covered mountains in the distance. And then she sees herself cradling a beautiful baby girl in her arms and nursing her as David leans over them and kisses her. And she knows the baby is theirs. The vision is simply breathtaking, especially the image of her nursing their baby, and afterward, any lingering doubts she might have had are gone. She knows that she and David belong to each other, they are soulmates, and she does not need three days to decide. She knows what her answer will be. She closes her eyes, snuggles comfortably in his arms, and falls asleep with a smile on her face.

In the morning David awakens and cuddles her tenderly in his arms, kissing her neck and whispering to her.

I love you so much. I know we agreed to wait three days, but I don't want to wait. I want to ask you again.

She rolls over, twines her arms around his neck, and draws him to her for a kiss.

Mm, I love you, too, and I don't want you to wait, either. Ask me again, right now!

Really? Alright, Sarah, my love, will you marry me and come with me to America, to Montana, after this war ends?

Yes, my darling. Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! I will marry you and come with you to Montana.

You will? Really? You don't have any doubts?

No, I don't have any doubts. This is where I belong, here in your arms, wherever we are, in Palestine or Montana. Does this mean we're engaged? May I tell Victoria?

Oh my gosh! Yes, sweetheart, we are definitely engaged, and you're welcome to tell her, although I doubt it will be a surprise.

Later that morning, as they sit at the kitchen table, Hannah and Victoria come in. David thanks Hannah for letting him stay with Sarah, telling her how much he appreciates her hospitality. Hannah tells him how much they appreciate the great sacrifice he is making for all of them, and they are honored to have him as a guest in their home. After Hannah has gone, with David's arms around her and smiles on their faces, Sarah tells Victoria they are engaged to be married. Victoria is thrilled, congratulating them both.

Oh, this is wonderful; it just feels right. I'm sure the two of you will be so happy together. You've been in love almost since the day you met; you deserve to be happy. Would you like to go out this evening and celebrate? I could call your brother Joseph, and he could come with us. We could go to the Garden Café at the King David Hotel if you like.

They look at each other, and they are thinking the same thought. Sarah answers Victoria.

That's a very sweet thought, and I think going to the Garden Café for a glass of champagne and dancing to 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square' would be very nice. But David and I have so little time together. I just want to spend it right here with him. I don't want to share him with anybody and I'm sure he feels the same way.

I do, Victoria. Champagne and dancing at the Garden Café would be very nice, but the whole time we'd both be thinking we'd just rather be here in each other's arms as long as we possibly can. But thank you. We both appreciate the thought.

Later that morning, they go for a walk, hand in hand, in the bright December sunshine, silently enjoying this wonderful new feeling of being in love, belonging to each other, and being engaged to be married.

Sweetheart, have you talked with Hannah and Victoria? And have you thought about what you're going to do about Nessim?

Yes, I've already talked with Hannah and Victoria. They've assured me I'm welcome to stay here with them as long as I want, even after we are married. And whenever you can get a pass and come to me, you are welcome to stay with me in my bedroom. And after you leave on Friday, I'll take Victoria with me and explain to Nessim that I can't marry him after all. I don't need to tell him we're engaged; I'm sure he'll find out eventually. And then I'll call Papa and tell him the wedding is off. I'm sure he'll be relieved to hear that.

That sounds wonderful. I'm sure it's just my own fears, but I have to ask you once more if you have any doubts about marrying me and coming with me to Montana, any doubts at all.

No, darling, I don't. Late last night, after you fell asleep, I had a vision of our future together, and it was amazing. I saw a cold, clear river with snow-covered mountains in the distance, and we were wading along the shore, holding hands and laughing. And then I saw us together, and I was cradling a beautiful baby girl in my arms and nursing her. And I'm sure she was our baby. And then you kissed me. I can't imagine anything more wonderful than being your wife, having your baby, and living in a beautiful place like that.

It must have been the Bitterroot River Valley in your vision. That's where Missoula is, where we'll live. And she must have been our baby. Now I understand why you don't have any doubts about our future together. Thank you for sharing that beautiful vision with me. Now I'm certain we'll have a wonderful life together, you and I.

I'm certain we will, too. Thank you for coming to me and asking me to marry you and come with you to Montana and making love with me so I could have that beautiful vision and know what a wonderful life we'll have together. And this might sound strange, but it feels as though we're already married.

No, it doesn't sound strange at all. It feels the same way to me, and it feels wonderful.

Later that afternoon, they sit quietly together.

I was thinking, now that we're engaged, I'd like to give you an engagement ring. What do you think of that idea?

She leans closer and kisses him softly, tenderly, and then whispers to him.

I think it's a wonderful idea. I would love to wear your engagement ring, and I was hoping you would suggest it. Let's go shopping tomorrow morning and find something, alright?

Alright. And, hopefully, we can find a ring you love that fits you, so I can put it on your finger before I leave on Friday.

So, on Thursday morning, they go shopping. On Jaffa Street, Jerusalem's oldest city street, they find a little jewelry store that, seven years later, would become Baltinester Jewelry & Judaica, where she finds an Art Deco style solitaire round diamond engagement ring that she loves and that fits her perfectly, as though it had been made especially for her.

David buys it, and when they are back at Victoria's home and sitting in the parlor, he slips it on her ring finger, and then they embrace and kiss.

Mm, now we really are engaged to be married, sweetheart.

Yes, and it feels wonderful! And whenever I look at my new ring, I will think of you and how much I love you. And I will never take it off. Never!

Their time together is over much too quickly. Friday morning at six a.m., they once again find themselves at Atarot Airfield, holding hands and waiting for David to board the C-47 flight to RAF Alexandria, their eyes glistening with tears.

This feels so different from the last time we were here. I promise you, from now on, I will always try to tell you the truth.

I will, too, sweetheart. And as soon as I get back to Alexandria, I'll apply for permission to marry you, and I'll send you some money, too. Unmarried flight lieutenants don't earn much, but I want to share it with you. You're going to be my wife, and I want to show you I can take care of you and provide for you.

She pats his arm comfortingly.

I'm sure you can. That's not what worries me. What worries me is that something terrible might happen to you in the air. I love you more than I can tell you, and now that I know we will be making a life together, I don't want to think about losing you and living without you.

I don't want to think about that, either, and I hate saying goodbye to you, but it looks like they're motioning me to board. Alright, I'll write to you this afternoon and send you some money, and I'll come to you as soon as I can. And I promise you this - someday we'll have our own home in Montana, and we'll be able to make love in our own bed, and we'll never have to say goodbye.

That sounds wonderful, darling. I love you so much. I'm already starting to miss you. Kiss me again, and hurry back to me, please.

 

SCENE 4 - A ROOM IN VICTORIA'S HOME
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Sarah is much happier in Victoria's home than she thought she would be. She helps Hannah and Victoria with grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and laundry, and she begins to appreciate that with three females and only one male in the home, the energy is much softer and gentler than in her family's home.

She continues to work part-time for Moshe, Victoria's father, and Nessim, but there are subtle changes. Nessim is heartbroken that she has called off their wedding. To protect himself, he begins to distance himself from her when they are at work. He no longer tells her he loves her or invites her to see films with him. And Friday evening Sabbath dinners at the Perrera family home with his parents, his aunt and uncle, and his other cousins are no longer enjoyable because she is not there. Then, one day, he notices the diamond ring sparkling on her ring finger and assumes it is from David, and they are engaged to be married. But he is afraid to ask her.

Moshe, in contrast, is more caring of her, treating her more like his own daughter or his niece than an employee. They usually commute to and from work together, and he often treats her to lunch. Occasionally, he asks her about her relationship with David, and he begins to wonder if the real reason he forced Victoria to let him have her marriage to Peter annulled was that he was afraid his only child would move to England after the war, he would never see her again, and he would never know his own grandchildren.

* * * * *

Sarah's brother Joseph visits every few days and takes the girls out for ice cream or to a theater to see a film. Sarah tells Victoria they should just leave her at home. But Victoria pats her arm and smiles and tells her they love having her along with them and she thinks it is adorable that Joseph is so protective of his little sister and so supportive of her relationship with David.
 

Sarah and David write to each other nearly every day, and she writes her innermost thoughts and feelings, her hopes and dreams, pouring her heart out to him, which makes them yearn for one another. She reads his letters again and again, keeps them all, and carries the most recent ones in her handbag. And whenever she misses him and feels sad and lonely, she takes one out and reads it. And soon, all of his letters are stained with her tears.

At her suggestion, Joseph borrows a friend's Kodak Brownie camera and the three of them shoot a roll of film so she can send David some photos of herself.

After he receives them, David does the same thing with another pilot's new Kodak 35. And, naturally, the photos make them yearn for each other even more. And every Monday, he sends her a Mandatory Palestine postal money order. She mentions it to Victoria.

He sends me a money order every week, even though I've told him I don't need it.

He loves you. He can't be with you, so he's trying to show you how much he wants to support and protect you. Can't you just accept it? He's asked you to marry him and go to America with him, and the steamship and train travel will be expensive. Why don't you open a savings account? Call it your 'Going to America' account, send him the signature card to sign, and explain what you've named the account. He'll love knowing you're being thrifty and saving money.

I didn't think about the travel expenses, but you're right, and I'm sure he will love us having a savings account together. Alright, I'll do it.

* * * * *

Then, one day in March, David writes that he got a reply from Mandatory Palestine. His application to marry her has been approved, and it is valid for two years, so they should start discussing when they want to get married. She is overjoyed and shares the news with Victoria.

He's received approval for us to get married, and he said it's valid for two years. I was thinking about September, one year after we first met at the Garden Café. What do you think?

I like September. One year after you first met. There's a nice symmetry to that. Oh! Do you know what this means? You'll be an RAF officer's wife! The benefits are amazing. I'll tell you all about them.


SCENE 5 - A SILK SCARF AND MEDJOOL DATES
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

The rumor that David and Peter's squadron is being sent to Burma is simply part of a secret disinformation campaign called Operation Mincemeat, designed to disguise the impending Allied invasion of Sicily. Their squadron remains at RAF Alexandria, fighting the German army and air force in North Africa until its surrender on May 13th, 1943, ending the North Africa Desert campaign. David had hoped he would be able to see Sarah in March or April, but the intensity of the German ground and air resistance just before its surrender made that impossible.

Following the German surrender, he is able to get a three-day pass for Tuesday, May 18th. He packs his duffel bag and waits standby at RAF Alexandria Flight Operations. He missed her nineteenth birthday on April 10th, so he has brought her a large silk ancient Egyptian hieroglyph mosaic print scarf and a box of Egyptian Medjool dates as belated birthday gifts.

After a short wait, he is able to get a seat on the morning C-47 flight to Atarot Airfield. He arrives just after eight a.m., takes a cab to Victoria's home, and knocks on the door. Sarah has had a vision that he is flying but not piloting a Hawker Hurricane, so, in anticipation, she has not gone to work that day. She opens the door, shrieks his name, and joyfully throws herself into his arms.

David! Oh, David, my darling. Is it really you? I wasn't sure I would ever see you again.

Yes, sweetheart, it really is me. I'm finally here. I didn't know if I could get a seat on the aircraft, so I couldn't write you I was coming. I've dreamed of this moment every day for the last five months, of holding you tight and kissing you and making love with you.

Mm, I've had the same dream. Tell me, do you have a three-day pass?

Yes, I have until Friday morning. I have to be on the six a.m. flight back to Alexandria.

So we have almost three whole days together. Right now, I just want to feel your arms around me and have you hold me and kiss me and love me. Oh, I've missed you so much. Come with me. I think you'll like my little bedroom better now. Hannah and Moshe got me a larger bed for the two of us. They have been so kind to me. I decorated the room a little, too. Oh, I still can't believe you're really here.

She takes him by the hand, leads him to her bedroom, closes the door behind them, and melts into his arms. It has been five months since they made love, and for the next three days, they cling to one another passionately and possessively, each unwilling to let the other out of sight. They disappear for hours into her bedroom, only emerging briefly to use the bathroom or to get something to eat in the kitchen. When they do sleep, it is with his arms protectively enfolding her, and she cannot remember ever feeling more loved or sleeping more peacefully. It is as though their entire world consists of the two of them in her little bedroom. When they spend a moment with Victoria, they are holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes, to Victoria's quiet amusement. But they agree that given the uncertainties of war, it does not make any sense to bring a child into the world, so they take appropriate precautions.

She loves the silk scarf he has brought her. She thinks the colors will go really well with the tan, grey, and blue suits she wears to work, especially when the weather turns colder. Sitting cross-legged on her bed, gloriously nude for him but still a little shy, she ties the scarf over her face like a mask, so all he can see are her eyes, her extraordinary eyes that had captivated him from the moment he had met her at the Garden Café. Posing for him, she feeds him a bite of rich, sweet, intensely caramel-tasting Medjool date, then takes a bite herself, pretending he is her sultan and she is his odalisque, giggling as he reaches impatiently for her and draws her to him, thrilled to see how much he wants her. And before they know it, they have eaten most of the dates.

Tell me about the Foreign Marriage Act approval you got from Mandatory Palestine. You said it's valid for two years, so when are you thinking about us getting married?

The approval is valid through March of 1945, and I was thinking about sometime this summer or fall. But you'll be the bride; isn't this something you decide?

I was thinking about September. It would be one year after we first met. What do you think?

I think September would be fine. The only other thing we have to consider is the war and where I might be stationed. In any case, you're not thinking about a large wedding, are you?

No, just Victoria, Hannah, Moshe, and my brother Joseph. And I'll ask him if he can bring my grandmother. I think it would be wonderful if Nonna could be there and see us get married.

Speaking of Hannah and Moshe, I'm curious. Why do you think they're being so nice to us, inviting me to stay with you, and even putting a larger bed in your bedroom?

Victoria and my brother are falling in love, and since she let Moshe have her marriage to Peter annulled, so she won't be moving to England after the war, both he and Hannah are thrilled to think she might marry Joseph and stay right here in Jerusalem so they will be able to enjoy their grandchildren. Moshe might even be thinking of offering Joseph a position with his import-export business. So they are doing everything they can to encourage that relationship. And since I'm Joseph's little sister and you're my fiancé, that means being nice to us, too.

Well, thank you, Hannah and Moshe, and Victoria and Joseph!

* * * * *

Once again their three days together are over much too quickly, and they find themselves at Atarot Airfield, waiting for David to board his flight back to RAF Alexandria, tears in their eyes, arms around one another, reluctant to let go.

Sweetheart, I think, since we've decided on Tuesday, September 21st as our wedding date, we should assume I'll be guaranteed a three-day pass and a seat on that flight to Atarot. But I probably won't be able to get another pass before that. You've got the Mandatory Palestine approval letter, so you'll have to go to the magistrate's office and organize everything, our wedding and our reception.

Yes, I'll take care of it, darling. You just stay safe in the air and come back to me. That's all I ask.


SCENE 6 - VICTORIA AND JOSEPH
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Peter and David's squadron participates in the Allied invasion of Sicily between July 9th and August 17th, 1943, flying fighter cover for the bombers and assault landing craft.

And then, one day, Sarah experiences something she had never experienced before. She is sitting at the dining table with Hannah, Moshe, and Victoria when suddenly she feels David's emotions, first anxiety, then terror, and finally exhilaration. She gasps, reaching out and grasping Victoria's hand.

What is it, Sarah? What's happening?

It's David. He's in the air, dogfighting a German fighter plane. Oh, my goodness!

Is he alright?

Sarah's whole body tenses, her grip on Victoria's hand growing tighter and tighter. Then she gasps, relaxes her grip and settles back in her chair, her head tilted back, her eyes closed.

Yes, he is. He's alright. He just shot down a German fighter plane. Oh my gosh! He is so excited. I can feel that he wants to tell me all about it. Oh, he is such a treasure. I love him so much.

Quietly, Victoria explains to Hannah and Moshe.

Sarah is clairvoyant. She has visions of what is happening to David.

Yes, but this wasn't clairvoyance. I actually felt his emotions. It was as though our bodies were connected, and I felt what he felt. And it was so intense. For a moment, I couldn't breathe.

But, you're alright now?

Yes, I'm alright, and so is David, thank heavens. I've never felt this before, but it must be that now that we're engaged to be married, we're even more closely connected, so I'm feeling his emotions as well as seeing visions of him.

* * * * *

The rest of the Allied invasion of Sicily is relatively uneventful for David. But, even though she is clairvoyant and empathetic, Sarah still waits anxiously for word from him that he is alright. And because the disinformation campaign worked so well, the German resistance is light, and thankfully, Allied casualties are also light.

* * * * *

One day she goes to a bookstore, finds a travel book about the American Rocky Mountain West, and begins reading about Montana, and Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks. There is even a page about the Clark Fork River, Missoula, and the Bitterroot River Valley. She finds the idea of living in Missoula, Montana exciting. And, from her visions and all she has learned from David, she can already imagine living there with him as husband and wife, sharing his dream of their future together. She buys the book and is so happy she cannot resist telling the sales clerk that this is where she will live after the war ends.

* * * * *

One day, Sarah and Victoria have a conversation about Sarah's brother.

By the way, what do you think of your brother?

Joseph? I think he's a treasure. He's the only one who really cared enough about me to question what my mother was doing. If he hadn't been there after my other brothers dragged me out of David's pension room, I don't think Papa and Nessim would have had the courage to stand up to them all. In fact, compared to Joseph, my other brothers are useless. Why? Are you falling in love with him?

I'm not sure. We've gotten to know each other while looking after you. And we've gone on a few dates. He's kind and considerate, he listens to me and really seems interested in what I'm thinking and feeling. And I don't think Peter ever did. When I know he's coming, I look forward to seeing him, and when he's not here, I miss feeling his arms around me. Maybe I am falling in love with him.

Well, it would be easy to do. He certainly knows how to make a girl feel loved and appreciated. I think the two of you would make a wonderful couple. And he doesn't mind that you were married to Peter, and your father had the marriage annulled?

No, I asked him about that, and he said he didn't care. To him, it just means I know what I want in a husband, and it isn't... oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean...

It's alright. We can be like sisters and love each other and still want different things in a husband. But if I wanted to marry a Sephardi, and Joseph wasn't my brother, he would be my first choice. You know, if you do marry him, we really will be sisters.

We will, won't we! I was thinking, if you and David hadn't fallen in love, and you hadn't gone through that whole thing with Nessim, you wouldn't have come to live with my family, and I might not have gotten to know Joseph. It's funny how things work out, isn't it?


SCENE 7 - WEDDING AND RECEPTION
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Intermezzo - Cavalleria Rusticana - Pietro Mascagni - 6:04

After Sicily, David gets a three-day pass and picks up the wedding rings he ordered. Since he is getting married, he is assured of a seat on the C-47 flight to Atarot Airfield on Tuesday morning, September 21st, 1943. This time, Sarah is expecting him, so she takes a cab to the airfield to greet him. It has been four months since they made love, and they cannot wait to be in each other's arms again.

But this time is different. There is something wonderful about being in the arms of your beloved when both of you know you are making a lifetime commitment to one another, something very freeing, as though neither of you is holding anything back, as though you are two halves anticipating merging into one single whole.

He has brought her a lovely blue silk shirt as a wedding gift and, naturally, another box of Egyptian Medjool dates. She shows him she is eager to leave her Sephardic traditions behind, marry him, and go to America with him, by buttoning his gift quickly and casually. They laugh, and he realizes she is definitely a kindred spirit, and they will have a wonderful life together after the war has ended.

Do you think we should be concerned that your brothers might try to interrupt our wedding ceremony?

No, darling, I can assure you that everything will go smoothly. Joseph and Nonna are the only members of my family who know we're getting married, and I asked Hannah and Moshe not to say anything, so even Nessim does not know.

They are married in a civil ceremony that same afternoon, one year after they first met, in the same magistrate's office where Peter and Victoria were married a year earlier. Joseph has brought Rosa, their grandmother, in a cab, having told their mother he was taking her out for ice cream. Sarah is so delighted that her dear Nonna is there to see her marry David that her eyes are filled with tears, and she is certain this is the happiest day of her life.

Victoria acts as her maid of honor and Joseph as David's best man, and Sarah notices they are quietly holding hands. Although David likes Joseph and appreciates how protective of Sarah he has been, a small part of himself wishes Peter and Victoria were still married, and Peter could have been there. After the ceremony, they have a reception with a cake and a bottle of champagne. After they have cut the cake and Joseph has made a toast with the champagne, David takes a moment to thank them all for watching over his beloved bride while he is flying Hurricanes for the RAF.

While they enjoy the wedding cake, Sarah and Rosa sit quietly together. Sarah shares her beautiful vision of her future in Montana, and Rosa smiles, nods, and pats her hand approvingly. Sarah tells her that after David has gone back to RAF Alexandria, Joseph will bring her to Victoria's, and they can spend some time together. Sarah will tell her about their honeymoon and what David has told her about life in Montana.


SCENE 8 - HONEYMOON
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

David's three-day pass is not long enough for them to have a real honeymoon, so he borrows the same little MG-TA Midget roadster he had borrowed a year earlier and takes Sarah for a drive back to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, which has such poignant memories for them.

This is such a special place. Do you remember a year ago when we were here on our first real date? We walked through the marketplace on our way to the David Waterfall, and I bought a couple of oranges.

Yes, I do remember. That was a delicious orange.

Well, we have an expression in Spanish, 'mi media naranja.' It means my half-orange. If I say 'eres mi media naranja,' it means you're my half-orange, my perfect other half, my soulmate, the love of my life.

Since I had already begun to think of you as mi media naranja, I really wanted to buy one orange and slice it in half for us. But I didn't have a knife, so I had to buy an orange for each of us.

I love that expression, sweetheart. You are definitely mi media naranja, my perfect other half. But tell me, does that expression have anything to do with oranges being sweet and juicy?

I don't know. I never thought about it that way. Am I sweet and juicy?

You have no idea!

Well, thank you, and so are you! You know, being here again reminds me of the talk we had while we were letting our clothes dry. You said something about thinking that God had a lot to answer for, and not thinking you could change the world much. Do you remember that?

Mm-hmm, yes, I do remember saying something like that. Why?

Well, if you didn't think you could change the world, why did you join the RAF to fly fighter planes in the war?

That's easy. It was so I could meet you.

David, be serious, please. I'd really like to know.

Serious? Alright, let's see. That was four years ago, in September of 1939. I'd gotten my structural engineering degree from Montana State College in Bozeman. I wasn't certain what I wanted to do with my life, but I knew it wouldn't be the ministry. Great Britain had just declared war against Germany, and I'd seen an advertisement for RAF pilot training for healthy high-school graduates with excellent vision and between twenty and thirty-one years of age. I'd taken an aeronautical engineering course and always thought it would be great to learn how to fly. Plus, I had this feeling the war would not stay in Europe, that it would be at least as large as the Great War, and that the U.S. would eventually be involved. And I'm not a pacifist like my father. I believe we have to take a stand against tyranny. We have to fight it. So, in October, I took a bus north to Calgary, Alberta, passed the physical exam and the written test, and joined the RAF. I took officer's training, and then early in 1940 I took pilot training. After that they sent me to North Africa.

Well, I'm very impressed you would volunteer to fight in a war that wasn't even yours. There is one more thing, though. We've talked about this, and I'm sure you will think I'm silly and sentimental.

Mm-hmm, and what's that?

If we had a baby together, if you gave me a baby, at least I'd have something to remember you by if you don't make it through this war.

But I will make it through this war, sweetheart. Both you and your grandmother assured me I would. And remember the vision you had of nursing our baby daughter while I kissed you. I promise you we will have children. I know how much you want them, and I want them, too. And I'm sure you'll be a wonderful mother. I love you, Sarah Paloma, my princess dove. I cannot tell you how much you mean to me and how it tears me apart every time I have to say goodbye and leave you.

Oh, David, when you say things like that, you make all my fears go away. I love you, too. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love you. Please don't take any unnecessary chances in the air, alright? I don't want to think about having to live without you.

They go for a camel ride and have their picture taken, displaying their wedding rings, with her playfully wearing his peaked cap.

Now I have a question for you, sweetheart. A year ago, when we went for a walk at King David's Tomb, you said to me: 'You are in Jerusalem for how long? Not very long, I think. Why should I want to get involved with you?' Then I questioned whether I wanted to get involved with your complicated family, and we agreed we should just stay out of each other's way. Then, when you didn't even want me to take you home in a cab, there was nothing to do but say goodbye, so we did. But then you kissed me. Why did you kiss me?

I knew someday you would ask me that question. It was because I wanted you to remember me. I knew you were eventually going back to Egypt and I wanted you to remember me and not give up on me, but think about how you could give me a reason to get involved with you. That's why I kissed you.

So, my not giving up on you was what you wanted all along.

Yes, and thankfully you didn't give up on me. You came to the YMCA looking for me, you took me dancing at the Garden Café and to Ein Gedi, and I fell in love with you. And even after my brothers dragged me out of your pension room and assaulted you, and then I tried to push you away because I thought I had to marry Nessim, you still didn't give up on me. So, kissing you worked. I love you! Kiss me!

Mm, I love you, too.

SCENE 9 - JERUSALEM AND A VISA APPLICATION
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Over the past year, David has come to appreciate how strong-willed and independent-minded Sarah can be, and he accepts this as part of her personality. She is used to making up her own mind and not being told what to do. And during wartime, when they are separated for long periods, having a strong-willed, independent-minded wife is definitely an advantage.

Thursday morning, the day after their drive to Ein Gedi, they are having a quiet conversation about their future. She wears the new hat she bought while shopping with Victoria before their wedding.

David, how long do you think this war will last?

I don't know. Nobody knows. I do know we have to invade Europe, which means Italy or Greece from the south, France or Belgium from the west, and Poland, Finland, and the Baltic States from the east, from Russia. I expect us to invade Italy or Greece pretty soon, then France or Belgium within a year.

Given what I am hearing about the way the Allied strategic bombing campaign is destroying Germany, if we do invade France or Belgium next spring or summer, I expect Germany to surrender by the end of 1945. It's amazing. I heard about a thousand-bomber raid, a line of bombers and escort fighters six hundred miles long. The lead bombers were dropping their bomb loads over their targets in Germany while the last bombers were still taking off from their RAF airfields in England. And, what is even more amazing is that P-51 Mustangs with drop tanks have the range to escort the bombers all the way to their targets, even as far as Berlin, and then return to England.

That is amazing! So, do you know where you'll be?

No, I don't, not for sure, but if we do invade Italy or Greece, I'll probably be right here in the Mediterranean, escorting our bombers, dogfighting German Bf-109s, and destroying Italian or Greek air defenses.

Alright, well, what about my immigrant visa? So I can come with you to Montana after the war ends?

Your immigrant visa! Of course! I knew there was something I was forgetting. I leave from Atarot tomorrow morning, so we have to go to the U.S. Consulate today. I'll have to find some civilian clothes first, though.

Why?

When I went to Canada and joined the RAF, the U.S. Neutrality Act of 1939 prohibited Americans from fighting for a foreign country. I'm sure, that after Pearl Harbor, the Neutrality Act became irrelevant, and nobody will prosecute me now. But I want it to be as easy as possible for you to get a visa. If they ask, I'll say I'm here in Palestine as an independent contractor for the RAF, which is sort of true. After the war ends, the RAF won't need me anymore, and they'll release me.

She is quiet for a moment, and he can feel that she has left him. She is focusing her awareness on her third eye chakra, or energy center, to use her clairvoyance. Then she allows her awareness to settle down into the infinite, unbounded transcendent and experiences her physical body dissolving, fading away. Then, briefly, she picks up the thought of David and herself, together with the thought of her immigrant visa, and then allows her awareness to settle down again. Almost immediately she sees an image of an office in the consulate and a consular officer smiling, nodding his head positively, and extending his hand to them. And then she is back, and she smiles at David.

I don't think you need to worry, but if it makes you feel better, we can ask Joseph. He's about your size, and I'm sure he has something that will fit you.

That is amazing! How can you do that?

It's hard to explain. I just can. But sometimes it's wrong, and sometimes I see things I wish I hadn't seen. However, this time I think we'll be fine.

Later that same day, they go to the Visa and American Citizen Services Section of the U.S. Consulate on Nablus Road north of Damascus Gate, to apply for her immigrant visa, and of course, she is right. The consular officer examines and photographs their passports and marriage documents without any questions and assures them they will be able to issue her an immigrant visa, as long as she doesn't need it immediately.

SCENE 10 - CASABLANCA AND THE END OF WWII IN EUROPE
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

As the wife of an RAF officer, Sarah discovers she is now a military dependent, a member of a small, protected, rather privileged class in Mandatory Palestine. The population of Palestine in 1943 is one point six million, including five hundred thousand Jews. In addition, there are nearly ten thousand British administrative personnel and military police plus an equal number of dependents. As David's wife, Sarah is entitled to receive health care in the same military hospital where he was treated when his leg was injured after he was shot down. She is also entitled to have military police protection, and to use the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) retail shops, commissaries, and other facilities and services. In addition, she receives a portion of his pay, which now includes housing and subsistence allowances. She is not just a nineteen-year-old Sephardic Jewish girl; she is an RAF officer's wife, and she likes going shopping and taking Victoria with her since she knows the best NAAFI shops!

* * * * *

Later in September of 1943, David participates in the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland. In January of 1944, with a portion of Italy liberated, he is reassigned back to RAF Alexandria. Because he has flown enough combat missions and has the experience and engineering skills, he is assigned as a combat instructor pilot, and an aircraft maintenance test pilot. Also, in January, he is able to get a three-day pass and a seat on a C-47 flight to Atarot Airfield, to be with Sarah at Victoria's home. Remembering how much they enjoy playing sultan and odalisque, he has brought another box of Egyptian Medjool dates for them to eat while they make love.

This time, however, they decide to go out with Victoria and Joseph for a couple of hours. Casablanca, the World War II romantic drama starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid, premiered in Palestine in November of 1943, a year after its U.S. premiere, and is still playing at a few theaters. Sarah cries at the end, and as they walk out of the theater, Victoria discreetly motions to Joseph to let David and Sarah walk ahead a little way, so they can have some privacy.

Ilsa should never have gotten on that plane with Victor. She should have chosen love instead of duty and stayed in Casablanca with Rick.

I understand how you feel, sweetheart. Rick and Ilsa had been lovers in Paris, but Ilsa was married to Victor Laszlo; he was her husband. And even if she had stayed on the ground with Rick, Major Strasser would still have tried to stop Victor's plane from taking off, so Rick would still have had to shoot him. So, either way, Rick and Captain Renault would have had to leave Casablanca and go to the Free French garrison at Brazzaville. If Ilsa had stayed with Rick, she would have gone with him, and if the French garrison had fallen to the Germans, they would all very likely have been shot. So, I think, for Ilsa, choosing duty instead of love was the only way the film could end. Anyway, 'Casablanca' is just a film. It isn't real life.

I know that, but it reminded me of how I almost made the wrong decision and almost chose duty instead of love.

Remembering a year earlier, in November and December of 1942, when she had nearly lost David, she twines her arms around his neck, clinging to him, her eyes glistening with tears, reassuring herself that she had not lost him, that he really is there with her. He holds her tenderly, lovingly in his arms, rocking gently from side to side, not saying a word. Victoria and Joseph stand there quietly, arms around each other, discreetly looking away, realizing this is an important moment for David and Sarah in their relationship.

It's alright, sweetheart. The main thing is you did choose love instead of duty, and I'll always be grateful you did. I'm sorry this film awakened those memories and made you feel sad, but we're together now and we'll always be together. We're not Rick and Ilsa; we're David and Sarah, and we never have to talk about 'Casablanca' again. Alright?

Alright, and thank you for understanding. You know me so well, what I'm feeling, and what to say and do. It's why I love you so much, and I can't imagine living without you.

* * * * *

Knowing David is stationed at RAF Alexandria and not flying combat missions gives Sarah the idea that she could come and live with him on base, so they could see each other every day rather than only once every few months.

Of course, I'd like to have you with me. You're my wife, my soulmate, mi media naranja. But it's hot and dry and dusty and dirty. There isn't even a real hospital, and the commissary is a joke. I have to live on base and eat at the Officers' Mess, but there's no base housing for dependents, so you'd have to live alone in Alexandria, which would be dangerous and expensive. I'd have to hire a bodyguard for you, which would be very expensive, especially since we're trying to save money for our journey to Montana after the war. Plus, there are no other wives there. You wouldn't know anyone except Peter and me. I know it's not ideal but, please, stay here in Jerusalem with Victoria and Joseph and Hannah and Moshe, where I'm sure you're safe, I can focus on doing my job, and I don't have to worry about you.

Alright, I understand. I don't want to be a burden; I want you to be able to focus on the war, and I agree it makes sense for me to stay right here. And I love Victoria and Joseph; she is like an older sister, and he is my favorite older brother. And it is fun listening to each of them talk about the other and watching them fall in love. Just as long as you come to see me whenever you can.

You know I will, sweetheart! And thank you for understanding.

* * * * *

Then, in October of 1944, a year after Sarah and David were married, Victoria and Joseph announce their engagement, although they want to wait for the war to end before getting married. They have a little engagement party at Victoria's home with cake and champagne, and David is able to get a three-day pass and a seat on the C-47 flight to Atarot Airfield to join the party. Hannah and Moshe are just thrilled. Peter is surprisingly positive about it and even asks David to tell them he is very happy for them.

Even though Sarah and David have been married for a whole year, this is only the fourth three-day pass he has been given since their wedding and honeymoon. So they are still newlyweds and treasure every moment they can spend alone together. He has brought another box of Medjool dates for them to enjoy, and as soon as the party has ended, they discreetly retire to their bedroom, to nobody's surprise.

* * * * *

David survives the war without another injury, as Sarah's grandmother had predicted when she read his tea leaves. After Victory in Europe Day, May 8th, 1945, he requests and is given a thirty-day unpaid leave. He returns to Jerusalem and accepts Hannah and Moshe's invitation to share Sarah's little bedroom as long as they allow him to compensate them for their hospitality. They go back to the U.S. Consulate to check on the status of her immigrant visa application, which they had begun right after they had gotten married in September of 1943. This is when he first hears about Operation Magic Carpet, the air-lift and sea-lift operation scheduled to begin after Japan surrenders and World War II has ended, to bring home the eight million U.S. service personnel from fifty-five theaters of operation worldwide, plus their seventy thousand war brides and their children. He knows, however, that since he is an RAF officer, he will not be eligible to participate in Magic Carpet.

Peter Ross, his squadron leader, had been raised in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, and had taken his pilot training at nearby RAF Hullavington. Southampton is only fifty miles southeast of Trowbridge, so Peter suggests that David and Sarah could get on a military flight from Jerusalem to England, stay with his parents, and book passage on a ship out of Southampton. David considers Peter's suggestion, but he knows they could get bumped off their flight en route and be stranded in Italy, France, or Belgium. And even if they could get to RAF Hullavington, because of the tens of thousands of American military in England trying to return to America, they might be unable to find a ship in Southampton with space for them. No, he is convinced that a steamship out of Haifa, through Marseilles, with passage booked and paid for to New York, is the safer bet, even though it might be a longer, more expensive voyage. And Sarah, being clairvoyant, agrees with him.

Fortunately, she receives her immigrant visa in June of 1945, before Japan has surrendered and Magic Carpet has begun. Although the war in the Pacific has not yet ended, Peter and David's RAF squadron is not being transferred to the Pacific theater of operations, so he is able to resign his RAF commission. The way is clear for them to leave Palestine and travel to America.


SCENE 11 - SAYING GOODBYE
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Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41

Before they leave Palestine, however, Sarah and David visit the Perrera family home one last time, where there is an uneasy truce between them and her family. Joseph waits by the door for their arrival, opens it, and ushers them into the parlor, where they are greeted with an awkward silence. Raphael, clearly uncomfortable, approaches them, and Sarah, with a trembling voice and eyes glistening with tears, reaches out to touch him, and then says to him, quietly:

Papa, I know I am no longer your daughter, or part of this family, but you will always be my Papa, and I will always love you, even if I am far away in America. Joseph said that you would like me to apologize to my mother, but I have no reason to apologize to her. It has been nearly three years since she had my brothers drag me out of David's pension room and assault him. Then, she accused me of being a prostitute and kept me prisoner in my own home. David is my soulmate, Papa, mi media naranja, and we have been married for nearly two years, so, if anything, she should apologize to me, but I don't expect her to, and I won't ask her.

She stands there silently for a moment, takes a deep breath, and then she continues.

David and I are leaving for America tomorrow, Papa, and you and I may never see each other again. But I will always remember you with love, and I hope that someday you will think of me as your daughter again, and remember me with love. Now, please excuse me. We only came today because I wanted to tell Nonna I love her and say goodbye to her one last time.

Sarah's brothers have grudgingly accepted that she and David are married and are leaving for America. Albert apologizes to David for assaulting him nearly three years earlier, offers his hand, and David accepts his apology.

However, the tearful goodbye is between Sarah and her grandmother. They both realize they will not see each other again in this lifetime. Rosa reassures her that she is doing the right thing, however, Sarah is heartbroken; their parting is much harder on her than she or David thought it would be. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she throws her arms around Rosa's neck, kisses her, and whispers to her.

I love you so much, Nonna. I will always love you, and I will think of you every day, no matter where I am. I promise I will write to you often through Joseph. Please forgive me for leaving you.

There is nothing to forgive, my paloma, my little dove. This is your destiny. You and David were meant for each other. Be good to each other and have a wonderful life in America.

Wiping her tears from her cheeks, Sarah rises, walks to the door, embraces Joseph, takes David's hand, looks back at Rosa one last time, and then they leave.

Thank you so much for doing this for me, David.

I'm so proud of you, sweetheart. I'm sure this must have been terribly hard, talking to your father and leaving Rosa, and I'm very proud of you.


SCENE 12 - FROM PALESTINE TO MONTANA

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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Their steamship departs from Haifa in late June, and Victoria and Joseph are there with them to say goodbye. With tears in her eyes, Sarah asks Victoria to thank Hannah and Moshe again for their kindness in allowing her to be part of their family for the past three years. And then she makes Joseph promise to say goodbye once more to her Nonna and give her a big hug.

After the mooring lines are cast off and their ship leaves the dock, Sarah waves desperately to Joseph and Victoria until she can no longer see them. And then, with tears in her eyes, she grasps the railing, watching Haifa recede in the distance. With his arms around her, David tries to console her, but only after Palestine has faded away over the horizon can she turn, twining her arms around his neck and clinging to him.

Now, you're all I have, David.

I know, sweetheart, and I promise I will love you and take care of you.

Their ship makes port at Piraeus (Athens), Naples, and Marseilles. David had crossed the Atlantic by air to get to RAF Alexandria, so neither of them had ever been on an ocean-going vessel before, and both of them are seasick for several days. Hannah had given her some ginger root for them to chew, and that helps. They celebrate his twenty-eighth birthday onboard the ship on July 2nd and arrive in New York Harbor in mid-July.

Look, David, it's the Statue of Liberty. We're almost home, aren't we?

Yes, sweetheart, just three or four more days, and we'll be home. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to us finally being home together in Montana.

After disembarking and going through the Immigration checkpoint and Customs, they take the 20th Century Limited from Grand Central Terminal in New York City to the LaSalle Street Station in Chicago. Then, from Chicago, they take the Chicago Great Western Railway to Minneapolis-St. Paul, and from there, the Northern Pacific Railway to Missoula. The distance from New York City to Missoula is two thousand three hundred miles, and the journey takes nearly four days. As the miles roll by, through the window of their Pullman car berth, David points out the fields of corn and wheat that stretch as far as the eye can see, and she cannot believe how vast the country is.

Crossing the border from North Dakota into Montana, they follow the Yellowstone River, stopping first at Glendive. As they steam westward through the endless grasslands of eastern Montana, she sees the pronghorn in the distance. David explains that they are the second-fastest land mammal in the world; only the cheetah is faster. He also reassures her that western Montana is much more beautiful than the eastern part of the state.

Next, they stop at Billings, the state's largest city, and forty-five miles west of Billings, they pass through Columbus, and David points out Granite Peak, at nearly thirteen thousand feet, the highest peak in Montana, located in the Absaroka Range, in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Area to the southwest.

Then, seventy-five miles west of Columbus, as they approach Livingston, the gateway to Paradise Valley and Yellowstone National Park to the south, the Absaroka Range appears still closer and more majestic in the evening light.

Oh, David, look at the mountains. There's snow on them, even in the summer. They are so beautiful. I think I'm going to love Montana.

She tells him she had seen pictures of these mountains in her book about the American Rocky Mountain West. He realizes he has not seen this country since he was an undergraduate at Montana State College in Bozeman, and it gives him a quiet sense of pride to show it to her and know how much she appreciates it.

They stop at Livingston, Bozeman, Logan, and Helena before finally arriving at Missoula, at the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot at Railroad Street West and North Higgins Avenues.

They did not know when they would arrive, so nobody is there to greet them. They take their luggage and walk toward the cab stand.

Oh my gosh! There are mountains all around Missoula. I had no idea it was so beautiful here. We're almost home, aren't we. I can hardly believe it. I've dreamed of today ever since we got engaged, and it seems like forever, although I know it's only been three years.

Yes, sweetheart, just a short cab ride and we'll be home. And I've dreamed of today, too, for a long time.

After a twelve-block cab ride south on Higgins Avenue and across the Clark Fork River Bridge, they turn west on South Fifth Street West and pass the First Presbyterian Church, number 201.

One block farther, they arrive at the manse, the minister's residence, number 302, carry their luggage up to the front door and ring the bell. Reverend Thomas Bradley opens it, and a smile lights up his face. He wraps his arms around David, and tears fill their eyes.

Oh, David, David, my son. It is wonderful to finally have you home safe and sound. I have prayed so often for this moment.

It's wonderful to finally be home, Dad. And I'd like you to meet Sarah, my wife, the light of my life.

It's a great pleasure, my dear. David has written so much about you over the past three years that I feel I already know you.

Thank you, Reverend Bradley. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, too.

Please, come in, won't you? And Sarah, please call me 'Thomas' or 'Dad.' We're family now and I want you to feel at home here. You and David are welcome to stay here as long as you want. I imagine someday you'll want your own home, but until then, please consider this your home.

Thank you so much, and I would be honored to call you 'Dad.' We've had such a long journey, and, honestly, it feels wonderful to know I'm finally home and I don't have to travel another mile.

And you are home, Sarah. You must be very tired, both of you. Let's take your luggage upstairs, and I'll show you your bedroom and the bathroom, and you can wash up and rest. This was Reverend John Maclean's home while he was the minister. He and his wife Clara raised two sons here, Norman and Paul Maclean. Maybe you remember them, David. I took over the ministry in 1941 when John passed, and Clara moved down the street. Anyway, I'd like you to have the bedroom with the large bed and, please, don't say you won't take it. You're husband and wife, and you deserve to have it. This is a large house, and there's plenty of space for all of us. And, who knows, maybe someday I'll even hear the patter of tiny feet and a little person calling me 'Grandpa.'


SCENE 13 - REMEMBRANCE OF THINGS PAST
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The Beyondness of Things - John Barry - 4:15

After a long, restful night's sleep, Sarah slowly awakens in David's arms to the blissful reality of her new life in Montana. She feels his soft breath against the back of her neck, feels his comforting warmth against her, stretches and opens her eyes, and listens intently, taking a deep breath and smelling the fresh air through their open bedroom window. Everything smells so sweet, and the only sound is a bird chirping.

Then she thinks: I'm not dreaming. It's finally over, the six years of war, of worrying about David and not knowing if I'll ever see him again, of living with Victoria's family and avoiding my own family. It's finally over, and we really are here in Montana. We've come all the way from Palestine, across the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and America. And we're finally here in Montana, together, just as he promised. And we don't have to travel any farther; we can just be here. And it's so peaceful. I don't think I've ever felt so free and so safe at the same time. 

Tears of happiness and relief well up in her eyes, and then she spends a moment with her memories of her family and Jerusalem to keep them fresh. A part of her is afraid if she spends enough time in this beautiful new country, she will lose her memories of her family, of her Sephardic childhood, of Jerusalem and Palestine, and with that loss will go her identity, her sense of who she is and where she came from. She remembers the beauty of Jerusalem and the Judaean Desert, of growing up in a Sephardic family, her mother and father, her favorite older brother Joseph, her dear friend Victoria, and the girls she went to school with. But most of all, she remembers her grandmother Rosa, her beloved Nonna, and the closeness and clairvoyance they shared.

Then she feels David's body against hers, trembling, hears him sobbing quietly, and feels his tears on the back of her neck. She rolls over and cradles his face in her palms, searching his eyes.

David? What is it? What's wrong?

I don't know. I don't understand why I'm feeling so sad. It's just that all the memories of the war are coming back to me, all the pilots I knew and flew with and laughed with and drank beer with who didn't make it home. Here I am, safe at home in Missoula with you, and they're all gone. They had mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters, and some of them had wives and even children, and somehow it doesn't seem fair that I came home and they didn't.

Do you feel guilty because you survived the war and they didn't?

I don't know. Maybe I do feel guilty.

I'm so sorry, darling. Please, let me hold you and I'll help make it better. I'm sorry they're gone, and I think it's natural for you to feel this way. But I'm very glad you survived. I don't think I would have wanted to live if you hadn't. So, please, be grateful you survived for both of us. Can you do that for me, please?

Alright, I'll try, and thank you so much for understanding.

And if you ever feel like this again, promise me you'll come to me and share it with me, alright? Will you do that, please?

He nods silently, and she feels him relax in her arms. Intuitively, she knows this is survivor's guilt, which would later be recognized as a symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder. And she understands that given enough time and with her love and compassion and tender care, he will be alright. She whispers to him.

I love you so much, my darling. You are my soulmate, mi media naranja, and I will take care of you.


SCENE 14 - MISSOULA AND THE BITTERROOT RIVER VALLEY
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A River Runs Through It - Mark Isham - 4:21

 

That morning after breakfast, they go for a quiet walk together, hand in hand, east on South Fifth Street West, to South Higgins Avenue, then north to the Clark Fork River Bridge, with downtown Missoula just over the bridge ahead of them, enjoying being on solid ground after nearly a month on the ship and on trains.

It has been six years since David has been here, and he tells Sarah it has not changed much. But after the war in the Pacific ends, he expects it to begin growing. [The 1950 census shows a twenty-two percent growth for Missoula, from eighteen thousand in 1940 to twenty-two thousand a decade later.]

I've thought about using my structural engineering degree and getting into the home construction business. War veterans are coming home and getting married, and they'll need homes to live in. And the G. I. Bill that was passed last year will make low-interest home loans available to them. What do you think about that idea?

I remember that you've talked about it before, and I think it's a wonderful idea. This is a lovely town; it feels really nice here, and I'm sure it will grow. And you're right. War veterans will need homes to live in; we'll need a home to live in. Maybe you can even build one for us someday.

* * * * *

A few days later, when they have fully recovered from their journey, they pack a picnic lunch and go for a drive south down the Bitterroot River Valley on U.S. Highway Ninety-Three to the little town of Corvallis, a name that she observes is almost like the Spanish corazon del valle and means the heart of the valley. She is amazed at how majestic the snow-capped mountains are, how green and lush the valley is, how sweet-smelling the air and how clear and cold and fast-running the Bitterroot River. It is so beautiful it takes her breath away, and sometimes she finds it hard to believe that this is her home now, where she and David will spend the rest of their lives together.

They go wading along the river shore, holding hands just as they did at the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve and laughing like children.

Remember when we slipped and fell in the water at Ein Gedi?

 

How could I forget? And it was so cold.

This is cold, too, but it's much more beautiful. Oh my gosh! I just realized this is the vision I had late that night when I was living at Victoria's, and you came to me and asked me to marry you and come with you to Montana. It was the Bitterroot River, and it is even more beautiful than in my vision.

I remember you shared that vision with me. That's what made you realize your future was with me, here in Montana, and not with Nessim in Palestine.

Yes, that and the baby girl I was nursing when you kissed me.

Well, we'll have to work on that part of your vision, won't we? You know, the Bitterroot is a great trout fly fishing river, and pan-seared trout with lemon is delicious. Someday soon, I'll take you fly fishing, and we'll have trout for dinner.

I'm sure trout is delicious. We used to have pan-seared fish at home. And I remember that you've talked about fly fishing before. Tell me about it again.

Well, you use a special lightweight rod and reel, a very thin line, and an artificial fly made of feathers, hair, wool, and thread, with a hook hidden in it. When you cast the line, the fly goes out forty or fifty feet, then gently settles on the water. Pure poetry is what it is. If it's a dry fly, it sits on the surface and doesn't sink. The trout sees it, thinks it's something good to eat, rises up, bites it, and is hooked.

That's fascinating. I think I'd like to watch you catch a fish that way. You know, I had no idea Montana was so incredibly beautiful. The pictures in the book I found just couldn't show how beautiful it really is.

I know what you mean. It's why we Montanans think our state is the most beautiful in the whole country. You're a Montanan now, and I'll show it all to you. The Bitterroot Valley is lovely, but I really want you to see Glacier National Park. It's spectacular, and I'm sure you'll love it - Lake McDonald, Logan Pass, St. Mary Lake on the Going-to-the-Sun Road - you'll think you've died and gone to heaven. It's only about a hundred and forty miles north of Missoula on this same road, Highway Ninety-Three, and Dad says we can borrow the car. We'll take three days and stay nights in a motel. Just think, sweetheart, it'll be our first real road trip.

It sounds like fun, but what's a 'motel'?

Ah, 'motel' is short for motor hotel. It's like a little hotel by the side of the road, with individual cabins you can rent for one night or longer. Most of them are pretty basic, but some even have kitchens.

Well, I'm looking forward to seeing Glacier National Park and staying in a 'motel'. Thank you again, darling, for bringing me on this wonderful adventure with you. You know, I don't miss Palestine at all!

* * * * *

And very soon, he takes her on a road trip to Glacier National Park, and she loves it. This is Flathead Lake on the way to GNP.

Lake McDonald, GNP

Logan Pass, GNP

Wild Goose Island, St. Mary Lake, GNP

SCENE 15 - HOME BUILDING, FLY FISHING & LANDSCAPE PAINTING
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A River Runs Through It - Mark Isham - 4:21

David takes a job as the office manager for a small but growing home construction company, beginning what will be a very successful career in the industry. Nearly fifteen years later, he and Sarah will start their own residential construction company, which he will manage. He likes the idea of building homes for war veterans. Having majored in structural engineering at Montana State College, he is interested in how homes are changing, becoming larger and better constructed compared to prewar homes, with new building materials, more electric and natural gas appliances, and other amenities.

He licenses building plans, purchases raw materials, manages the warehouse and inventory, and schedules construction utility hookups, earth-moving equipment, and concrete for foundations. James, the company president, does land purchasing, selects which house plans to build, coordinates building permits and inspections, and works with crew leaders doing site preparation and actual construction. And both James and David interview and select new employees and work with the bookkeeper managing construction loans, payroll, payables, and taxes, and with the interior designer continually updating the selection of paint, wallpaper, flooring, cabinetry, appliances, electrical and plumbing fixtures, furnaces and water heaters from which their clients may choose.

David soon decides they need to have a car of their own. He finds a great deal on a low-mileage 1932 Ford V8 3-Window Coupe owned by a war widow who no longer needs it, gets a bank loan, and buys it.

He has no idea that the 1932 Ford V8 Coupe in its various models would fuel the American hot rod revolution of the 1950s or that it would inspire the 1963 Beach Boys classic Little Deuce Coupe. All he knows is that it means freedom for Sarah and himself.

Now we don't have to rely on borrowing Dad's car or taking a bus or a cab. We have our own car, and you can learn to drive it.

Me? Drive a car?

Why not? Most Montanans learn to drive when they're fifteen, and you're twenty-one. I'll teach you. It'll be fun. Oh! We should go to the Transportation Department and get you a Learner's Permit.

* * * * *

She does learn to drive it, and it is not long before she wants the car nearly every morning or afternoon, so she drives him to work and picks him up. She explores downtown Missoula and learns all about Montana life in 1945 - fashion and hairstyles, cuisine, entertainment, outdoor activities, culture, and politics. And one of her favorite spots is the Mercantile - the Missoula Mercantile Co. She also does grocery shopping for the family and even explores the university.

* * * * *

One Friday afternoon, in mid-summer, David comes home from work, and she greets him at the kitchen door with a kiss and a warm embrace.

Mm, I'm so glad you're home, darling. You're late, and I was beginning to worry about you.

I'm sorry, sweetheart, but couldn't you just use your clairvoyance?

Yes, I could. But you know it can be wrong, and, anyway, I like worrying about you. So, why were you late, hmm?

I stopped at the sporting goods store to pick up a fishing license and a couple of new flies. I thought I'd take you fly fishing for rainbow trout tomorrow morning. Dad showed me where he stored the fishing gear.

Um, David, after you've caught these trout, will I have to, ah...

Clean them? No, sweetheart, I'll clean them and fillet them. All you'll have to do is pan-sear them.

Well, that's a relief, and I have an easy Mediterranean recipe my mother used. I'll sprinkle the fillets with a mixture of coriander, garlic, and paprika, then coat them with flour and pan-sear them in olive oil on medium-high heat for about three minutes on each side and serve them with lime and a salad. It's delicious, and I think you'll really like it.

It sounds incredible. I can't wait.

So, the next morning, he takes her fly fishing on the Blackfoot River, east of town, and she gains a new appreciation for the beauty and solitude of western Montana river valleys and the pure poetry, as he describes it, of the art of fly fishing. As she sits on a rock in the dappled sunlight, watching him cast in a slow, graceful, sweeping motion again and again, she thinks about how it all happened, how she got there.

One September afternoon, I went to the Garden Café at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem with my dear friend Victoria, and I met my soulmate, a handsome American pilot named David. And here I am, three years later, and David is my husband, the love of my life. And we live in Missoula, Montana, the most beautiful place in the whole world. And I am watching him fly fishing on the Blackfoot River.

A peaceful, contented feeling flows through her as she thinks about how fortunate she and David are to be there together. Then she remembers her grandmother Rosa, her beloved Nonna, and how right she was about Sarah and David's destiny. And for the first time in her life, she really feels she is home, there with David, on the Blackfoot River, in Missoula, Montana. At last, she is where she belongs.

And she wishes that Nonna, her Papa, her brother Joseph, and Victoria could all be there with her to share the beauty and the wonder of the moment. And a tiny tear of both happiness and sadness forms in the corner of her eye and trickles down her cheek.

And then she sees that David has hooked a trout, so she stands up, a little unsteadily on the rock, to have a better view of him fighting it. Before long he reels it in, takes it off the hook, and holds it up by the gills for her to see. She smiles, waves her arms, and claps her hands enthusiastically, thinking: Oh, he is such a treasure! I love him so much. And he is my soulmate, mi media naranja. How could I have ever doubted Nonna?

He places the fish in his wicker basket and begins casting again. Ten minutes later, he hooks another trout, reels it in, and holds it up for her to see, and again she smiles and claps her hands, thinking: I wonder if he could catch three of them. Then there would be one for each of us.

And before long he does hook a third trout, reels it in, and holds it up for her to see. This time, however, she stretches her arms out and calls to him, wiggling her fingers impatiently. He crosses the river to her. She twines her arms around his neck and draws him to her for a kiss.

Mm, I love you, my darling.

Mm, I love you too, sweetheart.

No, I mean I really love you, for fighting for me just like you fought for that trout, for never giving up on me, for marrying me and bringing me home to Montana with you, here, where I belong. But, now I want you to take me home and make love to me. Will you do that?

Of course, sweetheart. Well, I guess we're finished fly fishing for the day.

* * * * *

She tells David she is thinking about attending the university and finding a way to use her Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) language skills. So, in September of 1945, she enrolls as a freshman at Montana State University [now the University of Montana], studying art and Spanish. MSU is small, with fewer than twelve hundred students, and she enjoys the casual, open-minded, collegiate atmosphere. Although she is rather shy and does not make friends easily, she soon finds herself included in two groups - art students and Spanish students. She also discovers that her personal history - born and raised in Jerusalem in Palestine, Sephardic Jewish, fluent in Spanish, and married to a World War II fighter pilot who is now a Missoula home builder - makes her unique and almost a campus celebrity. It seems that wherever she goes - classroom, art studio, language lab, or library - everyone wants to meet her. Her fellow students are fascinated by her, and one or two even develop a crush on her. She is flattered by all the attention, but she always wears her engagement and wedding rings, makes certain everyone knows she is married and adores her husband, and is careful not to flirt or encourage anyone.

She also discovers that she loves painting landscapes, and Montana's breathtaking snow-capped mountains and picturesque rivers and valleys give her the inspiration she needs. And since she was not born and raised in Montana, she sees the landscapes from a fresh perspective that allows her to uniquely express the universal qualities of beauty, strength, and truth she sees in them. Her art professor thinks she shows promise and, fortunately, she is at MSU at the same time art professor and artist Jessie Wilber is promoting Modernism in Big Sky Country while teaching at Montana State College in Bozeman, so Sarah can attend her visiting professor lectures and view her work.

* * * * *

Sweetheart, are there any thermal hot springs in Palestine?

Yes, there are several, but I never bathed in any of them because my parents did not approve of the intimate activities that went on at them.

Well, did you know there's a lovely hot springs about forty miles southwest of here on Highway 12 in the mountains? It's called Lolo Hot Springs and it's been in use for hundreds of years. The Indians used it long before Lewis and Clark came through in 1805 and 1806. Would you like to take a drive up there this weekend and give it a try?

Oh my gosh! Yes! I've always wanted to try a hot springs, and that does sound like fun. If it's in the mountains, maybe the scenery will give me inspiration for a painting.

I think the elevation is over four thousand feet, and there are some terrific mountain views, as I recall. So, let's buy some bathing suits and plan an outing. We can even have a picnic lunch. It'll be fun.

* * * * *

In time, Sarah is offered a job as a Spanish language teaching assistant at MSU. She accepts it, mostly because she enjoys working one-on-one with Spanish students. However, she does not see herself in a teaching career long-term, and she would much rather be spending her time painting landscapes.

SCENE 16 - RELIGION AND A NEW HOME
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Neither David nor Sarah is what they would describe as religious. He is rather agnostic - he once told her I think God has a lot to answer for - and she, being clairvoyant, has always felt more purely spiritual and unbounded rather than devoutly religious, so she has always felt constrained by Sephardic Judaism. So the fact that he was raised Protestant and she was raised Jewish is not an issue for them. In fact, not having to be a member of a church or a synagogue is something they both find very freeing.

The problem is that his father, Reverend Thomas Bradley, is the minister of the First Presbyterian Church, a block east of the manse, and the members of the congregation are naturally curious why the son and daughter-in-law of the minister are not coming to church, especially since they are living at the manse. The three of them talk about it and agree that the simplest explanation for Thomas to give when he is asked is that, although David is Presbyterian, Sarah is Jewish. They have not decided which faith they will adopt as a family when raising their children, and until they do, Thomas does not want to pressure them. The explanation is not really satisfying to anyone, and they know that, sooner or later, they will have to deal with the issue.

* * * * *

One Friday afternoon late in September, after they have been living with David's father for two months, Sarah comes home from class to find them sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea and looking glum. Quietly, she makes herself a cup of tea and sits down.

You're upset about something. Is it about the church?

Dad met a couple of ladies from the congregation, and they asked about us again.

I've been thinking about this. I never told you, but Nonna and I talked about it. She pointed out that, as a Sephardic Jewish girl growing up in Palestine, if I marry the son of a Presbyterian minister and move to Montana, I'll very likely have to make some lifestyle changes. But she also cautioned me about being hypocritical.

I don't understand. What do you mean?

What I mean is that I could go to Dad's church service on Sunday, but I'd only be doing it to make the congregation feel more comfortable. I'm not a Presbyterian, so it would be hypocritical of me. But Dad's problem is simply that the congregation doesn't like us living here if we're not active members and supporters of the church. We're harming his position as minister, and we can't do that. So we have to move.

Thank you, my dear. I couldn't have said it any better myself. I hate to say it, but I think you're right, and I feel terrible about it. You're my family; you should be able to live here with me. But I can also understand that the congregation sees me as their minister, they pay my salary, and they own the manse, so they feel they have a say in who lives here, and I have to respect that. I have loved having you both here. I will be sorry to see you leave, and if I can do anything at all to help make this transition smoother, please don't hesitate to ask, alright?

Thank you, Dad. We appreciate your offer, don't we, David. I think this will really be for the better. And it will give us a chance to find our own home. Just think, we've been married two years, and we'll finally have our own home. I'm kind of excited about it. We can start looking this weekend, can't we, darling?

I didn't really see it clearly until you and Dad explained it, sweetheart, but you're right. And, yes, we'll start looking this weekend.

In practically no time, they find a cute little five-hundred-square-foot cottage to rent at 2218 Park Street, a little over a mile from the MSU campus. It had been built five years earlier, in 1940, and has a living room, a dining area next to the kitchen, two bedrooms, one full bath, and a detached single-car garage behind the cottage.

It is clean, warm, and cozy, and she makes it a bright and cheerful home for them. And they both love being able to turn off the lights and make love in their own bed, just as he had promised her when they became engaged nearly three years earlier.

* * * * *

One day, not long after they have moved into their cottage, Thomas drops by to see how they are settling into their new home. She invites him to take a photo of them with her Kodak Brownie camera, standing beside their 1932 Ford Coupe with their cottage behind them. And after the film is developed, she writes on the back of the photo: September 1945. Our first home, our first car, the beginning of everything.

* * * * *

One Saturday, when they are grocery shopping together, she finds a box of California Medjool dates and puts it in their shopping cart.

Medjool dates. Hmm. You didn't happen to bring your Egyptian silk scarf, did you, sweetheart?

Of course, I did. That's the first gift you ever gave me, after my engagement ring. You didn't think I would leave it at Victoria's, did you?

And right there in the supermarket, without any hesitation and without a trace of embarrassment, they embrace and kiss passionately.

* * * * *

Not long after that, sometime early in October, they have a conversation about the Holiday Season.

You know, I've been thinking. We're coming into the Holiday Season, and we haven't talked about which holidays we'll celebrate.

You mean Christian and Jewish, sweetheart?

Yes, of course.

So, what are you thinking?

I definitely think we should celebrate Thanksgiving. It's not a religious holiday, but I like the idea of giving thanks for being here in Missoula together and for being happy and healthy.

Yes, and what else?

I'd like to celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah. We can put up the decorations for both, light the Christmas tree and the menorah. We can talk about whether we want to have two separate holidays or combine them together and have a single 'Chrismukkah' celebration.

It sounds like a very nice idea, celebrating both Christmas and Hanukkah. Just tell me how I can help, alright?

I will, and thank you, darling, for being so supportive. For some reason, this means a lot to me. Maybe it's about keeping my childhood memories of my family and my faith alive and fresh.

SCENE 17 - LETTERS FROM JERUSALEM, AND THE FIRST SNOWFALL
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41

Later that same month, in October of 1945, Sarah gets an airmail letter from Joseph and Victoria. She opens it and finds a letter written by both of them saying they finally got married, they are blissfully happy together, and they only wish she and David could have been there for their wedding. Since apartments are expensive and hard to find, they are living with Hannah and Moshe for the present. And Moshe has invited Joseph to join his import-export business in a marketing and sales position.

* * * * *

Not long after that, she gets an airmail letter from her Papa. He writes that Rosa, his mother, Sarah's Nonna, has not been well. They had a long-overdue, honest conversation, and he has had an awakening, like a revelation. He has finally realized what a destructive force his wife Lea has been in his life, how she lied to him, controlled him and his sons, and what a terrible thing she did to Sarah and David. He knows Sarah cannot forget what happened, but he hopes she can forgive him. He loves her very much, misses her, and thinks of her every day. Rosa shared her vision of David and her, and now he understands it was their destiny for her to marry David and go to America with him, and he hopes she is very happy. He does not know what the future holds for Lea and himself, but he would be grateful if Sarah would forgive him.

She reads his letter again, her eyes welling up with tears. It feels as though she will finally be able to put a tragic part of her past behind her, and she yearns to reach out and put her arms around him and comfort him. 

Oh, Papa, Papa. I love you, and I miss you, too. And, of course, I forgive you.

She takes a sheet of airmail onion skin paper, and writes a reply to him, thanking him and assuring him that she loves him, and she does forgive him, and to please give Nonna her love. Then she writes a short cover letter to Joseph and Victoria on the inside of the airmail letter envelope, asking Joseph to please deliver the enclosed letter to Papa. Later that day, she walks to the mailbox and mails it.

* * * * *

Just after November 1st, an event occurs that she has been eagerly awaiting - the first snowfall. She calls David at his office.

It's finally snowing, and it's so beautiful, so quiet, and peaceful.

But you've seen snow before, in Jerusalem, haven't you, sweetheart?

Yes, but it never stayed on the ground very long. The weather report on the radio said we're supposed to have one to two inches tonight and more tomorrow. Can you come home before it gets too dark, please? I don't like you driving in the dark when it's snowing.

Yes, I was actually getting ready to leave right now. But don't worry, I'll be careful. And we already have our winter clothing - coats, gloves, hats, mufflers, and boots - so we're prepared for snow. Just turn the heat up and keep warm, alright?

Alright, I will. But just drive carefully.

The next morning, they bundle up and step outside. It is still snowing, but very lightly.

Oh, David, look. It's so beautiful. So pure and quiet and peaceful. I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful.

He takes her hand, and they walk out to the sidewalk and stand by the curb, arm in arm, quietly enjoying the moment together, tilting their heads back so the snow can fall on their faces, giggling together in joy.

Come with me, sweetheart. I want to show you something.

He leads her over to their grassy front yard, covered in snow.

Now, watch this!

Carefully, he falls backward, arms outstretched, in a T position. Then he moves his arms above his head, then back down, and his legs apart and back together.

See! I'm making a snow angel. Now, you try it.

And she does, giggling.

I'm making a snow angel, too! Oh, David, you are such a treasure. You are my snow angel. I love you so much.

I love you too, sweetheart. And you are my snow angel. And welcome to winter in Montana.

* * * * *

Knowing how much she loves winter and the snow, two months later David takes her back to Lolo Hot Springs. It has been six months since they arrived in Missoula, and she is the happiest she has ever been.

This is so beautiful, darling. And I love being in the hot springs while the snow falls on my face. Let's just stay here. Let's never go back to our little cottage.

It's a lovely thought, sweetheart, but I have to go to work on Monday, and you have classes. But we'll come back here again very soon. There's a lot more winter before spring arrives.

You promise?

Yes, sweetheart, I promise.

Alright, then put our cups on the floor and kiss me!

SCENE 18 - ROSA'S PASSING
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Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41

Then, the following spring, in May of 1946, the letter arrives that Sarah has been dreading ever since they left Palestine. It is from her Papa. She stands there holding it unopened, a lump in her throat, tears falling from her cheeks, staining the envelope. She has known clairvoyantly for a week that her beloved Nonna has passed away, and this just confirms it. She calls David at work, sobbing, her voice breaking.

Can you please come home, David? I really need you.

Of course, sweetheart, what's wrong?

I got a letter from Papa. Nonna died.

Oh, I am so sorry. I'll be there in fifteen minutes.

Then she hears muffled voices over the phone and David's voice: I'm sorry, I have to go home. It's my wife. Yes, we can take care of this tomorrow morning. Thanks for understanding.

He comes home, and they sit silently in the fading afternoon light. He holds her, comforting her as tears stream down her cheeks. And then, quietly, through her tears, she tells him the story she had never told him before.

You've always known I was clairvoyant. But Nonna was really the clairvoyant one. My visions were cloudy compared to hers.

She was Papa's mother. My mother never liked her because Nonna knew she had tricked Papa into marrying her. But Nonna didn't say anything because she had to live in their home after Nonno, my grandfather, passed away.

Nonna could see everything. She knew I would fall in love with a stranger from the New World who would be different, who wouldn't be Sephardi. When Nessim brought you to Sabbath dinner, Nonna knew you were the one I would marry. She didn't have to read your tea leaves; that was just to hide her clairvoyance. She was certain you were the one, although, at first, I didn't want to believe it. That was why I asked Nessim to marry me, even though I was in love with you. Because loving you meant my life would change, and I was afraid of that happening. So I thought I could marry Nessim and live for the rest of my life on my memories of being in love with you. We talked about you. She never told me what to do, but she knew we would fall deeply and passionately in love, and you would marry me and bring me with you to the New World.

Sometimes, we'd have visions at the same time, although she had a vision of my future long before I did, and it was much clearer than mine. She always cautioned me about sharing my visions with anyone, and I took a risk at Victoria and Peter's wedding, telling you I knew you didn't drink champagne like that. But I thought, if you really were the one, you'd find out sooner or later I was clairvoyant, and I might as well know how you'd react.

Nonna knew I would have to choose between love and duty, between the New World and the Old World. And because I had spent eighteen years growing up in a Sephardic family, and it was familiar and comfortable, there was a risk I would marry out of duty rather than for love. On that Tuesday, while you were crossing the Sinai to come to Jerusalem, two days before I would marry Nessim, she asked me if I was having second thoughts. She knew I was in love with you, that we had made love in your pension room. I think she knew I was in love with you even before I did. She knew marrying Nessim would be a terrible mistake, and she said 'If you feel you're making a mistake... better to admit it now than to ruin the rest of your life.'

If I hadn't been in love with you I wouldn't have come to the Garden Café that morning. You'd have gotten on that plane, and I'd never have seen you again. But I was in love with you and I had to see you one last time. So I came, even though I knew I couldn't marry you and come to America with you because that would mean becoming an outcast from my family and leaving my home in Jerusalem.

So it seems that everything that happened after that - lying to you, postponing my wedding, writing that terrible letter to you - happened so you would come to me and ask me to marry you and come with you to America, we would make love that night, and I would have that beautiful vision of our future together. That was when I finally realized that Nonna was right from the beginning, and I should never have doubted her. So now, looking back at that time in my life, I think the most valuable lesson she taught me is the same one you taught me: 'To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception.'

This is when he finally understands why she and Rosa had had such a strong bond, why she had been inconsolable when they left Palestine for America, and what a vital part of their lives Rosa had been.

It must have been hard for you to leave her.

It was, terribly hard. There was even a time in my life when I didn't think I could leave her. The first time she shared her vision of my future with you, I shook my head and told her I could never leave her, no matter how much I loved you.

And I took you away from her. I am so sorry.

Oh, no, you mustn't think that. Nonna said separations and endings and loss are part of life. It was our destiny for you to come to Jerusalem, find me and marry me, and bring me with you to America. She said I was a child of the New World. I didn't belong in the Old World and I was just waiting for you to come for me.

So, it wasn't about Victoria and Peter getting married; they were just a way for us to meet and fall in love. It didn't matter if they got married and stayed married or got an annulment. It wasn't about them; it was about us.

Yes, it was about us. Nonna once told me that you had made this great sacrifice, volunteering to fight in a war that wasn't even yours, and you'd done it so you could meet me and fall in love with me. Oh! I just realized that's what you told me at Ein Gedi on our honeymoon, about volunteering so you could meet me. I'm sure you said it as a joke, but it wasn't a joke at all. It was the truth. It was all part of our destiny.

He looks away, silently remembering their conversation at Ein Gedi. Then he smiles and nods.

Yes, I guess it was.

Finally, she dries her eyes, sighs deeply, sniffles softly, and pats his arm.

Thank you so much for coming home, darling. I don't think I could have gotten through this without you. But you must be very hungry. I'll make us something to eat.


SCENE 19 - DESTINY, FREE WILL, AND MAKING A BABY
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Give Me a Smile - John Barry - 4:49
 

The next morning, as David is having his breakfast tea and Sarah is making scrambled eggs and toast, he pauses and sets his cup down.

I've been thinking about the story you told me yesterday about you and Rosa. And there are a couple of things I don't understand.

Mm-hmm, and what are they?

Well, first, if it was our destiny to be together, and you weren't a child of the Old World, why were you born in Jerusalem? You could have been born here in Missoula, and we could have met and fallen in love in junior high or high school. And second, why did you decide to marry Nessim?

Let me see if I can explain it the way Nonna explained it to me. You and I are soulmates and we've been together in the past. We agreed on our shared destiny together, when we were living on the astral plane, before we were born this time. We agreed that, in this lifetime, we would be husband and wife. You would be born in America, and I would be born in Palestine, and you would come and find me, marry me, and bring me with you to America.

And, no, I don't know why I was born in Jerusalem. Nonna and I talked about it many times. It might have been my relationship with her; maybe she was my teacher or spiritual guide. Or I might have had some negative karma in Jerusalem to balance, maybe with my mother. I just don't know. I could ask you the same question. Why were you born in Missoula, Montana? And why were you sent to North Africa after you finished RAF pilot training in Canada? You once told me that most American pilots were flying in the Eagle Squadrons in England, and if you had been sent to England you probably would have died in the Battle of Britain in 1940. And then you had to be shot down, injured, and recover in the military hospital in Jerusalem. And then Peter, your squadron leader, had to meet Victoria, my best friend, and fall in love with her.

It was really complicated, wasn't it?

Yes, it was, and anything could have gone wrong.

Alright, I think I understand about our shared destiny. But why did you decide to marry Nessim?

Free will. The problem was that, once I was born, I had free will to accept our destiny or not. I was born into a very religious family in Jerusalem, and Papa said if I married you, I would be an outcast from my family. Since I didn't know anything about America, I was afraid that if I didn't like it, I wouldn't be able to go back to Palestine. So I decided not to accept our shared destiny but to stay in Palestine, marry Nessim, and cherish my memories of you and our time together for the rest of my life.

Oh, sweetheart. That is so sad.

I know.

So, what made you finally accept our destiny? Wait, don't tell me. I flew to Jerusalem and asked you to marry me. We talked about Montana, made love that night, and then you had that beautiful vision of our lives together in Montana.

Yes, that's just what happened.

Well, thankfully, everything worked out. You had that beautiful vision, accepted our destiny, and we're here together. And that's all that matters.

Yes, it is.

So, do you want the car today?

Not this morning. But if you come home for lunch, I'll drive you back to work and do some grocery shopping this afternoon.

One aspect of their marriage that is especially fulfilling is their physical relationship. As David discovers over time, Sarah can be passionate, possessive, and even demanding when they make love. She thinks she is compensating for having been raised in a conservative Sephardic family, while he thinks she just enjoys making love with him. So their conversation this morning continues.

If you're doing grocery shopping, do you think you could find some Medjool dates?

Yes, I'm sure I could. Does David want to play sultan and odalisque with his Sarah?

As a matter of fact, he does! What does Sarah think?

She thinks it's a wonderful idea.

Speaking of playing sultan and odalisque, I've always wanted to ask you, do you ever use your clairvoyance to know what would give me pleasure when we make love?

Would it upset you if I did?

No, but it seems unfair to you since I can't use clairvoyance to know what would give you pleasure.

That's alright, darling. I tell you what would give me pleasure.

Yes, you do, and I appreciate it!

Speaking of giving each other pleasure, I've been thinking, it's time we got serious about making a baby. What do you think?

Absolutely! But I thought we were already getting serious.

No, silly! We've just been having fun. But, since I haven't gotten pregnant already, I think I'll have to start following my cycle so I know when I'm ovulating. I'm most fertile in the four or five days just before I ovulate, and that's about two weeks before I start my period. And getting serious means making love as often as possible while I'm most fertile.

Well, I like the sound of that. So start following your cycle, and I'll be ready to get serious whenever you say so!


SCENE 20 - BABY ROSA
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Lullabying - John Barry - 3:17

So, Sarah and David get serious about making a baby, and just before her twenty-third birthday in April of 1947, they learn she is pregnant with their first child, due sometime in October.

In May, just after her birthday, David takes her on a road trip across western Montana, Idaho, and Washington, all the way to Puget Sound and Olympic National Park. They visit a couple of building materials suppliers in Spokane and a home builders' trade show in Seattle, so his construction company will pay for most of the expense of their trip. But it is really a vacation for them. They realize after their baby is born, their lives will be very different.

Knowing she is carrying their first child makes this a special time for them. He is very protective of her, as though she is fragile or breakable, which she finds rather amusing. She cannot remember ever feeling happier, and he cannot remember her ever looking more radiantly lovely and contented. She loves the wildflowers in Olympic National Park, and he takes a lot of photos of her, realizing that he loves her more deeply than ever.

Sometimes, he will look at her and quietly shake his head in wonder that this is the same girl he danced with at the Garden Café behind the King David Hotel, fell in the water with under the David Waterfall at Ein Gedi, and made love with late one night in his room at Pension Ada. It all seems like a dream, so long ago and far away, although it has been less than five years. And she is so much happier, more relaxed, and carefree in Missoula than she was in Jerusalem, as though she really is a child of the New World, as Rosa had said, and a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders when she left Palestine.

* * * * *

And then, one night, after they are home in Missoula, she has a lucid dream. Her grandmother comes to her, smiles, nods approvingly, and pats her tummy. She awakens, reaches over, shakes David awake, and whispers.

David, darling! Wake up!

Hmm, what is it, sweetheart? Are you alright? Is the baby alright?

Yes, I'm fine. The baby's fine. I just had a wonderful dream. Nonna came to me and smiled, and blessed our baby. She even patted my tummy. I think we have to name her Rosa.

Of course, sweetheart. We can name her whatever you like.

From that night forward, they begin to talk to the baby. Sarah is certain it is a girl, so they call her Rosa. They pat and rub Sarah's tummy, talking to Rosa and saying pat, pat, pat, and rub, rub, rub. So that after Rosa is born and they lay her on Sarah's tummy and do the same thing, Rosa will recognize the sound of their voices and the sensation of being patted and rubbed, and will feel as safe and secure as she did in Sarah's womb.

* * * * *

Then, on October 29th, 1947, under a full moon, Sarah and David are blessed with the birth of a beautiful baby girl. They name her Rosa Victoria Bradley for Sarah's beloved grandmother Rosa and her dear friend and sister-in-law Victoria, who had been vital in bringing them together and protecting her while they were apart. Rosa is a happy little baby. She takes Sarah's breast easily, begins sleeping through the night at four months, and hardly ever cries or is fussy. And if she does cry, one of them picks her up and cradles her in their arms, and she settles right down.


SCENE 21 - A NEW HOME OF THEIR OWN
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Lullabying - John Barry - 3:17
Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

One day early in April of 1948, just before her twenty-fourth birthday, Sarah is sitting on the sofa and nursing five-month-old Rosa when David comes home for lunch. She greets him in a quiet voice so they don't disturb Rosa.

Welcome home, darling. I made a tuna casserole. It's in the oven. I tried something new. I added egg noodles and a can of peas. I hope you like it.

I'm sure I will, sweetheart. You know, I don't think I've ever seen anything more beautiful than the two of you together like this. And we made her, you and I.

Yes, we did, and she is so beautiful. And she's a hungry little baby.

He sits down beside her, watching Rosa contentedly suckling at her breast. He leans over and softly, tenderly kisses her. Her eyes fill with tears.

Oh, darling, I just realized this is the vision I had five years ago - of you leaning over and kissing me while I was nursing Rosa. It's the one that finally made me realize it was our destiny for me to marry you and come with you to America.

I remember you having that vision, and afterward, you didn't have any more doubts. And speaking of marrying me and coming with me to America, when we were on our honeymoon that day at Ein Gedi, and you wanted me to give you a baby, I promised myself that I would always support and protect you, and I would give you three things - a life in America, a baby, and a beautiful home to live in.

So, I've been thinking. We've been living in this little rental for more than two years, the home construction business is doing very well despite the shortage of materials, my job feels pretty secure, and we've saved a lot of money. Maybe it's time we started thinking about that beautiful home.

You've been looking at houses again, haven't you?

Well, sort of. A couple of months ago, I found a lot for sale not far from here in a good neighborhood with an elementary school. I thought it would be perfect for us. So I suggested to James if the company bought the lot and we put our 'Arrowhead' design on it, the 1480 square foot, four-bedroom, two-bath, double-garage ranch, if you liked it, we'd buy it.

Now, I realize we may never need four bedrooms, even if we have a baby brother or sister for Rosa. But you're becoming an amazing artist, and I want you to have a studio where you can work without any interruptions. And the fourth bedroom could become your studio. So, what do you think? You've walked through that design, and you said you liked it.

Yes, I do like that design. I like the vaulted living room ceiling, the large kitchen with a double sink and lots of light, the breakfast bar, and the formal dining area. And I must admit I do like the idea of having my own studio. The only thing I don't like about it is, if you're in the main bedroom you have to go through the living room to get to the other bedrooms. So, yes, I think the 'Arrowhead' could work for us. Can I tell you a secret?

Don't tell me you had a vision of it.

I didn't want to spoil your surprise, but yes, darling, I did have a vision of it, and I think you're wonderful to do this for us. I love you so much!

Well, it's framed, the roof and siding are on, the windows are in, and the rough-in forced-air gas heating and plumbing and electrical are going in, after which we'll put in the insulation and start putting up the drywall, which we've just started using, rather than the old lath and plaster. It's at the stage where you can really begin to appreciate it. And I think I've solved the problem you mentioned, about bedroom access. Would you like to go and see it?

Oh, could we see it?

Of course! The crew will be on lunch break, so now would be the perfect time. When you've finished nursing Rosa, let's go and see it.

My goodness! Alright, well, my tuna casserole will just have to wait. This is exciting! Come on, Rosa, let's burp you, and then we'll bundle you up, put you in your bassinet, and go and see our new house.

So, he drives them to the construction site. They walk in the front door, with Sarah carrying Rosa in her wooden wicker baby bassinet, and she is so excited she is positively giddy.

I want to show you the main living area first. This is your living room with the vaulted ceiling you like, and back here is your kitchen and dining area.

Oh my gosh! After living in a five hundred square foot cottage for two years, this house feels even larger than I remember the 'Arrowhead.' But can we afford this?

Well, I did stretch our budget a little, but our company is building it, and James said he's willing to accept a much lower profit margin as a kind of bonus for me. So, I'd say yes, we can afford it, and I think we deserve it.

Oh, David, look!

There on a large piece of cardboard where the kitchen sink will be is scrawled:

Mr. and Mrs. Bradley
Welcome to your new home

Do they know they're building this house for us?

Sweetheart, they know they're building it for you. And they're so proud that I picked them as the crew to build it that they're doing their best to make it perfect for you.

Oh, that is so sweet. I think I'm going to cry. Tell them how much I appreciate this, will you please?

Of course, I will. Now let me show you the bedrooms. Let's start at the front of the house. Since the house lot faces west, I put large windows in both north-side bedrooms because you said northern light is ideal for an artist. The front corner bedroom can be your studio, and the bedroom behind it can be Rosa's nursery. And I put a little door between our bedroom and Rosa's nursery so you can go from one to the other without going through the living room.

And when Rosa is older, we can give her the other front bedroom and leave the nursery, in case we have another baby. And if we don't, the nursery can become my studio, and Rosa can have the front corner bedroom. Oh, David, you are brilliant - a room next to our bedroom that can be either a nursery or my studio, and I don't have to walk through the living room to get to it. I love this, although I guess I shouldn't be surprised, knowing how creative and thoughtful you are. Do I still have time to choose colors and cabinets and fixtures?

Yes, that's why I wanted to show it to you today, to be sure you had enough time. You've met our interior designer. I'll make an appointment for you in the next day or two so you can start working with her to choose your paint and wallpaper, flooring, cabinets, kitchen appliances, lighting, and plumbing fixtures, even window coverings. This is actually the fun part of building a new house.

Standing in the middle of the living room again, silently rocking Rosa in her arms, she looks upward, contemplating the vaulted ceiling. A tear falls down her cheek, and she sniffles softly.

Sweetheart, what's wrong?

I don't know. I just never imagined I'd live in a beautiful house like this. I grew up in an old house in the Armenian Quarter where nothing worked - not the oven, the lights, the heat, or the water. Then I lived in a little bedroom at Victoria's for almost three years and then in a little rental cottage for two more. I'm sure this will be beautiful after it's finished, but I wonder if it's real or if I'm dreaming.

David crosses the floor and embraces Rosa and her.

Oh, sweetheart. Of course, it's real, and it's where you belong. I'm only sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner. You can choose your colors, cabinets, and fixtures and make this house your own. It will be finished in three months, and I promise you, after we've moved in, you've made it a home for us and we've lived here for a year, you'll have forgotten about your little bedroom at Victoria's and our little rental cottage.

Of course, you're right, darling. Thank you for building this beautiful new house for us. I really do appreciate it, and I'm sure we'll love living in it when it's finished.

So, after they have seen the house and enjoyed her tuna casserole for lunch, he goes back to work and tells James that Sarah loves it and he can consider it sold. Later that day, David goes to the bank and applies for an FHA mortgage loan.

I went to the bank today and applied for the mortgage loan, and they told me it wouldn't be any problem. There are some papers for you to sign, but we can do that tomorrow. Oh, there's something else about the new house I didn't mention, but I think you'll really appreciate.

What's that?

James would like to have a way to test the new labor-saving appliances the company will offer our clients over the next five to ten years, and I suggested our house as the test site. That means we'll be among the first in Missoula to have an automatic dishwasher and an automatic clothes washer and dryer. Of course, we'll need to have a much larger electrical panel and hot water heater, as well as the wiring, hot and cold water, wastewater drains, and dryer vent, where the new appliances will be, but that is all being done during construction and at practically no additional cost to us. So, what do you think?

You mean I won't have to wash dishes or clothes by hand or hang clothes on a line to dry? What will they think of next? Well, it sounds wonderful, simply wonderful.

 

Also, every new appliance will come with a warranty. If it fails, it's good to know that your husband works for the company that built your house, and he can take care of it for you immediately.

She twines her arms around his neck and says, half-teasingly:

Yes, that is good to know, isn't it, that my husband can do that for me, in addition to all the other wonderful things he does for me. Kiss me!

* * * * *

Three months later, they move into their new home. Sarah knows her name means princess, and that is how she feels. On her first morning there, after David has gone to work, she takes Rosa in her arms and strolls from bedroom to bedroom, imagining how it will look and feel after they have lived in it awhile and Rosa has a baby brother or sister. And then she thinks: David did all this for me; a new life in Missoula, Montana, a beautiful baby, and a beautiful new home, and Nonna was right about all of it. Six years ago, I was eighteen, I hadn't even met David, and I had no idea all this was in my future.

One morning, after they have been in their new home for a week, she decides they should do something special to celebrate. She calls David and asks him if he would like pan-seared trout for dinner. When he says yes, she suggests that after he comes home for lunch, she and Rosa will drive him back to work so they can do some grocery shopping. That evening, after she has picked him up from work, they have Mediterranean-style pan-seared trout with lime, white rice, fresh steamed asparagus, and a bottle of chardonnay, a meal he loves. Sarah even lights a candle for the table. After they've eaten and cleared the table together, she sits on his lap, twines her arms around his neck, and kisses him.

Mm, I love you, my darling. Thank you for my new home, for my baby, and for my wonderful life. You're the best, the very best husband a girl could have.

I love you too, sweetheart, and I want to share something with you. That morning in your bedroom at Victoria's, when I asked you to marry me and come with me to America, and you said 'yes,' you made me the happiest man in the world. I promised myself I would do everything I could to make you happy and make your life in Montana as wonderful as you hoped it would be so you wouldn't regret leaving your family and Jerusalem. So you deserve all of this and so much more. Mm, this is very nice. Tell me, sweetheart, is this dessert?

No, darling, dessert is in our bedroom. Just give me five minutes, alright?


SCENE 22 - ISRAEL'S WAR OF INDEPENDENCE, AND JOSEPH
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Exodus - Ernest Gold - Mantovani - 3:10

Sarah and Victoria keep in regular contact through letters, and the news from Jerusalem grows steadily worse. After the end of World War II, the British forces, who had governed Palestine since 1920, began to face armed resistance by Zionist paramilitary groups like the Irgun and Lehi (the Stern Gang) over limits to Jewish immigration from Europe, highlighted by the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in July of 1946 and ending with the birth of the State of Israel on May 18th, 1948. Since the Perrera family has been in Jerusalem for four hundred years, Sarah's brothers and sisters feel no need to be part of a Zionist paramilitary group. However, they all serve in the Israeli Army during the War of Independence.

Occasionally, Sarah has a vision about her brother Joseph. Then, one day, she has a terrifying one of him being wounded in battle. A few days later, a letter arrives from Victoria confirming that Joseph was wounded in a mortar attack. The good news is that he is out of the hospital and is expected to fully recover.

Then, in October of 1949, two years after Rosa was born, Sarah and David are blessed with the birth of their second child, a boy they name Joseph Thomas Bradley, for her brother Joseph, who had been so supportive of them, and for his father.


SCENE 23 - THE KOREAN WAR
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Swept from the Sea - John Barry - 12:37

On June 25th, 1950, war breaks out on the Korean Peninsula along the 38th parallel between the Soviet-backed government of North Korea and the U.S.-backed government of South Korea. North Korean troops cross the parallel and drive southward toward Seoul. David hears the news on the radio in his office at the same time Sarah is listening to it on the radio at home. Immediately, she calls him.

David, did you hear the news about Korea? What does it mean? Will there be a draft? Could you be asked to fight again?

I don't know. I assume there will be a draft of some kind, but whether I'll be asked to serve, I have no idea. I did register with the draft board in 1945 when we came home. I'm classified III-A, which means I have dependents and I'm not in a vital war industry. I'm sure everything will become clearer in the next few days. We'll just have to wait and see.

Two days later, President Truman addresses the nation, saying he is committing U.S. troops to the defense of South Korea, and announcing a draft. All males between eighteen-and-a-half and thirty-five are eligible to serve for up to two years, and World War II veterans are exempted. David was born on July 2nd, 1917, so at thirty-two years of age, he is potentially eligible. It is not immediately clear if his nearly six years of RAF service qualifies him for an exemption, so he makes an appointment with the draft board in Missoula, submits the paperwork documenting his RAF service, and is told the board will have to investigate his case.

After requesting clarification from the Selective Service System, the Missoula draft board determines that David's nearly six years of service with the RAF during World War II does qualify him for a Korean War draft exemption, so he does not have to serve. Sarah is relieved, but she realizes that in David's mind, this may not be the end of it.

Are you thinking about volunteering for this war, David? If you are, can we talk about it before you do it, please?

I admit I've given it some thought. I don't have the same strong feelings about Korea that I had eleven years ago, in 1939, when Hitler invaded Poland and began World War II. But I've been trying to think of a way I could help. Three years ago, the Montana Air National Guard was established at Gore Field in Great Falls. They got six F-51D Mustangs from the Air Force and created the 186th Fighter Squadron. Now it's very likely the 186th will see action in Korea, so...

Wait a minute. Have you thought about joining this 186th Fighter Squadron for the last three years? Why haven't you talked with me about it before now?

Well, I assumed they'd have enough World War II P-51 pilots eager to fly for them that they wouldn't be interested in retraining a Hawker Hurricane pilot. Plus, we'd have to move to Great Falls, and I knew you wouldn't want to do that.

So, what's changed, David? Explain it to me.

Well, I thought, if there's a war, they might be recruiting pilots and willing to consider retraining a Hurricane pilot.

So they'd retrain you and send you halfway around the world so you could be killed in Korea. Is that it? Do you have any idea how many days and nights I spent worrying about you while you were flying Hurricanes in North Africa and Sicily and Italy? There were times I couldn't concentrate, I couldn't work, I couldn't eat because my head was filled with the vision of you in the cockpit. And it wasn't just the vision. It was the anxiety, the fear, and occasionally the sheer terror that something terrible was happening to you. There were times Victoria would hear me sobbing in my room. She'd find me curled up in bed and have to hold me and rock me and comfort me until finally, exhausted, I drifted off to sleep. In the morning, I would wake up afraid that you had died while I was asleep and I would never see you again. Do you have any idea what that was like - to fall asleep exhausted and wake up afraid, day after day?

 
But, I thought being clairvoyant eliminated all the anxiety and fear. Didn't it?

No, it didn't. And it wasn't just my clairvoyance. It was something else. There were emotions involved, yours and mine. If I had a vision of you flying and you were excited or fearful, then I felt your excitement or fear. And I became excited or fearful, too. It was like I was, um...

Sympathetic?

No, that's not quite it. I actually felt your feelings, as if our bodies were connected, and I was sharing your feelings with you.

Empathetic?

Maybe. It doesn't matter. And what was worse, I couldn't control it. It was as if I was drowning in your excitement or fear. Sometimes it was so intense I felt like I couldn't breathe.

You have no idea how thankful I was when you were reassigned to RAF Alexandria in a support role. My life finally returned to something close to normal. And now you want me to go through that all over again? I'm not certain I could, David. I just don't know if I have the strength to go through it again. I might have to separate myself from you emotionally simply to be able to survive.

And don't forget, Nonna may have assured you that nothing bad would happen to you, but that was World War II. She didn't say anything about Korea. And during the war, it was just you and me. Now we have Rosa and Joseph, too. If you go to Korea and you don't come home, you'll be leaving me here in Montana to raise them all by myself. Have you thought about that? Is that really what you want for me and for your children?

Tears fill his eyes, and he shakes his head.

Oh, my god, no, Sarah. Of course not. Oh, I'm so sorry. It just never occurred to me. Why didn't you ever share any of this with me?

When the war was going on, I didn't want you to know what I was going through. Knowing might have caused you to change the way you flew, to be more cautious, more defensive. It might even have put your life in danger. No, I had to bear it alone or with Victoria's help. And then, after the war had ended and we'd left Palestine and begun our new life here in Montana, there were many times when I thought about sharing those frightening experiences with you. But every time I thought about it, I'd remember that first morning when we woke up in your dad's home and I felt you trembling and sobbing with survivor's guilt. Then I'd remember all those nights when you'd wake up in the middle of the night after having a nightmare about the war, and I knew I couldn't ask you to share what I'd been through as well as what you'd been through. It would have been cruel of me to do that to you. But I never dreamed I might have to go through it all over again.

Oh, I'm so sorry. I can't believe I've been so selfish, so thoughtless. I don't know why I couldn't see it. Of course, I won't volunteer. I couldn't do that to you. My responsibility is to you and our children, right here, not halfway around the world. And I understand that now. How can you ever forgive me?

Because we're soulmates, and soulmates forgive each other. And even though I'm grateful you've agreed not to volunteer, I understand that if your life was different, if you didn't have a wife and children, you'd want to volunteer. And I appreciate the sacrifice you're making for us. I think making sacrifices is part of being soulmates, just like forgiving. And I realized it the first time I had to wave goodbye to you at Atarot after we became engaged. We were soulmates, and we would have to make sacrifices to be together.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me. Now that I understand the suffering I've put you through, I swear I'll never do it to you again. Never. I've been a fighter pilot; I don't need to be one again. I can put that part of my life behind me. What I need to be is your husband, and know you're my wife and you won't leave me. Please, Sarah, promise me you won't leave me.

No, David, I won't leave you. I promise.


SCENE 24 - ROSA AND NONNA
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Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41
Lullabying - John Barry - 3:17

One morning in April of 1952, just after her twenty-eighth birthday, Sarah is washing the breakfast dishes after David has gone to work. Rosa, now four and a half years old, shuffles into the kitchen, yawning, rubbing her eyes, dragging her blanket, and tightly clutching her well-loved Velveteen Rabbit, a gift from her Grandpa Thomas the previous Christmas, along with the book by Margery Williams.

Would you see if your brother is alright, sweetheart?

I did, Mommy. He's sleeping. He has his blankie and his binky. Mommy, who's Nonna?

She stops washing the dishes, slowly removes her rubber gloves, turns around, kneels, and takes Rosa's hands in hers.

Nonna was my grandmother Rosa, sweetheart, your great-grandmother. I loved her very much. Daddy and I named you after her. How do you know about Nonna? Did Daddy tell you about her?

No, I had a dream last night. About this lady. She said 'My name is Nonna,' and 'tell Mommy I love her.'

Tears begin to well up in Sarah's eyes.

Tell me, was she very old and wrinkled, with white hair and dressed all in black?

No, Mommy. She was like you. And she had shiny brown hair. And a pretty white dress.

Sarah slowly stands up and takes Rosa's hand.

Come with me, sweetheart. I want to show you something.

They walk to the secretary desk in the living room. She kneels down, opens the bottom drawer, and lifts out a box labeled Photos - Jerusalem. She opens it and searches through the box, thinking I really should put these in a photo album. She finds what she is searching for - an old sepia photo of Nonno and Nonna on their wedding day.

Here we are. This is a picture of Nonna taken a long, long time ago on her wedding day. Does this look like the lady in your dream?

Yes, Mommy, that's her. And it was the same dress.

She sinks slowly to the floor beside Rosa, holding the photo and crying softly. Then she reaches for Rosa and enfolds her in her arms, rocking gently back and forth. All the memories come flooding back to her awareness, and she realizes how much she misses her dear Nonna.

Why are you crying, Mommy? Are you sad?

No, sweetheart, I'm not sad. I loved Nonna very much, and I miss her. But it's alright. I'm alright now. Tell me, did Nonna say anything else to you?

She said 'You're a good girl to help Mommy with baby Joseph. I am proud of you. And I will come see you again sometime.'

Thank you for sharing your dream with me, sweetheart. And if you ever dream about Nonna again, you'll remember to tell me, alright?

Yes, Mommy. Can I keep her picture?

Yes, but it's very old. Let's make a frame for it this morning; it can be our fun project for today. Then you can put it on your dresser in your bedroom, and you can look at Nonna and talk to her any time you want.

Later that morning, David comes home for lunch and notices her eyes are red and moist. He asks her if she has been crying, and she tells him about Rosa and Nonna.

* * * * *

David and Sarah in September of 1942 at the Garden Café, the first time they met. And in 1952, ten years later, in Missoula, Montana.

SCENE 25 - A MONTANA LANDSCAPE ARTIST
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The Beyondness of Things - John Barry - 4:15

Since painting Montana landscapes is much more satisfying to Sarah than sitting in a college classroom, and since she had only been going to school part-time since Rosa was born, she and David agree it makes more sense for her to be at home with their two young children and focusing on her landscape painting. She has developed an impressive talent for painting rugged, majestic Montana mountain landscapes, filling a local art gallery, his office, and their home with her inspiring work, which both locals and visitors to Missoula love.

She is an admirer of the work of painter and illustrator N.C. Wyeth, and gradually she creates her own style, combining Wyeth with elements of a movement that came to be called Montana Modernists. She describes her work as an expression of strength, stability, solidity, and permanence, as well as beauty, in large overarching masses of rock and snow and ice, with an interplay of sun and shadow, softened by sky, clouds, water, and trees.

If she had thought about it, she might have realized that while she was growing up, her Sephardic family life and faith provided the stability she needed amidst the shifting desert sands and the religious strife of Palestine in the 1920s, '30s, and '40s. Now, far from Palestine, she finds the stability she needs, in her life with David and the Rocky Mountains of Montana.

* * * * *

Over time she gains a regional reputation and, periodically, the gallery hosts a one-woman show of her work, which she and David attend. He is very proud of her and enjoys being introduced as the husband of artist Sarah Bradley. Both of them are rather introverted, and she has often said that she would be a recluse if she could. Neither is a real fan of art gallery crowds, and they cannot wait to get home, relieve the babysitter, and have some quiet time together. As he once observed, some of their most tender, deeply intimate moments happen late at night as they reconnect after a gallery show.

* * * * *

Sometimes, he comes home from work early, tiptoes across the living room floor, and stands quietly at the door of her studio, watching her paint and reflecting on how she has enriched his life and how much he adores her. And each time, he thinks, I am so glad we stretched our budget a little and built the four-bedroom design so she could have a studio.

* * * * *

 
She loves Missoula and the incredible beauty of western Montana, especially the Bitterroot River Valley, with the Sapphire Range to the east and the Bitterroot Range to the west. As she delights in reminding him, the name Montana is derived from the Spanish montaña, which means mountainous. And the Ladino language, a form of medieval Spanish, is her native language.

* * * * *

The years go by quickly, and it is now the summer of 1957, twelve years after they arrived in Missoula. They celebrate Sarah's 33rd birthday on April 10th, and David's 40th birthday on July 2nd. Rosa is nine and Joseph is seven, both are in elementary school, and Sarah cannot imagine they could be any happier. America is enjoying peace and prosperity, there is a polio vaccine, an Interstate Highway System, Disneyland has opened in Southern California, and on their new television they can watch Dinah Shore sing See the U S A in your Chevrolet; America's the greatest land of all. 

Sarah rarely thinks about Palestine - Israel, now - except when she receives a letter from her Papa or from Joseph and Victoria. Her landscape paintings are becoming more and more popular, and she and David have begun discussing the possibility of starting their own residential construction company.

* * * * *

In the spring of 1959, after having talked about doing it for two years, after creating a business plan and securing bank financing, they take the bold step of starting their own residential construction company, Bitterroot Valley Home Builders. Naturally, there are growing pains, as with any new business. But David had established his reputation as an outstanding home builder and a fair and honest businessman. Their company grows and prospers even beyond their own expectations.


SCENE 26 - ROSA DISCOVERS ISRAEL
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Exodus - Ernest Gold - Mantovani - 3:10

The Music of John Barry - 25:22

As Rosa grows up, she resembles Sarah in temperament more and more, being strong-willed and independent-minded like her mother. Even David notices it and observes - like mother, like daughter.

In December of 1960, the film Exodus begins showing in theaters. Based on the Leon Uris novel of the same name, it stars Paul Newman as Ari Ben Canaan, the brave and charismatic sabra who defies Mandatory Palestine British authorities to smuggle six hundred Holocaust survivors into Palestine on a ship named S.S. Exodus.

Early in the spring of 1961, Rosa, now thirteen, begs Sarah to take her to see the film, reminding her that this is her own history. Sarah cannot refuse her, and she is curious to see how her history is portrayed. So they go to The Wilma Theatre on South Higgins Avenue to see the film, and they are both overwhelmed by it. Rosa talks about it for days afterward and then goes to the public library, checks out Leon Uris' 1958 novel, and devours it.

After that, Rosa begins to research Palestine and Israel and discovers Zionism, Theodore Herzl, and the World Zionist Organization. She is a seventh-grade junior high school student, so she also has school library resources available. And since she considers Sarah the ultimate authority on the subject, everything she learns she brings home to discuss with her.

Mom, I was doing some more reading in the library. Since you're Jewish and you were born in Palestine before the 1948 War of Independence, you're a sabra, right? I think that's so cool. My own mother is a sabra.

I hadn't really thought about it, sweetheart, but, I guess I am a sabra. Do you know what a sabra is?

It's a cactus, right?

Yes. In America, I think it's called a prickly pear. It has a thick, tough skin that hides a soft, sweet inside, just like Israeli Jews who are supposedly tough on the outside but sweet and tender on the inside.

And then she thinks Sabra, prickly pear. I never thought about it, but Perrera, my family name, actually means 'pear tree,' so I guess I am a sabra - in more than one way.

So, Mom, if the place you were born, in Palestine, is now part of Israel, doesn't that make you an Israeli citizen? And if you're an Israeli, am I an Israeli, too? And did you ever think you might want to go back to Israel, maybe even live on a kibbutz?

I don't know about the citizenship, but I'm very happy right here in Montana with you and Joseph and your dad, and I have no desire to live in Palestine or Israel again. I never told you, but your great-grandmother Rosa, for whom you're named, was clairvoyant, and she had a vision that I was not a child of the Old World. She said I was a child of the New World, and I was just waiting for your dad to come to Jerusalem, find me, marry me, and bring me with him to the New World.

And you believed her vision?

Not at first, no. In fact, at first, I didn't want to meet him because it meant my life would change, and I was afraid of that happening. But then I met him, and I fell in love with him. He asked me to marry him and come with him to America, and I realized he was my soulmate, mi media naranja, my perfect other half, and I had no choice but to marry him and come with him. Someday, you'll fall in love, and then you'll understand what I'm talking about.

But maybe I'm really a child of the Old World, Mom, and I have to go to Israel to find my soulmate, the man I'll fall in love with and marry. Maybe that's why I'm so interested in Israel and Zionism.

Maybe you are a child of the Old World, sweetheart. Only time will tell.

Later that day, David comes home from work, and Sarah greets him at the kitchen door. They embrace and kiss warmly.

Mm, guess what, darling. Your daughter is a Zionist.

I don't know what a Zionist is, sweetheart, but the way you say it, I'm assuming it's not a good thing. Whenever Rosa has done something or is about to do something you disapprove of, she becomes MY daughter rather than OUR daughter.

She laughs out loud, covering her mouth with her hand.

That's very true. Well, a Zionist is someone who believes that Jews everywhere should immigrate to Palestine or Israel today. She asked me if I ever wanted to return to Israel, maybe even live on a kibbutz.

And a kibbutz is...?

An agricultural community where the members all have different jobs in the community and everything is shared. All meals are eaten in a communal dining hall, and children live together in children's houses and only see their parents for a few hours each day.

Sounds very socialist to me. Wait a minute. Now I remember. You asked me about my father. I said: 'He's a socialist,' and you said: 'Every Russian and Polish Jew in Palestine is a socialist.' Then I said: 'Well, not your family,' and you said, wryly: 'Good heavens, no. To share everything and be poor together, this is madness.' There, did I remember it right?

That was the first time we went to Ein Gedi, nearly twenty years ago. You do have an incredible memory.

Only about you, sweetheart. So, what did you tell her?

That I was very happy right here in Montana with you, Joseph, and her.

Do you think that satisfied her?

Good heavens, no. This is Rosa we're talking about! Just be aware that Israel may come up in the conversation, and we should be prepared.

What do you mean by 'be prepared'?

Well, Rosa knows she has relatives in Israel - her grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins. Someday, she may decide she wants to go for a visit and connect with her Israeli family, and we need to have a response ready. In any case, I don't think she can fly overseas unaccompanied until she's eighteen, which is five years in the future. Maybe by then, she won't be so obsessed with Israel and Zionism.

Or she'll have convinced you to go and take her with you. You have to admit, compared to boring old Missoula, Montana, exotic Jerusalem, where her parents met, fell in love, and got married, and where she has lots of relatives, might sound pretty exciting to a thirteen-year-old girl.

Well, I don't think Missoula is boring at all, and I'm very happy here, except for the winter inversion layer, of course. Anyway, the only people I'd really be interested in seeing are Papa, Joseph, Victoria, Linda, Hannah, and Moshe. So let's not suggest I go and take her with me, alright?


SCENE 27 - FAMILY TIES WITH ISRAEL
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

A week later, the family is seated around the dinner table, and Rosa brings up the subject again. Joseph, who is eleven, isn't interested in Israel, but he has had enough experience observing his mother and sister sparring verbally that he is mildly curious.

Mom, you never told us how you and Dad met in Jerusalem.

It's really not that interesting, sweetheart.

Seriously, Mom, I want to hear it, and I'll bet Joseph does, too.

Then David says, wryly.

Yes, I'd like to hear it, too, 'Mom.'

Sarah frowns at him.

Alright. Your dad's squadron leader, Peter Ross, had asked your Aunt Victoria to marry him. And one day in September of 1942, Victoria asked me to come with her to the Garden Café at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem so she could spend some time with Peter. Your dad was there with Peter because he would be the best man at their wedding a week later.

But isn't Victoria married to your brother, Uncle Joseph?

Yes, but that came later after Victoria's father had her marriage to Peter annulled - ah, ended.

So when did Uncle Joseph marry Aunt Victoria?

That was late in 1945, after World War II ended and before the Jewish resistance to the British immigration restrictions turned into a civil war.

They watch as Rosa grows quiet and thoughtful. And then her eyes grow large, and her mouth opens wide.

Wait a minute, Mom. Did Uncle Joseph fight in the War of Independence in 1948?

Yes, he did. Nearly every Israeli over eighteen did, women as well as men. All of my brothers and sisters did. Joseph was wounded in the war, but he recovered.

Later, they agreed they could almost see Rosa's mind working as she realized Sarah was not the authority on Palestine, Israel, and the War of Independence. It was actually her Uncle Joseph.

So, can I write to Uncle Joseph, Mom?

I don't see why not. Joseph was always my favorite brother. And Joseph, you're actually named after your uncle. I think he'll be delighted that you want to correspond with him. And I'm sure he can answer your questions about Israel and the War of Independence much better than I can. I don't know if I ever told you, but Joseph and Victoria have a daughter, Linda. Her name means 'beautiful' in Ladino. She's your cousin, and she was born in the summer of 1947, so the two of you are practically the same age.

Later, after Rosa and Joseph have gone to bed, they have a quiet conversation.

Could I have done anything differently? Could I have told her she couldn't write to her Uncle Joseph?

No, you didn't really have a choice. Nobody could have predicted that Paul Newman would make a blockbuster film about the birth of Israel that would affect our daughter this way. But we have to admit there was always a chance this would happen. After all, she has a whole family in Israel she's never met, and she's got to be curious about them. And we need to recognize that she's as strong-willed and independent-minded as you are, and she'll go her own way, just as you did. Remember, we just wanted to have a baby. We had no idea she'd grow up to be a thirteen-year-old girl who'd challenge her mother like Rosa does you. Sometimes it happens, and there's nothing you can do about it.

No, but now I think that Rosa going to Israel is not a question of 'if,' but 'when.'

The next day, she and Rosa have a conversation.

Mom, I want to write a letter to Uncle Joseph and Aunt Victoria and enclose one for Linda. And I'd like to include a photo of myself. Can you take one of me, then we can have the film developed?

Of course. In fact, why don't we wait until Saturday? We can all sit at the picnic table in the backyard. Dad can set the timer on the camera and take photos of us all so Joseph, Victoria, and Linda can see what we all look like, especially since you and your brother are named after them.


SCENE 28 - PLANNING A JOURNEY TO ISRAEL
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

The spring and summer of 1961 go by, and it is the end of October. Rosa has just turned fourteen and, stimulated by the flow of letters back and forth from Joseph, Victoria, and Linda, her interest in Israel has steadily grown as she has gained more knowledge about the country, its history, and culture.

Mom, I don't want you to think I've forgotten about Israel. I still really want to go, and Linda says I would love it.

I'm sure you haven't forgotten, sweetheart. As a matter of fact, I did some research. El Al Airlines, Israel's national airline, began nonstop jet aircraft service between New York and Tel Aviv in June, flying Boeing 707s, probably because there's a large Jewish population on the East Coast. If we lived in New York, we could put you on the plane as an unaccompanied minor, and Uncle Joseph could meet your plane in Tel Aviv. But we don't live in New York, we live in Missoula. And that means a flight to Chicago, and then another one to New York. And the airlines will not let you do that, alone, as an unaccompanied fourteen-year-old.

I know, Mom. So you'll have to come with me.

I understand that Israel is very important to you, sweetheart, but this is a big deal. Even if we stay with Aunt Victoria and Uncle Joseph, the airfare will be very expensive.

I know, and I'm willing to use some of my college savings. In fact, I was thinking instead of going to UW in Seattle, which is really where I wanted to go, I could go to Montana State and live here at home for my first two years, and that would save a lot of money.

Yes, it would, and you know we would love to have you do that. There's something else, though. You're fourteen now, and each year, as you mature, your experiences will be more meaningful. You'll integrate them into your life and use them to make better decisions. There is a reason you have to be sixteen to get a driver's license, eighteen to fly overseas unaccompanied, nineteen to vote, and twenty-one to drink liquor. It's all about maturity. Visiting Israel will mean much more to you when you're a little older because you'll have the life experience and the maturity to appreciate it more.

So you think I should wait until I'm older?

Yes, I do. Israel will still be there. And the experience will mean so much more to you. I assure you.

Sarah pauses and takes a deep breath.

Alright, I can't believe I'm saying this. If you'll be patient and wait one more year, until you're fifteen, and you're willing to live here at home and go to Montana State for your first two years of college, if your dad agrees, I'll take you to Israel and you won't have to use your college savings.

You promise, Mom? You're not just saying this, so I'll stop bothering you about Israel?

No, I'm not. You have my word. I'll take you as your fifteenth birthday gift. We'll open a special 'Going to Israel' savings account and investigate passports, visas, and vaccinations. I believe both your dad and I have to be U.S. citizens for you to get a U.S. passport. Since I only have a 'green card,' a Resident Alien Card, I have to apply for citizenship first, then we can both get passports. I should have done this years ago, but this is a good reason to do it now. And, hopefully, a year will be enough time.


SCENE 29 - SARAH'S FIRST LETTER FROM ISRAEL
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

David, Rosa, and Sarah in September of 1962, just before Rosa's fifteenth birthday, and she and Sarah leave for Israel.

Tuesday, September 11th

My dearest David,

We flew to O'Hare Airport in Chicago, then to Idlewild Airport in New York, and then to Lod Airport in Tel Aviv in a brand new Boeing 707 jet. It was a long flight, but the jet was so smooth and quiet compared to the flight from Missoula to Chicago. Some of the passengers were actually immigrating to Israel. They call it making 'Aliyah,' which means 'to go up' or 'to ascend' in Hebrew. I slept most of the way across the ocean, but Rosa managed to make a couple of new friends - teenage Jewish boys from New York City on vacation with their families - so I'm sure she thinks the journey is already a success. Where does she get the energy?

Joseph, Victoria, and Linda met us at the airport. After seventeen years, it was a very emotional reunion, and we all had tears in our eyes. Our three-person hug seemed to go on forever, and none of us wanted to let the others go, while Rosa and Linda waited patiently. Then we wiped the tears from our eyes and introduced the girls, and there were more hugs. Finally, we found our luggage, and Joseph drove us home, with me sitting up front beside Victoria and the girls in the back seat. When we got home, Hannah and Moshe were there to greet us, and it was like the airport reunion all over again. And after Rosa and I had a little nap, we both felt rested.

Joseph and Victoria and Hannah and Moshe are wonderful, as always. Of course, they've all matured since we last saw them, but it's lovely to see them, and I admit it, I'm glad I've come, and I want to thank you for making this adventure possible. They've made us feel very welcome, and they keep saying how much they wish you were here with us.

Rosa is on a hideaway bed in Linda's room, and, believe it or not, I am sleeping in my old first-floor bedroom. It feels so comfortable sleeping there, but it really does make me miss you, darling.

The girls are having so much fun together. Rosa wants to know all about Israel, and Linda wants to know all about Montana, so it seems they never stop talking. And if it isn't Israel or Montana, it's films or music or fashion or makeup or boys. It's been fourteen years since the British left, and since Hebrew is the official language, I'm impressed at how well Linda speaks English. I'm just happy to be here with Joseph and Victoria, enjoying our quiet conversations in English and Ladino. Linda has a 'boyfriend' named Vidal, whom we haven't met yet. But Victoria says Linda and Rosa can have a boy-girl party with some of Linda and Vidal's classmates. Linda says everybody is excited to meet her cousin from Montana, who has her own horse. So it seems Rosa is a celebrity.

Today, Joseph took us to see my mother. Before she had even sat down, Rosa asked her directly if she was sorry for the way she had treated her mom and dad. I could tell that my mother realized Rosa knew the whole story, that this was her last chance, and that Rosa was ready to walk out. So she actually admitted that she was sorry, that what she had done was wrong, which impressed me. Then she turned to me and said again that she was sorry and hoped we could put our differences behind us. She also observed that Rosa was definitely her mother's daughter. After that, Rosa said she thought they could be friends, and my mother said she would like that very much.

I asked about Papa, and she said he has dementia and is in a nursing home, in a locked wing, because he has a tendency to walk out the door and get lost. She said he has lucid moments, but they are rare, and she's not certain he would even recognize me. I said I'd like to see him anyway, and she assured me she'd arrange it.

Tomorrow, Joseph and Victoria are taking us to some of the places we both remember. Victoria says the Garden Café at the King David Hotel has been gone for a long time. Since it was mainly patronized by Mandatory Palestine administrators and British troops, it struggled financially after the war ended. And after the War of Independence and the British Mandate ended, there was no point in trying to keep it going. She said the grove of trees is still there, and maybe even the dance floor. So we'll go and see it.

I want Rosa to see King David's Tomb, where we went for our first walk together twenty years ago. And Joseph has promised he and Victoria and Linda will take us to Ein Gedi, so Rosa and I can wade in the water underneath the David Waterfall as you and I did. But I will try not to fall in the water this time. I want Rosa to see where we were married, too, and Joseph says there's a kibbutz near Jerusalem they will take us to see, although it's mainly for Rosa. You know my feelings: 'to share everything and be poor together... this is madness.'

 
Now it's time to go. I'll write more later. Thank you for giving us this experience. You are the best husband a wife could have, and I love you more than I can say.

Your Sarah

SCENE 30 - SARAH'S SECOND LETTER FROM ISRAEL
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Monday, September 17th

My dearest David,

 

This visit has really awakened some memories. We have seen most of the places you and I had been together - the Garden Café, King David's Tomb, Ein Gedi, the building where we were married - and I am taking lots of photos.

The Garden Café is gone, but the grove of trees is still there, and so is the wooden dance floor, although it's badly weathered. I stood where I thought our table had been that September twenty years ago, closed my eyes, and willed my consciousness back twenty years, sending my thoughts to my eighteen-year-old self as I sat beside you: 'This is David, your soulmate. You will fall in love with him, and he will marry you and survive the war and take you to America and give you two beautiful children and a wonderful life in Montana. And you will love him more than you ever thought you could love someone.'

I don't know if we connected, but maybe we did. I tried to give myself the courage to endure the next three years before the war ended and we left Palestine for America. I don't remember feeling that courage twenty years ago, but maybe I did, and I've just forgotten.

When the breeze blew through the trees, I closed my eyes. I could hear the singer and the band, and I could feel us dancing to 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square' and feel myself falling in love with you.

And then I opened my eyes, and it was all gone. It made me feel sad that I was here alone and you were so far away. I could feel tears in my eyes, and all I wanted was to have you hold me and kiss me and tell me you loved me. I miss you so much.

Joseph took us to visit Nonna's grave, and as I stood there, I realized she wasn't in the grave. Then I felt her warmth enfolding me, and I knew she was there with me, loving me. I cried, but they were tears of both sadness and happiness. Rosa held my hand, and her eyes were a little wet, too. I think this experience has really brought us closer together, and we can appreciate each other a little more now. It's not something I expected, but it's wonderful.

Joseph even took us to Pension Ada, where you had stayed. Believe it or not, Mrs. Finkelstein is still there, although she's nearly eighty and retired. I showed her a picture of us, and she remembered the night twenty years ago when Albert and my other brothers assaulted you and dragged me, kicking and screaming, out of the pension. She remembered the next night as well, after Joseph had helped me escape, and she had let me wait for you in your room because I couldn't wait in the lobby with bare feet. When I told her we were married and living in Montana, in America, and introduced Rosa to her, she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a big hug, and there were tears in her eyes. She said she had thought about us many times over the years, and wondered what had happened to us. She was so happy to know we were together, and she especially wanted me to give you a big hug from her. I asked her if Joseph could take a picture of her with Rosa and me, and she nodded 'yes.'

Then she asked me if I wanted to go upstairs and see your old room. She said it looked almost the same as it did twenty years ago. I thought about it for a moment because I had such bittersweet memories of the last time we were there together. Rosa, bless her heart, stood there quietly, holding my hand and letting me decide. When I nodded 'yes,' Rosa squeezed my hand, and we followed Mrs. Finkelstein upstairs. Your room did look almost the same, and when I saw the bed where we had first made love and spent the night together, I couldn't help but shed a tear. Then I whispered to Rosa: 'That's the bed where your dad and I first made love, four years before we made you. And even before that, I knew he was my soulmate, my one and only love.' Rosa blushed and whispered: 'Mom!' But she squeezed my hand, and I could tell it made her feel very grown-up and close to me that I had shared something so personal with her.

The kibbutz was really an eye-opening experience. It's very communal, and everything seems to be shared. There's not much of a sense of privacy or private property. The children are cared for in a collective environment and don't get to spend much time with their parents. I know that Rosa had read about life in a kibbutz, but I think she was surprised by it as well.

Victoria and Hannah had a little party, and we met some of Linda and Vidal's classmates. But later, Rosa observed quietly that everything about Linda and Vidal's lives seems so rigid and structured. There are so many rules about everything, and so many religious days and things to wear and say and do and eat that it's all a little overwhelming. I have the feeling that Rosa has a new appreciation for the freedom and lack of religious structure in her life in Montana and that maybe Judaism is not for her after all.

Mother did arrange for us to visit Papa in his nursing home. I took his hands in mine and spoke to him in Ladino, the way I did when I was a little girl. At first, he didn't recognize me, but then it was like a miracle. His eyes lit up, and he squeezed my hand and said my name softly: 'Sarah?' And I said: 'Yes, Papa, it's Sarah. I've come home. And Papa, this is Rosa, your granddaughter.' And then he said: 'Rosa? Like Mother?' And I said: 'Yes, Papa, like Nonna.' Then he smiled, reached out, took Rosa's hand, and squeezed it. And then he asked me where we lived, and I said: 'In Montana, Papa, in America.' And he asked me: 'This Montana, is it beautiful?' And I said: 'Yes, Papa, it is very beautiful.' And then he said: 'I would like to see Montana someday.' And then I could see his eyes go dark, and he was gone. It all happened so quickly, David. But I'm so glad it did happen and that Rosa could meet her grandfather, even if it was only for a moment. I felt so happy and so sad at the same time. And both Rosa and I had tears in our eyes.

I must admit, David, I didn't realize Israel would feel like a war zone, but it does, much more than Palestine did under British rule. There are IDF soldiers with guns everywhere, and it seems every day there is terrorist activity somewhere in the country, and someone is killed or wounded. But you don't have to worry about us. Joseph and Victoria are very protective of us, and we don't leave their home unless one of them is with us.

I've enjoyed being here with everyone. Both Rosa and I appreciate having had this experience, but I think when we leave for Tel Aviv Lod Airport this Saturday, the twenty-second, we'll be ready to come home. I know I will, and I think I can speak for Rosa. Just this morning, she confided to me that she hopes the groomer at the stables is taking good care of Serena, giving her plenty of oats, and brushing her every day, so I know that at least she misses her horse. I didn't think I'd miss you this much, but I really do. I miss you and Joseph and our home and Montana, and I love you for making our lives so safe and comfortable. It seems strange that I had to come eight thousand miles to Israel to really appreciate my life in Montana. I can't wait to get home and give you a big kiss and make love with you, and if there are little spots on this letter and the ink has run a little, it's from my tears.

You are my whole life, David. You are my soulmate, and I love you more than I can say.

Your Sarah

 

Oh, David, my love. For the past couple of days, I've had the feeling something was wrong with your dad, and I've just had a vision of what it was. I am so terribly sorry. I can feel how sad you are, and I wish I could be there to comfort you the way you comforted me when my Nonna passed away. Please know how much I love you and how sorry I am. We will be home very soon, my love.

SCENE 31 - SARAH AND ROSA COME HOME
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Swept from the Sea - John Barry - 12:36

Two weeks after they had left for Israel, Sarah and Rosa arrive home in Missoula. As they walk down the rolling ramp stairs, David and Joseph walk toward them. Sarah can tell how terribly sad and lonely David feels and how much he needs to feel her warmth comforting him. She had not said anything to Rosa because she knows how much Rosa loves her grandfather, and she did not want to spoil the journey for her, but now it is time for them all to comfort David. They all embrace, glad to be together as a family again.

We're home again, my darling, and we're here for you. Please, tell me what happened.

With tears in his eyes, David tells her the story.

My dad passed away last Sunday, the sixteenth. It was after the late morning Sunday service as he was greeting the congregation. He complained of chest pressure, sat down on the bench, and slumped over. Someone went to call for an ambulance, but by the time it got there, he was gone. I wasn't there. If only I'd gone to the service. If I'd just made the effort, I could have been there. I could have been with him, held his hand, and told him how much I loved him. But I wasn't even there, and now he's gone, and I feel like an orphan. I know he was eighty-two, so he wasn't a young man, and he'd lived a good, long life. But, still, I never expected it.

I'm so sorry, David, so terribly sorry. I wish we could have been here for you. He was a wonderful man, just the way you described him to me twenty years ago at Ein Gedi - a very principled, very admirable man. And he did know how much you loved him. In his heart, he knew it. Have you already had the memorial service for him?

Yes, we had it a couple of days ago. It's all over. The only thing I haven't done is to go over to the manse and gather up all of his personal effects. I just haven't had the strength to do it. I guess I was waiting for you to come home and help me do it.

Of course, I'll help you. We owe it to him to do it together. We can do it tomorrow if you'd like.

By this time, they all have tears in their eyes, and they are gathered closely around David, hugging him. There is nothing to be said, not a word. Minutes go by, and finally, Sarah speaks quietly.

Why don't we go to baggage claim and get our luggage, and then we can all go home and have a nice cup of tea? Shall we?

Over the next few days, she and Rosa share their stories and have their film developed. And after their photos arrive, they have more stories to share. Since Rosa is so enthusiastic and articulate, her history class teacher invites her to share her experience of Israel, and she does, holding her classmates spellbound.

One evening, after Rosa and Joseph have gone to bed, they are looking over all the photos, maps, tourist pamphlets, and other things they brought back from Israel.

What do you think, sweetheart?

Well, I'm glad I went and took Rosa with me. After all, it is part of her history. And the experience will be part of her life, whether or not she ever goes back to Israel or wants to pursue Judaism as a faith, which I kind of doubt.

Visiting all those places did bring back memories, but it didn't awaken any desire to live there again. As I should have expected, most of the memories were bittersweet - my old family home, King David's Tomb, the grove of trees where the Garden Café used to be, your bedroom at Pension Ada - they all had both happy and sad memories. I think the places with the happiest memories were Ein Gedi, my little bedroom at Victoria's family's home, and the building where we were married.

Only a few people were really important to me. Nonna is gone, Papa is nearly gone, and I had a wonderful visit with Joseph, Victoria, Linda, Hannah, and Moshe. But, honestly, Jerusalem and the Perrera and Sasson families are part of my past, my personal history. I treasure the memories, but my future is here in Montana with you and our children and my art.

There's something else. I realize now that I missed you much more than I was willing to admit while I was there. Missing you somehow made the experience less colorful and less real. I don't ever want to be away from you again. From now on, if we go somewhere, we go together, alright?

I feel the same way. I realized while you were gone that you really are my soulmate, mi media naranja. My memories from before I met you twenty years ago have faded, and now, nothing in my life is real until you know about it. I have no idea what I would do without you. I would just be lost. So, yes, from now on, if we go somewhere, we go together.

I'm curious, though. While you were visiting with Joseph, Victoria and Linda, did the subject ever come up about them coming to Montana for a visit?

Yes, it did, and I extended the invitation because I knew you would be alright with me doing that. But it would be even more expensive for them, so I'm not sure it's realistic right now. Maybe in a couple of years, or maybe Victoria and Linda would come, or maybe Linda by herself in three years when she's eighteen. Rosa and Linda became very close, so I think we can let the girls continue their relationship and see what happens.

* * * * *

Rosa and Linda remain lifelong friends, and Linda comes to America several years later, after her eighteenth birthday. And while she appreciates the natural beauty of Montana, it feels as strange to her as Israel had felt to Rosa. While the girls continue to write to each other over the years, their correspondence becomes only Hanukkah and Christmas cards with pictures of their families. And then later in life, they become friends on social media. But Linda never returns to America, and neither Sarah nor Rosa ever return to Israel.

SCENE 32 - EQUINE THERAPY AND JOHN F. KENNEDY
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

Late in the spring of 1963, after Rosa has spent one Saturday morning at the stables, grooming and riding Serena, Sarah arrives to drive her home.

Hi Mom. Thanks for coming to get me. Just think, I'll be sixteen in October, and then I'll get my driver's license. You won't have to drive me everywhere.

I don't mind driving you, sweetheart. Did you have fun this morning? How is Serena?

Serena is wonderful. She likes apples and carrots, but she really loves peeled bananas, and we had a great ride together this morning. Oh, I'm supposed to give you this.

What's this?

I don't know. Something about equine therapy. The staff asked me if anyone in my family was a war veteran, and when I said Dad had been a fighter pilot in World War II, they asked me to give this to you and Dad.

This is interesting. It seems they've begun to use horses in therapy for veterans suffering from combat stress. I'm very interested in this, and I'm sure your dad will be, too.

Did Dad ever suffer from combat stress?

Oh, yes. When we first arrived in Missoula, he had what I would describe as survivor's guilt. And over the years he's had a nightmare every two or three months about his experiences during the war. Sometimes, he'll wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. I feel so sorry for him, but I've never known what to do for him other than just holding him and telling him how much I love him. I'll definitely talk with him about this.

They talk about it, and after some reluctance, David agrees to take Rosa to the stables the following Saturday to investigate equine therapy. And after they have come home, he and Sarah talk about his experience.

Well, darling, how did it go this morning?

You know, it went better than I'd expected. It's a brand-new program based on the positive experiences of combat veterans in Scandinavia. They asked me about my post-war experiences, and when I said that I had survivor's guilt and had occasional nightmares, they were very interested. Then they assigned a horse to me, and I spent the morning grooming her, walking her around the enclosure, and then riding her with Rosa and Serena, which was a great experience. Afterward, they asked me if I could commit to coming for an hour and a half every Saturday morning for nine weeks. They said they have research funding, so it wouldn't cost us anything. I said I wanted to talk it over with you first.

Oh, darling, I think it could really be helpful. Just imagine if you didn't have any more nightmares about the war. Would you be willing to do it, please, for me? It couldn't hurt, and it might really be helpful.

You're right, it couldn't hurt, and it might even be helpful, plus it will give me a chance to spend some time with Rosa. Alright, sweetheart, I will do it, for both of us.

Oh, thank you. I really have a good feeling about this.

David enrolls in the equine therapy course for nine weeks. After that, he sees enough positive benefits that he enrolls for another nine weeks. And after that, he never again has a nightmare about the war, for which they are both very grateful.

* * * * *

And then, a couple of months later, on Friday, November 22nd, 1963, the tragedy that shocks the entire nation, including David, Sarah, Rosa, and Joseph, takes place, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Sarah calls David at their company, Bitterroot Valley Home Builders, with the news.

David, I just turned on the television. Did you hear the news? President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas this morning.

Oh, no. That's terrible. I'll turn on the radio. Will they close the schools and send Rosa and Joseph home?

I don't know. President Kennedy was just here in Great Falls at the end of September. Everyone loved him. Who would do such a thing?

I don't know. Oh, one of the staff is asking me about it right now, if I should close the office and send the construction crews home for the rest of the day, out of respect. What do you think?

Yes, I think you should. You don't have any concrete foundation pours today, do you?

No, nothing that can't be shut down quickly.

Then I would do it and come home, please. I have a feeling Rosa and Joseph will be home soon.

Alright, I'll see you soon.

Rosa and Joseph are released from school at lunchtime, and the school buses bring them home. David and Sarah have the television on with the sound turned down. The mood is very somber.

What was it like at school for you both?

It was awful, Mom. All the teachers were crying. It's just so sad. I don't understand who would do such a thing. He was a wonderful president, and he and Jackie and John Jr., and Caroline were such a lovely family.

I know, sweetheart. It's just unthinkable.


SCENE 33 - A LITTLE GREEN CONVERTIBLE SPORTS CAR
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Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

On April 10th, 1967, the family celebrates Sarah's forty-third birthday. David will be fifty in July, Rosa will be twenty, and Joseph eighteen in October. It has been nearly twenty-two years since World War II ended, and David brought Sarah to America. She has become a celebrated Montana landscape artist, and together they own a residential construction company that he manages.

In May, after they had discussed it for several months, he finally convinces her to let him buy them a new 1967 MGB convertible.

I'm not sure why you think you need a little convertible sports car. Can you explain it to me, please?

Ever since I borrowed that little yellow MG-TA Midget roadster and drove us to Ein Gedi on our first real date, and again a year later on our honeymoon, I've thought it would be a lot of fun to own a little British sports car, especially in British Racing Green. I don't know why. Maybe it reminds me of sitting in the cockpit of a Hawker Hurricane.

Well, if it's really important to you, of course, I won't deny you the pleasure. I think you're just having a delayed mid-life crisis, but go ahead and buy it.

However, as soon as she gets behind the wheel and takes it for a drive, she discovers that she loves the feeling of freedom and independence she has while driving it. She understands how Rosa must feel on horseback and how David must have felt piloting a Hawker Hurricane.

So, it is not long before they have this conversation.

Seriously, David, it makes no sense for our lovely green convertible to be sitting in the construction company parking lot getting dirty when I could be driving it to the supermarket, the art gallery, or any place else.

Well, what do you suggest I drive?

Doesn't the company own a Ford F-100 pickup truck? Why don't you drive that to work and leave the convertible and the Ford Ranch Wagon for me to drive.

Alright, but you know, I'm beginning to think that I actually bought the MGB for you, and I just didn't realize it at the time. Maybe I bought it for both of our mid-life crises, not just mine, as you had teased me.

And I thank you for it, darling. I love driving it, and I wish you'd bought it for us years ago. Would you like to take it for a drive this weekend? We could go down the Bitterroot Valley or up into the mountains to Lolo Hot Springs. But I want to drive it at least part of the way, alright?

Yes, let's take it for a drive this Sunday. And, of course, you may drive it. I must admit that you do look good sitting behind the steering wheel with a smile on your face and your hair blowing around your head scarf.

SCENE 34 - ROSA AND KIERKEGAARD
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Give Me a Smile - John Barry - 4:49

In September of 1967, Rosa begins her sophomore year at the University of Montana in Missoula [the name changed from MSU two years earlier]. As she and Sarah had agreed before their journey to Israel, she is living at home for her first two years of college. She has decided she wants to be an attorney, which David and Sarah think is a great choice given her personality, so she is majoring in Political Science and Economics.

Rosa has a boyfriend named Matthew, who has already asked her to marry him. But she is as focused on law school as she was on Israel and Zionism six years earlier. She tells him she has to concentrate on her studies so she will have the grade point average she needs to get into law school. And she will not even consider marriage until she finishes law school, which is six years in the future.

He seems like a really nice boy, David, and I'm certain they are soulmates. Did she tell you how he proposed to her? He packed a picnic lunch and took her for a hike up Mt. Sentinel to the 'M' sign. Then he explained to her that the 'M' meant 'Marry Matthew.' He's a real romantic, just like you.

Well, I like our story best of all.

You mean flying two hours to come to me, and then knocking on my door and asking me to marry you? Yes, that is pretty hard to beat. Well, I just hope she's not making the mistake I almost made, choosing duty instead of love.

Would you like me to have a little talk with her? I could quote the Kierkegaard to her.

I love that quote, but I think if we've learned anything about Rosa, it's that we shouldn't interfere in her life.

I guess so, especially if we want to encourage her to continue living here with us.

One morning, a week later, after David has gone to work, Rosa comes into her studio.

Mom, someone slipped this photo of you and Dad under my door last night, and there's something written on the back. Do you know anything about it?

No, sweetheart, I don't. 'To cheat oneself out of love is the most terrible deception...' Oh, that's by Kierkegaard. It's your dad's favorite quote. Please don't be angry with him. I'm sure he means well.

I'm not angry with him, Mom. I think it's beautiful. This photo was taken on your honeymoon, wasn't it? You and Dad look like you were really in love with each other.

Yes, we were, and we still are. And you were the first expression of that love.

Is that when Dad first quoted this Kierkegaard to you, Mom, on your honeymoon?

Sarah closes her eyes, remembering the terrible letter she had written to him, his wonderful reply with the Kierkegaard quotation, asking her to marry him, and then four days later, hearing his knock at Victoria's door, opening it and melting into his arms.

Actually, it was almost a year earlier, in a letter, when he asked me to marry him.

Well, he's really given me something to think about. Maybe there's a way for me to not 'cheat myself out of love,' and have both law school and Matthew.

We hope so, sweetheart. All we want is for you to be happy.

That evening, when David comes home and walks into the kitchen, she greets him with a kiss and an embrace.

Mm, well, your Kierkegaard seems to have worked.

I hoped it would. It was worth a shot, anyway.

 

SCENE 35 - JOSEPH AND THE VIETNAM WAR
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Swept from the Sea - John Barry - 12:37
 

Later in 1967, after Joseph's eighteenth birthday, he and David talk about the Vietnam War.

Dad, can I talk to you?

Sure, Joseph. Is this about Vietnam? Did you go downtown to the draft board and register?

I did. I found out this year the Military Selective Service Act expanded the draft-eligible ages to eighteen to fifty-five. I can still get a 1-S student deferment, but it ends when I'm twenty-four or when I get my bachelor's degree.

So, you're eighteen now, just starting your senior year at Sentinel High. It sounds like you'll have five or possibly six years of student deferment, and who knows where the war will be by 1973.

That's what I've been thinking. But I want to know what you think I should do in case the draft law changes.

I would say, based on my experience as an RAF pilot in World War II, the last place you want to be is in the Army. So, if the draft law changes and you have to scramble, I'd try to enlist in the Air Force first and then the Navy, unless the Coast Guard is recruiting, and then you might choose them over the Navy.

Thanks, Dad. That's kind of what I was thinking, too. Air Force, then the Coast Guard or the Navy.

You can come and talk to me any time about this, Joseph. It's strange to think that, in 1939, I got on a bus and went to Calgary to join the RAF, and now young men are making the same trip to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War.

Speaking of the RAF, Dad, suppose I wanted to be a pilot like you were? How would that work?

Well, every service has aircraft now, and usually, you have to be a commissioned officer. In the Air Force, you can get your commission through college ROTC, the Air Force Academy, or at officer training school after you get your degree. Then, if you're selected, you go to basic pilot training, which takes about a year. After that, you go to advanced pilot training for the aircraft you'll be flying - fighter, bomber, transport, tanker. That's based on your pilot training class rank when you graduate, and the top-ranked students usually pick fighter aircraft. Speaking of becoming a pilot, Joseph, your mom might have a very strong opinion about that.

Oh, right. I forgot about Mom.

I'm sure you didn't mean it that way, Joseph, but please, don't ever forget about your mom. She's the most incredible person I've ever known. She carried you for nine months, gave birth to you, nursed you at her breast, and she will always love you, no matter what. If you only remember two days a year, remember her birthday and the day she gave you life. Oh, and Mother's Day - that makes three. Can you do that for me?

Yes, Dad, and thanks for reminding me.

And Sarah, standing around the corner, eyes closed, quietly listening to the conversation, gently rests her head against the wall and wipes a tear from her cheek.

* * * * *

Joseph graduates from Sentinel High School in 1968 and enrolls at Montana State University in Bozeman. The following year, in 1969, the draft law changes from a draft of the oldest first system to a lottery system. The first lottery, held on December 1st, 1969, applies to all men born between 1944 and 1950, including Joseph, who had been born on October 14th, 1949. When the lottery is held, October 14th is number 294, and Sarah assures them he will not be called. The highest number called is 195, so Joseph is never drafted, to the total relief of the whole family.

* * * * *

 

Joseph majors in structural engineering at Montana State University, following in his father's footsteps. After graduating in 1972, he joins his family's residential construction company, Bitterroot Valley Home Builders. Several years later, he enrolls in the Executive MBA Program at the U of M to prepare himself to manage the company after David retires.

SCENE 36 - ROSA AND A GRANDCHILD
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Lullabying - John Barry - 3:17

In the spring of 1968, Rosa is completing her second year at the University of Montana. She and Sarah have this conversation.

Mom, have you ever heard of the Maharishi?

No, sweetheart, who's that?

Apparently, he's an Indian guru, and the Beatles went to his ashram in India this February. It was in the news, and there's an organization on campus called the Students International Meditation Society, and they've been publicizing it. They're giving an introductory lecture Wednesday evening on Transcendental Meditation, and I thought I'd go and hear it. Meditation is supposed to improve memory and attention, so it might be helpful.

That sounds really interesting. I'd like to hear more about it after you've been to the lecture.

Oh, there's something else I want to share with you, Mom. You know I'm taking art history as an elective. I was in the department office this afternoon. When I introduced myself, one of the older professors heard me and asked me if I was related to Sarah Bradley.

What did you say?

I said I was your daughter, and his eyes lit up, and he smiled. He said they're really proud of you - that you've become so successful. When you first enrolled as a freshman in September of 1945, everyone was fascinated by you. You were unique, and some students signed up to study art and art history just because of you.

Yes, I remember those days. That was the first autumn after I'd arrived in Missoula with your dad. It was all so new and exciting, and I loved everything, especially the university. I'd never experienced anything like that kind of freedom, discussing new ideas and theories. I still love everything, of course, but now it's familiar and comfortable. Thank you, sweetheart, for reminding me of that wonderful time in my life.

* * * * *

Sweetheart, did you ever go to that meditation lecture?

Yes, Mom, and it sounded really interesting. So I decided to start meditating. The initiation is this Saturday morning and I have to bring some flowers, a couple of pieces of fruit, and a handkerchief, and it costs thirty-five dollars to start.

Well, after you've started meditating, you can tell me how you like it. I'm very curious.

* * * * *

Rosa never transfers to UW in Seattle. She remains at the U of M, graduating with honors in 1970 with a double major in Political Science and Economics. She is accepted into the U of M School of Law in Missoula, graduating three years later with a J.D. degree. After graduation, she marries Matthew, her first love, to the delight of Sarah and David. After she passes the Montana Bar, she goes to work for a Missoula law firm where she specializes in commercial litigation, focusing on real estate and construction disputes. On rare occasions, she even represents her family's residential construction company.

Then, a year later, in the spring of 1974, just before Sarah's fiftieth birthday, Rosa calls her.

Mom, I was at the doctor's office this morning. I wanted you to be the first to know. I have a birthday gift for you. In about six months, you'll be a grandmother.

Oh, that's wonderful, sweetheart. I'm so happy for you and Matthew, and you know who will be just as happy?

I know, Mom. I'll call Matthew, then I'll call Dad. And Mom, if it's a girl, I want to name her Sarah Rosa for you and Nonna. What do you think?

I think you're going to make me cry, sweetheart. I think it's wonderful, and I'm sure your great-grandmother will think so, too. You have no idea how much this means to me. I love you very much.

I love you, too, Mom. I'll talk to you later.

Six months later, Rosa and Matthew are blessed with the birth of a daughter, and they name her Sarah Rosa. So the name Rosa has spanned five generations, from Sarah's grandmother to her granddaughter.

SCENE 37 - A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
A River Runs Through It Theme Song - Mark Isham - 3:20

Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41

One afternoon in the autumn of 1976, David, now fifty-nine, drives home from work, comes in from the garage, and sees a book lying on the dining table. Nobody is there, but he faintly hears Born Free from the soundtrack by John Barry, so he knows Sarah is in her studio painting. He picks up the book A River Runs Through It and Other Stories and, recognizing the name Norman Maclean, turns it over and reads the back cover.

Sarah has heard him come in, so she stops painting and comes out to greet him.

Did you have a good day at work, darling? I see you found the book.

Yes, I did, sweetheart, and you?

Yes, I did, too. I was walking past the bookstore downtown on my way to the gallery and saw this in the window. I remember your dad had talked about the name 'Maclean,' so I read the back cover and knew I had to buy it for you.

Interesting. I recognized the author's name, Norman Maclean. Norman is the son of John Maclean, the minister at the First Presbyterian Church just before Dad. He died in 1941, the year before we met in Jerusalem. Norman and his younger brother Paul were raised here, so this is all about growing up in Missoula and fly fishing these rivers. This is my history, sweetheart. Thank you so much for finding this. I will really enjoy reading it.

I thought you would. I wish your dad could have lived to read it, but I guess he would have been pretty old, wouldn't he?

Yes, he'd have been about ninety-six. But he knew the Maclean family, so he definitely would have enjoyed reading it or having me read it to him.

Years later, Robert Redford would turn Norman Maclean's story into the film A River Runs Through It. David would take Sarah to see it at The Wilma Theatre, and they would love it.

SCENE 38 - DAVID RETIRES
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41
Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

As David once observed, there was no question that Sarah was a lovely teenager. But it was in her twenties that she became beautiful, like the blossoming of a rosebud.

He never knew whether it was being married to him, living in Montana, motherhood, painting mountain landscapes, or all of them together. But to David, she was always beautiful.

* * * * *

In October of 1980, Somewhere in Time comes to theaters, and she tells him she wants to see it.

Darling, this new film is playing downtown at The Wilma, and I'd really like to see it. It's about a playwright who falls in love with an actress from her picture, and travels back in time to be with her. It reminds me a little of our story, of your traveling back to the Old World to find me and marry me. Also, John Barry wrote the score, and he's my favorite composer. I love his music - he paints with sound the way I paint with oils and acrylics. So, will you take me?

Of course, sweetheart. How about this Saturday?

Wonderful! We'll have a Saturday date night! I'll put some Medjool dates in my handbag, and we can nibble on them while we watch the film.

* * * * *

It is the autumn of 1982, forty years after they first met at the Garden Café behind the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. He is sixty-five, and she is fifty-eight.

He is approaching retirement, although he loves his work and is trying to stay active. She continues to grow in popularity as a Rocky Mountain landscape artist. Occasionally, she accepts a commission to paint an iconic landscape, such as St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, the Maroon Bells in Colorado, or Lake Louise in Alberta, Canada. Then, they will go on a road trip together in their little green MGB convertible to see the landscape. She is always inspired and quietly grateful that he came to Jerusalem, found her, married her, and brought her to America so she could have these beautiful experiences.

* * * * *

Then, one day in the autumn of 1984, she is in her studio painting. She tunes her radio to a U of M campus station that often plays newly released songs. The student disc jockey introduces a new release from Canadian poet and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen titled Hallelujah.

Her attention goes to the radio. She recognizes the word hallelujah from the Hebrew Bible Tehillim, or Psalms. She knows it is a combination of the two Hebrew words hallel, meaning praise, and jah, meaning God. And then she hears Leonard Cohen begin to sing.

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord...

She sets down her brush, sits back, closes her eyes, and listens, and it is one of the most hauntingly beautiful songs she has ever heard. As she listens and hears the word hallelujah again and again, half-forgotten memories of her childhood in Jerusalem fifty years earlier are awakened, and her eyes fill with tears. And while she is grateful that David found her, married her, and brought her to America, that they had two beautiful children together, and that she had the talent to capture the beauty of Montana in her art, she is also grateful to have been born and raised in a Sephardic Jewish family in Jerusalem. So she says a silent prayer of thanks to her mother and her Papa, and to her beloved Nonna.

* * * * *

In the summer of 1987, after his seventieth birthday, David turns the management of the family's residential construction company over to their son Joseph, and he retires. Sarah is sixty-three and is enjoying painting landscapes as much as ever. Rosa and Joseph are married and have children, so Sarah and David are grandparents and are blessed to be able to enjoy their grandchildren whenever they like.

Retirement is difficult for David, however. He misses the daily challenges and rewards of managing their construction company, and sometimes he thinks he retired too early, although he has no doubts about Joseph's ability to manage the company.

One sunny autumn morning, he wanders around their home and stands quietly at the door of Sarah's studio, watching her paint and wishing he could do something as beautiful and productive.

And then he goes out to the garage, backs out their little green MGB convertible, washes it, and dries it with a chamois cloth. Then he puts his fly fishing gear in the trunk and comes into the house.

Sweetheart, I'm going out for a little drive. I might even drive down to the Bitterroot or over to the Blackfoot and do some fly fishing. Would you like to come with me? You could drive.

No, I really want to finish this painting. Go ahead and enjoy yourself.

He thinks about reminding her that after she and Rosa had returned from their visit to Israel, they had agreed that from then on, whenever they went anywhere, they would go together. But he also knows that having lived with Sarah for most of their lives, when she says no, she means no.

Is there anything you want me to pick up at the supermarket?

No, there's nothing we need. You go and have a good time.

He recalls that there was a time when she would have set down her brush and palette, come to her studio door, embraced him, kissed him, called him darling, and wished him luck fly fishing. But this morning, she does not even stop painting. Wistfully, he turns away and goes out the kitchen door.

She goes to the living room, hears the garage door close, and watches him drive off. Then she picks up the phone and calls her son.

Joseph?

Hi, Mom. How are you and Dad today?

We're fine, sweetheart, but sometimes your dad gets on my nerves. What's that joke about retirement? Twice as much husband and half as much money? He just washed the convertible and took it out for a drive. He said he might go fly fishing, but you never know.

I understand, Mom, and thanks for the heads up. If he shows up here, I'm sure I can find something for him to do. Our warehouse manager is taking inventory, and I'm sure he'd be glad to have Dad help him.

That's perfect. Your dad always loved taking inventory. Thank you so much. Will we see you and your family one of these days?

Sure, Mom. I'll talk to Cristina, we'll pick a weekend evening, and we'll all come over for dinner. We'll even bring the pizza.

That sounds wonderful, and you can leave the children here overnight so you and Cristina can have some time alone. Call me when you've picked the evening, and thanks again for putting your dad to work. I love you.

I love you too, Mom. But I'm curious. Why do you and Dad love your grandchildren so much?

Oh, sweetheart. It's because we see you and your sister in them. They take us back to when you were that age and we were thirty years younger.

Oh, of course. I love you, Mom.

I love you, too, sweetheart, more than you can imagine.

* * * * *

The afternoon shadows are lengthening when David drives up the street and turns into their driveway. She has been watching for him, so she goes out to the garage and waits while the garage door opens, and he drives in. She stands there as he gets out of the car. He can tell that she is very upset.

I had the feeling you wanted some time to yourself, so I went to the office and helped them take inventory. And then I drove over to the Blackfoot and did a little afternoon fly fishing.

Joseph told you I called him, didn't he?

Yes, he did.

Well, now I wish that I hadn't. I know being retired is hard on you. It's hard on me, too. But you are my whole life, and I love you and care about you more than I can say. If you want me to come with you, just say: 'Sarah, I really want you to come with me.' You know you're much more important to me than any painting.

I know, sweetheart. And from now on, I will. And I'm sorry.

And I'm sorry, too. So, tell me about fishing. Was the Blackfoot lovely? And did you catch anything?

Yes, it was lovely. You would have enjoyed it. And I caught a couple of very nice brown trout. I'll clean and fillet them for you.

Alright, and after you've done that, while you get cleaned up, I'll cook some long-grain white rice, steam some asparagus, and pan-sear your trout Mediterranean-style. I'm sure we have a lime, and I think we even have a bottle of chardonnay in the refrigerator. Would you like that?

I would love it. You know that's my favorite dinner.

Yes, darling, I know it is.

SCENE 39 - WE WILL NEVER SAY GOODBYE
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]

A River Runs Through It - Mark Isham - 3:20
Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41

It is the autumn of 2002, sixty years after they had first met at the Garden Café. Sarah is seventy-eight, and David is eighty-five. They are out for a walk together, enjoying the brisk cold air and the changing colors of the foliage, when suddenly he feels nauseated, with a pressure in his chest as though a great weight is pressing down on him. He is having a heart attack, the same thing that happened to his father forty years earlier. He sits down on the sidewalk and slumps over.

I think you'd better call 911, sweetheart.

With trembling hands, she takes her new cell phone out of her handbag and hurriedly presses 911. She gives the dispatcher their location and is assured that an ambulance is on the way.

They said the ambulance is on the way, David.
 

However, she knows, intuitively, that these are their last moments together in this lifetime, although it is hard for her to accept. She cradles his head in her lap, stroking his cheeks, her tears falling freely onto her hands and his face.

Stay with me, David. Don't leave me. Please, don't leave me. I don't know what I would do without you.

I love you, sweetheart. Thank you for being my soulmate, mi media naranja. I have always loved you. I have tried to be a good husband, the kind of husband you deserve. I know that, a long time ago, I promised you we would never have to say 'goodbye,' but...

Then we won't say it, my darling. We will say 'until we are together again.' Remember, we are old souls. We have been together before, and we will be together again. If you must leave me, promise me you will wait for me to come to you.

He is very weak now, and his voice is faint.

Yes, sweetheart. I promise. I will wait for you to come to me. I love you, Sarah.

I love you too, David, more than you will ever know. You have been a wonderful husband. Thank you for being my soulmate, for finding me and marrying me and bringing me to Montana, for taking care of me and giving me Rosa and Joseph and this wonderful life. I promise I will come to you and we will be together again. I love you, my darling.

And there, on that sidewalk, he passes away in her arms, secure in the knowledge that finding her in Jerusalem was the best thing that ever happened to him, and the day she married him was the best day of his life.

Moments later, the ambulance arrives, and two paramedics leap out. One leans over them, quickly checking David's vital signs, while the other opens the back doors and pulls the wheeled gurney out.

Ma'am, you have to let him go. Ma'am.

No, I can't.

We have to put him on the gurney to take him to the emergency room. You can ride with him, ma'am.

Alright, yes.

The paramedics transfer him to the gurney, then wheel it into the back of the ambulance and help her into the back. While they are riding to the emergency room, she calls Rosa and Joseph to tell them to come to the hospital. But David has already gone.

* * * * *

After David passes away, there is a subtle but definite change in her art. Her landscapes become colder and darker, her colors more muted, as though the light has gone from her life. The gallery owner quietly observes that, because of this change, her work is not quite as popular as it used to be. She knows this herself, but she continues to paint out of habit because she does not know what else to do with herself.

* * * * *

Each year, on David's birthday in July, when she feels especially sad and lonely and misses him unbearably, she goes out to the garage, takes the car cover off their little green convertible, and sits in the driver's seat, her fingers caressing the steering wheel. She closes her eyes and remembers the wonderful adventures they had in it, the scenic drives they took in the years after Rosa and Joseph had grown up and gotten married, and it was just the two of them together again. She does not even notice that the paint is faded and cracked, the soft top and upholstery are worn, and the carpets are frayed. And then, as the tears trickle down her cheeks, she gently rests her forehead on the steering wheel and whispers: Oh, David, David, my darling. I miss you so much it hurts.

* * * * *

One day, in the summer of 2007, she and Joseph are in the garage looking through some boxes of his old childhood toys that she thinks he might want to keep. Joseph turns and contemplates the forty-year-old convertible hidden under its car cover.

You know, Mom, we could have your MGB restored - new paint, soft top, upholstery, carpeting, wire wheels, tires, rebuild the engine and transmission. It would be like new again. Or at least we could have it tuned up so you could drive it again.

Then he sees the tears welling up in his mother's eyes and trickling down her cheeks, and he realizes how thoughtless and insensitive he had been.

And where could I drive it? Could I drive it to where my David is? Could I take him in my arms and kiss him and hug him? Could I take him for a drive down the Bitterroot Valley, up into the mountains to Lolo Hot Springs, or all the way to Glacier Park? Could I?

Tenderly, lovingly, Joseph enfolds her in his arms.

No, Mom, you couldn't. Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking.

She sniffles tearfully.

It's alright, sweetheart. I'm sure you meant well.


SCENE 40 - SARAH'S FINAL LANDSCAPE
[Click to select the background music, click to start it playing, right-click and select Loop, then return to this window to read the scene.]
Somewhere in Time - John Barry - 3:41

Returning Home - John Barry - 4:12

In the late spring of 2017, at the age of ninety-three, Sarah paints her final landscape and sets down her brush and palette for the last time. On July 2nd, she and Rosa and Joseph celebrate the hundredth anniversary of David's birth in 1917. Then Sarah tells them she has had enough of this life and wants to be with her beloved David again. So, she stops eating and stops taking her medications, and the hospice nurse tells Rosa and Joseph that this is not unusual among soulmates.

I am sure that you both can understand. Even though it has been fifteen years since your dad passed away, I still miss him every day, so much that it hurts. I can feel that he is waiting for me, and I cannot keep him waiting any longer. It is time for me to be with him again and for us to continue our journey together. Be well, and know that I love you both very much.

* * * * *

Seven years later, on Wednesday, April 10th, 2024, Rosa and Joseph sit together on the back deck of the now seventy-five-year-old family home, enjoying the warm sunshine and quietly celebrating the hundredth anniversary of their mother's birth in 1924. Rosa is seventy-six, and Joseph is seventy-four. They are both retired now, and both have grandchildren. They are joined by Rosa's eldest daughter, Sarah Rosa, now forty-nine, who lives in the home with her own family, who dearly loved her grandmother and wanted to participate in the celebration.

With Sarah's CD of the soundtrack from Somewhere in Time playing faintly in the background and with her final landscape painting resting on the chair beside them, they enjoy a cup of her favorite tea while Rosa and Joseph share some of their now-fading memories of growing up together, agreeing that they were very blessed to have had Sarah and David as parents.

They recall that their mother had told them she and their father were soulmates and old souls. They had been together before and would be together again. So they all join hands, close their eyes, and send a silent wish out to the universe that Sarah and David have found each other and are reunited at last.

* * * * *

We need not shed any tears for Sarah and David. He found her in Jerusalem, and they overcame adversity and lived rich, fulfilling lives together for sixty years, lives filled with love, while they grew spiritually and enriched the lives of those around them. And no one can ask any more of their life than that. And on the other side of the veil, he waited for her to join him, and, finally, they are reunited, appearing as they did in life when she was twenty-eight and he was thirty-five. And they are still very much in love.

* * * * *

I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you for reading this sequel. As you can tell, this has been a labor of love for me. It felt as though Every Time We Say Goodbye ended in tragedy, that this sequel is the positive, uplifting fulfillment of the film, that the story of Sarah and David's love for one another needed to be told, that it came through me, inspired by an unseen muse or muses, and that I just wrote it down.

Moshe Mizrahi (1930-2018), who wrote the story upon which Every Time We Say Goodbye is based, co-wrote the screenplay, and directed the film, said that he based the story on his own experience. So, as a youth living in the Sephardic community in Jerusalem in 1942, he may have been acquainted with the Perrera family, or he may have heard the story of Sarah and David sometime later.

I believe that Sarah and David were real, that they had lived. I believe it is very likely they are my unseen muses, and this sequel is the story of how their life together unfolded, after the film ended. I feel that I have known them, have shared in their joys and sorrows, have come to love them and feel honored to have been able to tell their story. And although they have passed away, they will live on in me and in anyone who has seen Every Time We Say Goodbye and read this sequel. Because, in the end, all that remains is Love.

* * * * *

For those interested in credits, the pictures of David and Sarah are Tom Hanks and Cristina Marsillach, except that some of Sarah may be Cristina's younger sister Blanca Marsillach. The reason is that between ages 31 and 55 (from 1994 to 2018) Cristina stopped acting and dropped out of sight, so there are almost no pictures of her from this period. The picture of David's father, Reverend Thomas Bradley, is Tom Hanks' real-life father, Amos Mefford Hanks. The three pictures of David and Sarah's daughter Rosa are actress Kyla Kenedy.

The addresses of the First Presbyterian Church and the minister's manse are correct, and the manse was the actual minister's home in the 1940s. David and Sarah's cottage at 2218 Park Street is the actual structure at that address, and it was built in 1940.

* * * * *

Should you find that you are interested in some of the topics touched on in my sequel - karma, reincarnation, soulmates, soul age, destiny, and free will, for example - there are many sources available. One of my favorites is a book by Ainslie MacLeod titled The Old Soul's Guidebook.

And, finally, this sequel is only being publicized by word of mouth. So, if you know someone who you feel would enjoy reading it, please share the link to it with them.

Copyright © 2022, 2023, 2024 by Peter A Bock mauipeterb at hotmail dot com