Salvation - 44. Chapter 43

Life returned to normal, my trips to my office, the trips for the boys continue, and we now had celebrations for birthdays as a group and individually. The pool was finished, and the swimming instructors I hired decide to stay on as lifeguards. Most were college students.

My trips to Europe continued as business warranted.

It was my trip to Israel that turned the tables on my UN doubter.

I was leaving my hotel with Sal and Alex, who now traveled with me. “Carleton, look over there.”

There was a boy dressed as an Arab. The man with him, I recognized as one of the men who was with my antagonist. “Alex, wasn’t that guy with that man at the UN who said he didn’t believe me?”

“Yes, I think he was. Sal, what do you think?”

“Yes, he was sneering all through the presentation. We may have a passenger on the way home.”

Sal went over to talk to him. I saw Sal reach into his pocket, took out some money, and paid the man. Sal took the boy and led him to our hotel. We followed.

Waiting until Sal was in the room for a while, we entered. The boy was undressed and was scared. Sal gave him his robe and told him to put it on. The boy was crying, “The man said he’d kill him if he didn’t do as l commanded.”

Sal sat the boy down on the sofa and told him about us. The boy stopped crying and said he was afraid of the man. Sal said he didn’t need to worry. He was no longer a threat.

Alex offered him a chance to go to the States and live with me. I left the room as they continued to talk to the boy. One hour later, Alex came to find me.

“Carleton, we have a diplomatic problem. The boy is the son of the UN Ambassador that said you made up the story. He doesn’t want to go back to his father. In his religion, he said it was okay to have sex with boys since they must marry virgins. So sex with girls is prohibited and could lead to death.”

“What are we going to do? This is a diplomat.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Get him some clothes, a new passport, and fly him home.”

“My dad is so proud of you. When are you finished here in Israel?”

“In a few days, get his sizes, and stow him on the plane. Jimmy and the crew will hide him.”

Sal went shopping, with new clothes, I hardly recognized the boy. Late that night, he was taken to the plane.

In the morning, a newscast said that a high ranking minister was found dead in an alley behind a house of prostitution. I recognized the man as the one who sold the young man to us.

I had another meeting with the husband of the woman who wanted her son back. “I’m Jewish, and my wife isn’t. She wants the boys raised not as a Jew. My son and I have had long talks. He wants to be like me. Being here in Israel has cemented his feelings about being raised in the Jewish way.

“I’d like to talk with the boy privately, if I may. His mother is quite distraught and wants him back. I understand your position. I need to understand what the boy wants without you or your wide influencing him. I understand he's 14 and is ready for his Bar Mitzvah.”

“Yes, he’ll be 14 in two months. I’ll have him here this afternoon at 2, he has instruction until then.”

Alex and I were at lunch when we were joined by Sal and a young man with blond hair and blue eyes. I looked at Sal, he laughed. “See, I told you they wouldn’t recognize you.”

I looked at Alex and laughed. The boy smiled, “Sal, what a transformation.”

“I don’t think he liked it at first, but now he loves it, right?”

“Yes, you like?”

“Oh yes, you’re a very handsome young man. We need to order. I have a 2 o’clock meeting which may allow us to fly home tonight.”

The waitress came and took our order. She flirted with our boy. “Sal, we need a name for our new friend.”

“How about Achmed?” Looking at the boy, they repeated the name several times and said he preferred Nour.

Alex nodded, and from then on, we addressed him as Nour. The waitress brought us our lunch, which we ate, and pushed the extra toward Alex. Plates went back empty, but that was thanks to Alex. For dessert, we had baklava. That was too sweet for me. Alex finished it.

I asked Sal and Alex to go shopping for Nour. “When I’m finished, I’ll let you know, and we can meet on the plane.”

I met with the young man. He was very respectful. I told him who I was and why I was there. He listened respectfully, “I’ll be 14 in two months. Under Jewish law, I’m a man. I love my mother, but I love the Jewish religion. Living over here, it has become alive for me. If I have to choose, I’ll choose my father.”

“You understand that this will hurt your mother?” I had to pull the heart cord to do my job.

“Yes, I understand that, but if she would accept me being Jewish, then she can become a part of my life again. In the past, all of the arguments between her and my dad were over religion.”

“It seems strange that religion becomes a source of hate. If I understand the Jewish religion, it is based on love, love of God, and love of fellow man.”

“Yes, that is what I am learning in preparation for my Bar Mitzvah.”

“What do you want me to tell your mother?”

“Tell her I love her, and I want to follow the Jewish religion. If she could accept that, then I’ll come home with dad.”

“Why don’t you write that, I’ll confirm it to her, but it’ll mean a lot for her to have it come from you.”

He smiled and said he would have a letter for me in a few minutes.

I knew his mother isn’t going to like this, but he’s going to be a man under Jewish law soon. If she’s smart, she’ll accept his condition, and she’ll be in his life. The ball is in her court, and I feel she’ll not accept this and won’t see him again. Foolish when you get hung up on religion.

I waited for his letter, 15 minutes later he handed me the letter, “You need to seal it’”

His dad came into the room, “Moses has told me what you have discussed. What do you think will happen?”

“Honestly, I don’t think she’ll accept Moses being Jewish. I wish you the best, and I’ll send you a letter letting you know what happened.”

“Will you send me your bill? I’ll pay for it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, even though she won’t accept Moses’s decision, I still love her.”

I looked at him, such a foolish woman, “Okay, I’ll send you the invoice.”

I shook his hand, hugged Moses, and left.

“How did it go?”

“You know people are so stupid. I beautiful young man is disinherited from his mother because he wants to be raised in his father’s religion. In two months, according to Jewish law, he is an adult.”

“So we’re ready to leave?”

“Yes”

“I liked to stop and see Dad. I need papers anyway.”