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The Touch of Love
-- EXCERPT: WARSAW, POLAND AUGUST 1939 As the two brothers walked with naive swagger down the city as if they owned it, Ezra’s plan came spilling out with eager enthusiasm: “We’re going to join the Polish army.” Jakob stopped immediately in his tracks on the Warsaw sidewalk. He didn’t care that they were in front of a restaurant with a large window full of patrons who would see their confrontation. For the first time that he could remember since his mother’s death, he found himself in stark disagreement with his older brother. “No way,” Jakob said plainly. This caught Ezra off guard, and he turned to see Jakob standing defiantly behind him. Frustration came barreling out of Ezra: “Well, we have to!” “No way.” Jakob’s body language gave away that he wasn’t budging on the issue. “Think about it, Jakob,” Ezra was now pleading. “War is right on Poland’s doorstep. Look around you. See all of this? This is just a facade. In a few short months, either Germany or the Soviets – if not both – will be invading. What you see around you won’t be here forever.” “So, what if I want to enjoy it while it’s here – instead of running off to war?” As Jakob said it, he could see the light of Ezra’s plan die in Ezra’s eyes. Jakob knew it wasn’t just a plan he was spoiling – it was Ezra’s dream. And in the heat of their abrupt disagreement, Jakob let that spill out as an insult. “You’re the dreamer, Ezra. You always have been. And I’ve always followed you through your dreams. But this isn’t a dream. This is reality. And people die in war.” Ezra knew that what Jakob just said was right – he was a dreamer. He always so easily got swept up into dreams and ambitions that he never stopped to realize their effect on his younger brother. But this time, that wasn’t the case. Ezra’s plan had been thought out extensively before divulging it. Despite his natural inclination to give into the heat of their disagreement, Ezra’s tone calmed down. He loved his Jakob – like nothing else in the world. They’d been more than brothers since their parents’ deaths. They’d been friends. Confidants. Life rafts. Shoulders for each other to both cry and laugh on. So, in this moment, Ezra’s natural instinct toward conflict was overcome by his even stronger inclination to love his brother. “I know, I know, Jakob. I’ve led you on some crazy paths since mom died.” Ezra then put his hand on Jakob’s shoulder to bridge the gap between them – both emotionally and physically. “But this isn’t about my dreams. It’s about what’s real.” “And then what, Ezra?” Jakob’s tone was mellowing out. “We just hope to survive the war? Wouldn’t you rather go somewhere safe and let other people fight a war that isn’t ours?” “We’d survive. Look at us – two orphans that don’t need much, who have always found a way to survive.” Ezra smiled at having just referenced their prior pointless disagreement about whether they were orphans. “And then afterwards, we’ll open an orphanage.” This made Jakob chuckle out loud and playfully push Ezra in the shoulder. “Not funny. But I’ll think about the whole army thing.” “No, I mean it, Jakob. Someone’s gotta show all the other orphans how to survive. Who better than you and me?” Now that they’d made up, Ezra went to put his arm around his brother’s shoulder to keep walking down the Warsaw sidewalk. Ezra’s mind normally would be filled with dreams at this point, now that there was a glimmer of hope for them to enlist in the Polish army. But his dreams were immediately cut short. Jakob wasn’t moving. It was as though he was frozen in place. Ezra quickly turned to look his brother in the eyes to see what the deal was. And for the first time, he saw dreams shining in Jakob’s own eyes. They’d always followed Ezra’s dreams, but now, for the first time, Ezra could instantly tell that Jakob had been struck with his own overbearing dream. The stark light beaming from Jakob’s glance emanated a look different than any other he’d ever seen his brother make before. Ezra curiously followed his brother’s line of sight to see what had unexpectedly and wholeheartedly captivated Jakob. Then he saw it. Or, rather – he saw her. Jakob was staring through the large restaurant window next to them, and at the lounge piano providing background music for the patrons. And seated at that piano was the centerpiece of not only Jakob’s attention, but what Ezra recognized as the centerpiece of Jakob’s very being in this moment. Behind the piano was, undeniably, a beautiful Jewish woman, whose blue eyes had met Jakob’s by happenstance, yet now was staring back at him with a consumption matching his. Ezra knew it immediately by just observing the unspoken spark between his brother and the Jewish woman. Things were now going to be different for the two brothers. 
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