CHAPTER 18

Ganya rarely slept in, and the brightness of the sun through the willow leaves seemed almost unnatural by the time she opened her eyes. She moved and stretched beneath the covers, enjoying that perfect warmth of morning blankets.

And then she remembered.

She turned on her side and looked at Avi’s pillow. She didn’t cry. She just stared for a very long time. While her eyes remained still, her mind replayed his disappearance over and over again. She wished she could be happy for him. But for now, her heart ached.

She heard a few clanks of pots and pans followed by the sizzle and smell of bacon. Good. My worries for Tovi were unfounded. She is still here.

It took great effort to pull back the blankets and put her feet in the slippers beside her bed. With one last great sigh, she forced herself to stand and shuffle into the kitchen. It was time to put her sorrow aside and go take care of Tovi.

But it wasn’t Tovi in her kitchen. The last person she ever would have expected was tending to the bacon on the stove.

His dark blue hair had grown long, and he had it tied on top of his head. He had never been able to grow much of a beard, and his stubble was patchy and unkempt. As soon as he saw Ganya he dropped the spatula and closed the distance between them with just two strides.

“Tali, my boy,” she cried, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing. Her cheek rested against his chest. “You’re home.”

“Not for long. I have more work to do, but Silas told me to take a break for a short visit. I am sorry I wasn’t here yesterday,” he said with a hitch in his voice that made him sound much younger than his twenty years. “I didn’t get to say goodbye. I cannot believe I didn’t get to say goodbye. I didn’t get to tell him thank you or that I loved him.”

“He knew you loved him,” Ganya replied tenderly. “And he was so proud that you were out there, on a mission for Silas.” She had never seen this much emotion from him. Part of her was distressed by his pain, but the other part of her was relieved he was letting it out. He had never been one to let on that he was hurting. In fact, sometimes Ganya worried that his insatiable desire for adventure was his heart’s way of burying pain and heartache. It had always been easier for him to run off to the mountains rather than put words to the tragedies and hard times of his life.

Tali shook himself and dried the wetness from his face with a sudden swipe of the back of his arm. He went to the stove and turned the bacon.

“What did Tovi think when she saw you?” Ganya asked. “And where is she?”

Tali took his time flipping the last piece. He wiped his hands on a dish cloth and picked up a folded piece of paper from the counter.

He approached Ganya slowly, and Tali’s wrinkled brow told her that something was very wrong.

“She’s gone, Ganya,” he said, handing her Tovi’s note.

Ganya held it with trembling fingers, but she kept her composure as she read. She wasn’t surprised by the lies, but they compounded her grief. How could she take any more?

“That’s the real reason why Silas sent me home for a bit. He didn’t want you to be alone when you found out,” Tali said with a tired, apologetic smile. “He would have been here himself, but he told me you’d rather be with me than him right now.”

Ganya returned his less-than-half-hearted grin. She had loved Tovi and Tali since the moment she first held them, wrapped in blankets and crying from being jostled in the night. So much had changed in the last twenty years, but her love had only grown. Now, after reading the note, she ached, but she really wasn’t all that shocked by Tovi’s decision. Ganya willed her heart and mind to turn toward this young man. She rarely had time with him these days, and she refused to let her sadness for Tovi steal the gift of her moments with Tali. She said a silent prayer that she could focus, even if just for a few minutes. Her grief for Avi and Tovi needed to wait.

“Silas is right. I can talk to him any time. It’s you I’ve been missing. Bring that bacon out on the porch. I want to hear everything.”