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Arlana's focus was on the small grey car driving quickly in her direction just before it came to a screeching halt beside them.
"Get in the front," Jared instructed as Isaac slipped into the backseat, helping Aziel with his seat buckle.
Arlana had barely shut the passenger door when Jared laid his foot on the gas, chunky gravel spraying away from the tires as he turned toward Ottawa. The last time Arlana was in Ottawa, Josiah had been beside her. How things had changed!
Jared looked at his sister from the corner of his eye, taking in the details of her appearance.
"Shabbat Shalom ya Jew," Jared mocked, his voice tinged with an unmistakable disdain.
The silence in the car was unnerving. Arlana couldn't see Isaac from where she sat, yet Jared was scowling. The truth was, she barely knew her brothers. They were all but strangers to each other.
Arlana's parents had refused to let her speak to them for over eight years. Just when it seemed like they had a change of heart, allowing her to speak with them once a month, Arlana had become pregnant.
Furious over her sin and to make matters worse, carrying a half-black, bastard baby, Arlana's father had shouted into the phone that she was never to speak with his precious sons again. They couldn't take the risk that Arlana might pollute her brothers. In a rage, her father tore the phone off the wall, smashing it into pieces.
Four long years had passed without a word from her family with the exception of her two sisters, Adelaide and Jaira. Jaira had not forsaken her although tensions were high with Adelaide over the years. They had never been close anyway, even as children. The sad truth was Arlana never would have recognized her brothers, now grown men sporting beards.
A heavy, awkward silence filled the vehicle. It was going to be one long drive.
***
"JOSIAH, YOU NEED TO come home. Well, I hope you have a good plan because now Arlana is gone," Lachlan paced the floor, gripping his cellphone much too hard.
"Honestly, I'm not sure if my presence there would have made a difference," Josiah sighed. "I have to do this, Lachlan. Trust me, it isn't easy and I wish I could be home, but I need to take care of this matter first. This pain of being apart is temporary toward a greater end."
His words made sense in theory, but Lachlan would never have just met a woman and then left her, expecting her to be faithful and in love when he returned. Life wasn't quite that simple.
"Alright," Lachlan sat down, resting his ankle on his knee. "When are you planning on heading back?"
Josiah glanced at the small calendar on his desk. A small "X" was placed under each day he spent away from Arlana. This was far from easy.
"Within two weeks, perhaps sooner if all goes well."
"You're daft - that's just my opinion. Don't worry your head, I'll be here when she returns - if she returns."
Lachlan was covering a story nearby which gave him greater flexibility and an opportunity to be able to check in on Aziel and Arlana every day.
"Thanks, Lachlan. I appreciate it," Josiah sighed.
Lachlan rubbed his forearm. He wanted to be here when Arlana returned. She would be returning from her grandfather's deathbed and if Josiah couldn't be there for her, Lachlan would be - if she returned.
"I'm staying here for Arlana. I can get Owen to cover for me this time," Lachlan paused. "What if she doesn't return? We have no way of knowing where exactly she is."
Josiah wasn't sure either, but he reached for the confidence he didn't have.
"Arlana knows she is my wife. She will return to where she belongs."
"For your sake, I hope you are right."
***
ARLANA MADE SMALL TALK in the car to help break the painful silence. Isaac didn't say a word the entire trip, holding his small dog on his lap. Jared barely said a word as well until they turned off the Ottawa exit ramp.
"So you are turning into a Jew eh? You do realize they are just Turks, not real Jews, and Israel belong to Palestine."
They'd be reaching their sister's house in less than five minutes. Why bring it up now?
Arlana shrugged, refusing to be baited or give him more ammunition. Cowardly maybe, but it was none of his business how she dressed and she wasn't ready to debate or divulge any secrets for that matter.
"To each their own I guess."
Arlana reached for the door handle as he pulled into the parking lot, thankful they had reached their destination.
***
JARED LED THE WAY TO Adelaide's front door. It had been nearly three months since they'd last seen each other, yet not a word was said about the silence that had followed Adelaide's visit to the farm. The timing was way off, focused on their dying grandfather.
"I was just getting the kids ready. We should head straight to the hospital," Adelaide grabbed her grandfather's board game. "Arlana, Grandpa doesn't know he is dying and we cannot tell him. Everyone has decided to keep it a secret and focus on making him enjoy the time he has left." She swallowed the lump of tears blocking her throat, "So if he asks, just tell him you are visiting me and we decided to come to see him while you are down."
It didn't sit well with Arlana. If she were dying, she sure would want to know. She'd want to use that time to ensure she knew the fate of her eternal destiny, but instead, Arlana simply.
When they reached the hospital, their grandfather lay on the narrow bed - a curled-up skeletal figure. He was so different from her last memories of the family patriarch. The elderly man held out his hand to her, instantly recognizing his long-lost granddaughter.
It is so good to see you."
Arlana nudged her son forward. They hadn't seen each other since Aziel was a year old.
"My son, Aziel," Arlana re-introduced her child to her ninety-five-year-old grandfather.
Aziel smiled hesitantly, then sat beside the great grandfather he didn't remember.
Adelaide sat on the other side of the hospital bed, pulling up a chair before capturing his attention.
"I brought your favourite game, Grandpa. I thought you'd like to play."
Her grandfather struggled to sit up, a smile flashing across his ashen features. "Set it up."
"Do you think we could take him for a walk around this floor? It is a beautiful day and the windows are huge." Arlana suggested, wanting to step away from the rooms where death lingered.
The leaves were already turning colour, a much more tranquil scene than pale mint walls and hospital gear.
His power of attorney, their aunt, agreed moments later calling for a nurse to help get him into a wheelchair. IV hung from the back of his chair, blood flowing through his catheter. Arlana turned to look away, tears flooding her deep blue eyes. She regretted not coming to visit earlier - finding some way to see her grandfather. It was too late to go back in time now.
They walked slowly around the top floor. The cancer wing was smaller than Arlana thought and quickly came full circle.
"Can I take Aziel to the ice machine?" Joshua, the oldest of the grandchildren, broke the silence.
"Thank you," Arlana nodded.
Joshua was a teenager now and Aziel, though he rarely saw his cousin, was already enamoured by the older boy.
They walked towards the elevators where the large bay windows were and stopped the wheelchair, facing the glorious display of trees far below. Autumn colours blazed in the late day sun, unaware they were the last view of nature Paul Gallen would ever see.
The elevator doors opened, other relatives stepping out into the main lobby. They embraced Arlana, glancing over at Adelaide. Although they lived just minutes from each other, Adelaide kept her distance from her "heathen" relatives. The tension - the hurt, was heavy in the air.
"It's been so long!" Arlana smiled, sitting beside her aunt.
Arlana wouldn't put religion above her family, genuinely happy to see her relative.
Aunt Kelly showed Arlana pictures of her grandchildren, of her house and her renovations, clearly happy to see Arlana was interested in her life. Aunt Kelly had recently moved to a house directly across the street from her brother, and just a few blocks away from Adelaide.
Adelaide frowned, pushing their grandfather from the window to a table around the hall where she set up the board game. She lay down table cloths explaining with a smug expression she knew grandpa didn't like the sound of dice hitting the table. She knew him better than any and, of course, no one cared for him as much as she.
Arlana took a deep breath, swallowing the hurtful jab. If that is what made Adelaide feel complete, so be it. Arlana had her own issues to focus on. She took pictures of everyone gathered, and those playing the game, but didn't wish to play. It didn't sit right with her that he was spending what could be quite possibly his last hours playing board games. Lying to him when he was on the threshold of eternity was the harder pill to swallow, so she focused on her relatives she had not seen in a long time, ignoring her sister who was shooting daggers at Arlana's back.
Grandfather tired quickly, so they didn't stay long, promising to return the next day.