Among the Living by Jonathan Rabb Page B

call myself. From Irene Jelinek. She takes her newborn for a walk during the sermon at the AA and she called to say that she thought she had seen you with Mrs. De la Parra. Was Irene Jelinek correct in thinking what she saw?”
    Goldah was struck more by the words “De la Parra” — strangely emanating from Pearl’s mouth — than by the revelation that the two of them had been seen together. It took him a moment to answer.
    “As a matter of fact, I did. Yes.”
    “Really?” said Pearl no less buoyantly. “And how would you have come to meet Mrs. De la Parra and spend such intimate time with her?”
    Intimate time, he thought. Evidently uncomfortable phrases were going to be at a premium. He said, “It turns out Mrs. De la Parra heard I had been a journalist before the war.”
    “And how would she have heard that?”
    “From the article you showed me,” he said easily. “It mentioned I had written for a newspaper in Prague.”
    Pearl hesitated then nodded, perhaps too quickly. “Yes, that’s right. Of course. The article. And how would that article have brought Mrs. De la Parra to a bench in Johnson Square?”
    Goldah appreciated the strong detailing in Mrs. Jelinek’s report.
    “Is there something I should know about Mrs. De la Parra?” he said. “I hope it wasn’t a mistake of mine to meet with her? She seemed quite pleasant.”
    “Of course she’s pleasant,” Pearl said without losing steam. “I’m sure she’s a lovely person. And to lose her husband. I know all that. It just seems strange to me that on a Saturday morning, after she’s been to the temple, she finds herself in close quarters with you on a bench in downtown Savannah with everyone in the world to see the two of you together. So I’m simply asking how it is that such a thing might have happened when I know myself you spend all your time either here or at the store or on an evening walk — all by yourself — which I must say is probably very calming for you.”
    Goldah listened and nodded — always at the right moments — and now stepped over and held out the envelope. Pearl stared at it and Goldah said, “Mrs. De la Parra’s father is an editor at the newspaper.”
    “Yes, I know that, Ike.”
    “Yes … and these are a collection of some of his editorials. She came by the store and thought I might like to see them. It seemed very … thoughtful to me.”
    Pearl continued to stare at the envelope, her mouth pursed. Phrases formed, inched ever closer to the lips, and then retreated before she finally said, “Well that is thoughtful. Of course it is. I just don’t see how that would have prompted her to take you to Johnson Square.”
    “She didn’t take me. I was the one who suggested it.” Goldah realized this might lead to another barrage. He quickly sat with a conciliatory nod; there might even have been a quiet smile behind it. “Perhaps it was my mistake.”
    “I’m not saying there’s been a mistake.”
    “If only I’d known.”
    “A gentleman can suggest any number of things but it’s a young woman who makes her own decisions. That’s all I’m saying.”
    “Yes, you’re right,” he said, enjoying this perhaps more than he should. “A young woman does make her own decisions. This wouldn’t have anything to do with her having been at the temple this morning, would it?”
    “And what is that supposed to mean?”
    “I just know you and Abe don’t approve of the Reform Jews.”
    “Approve? That’s not what I …” Pearl’s voice trailed off as she shook her head. “Ike, you have to understand how things are. I’m sure the De la Parras and the Weisses have their ideas about how we go about things, and I’m not sure I’d care to hear them, but I will say there’s a good deal of looking down noses — and I’m not saying that’s always the case — but you should know better than anyone how certain Jews look at other Jews, and some don’t even want anyone to know that they’re Jewish. But