The Long Trail Home

The Long Trail Home — page 3 — Her mother held her gaze a moment before turning to Noah He was fifteen and his voice had just changed and when he sang he sounded almost like their dad After the prayer their mother tore off large pieces of the soft still-warm bread for each of them Rivka wanted to refuse but it was hard to turn down challah and there wouldn’t be any more for the next six weeks She was leaving for Quartz Creek Ranch on Sunday morning Challah was absolutely the only thing about Shabbat that she was going to miss So said her mom handing around a platter of salmon Big weekend in the Simon household How’s the packing going Eli practically bounced out of his seat I’m ready he crowed I’m totally ready to go I can’t wait I want to be the first one there Do you think I’ll get a top bunk Their dad laughed It was Eli’s first year at B’nai B’rith summer camp and he had been packed for a week How about you Noah Her brother shrugged I’ll be ready to go Their dad grinned Exciting summer for you Noah was going to be a junior counselor this year Just like their dad had been Just like their mom 3

The Long Trail Home — page 4 — Be careful you don’t end up married her mom teased Noah It was an old joke A stupid joke Their parents had met as junior counselors at the very same sum mer camp made out on the dock at night and even tually had their wedding there Whatever They were constantly telling those dumb old stories Rivka What she said mouth full of bread Her mom pursed her lips Again Her mom had looked like a lemon-sucker for weeks now at least whenever she was dealing with Rivka After you have finished chewing her mom said in a clipped tone you can tell me how your packing is coming along You won’t have much time tomorrow because of Natalie’s bat mitzvah Rivka swallowed I’m not going The expression on her mother’s face hardened Her dad cleared his throat He’d been doing a lot of that lately too We discussed this Rivka Natalie has been studying hard It’s her big day I’m sure it will be great for her Even Eli stopped eating His eyes darted around the table zooming in on the source of the trouble Stop looking at me Rivka snapped 4

The Long Trail Home — page 5 — Eli winced and stared down at his plate Her mother’s voice dropped dangerously low You will leave him out of this Rivka shrugged and tore off another piece of challah If you don’t go to synagogue tomorrow morning her dad said you can’t go to the party in the evening She glared at him across the table Like I wanted to go anyway Out of the corner of her eye she could see Noah shaking his head in the most annoying adult way ever Her mom was ready to go volcanic Eli’s eyes squinched up like he was going to cry She couldn’t stand to look at any of them for another second It’s not that big a deal she said Rivka her mother warned Rivka ignored her and pulled off another huge piece of challah This is about your commitment to our syna gogue community said her dad Rivka jumped out of her chair so fast it almost fell over The candle flames guttered and nearly went out She felt hot like the air in the room had thickened It was smothering her They all were smothering her 5

The Long Trail Home — page 6 — Your commitment she yelled Yours Not mine She was halfway to her room upstairs when she yelled back down I didn’t ask to be Jewish Rivka slammed the door and threw herself on the bed Being twelve was the worst All the other Jewish boys and girls her age were buried in preparation for their bar and bat mitzvahs Studying Hebrew Learning to chant from the Torah Doing community service projects Rivka had been doing it all too working hard for her own bat mitzvah in November when she would turn thirteen Then the bad thing happened The thing she refused to even think about And Rivka dug her heels in No bat mitzvah No more singing at Shabbat dinner And definitely no more synagogue That’s what got her sent to Quartz Creek Ranch Rivka pushed herself into a seated position and picked up the glossy brochure The cover photo showed a green field full of horses Inside were various shots of kids her age collecting eggs from 6

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