In His Father's Footsteps Read online

  “You’re going to be all right,” Jakob reassured him in a gentle tone. “Just take it easy.” There were machines hooked up to him, and after a few minutes, the doctors asked to speak to Jakob in the hall. He bent and smiled at Izzie before he left and promised to be back in a minute, but the news they shared with him wasn’t good. Izzie had had a brain hemorrhage, and they were worried about swelling on his brain. They had administered medications and were considering surgery to alleviate the pressure. If they didn’t, they were afraid of a second stroke. And another one might kill him.

  “We’re going to wait another hour or two and see how he’s doing. I really don’t want to take him into surgery just now. He’s not strong enough yet.”

  “What are his chances if you operate?” Jakob asked the doctor bluntly.

  “Fifty/fifty, at best. He’s not so stable, and he has a weak heart. If he has a heart attack on top of this, we’ll lose the battle before we start. It’s smarter to wait, but he could have another stroke while we do.” It was a bad situation either way, and he called Emmanuelle to tell her before he went back into the room, and told her not to tell Max anything yet.

  “Of course not,” she said, sounding deeply upset, and Jakob was too. But nothing showed on his face when he went back into the cubicle to stand beside Izzie and hold his hand. His eyes were closed, and he looked like he was sleeping, but he opened them as soon as he heard Jakob and felt his hand on his own. His eyes were full of questions that he couldn’t express.

  “They said you’re a feisty old bird, you’re going to be fine, and you just want to be here to flirt with the nurses and get sympathy. And they told me to get you out of here as soon as I can.” Half of Izzie’s face smiled, and he squeezed Jakob’s fingers tightly. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed, and spoke to Izzie in soothing tones. He didn’t want to make anything worse by exciting him too much, and after a few minutes, Izzie closed his eyes again and dozed off. A nurse was in the room, checking the monitors, and the doctors came back several times in the next hour, and nothing changed. He seemed to be sinking into a deeper and deeper sleep, and a buzzer went off shrilly a few minutes later, and half a dozen doctors and nurses rushed into the room.

  “He’s coding!” the first nurse shouted at the others as a doctor pumped his chest, and Jakob watched the monitor, saw his heart start beating again, but as soon as they stopped, it slowed down. He didn’t dare ask what was happening, he didn’t want to distract them. It was obvious that Izzie was in extremis and fighting for his life. They gave him a shot of something straight into his chest, and Izzie opened his eyes briefly, looked at Jakob, nodded slightly, and then closed them again, as though to tell Jakob that everything was fine, but clearly it wasn’t. The alarm went off again twice, and then his whole body seemed to go rigid, and more doctors came into the room and told Jakob to leave. He slipped outside and paced up and down the hall for the next half hour, and finally two doctors came out to see him. Their first words were “We did everything we could,” which said it all. Jakob looked stricken as they told him Izzie had had another massive stroke and a heart attack. He was seventy-two, which wasn’t old, but all his vital organs had given out at once. Jakob felt like he was in shock as he listened to them. Izzie had been fine that afternoon when he’d left the office, and now only hours later, he was gone. He didn’t know what to do for a few minutes, and they told him how sorry they were. They called Jakob Mr. Horowitz which confused him, and then he remembered he had said he was Izzie’s son so he could get in to see him.

  Jakob went back into the room to see him before he left. Izzie was lying peacefully on the bed, and Jakob touched him gently, but his hand already felt cold to Jakob. He had loved Izzie like a father, and he knew that Izzie had loved him like a son. He had turned everything around for him after they’d met and Izzie had hired him. He couldn’t imagine his life without him now. Jakob had spent almost every day with Izzie for the past seven years, and he was woven into the tapestry of their lives. He knew Max would be heartbroken to lose him. They all would be, and an important member of his community was gone.

  Jakob told the hospital that he would call them as soon as he made arrangements, and he bent to kiss Izzie’s forehead, and then he left, as tears streamed down his cheeks, and he went outside to hail a cab. He didn’t have the heart to call Emmanuelle from the hospital and tell her over the phone. But as soon as he walked into the apartment, he didn’t have to say a word. She knew from the expression on his face. His best friend and mentor had died. He had been the only father figure Jakob had since the war, and he’d been wonderful to them. He couldn’t imagine his life without him now. Emmanuelle quickly took him in her arms and held him as he cried like a child. Fortunately, she had already put Max to bed, and he was sound asleep.

  They sat and talked that night for a long time. He had to plan the funeral, but he didn’t know where to start. There was no one else to do it. Izzie had no other family. Jakob called Izzie’s rabbi that night, to let the congregation know, and he agreed to do the service once Jakob organized it. There was suddenly so much to think about. The service, the cemetery, the obituary, so people would know when the funeral was. Everyone in the wholesale diamond district would want to come. He was the most respected man in the business. Eventually Jakob would have to close the office. And they had a safe full of stones Izzie had bought in the last few months, and Jakob had no idea what to do with them now. If he sold them, who would the money go to? Izzie had no relatives and no beneficiary to his estate. He had said it many times in recent years. He had no one to leave it to, with both Naomi and David gone, and he had a sizable estate, with real estate investments, his apartment, and the business. It was all racing through Jakob’s mind as he clung to Emmanuelle.

  “Calm down,” she said gently. She could see he was in shock. “We’ll deal with all of it tomorrow. Max will be in school all day. I’ll help you. We’ll get everything organized.” Despite her fearful nature, she was always there for him and solid as a rock in hard times. Then she would instantly put her own anxieties aside and support him.

  “And then what? What am I going to do without him?” Jakob asked, feeling lost. He felt like a child without the man who had championed him, taken him under his wing, and taught him so much. Izzie had only been dead for an hour. He couldn’t imagine the world without him, and for once Emmanuelle was right. Jakob had just bought a building that afternoon, and he was out of a job. But that was the least of his problems. His biggest problem was losing his closest friend.

  He lay awake for most of the night, thinking about him, and all he had to do the next day. He wanted to do everything right for him, the way Izzie would have liked. But he wasn’t even sure what that was. He would have to figure it all out in the morning. After a sleepless night, he finally got up at six o’clock, but he was still too distraught to see his son, or be calm about it, and he hid out in their bedroom until Max had left for school, and then he and Emmanuelle sprang into action, and made all the calls they had to, to organize the service for the next day. He wrote the obituary with all the information he had and dictated it to Florence over the phone, and she had the runner take it to The New York Times. They closed the office for the day, and he arranged to have the funeral home pick up Izzie’s body at the hospital morgue. By three o’clock when Emmanuelle had to pick Max up at school, everything major had been done. The rest were details. And he’d had Florence call Izzie’s lawyer and notify him. He called Jakob after that, but Jakob didn’t take the call. There was time to talk to him later, they needed to get through the funeral first.

  The rabbi had it all arranged and had called the cemetery for them. Jakob felt like he was in a daze, and as he sat in their living room looking stunned, he realized that this was also the funeral they had never had for his father. He was suddenly mourning both men at once, and everyone he’d lost. He could do for Izzie what he had never been able to do for th
em. When they’d died at Buchenwald there was no way to honor them, but at least for Izzie he could do it right.

  He was still sitting there when Max got home, he and Emmanuelle told him together, and he sobbed in their arms. “He was my grampa,” he said, hiccupping on a sob as his parents cried too.

  “I know. We all loved him. Sometimes people just die sooner than we expect. He wasn’t very old, but I think he was very sad after he lost his son and his wife,” Jakob said while hugging Max.

  “Who’ll take me to baseball games now?” Max asked through his tears, considering the practical aspect, and Jakob smiled.

  “I will,” he promised, although he wasn’t a big fan.

  “You don’t know anything about baseball,” Max said in despair.

  “You can explain it to me.”

  “Can I still buy the Yankees when I grow up?” He looked worried about it, as though the magic had gone out of his life, and for all of them.

  “You can do anything Grampa Izzie said you could,” Jakob said and meant it. He didn’t want Max to lose or ever forget the courage and confidence that Izzie had tried to instill in him.

  “But it won’t be any fun if he’s not there when I own them,” Max said softly.

  “Yes, it will,” his father said, sounding stronger, for Max’s sake. He had to be strong for him now, just as Izzie would have been, if Jakob had died. “He’ll always be with you, and you’ll always remember him. He would want you to buy the Yankees. You can do it for him.” Max nodded and believed his father, they sat together for a long time that night, and Jakob put him to bed. Max had stopped crying but he looked very sad, and Jakob stayed with him until he fell asleep, and then returned to the living room to find his wife. It had been a rough day, and they were both deeply affected by the death of their friend.

  Jakob barely managed to sleep that night, and he went to the temple early to meet with the rabbi, who had the service organized. They had printed a program with a photograph Jakob had supplied and Florence had brought them. It was a great picture Jakob had taken a few months before, of Izzie laughing, looking handsome and like the master of his world, the way he would want to be remembered.

  Emmanuelle arrived with Max shortly after. The temple was full to bursting by the time the service started. They had all seen the obituary in The New York Times, and diamond cutters, jewelers, diamond dealers, and wholesalers were there, a crowd of his old friends that Jakob didn’t recognize, and everyone he’d met in the business with Izzie in the past seven years. Their two original diamond cutters sat in the pew just behind him, the more recent ones were farther back. Emmanuelle and Max were in the front row with Jakob. The service was very moving, for a man everyone had loved and respected. And they all went to the cemetery afterward. Jakob felt drained by the time he got home. He had shaken hands with everyone at the temple and the cemetery, and his wife and son had stood beside him, as the family Izzie had adopted once he lost his own.

  “It was beautiful, and just what he would have wanted,” Emmanuelle said gently, as she handed him a cup of coffee. He took a sip and set it down, and remembered that he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but he couldn’t have touched food now. His mind and his stomach were both upset. And he had told Florence he would go into the office the next day, to try and organize things. It would take time to shut the business down, and he had to go through Izzie’s papers. She said Izzie’s lawyer, Marvin Rosenbaum, had called several times. He had promised to call him in the morning and he did as soon as Jakob got in. Jakob knew he had been Izzie’s lawyer and advisor for thirty years. He had come to the funeral, but Jakob had only shaken his hand and hadn’t spoken to him. There were too many people around.

  “Hi, Marvin, I’m sorry I didn’t call you yesterday, I just couldn’t, there was too much going on.”

  “I understand. I want to come by and talk to you about what you do next. There’s a lot to think about and plan.”

  “I know. We’ll have to close without him, but it will take some time. He’s got a safe full of goods I’ll dispose of, but I have no idea what to do with the proceeds now.”

  “Why don’t we talk about it when I get there. Does eleven o’clock work for you?”

  “It’s fine,” Jakob said, feeling overwhelmed again. He looked at the inventory of what was in the safe, and there was even more than he had remembered, and some very important stones Jakob had encouraged him to buy as short-term investments, that he owned outright, without the participation of other dealers, so he wouldn’t have to split the profits. Jakob looked harried and upset when Marvin arrived. He followed Jakob back into Izzie’s office, and they both sat down, with Jakob at Izzie’s desk, where he’d been since he arrived that morning, although he felt like an imposter, sitting in Izzie’s place.

  “One thing you’ll be pleased to know is that Izzie left everything in good order,” Marvin said immediately. “He knew what he wanted, and how he thought it should be handled and distributed. He was a very practical, decisive person, which will make things easier for you now.”

  “It’ll still take me a few months to shut it all down, or at least two,” Jakob said sadly.

  “Is that what you’ve decided?” The lawyer looked surprised.

  “What other choice do we have? We can’t run it without him.”

  “I think you could,” the lawyer said fairly, “he thought so too. I think he’d be disappointed that you want to close. That isn’t what he had in mind.”

  “What did he have in mind? With no heirs, what else can we do?”

  “He has heirs,” the lawyer said quietly, and Jakob looked startled.

  “I thought he had no living relatives after Naomi died.”

  “That’s true, he didn’t.” The two men looked at each other for a moment, and Jakob didn’t understand.

  “So who did he leave it all to?” He had no girlfriend, he had never gone out with another woman after his wife died.

  “He left everything to you,” the lawyer said calmly as Jakob stared at him in disbelief, “with an educational trust for your son.” Jakob didn’t say a word for a long time as tears filled his eyes. He was overcome with emotion.

  “That’s not possible. How could he do that? I thought he’d leave everything to charity, or the temple,” he said when he could speak again.

  “He didn’t want to do that. He knew you could run the business without him, and he wanted you to. He left it all to you. His apartment, the real estate, his stock portfolio and investments, and the business. It’s all yours now. I tried to reach you yesterday before the funeral to tell you.”

  “Oh my God.” Jakob was stunned.

  “There’s more than enough to pay the estate taxes. It’s all yours, Jakob. It’s what he wanted, and he was enormously relieved once he made the decision. I thought he was going to tell you, but apparently he never did.” Jakob looked like he was going to faint for a minute, he was too shocked to even be pleased. He wasn’t sure he knew enough about the business to run it properly, but apparently Izzie thought he did. It was the greatest compliment anyone had ever paid him, and by far the biggest gift. It would change their lives forever, and Max’s future. Suddenly he thought of the verse in the Bible that talked about returning beauty for ashes. He had lost so much in the war, and now Izzie had repaid him by leaving him everything he had, and the business he had so carefully built for forty years.

  “He said you helped him a lot with some difficult decisions and gave him sound advice. He had great respect for your abilities in business. He said he knew it would be in good hands,” Marvin said respectfully.

  “I hope he was right,” Jakob said, thinking about everything he had just inherited. He would have to think about what to do with it. He didn’t have to close the business. He could run it the way Izzie would have wanted to. They were partners forever now.

  The lawyer left a few minute
s later after handing Jakob a copy of the will. He said they could talk again in a few days after Jakob had time to read and digest it, and he could answer any questions that Jakob had. After he left, Jakob went back to Izzie’s office and stood staring at the empty chair. He could almost see him there, smiling, the way he looked after he made a great deal, so pleased with himself, and suddenly Jakob smiled, thinking about him and all that Izzie had left him.

  “Thank you, my friend,” he said out loud to the empty chair, and then left Izzie’s office and went back to his own. He picked up his coat and told Florence he was leaving for a few hours. He hailed a cab and gave his address. He had to tell Emmanuelle what Izzie had done for them. They would never have to worry about having enough money again. Izzie had seen to that, and even Max’s future and education were assured. And whatever she said as a reaction when he told her, a war was not going to break out in New York, and they would never live through a Holocaust again. Of that he was sure.

  Chapter 6

  For the first few weeks after the discovery of what Izzie had left them, both Jakob and Emmanuelle were in shock. Decisions had to be made, some of them quickly. The purchase of the building Jakob had negotiated on the day Izzie died went through. There was no valid reason not to buy it, it was a decent investment, the structure was in sound condition, the apartments were all rented to good tenants, the neighborhood was mediocre but familiar to them since they lived there, and Jakob felt certain it would improve. They could afford something much more substantial now, but he had no reason to renege on the deal, so he didn’t, and he could always sell it. Emmanuelle would no longer be angry about it, or even frightened. There was so much more to consider now in both their immediate and distant future.