The Other Half of My Soul (11 page)

Eli knocked on the open door. “Mind if I join you?”

Rayna smiled. “Sure. Come talk with us.”

Plopping himself down on the carpet, Eli did not mince his words. “It’s obvious the two of you are more than friends. Be careful, Rayna. The consequences can be horrendous for you.” His eyes shifted to Rami. “My sister and I have always been close. I care about her a lot and she depends on me to protect her. I don’t want to see Rayna suffer because of a wrong choice . . . and she will suffer greatly if she’s involved with you. Don’t do this to her.” Eli pulled himself up from the floor. “It’s late and time for us all to turn in. Rami, you look like you’re about my size. Come on into my room and I’ll give you a change of clothes.”

* * *

It was long after midnight before Rami was sure everyone was asleep. The doors to both Sarah and Abe’s bedroom and to Eli’s room were shut. Rami detected quiet and darkness behind them. Silently, he treaded down the hall. He turned the doorknob, grateful to find it unlocked. Securing the door behind him, Rami slipped into Rayna’s bed. Lying beside her, they cuddled, whispering like two children with a deep secret, concocting a scheme to maneuver their morning departure together. In the wee hours, after feeling their young hearts beat as one, Rayna fell into a sound sleep. Gently, Rami released himself from her grip and tiptoed back to the guest room.

* * *

Awakened by the sound of the clock radio, Rayna dallied in bed, listening to John Denver sing “Annie’s Song.” She shuddered to think of the inevitable confrontation with her parents. Drawing in a deep breath and ejecting a long exhale, she rose, showered, dressed, then softly knocked on Rami’s door. “Ready?”

“I am ready. My hand is in yours. Although you may not always feel it, know it is there.” They descended the steps with Rayna’s luggage.

From the kitchen, Sarah called out, “Rayna, is Rami leaving?”

Setting the overpacked suitcase by the front door, the couple approached the kitchen. Rami thanked his Jewish in-laws for their hospitality.

“I’m not going to the Catskills . . .”

“What! Sit down, Rayna. Your dad and I have something to say . . .”

“I have classes all week and I don’t want to miss them. Hillel has kosher-for-Passover food. I’ll take all of my meals there and have both seders there. Going to the Catskills will be miserable for me, especially without Jidaw.”

“You heard your mother. Sit down! You’re spending Passover with us in the Catskills.” He looked at Rami. “Thank you for bringing Rayna home. I’ll show you to the door . . . and keep away from my daughter. Muslims and Jews don’t . . .”

“I always hated the Catskills. The entire holiday revolves around food and obeying rules . . .”

“Yes! Life is full of rules.” Abe’s anger escalated.

Rayna turned to leave.

“If you walk out the door with . . . that . . . that . . .”

“Say it, Mom. With that Muslim.”

“Rayna, if you walk out with him . . . the Muslim . . . then don’t come back. You’re on your own. We will no longer be responsible for you.”

“I don’t need your money, Mom. I don’t want your money.” Rayna’s knees were shaking, but when Rami took hold of her hand, a boldness mushroomed. “I can finish school without your money. I’m leaving with Rami. Goodbye.”

“No! Wait! Let’s talk.”

“No, Dad. I’m tired of talking. I don’t want to marry Aaron Yedid or Jonathan Klezman or anyone you or Mom decide for me. I’ll choose my own husband. Rami, let’s go.”

As the couple headed to the front door, Abe made a frantic dash after them. “Rami, come have coffee. Do you know that Rayna doesn’t drink coffee?”

“Yes, I know.”

“Rami, let’s go.”

“So what do you want me to do?” Abe questioned.

“Nothing, Dad. I want you to do nothing. We’re leaving. I’m eighteen. You can’t stop me.”

“So go,” Sarah sarcastically encouraged. “Good riddance. We’re not begging you to stay.”

“Sarah, will you please shut up!”

“No, Abe. Don’t you tell me to shut up.”

“Rami, I need to get out of here . . .”

* * *

Yawning and rubbing his eyes from just waking up, Eli descended the steps. “What’s all the commotion? What’s going on?”

“Your sister refuses to go to the Catskills with us. She’s going back to school with her . . . her Muslim friend.”

“She’s a big girl, Dad . . .”

“Enough, Eli,” Sarah admonished before turning her wrath on Rayna. “We’ve given you everything.
Everything!
What have we denied you?”

“You’ve denied me love, Mom. Love is important to me. I’d much rather have your love than . . .”

“You ungrateful brat!”

Sarah’s words stung. Rayna swallowed back tears. Rami grabbed Rayna’s hand and started for the door.

Abe yelled, “Get your hands off my daughter!”

Ignoring the man, Rami picked up the luggage and, holding onto Rayna, made a quick exit.

Barefoot and wearing only jeans, Eli ran after the couple, calling out to Rayna. She stopped and turned. Eli hugged her. “Rayna, this is not a good situation. You’re walking directly into a land mine that will explode and kill you.”

“Thank you for the warning, Eli.” She opened the car door and slipped into the front passenger seat.

Eli kneeled down to face Rayna. Rayna looked up toward Rami. Rami walked away, giving them space. Eli handed Rayna a folded check. “Dad said to put this into your account at school.”

Rayna looked at it.
Twenty-five thousand dollars.
She ripped it in half and gave it back to Eli. “I’ll be fine.” She forced a smile. “I have my trust fund.”

For all of his five children, Abe had set up irrevocable lifetime trusts. Each child, upon turning eighteen, began receiving, in monthly payments, one hundred thousand dollars per year.

“Does Rami know about the trust fund?”

“No, he doesn’t. But I plan to tell him on the ride back.”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

Rayna glanced away.

“Look at me, Rayna.” With his finger, he lifted her chin. “You are, aren’t you? Rami has found a gold mine . . .”

“No, you’re wrong. Rami knew nothing about our family’s fortune until he came here yesterday and saw the house. I’ve told him nothing.”

“Just how deep have you and Rami gone?”

Rayna stared silently at her brother, but did not respond.

“Answer me, Rayna. How deep?”

“Deep.”

“Is it too late for me to stop you?”

“Yes.”

Rami shut the trunk, slipped behind the wheel, and started the engine. Eli walked around to the driver’s side, “Rami, I beg you to release this hold you have on my sister.”

“I cannot. She owns my soul.”

thirteen

Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technological endeavors.

—Albert Einstein

In mid-May, Doctor Quintin Nolan spent the weekend at Princeton University visiting with his only child. Anna was the light of his life and, until he met Rami, the only person he trusted. It had been several years since Nolan’s wife left him for another man. While he was falling apart over the divorce, it was Anna who sided with her father, providing him the impetus to move on with his life.

As the two hugged goodbye in front of the University Bookstore, Anna took her father’s hand and placed a diamond ring in his palm. “I have held this for a long time now. When Mom wanted to hock it, I threw a fit and took it from her.” She closed Nolan’s fingers over the gem and smoothed his brow. “I know this represents a lot of sadness, but perhaps there are some happier memories also.”

Nolan struggled to mask the pain and shook his head, indicating that he did not want it. He tried to give it back. “No, Dad, it’s time you worked through Mom’s betrayal. This ring will help. Do with it what you wish. Keep it. Flush it down the toilet. Hock it, if you like. I don’t care. I just don’t want her to have it. And I want you to find peace.”

Nolan did not believe that he would ever come to terms with the devastation of his ex-wife’s rejection. Repeatedly, he asked himself how he could have been so stupid not to see what was happening right in front of his eyes. With a troubled expression, he put the stone in the left pocket of his trousers and kissed his daughter one more time before driving back to Maryland.

* * *

Nolan lived in a middle-class neighborhood in Silver Spring. He had reconstructed his two-car garage so that it was no longer a place to park, but rather a place for him to work. After eliminating the two front automatic doors, he had bricked in the room. At the rear entrance, he installed a two-inch thick solid oak door with a tamper-proof lock. Heating, air conditioning, and electric wiring were built in. Lighting and a security system were set in place. A floor-to-ceiling wall split the large room in half, making one side the laboratory and the other side Nolan’s office. Bertha, his part-time secretary, kept him organized.

The morning after Nolan had returned from visiting Anna, he sat in his laboratory gazing into the powerful microscope. The bacteria inside the glass cube were shriveled and clustered together. To Nolan, it appeared as if the organisms were retreating, almost fleeing from a life-threatening force. Never had he seen the microbes in such a state. He was at a loss as to what could have caused the change. He knew that if the bacteria were to break loose, untold destruction would follow. To avoid such a catastrophe, Nolan kept close scrutiny over whom he allowed in the lab. For the past several months, only Bertha and Rami were permitted entry, and only when he was present. Nolan, alone, had the key.

Redirecting his eyes, Nolan slowly studied the room. Nothing had changed. Nothing new added. Nothing deleted. Everything seemed to be as he had left it on Friday morning before leaving to visit Anna.
Something has changed. But what
? The professor picked up the phone.

* * *

In her dorm room, Rayna was at the computer typing a term paper for her social-psych class. Rami sat in the recliner intently studying for a Spanish exam. His cell phone rang. He ignored it. By the third ring, Rayna looked up and shook her head.

“What? Let it ring. This subjunctive tense is very confusing and I need your help.”

She lifted the phone off the desk and handed it to her husband.

He hoped it was not Yousef. “Hello.”

“Rami, something’s wrong with the bacteria. They’re dying. How soon can you come?”

“What is happening, Nolan?”

“Rami, I need you. Hurry, please . . . how soon?”

“Nolan . . .”

Listening to the conversation, Rayna asked, “Rami, what is it?”

Rami put his hand over the mouthpiece. “Nolan says something strange is happening with the bacteria. He needs me there now.”

Rayna nodded, indicating that Rami should go to Nolan.

“Nolan, I’m leaving now. Give me half an hour.” He hung up the phone.

“I keep telling you there’s a reason you were chosen for this mission.” Adoringly, she kissed him. “I’m wild about you.”

Rami flooded her with affection. “There is only one interruption I would like to have right now, and it is
not
Nolan.”

“You’re a sex maniac. Do you know what that is?”

“Yes,” he grinned. “It means I am crazy in love and cannot tear myself away from you.”

“That’s a pretty good definition. Now, go see what’s happening at the lab. I’ll be here when you get back . . . and so will your schoolwork.”

“After finals, I have a surprise. You and I are going far away for a whole week.”

“Really?”

“Really. It is our . . . what do you call it?” Twice, he snapped his fingers trying to summon the word. “Moon . . . something . . . moon . . . moonhaven. That is it! A surprise moonhaven.”

“A what?”

“Moonhaven,” he repeated. “You know . . .”

“Oh, a honeymoon. We’re going on a honeymoon!” Enthusiastically, she jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist. “Where?”

“If I told you, it would not be a surprise.”

“I love you.”

Rami started for the bed, “Forget about Nolan . . . ”

“Uh-uh. Later.” She wriggled out of his arms. “Go see Nolan.”

“Must I?”

“Yes. And when you come back, I want to hear all about our honeymoon.”

* * *

Inside the lab, Rami peered into the microscope. “This is really strange.” He scanned the room. “Nolan, are you thinking what I am thinking?”

Nolan raised his brow. Rami began removing things from the room, item by item. Nolan monitored the bacteria. The microbes were on the verge of extinction. “My project, all my work down the drain.” Nolan was in a panic.

Rami looked intently at Nolan, “Your clothing.”

“My clothing? That’s ridiculous. I wear the same kind of clothes all the time. This has never happened before.”

“Your pockets? Do you have anything different in your pockets?”

“No, I don’t.” Nervously, he took out his wallet and key chain. To prove his point, he pulled his pockets inside out. As he did, the diamond ring rolled across the floor. “Ohhh . . . I forgot about that. But it shouldn’t affect the bacteria.”

“Are you sure?” Rami bent over and snatched up the jewel. While holding it in his hand, he peered into the microscope. The bacteria seemed lifeless. “Quick, take this ring out of here.”

Nolan had forgotten about the ring and began to explain, but Rami cut him short and pointed to the door. Nolan returned without the ring. Through the lens, Rami witnessed a slow rejuvenation of the bacteria. “That is it! I think we have our answer. But let us be certain. Bring the ring back, just not too close.” Again, the bacteria began to shrivel. “Hurry, Nolan, get it out. We have solved the problem.”

A relieved smile tugged at the professor’s lips. “Me, with two doctorate degrees and I couldn’t figure out a simple thing like this.”

Rami beamed. “You are welcome. I am glad to be of help.”

“Thank you, Rami. You do have a brilliant mind.”

“I know,” he acknowledged with a broad grin. “Now give me a quick refresher course on the bacteria and then tell me about the properties in a diamond.”

Nolan presented Rami with a brief review on decoding the DNA of geo-bacterium for oil-spill remediation, then deliberated on how the genome of this tiny microbe, once perfected, could safely and quickly perform even in the most difficult of oil cleanups. “The bacteria, while capable of eradicating an oil spill, right now, in its present state, will also destroy everything around—marine life, plant life, human life, animal life, and who knows what else. Rami, you already know this stuff. I don’t need to go into more detail.”

“Nolan, I am trying to find a link. Let us see if the diamond might hold some answers.”

“Okay, Rami. You want to know about . . .”

“The diamond.”

Nolan proceeded to list the characteristics of the gemstone. “Diamond is the hardest natural material and also the least compressible. It is an exceptional thermal conductor, has an extremely low thermal expansion, and is chemically inert with respect to most acids and alkalis. Diamonds are one of only a few materials with a negative work function.”

“Negative work function? What does that mean?”

“A work function is an electron affinity. One consequence of a negative electron affinity is that diamonds repel water, but readily accept hydrocarbons such as wax or grease.”

“Uh-huh.” Rami diligently took notes, then paused to contemplate how to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Just when he was sure the diamond might provide the link, his thoughts abruptly challenged that theory and his expression reflected another mind search.

“What is it now, Rami?”

“The metal?”

“What metal?”

“There is another component to this ring. What is the metal that the diamond is set in? Is it gold, silver? What?”

“It’s platinum.”

Intentionally, Rami smiled.

“Okay, now you want a lesson on platinum?”

“Yes. I do.”

“I think you’re not going to let sleeping dogs lie, are you?”

“What does that mean?”

Nolan was amused at Rami’s question. “It’s just an expression, one of the nuances of American English. It means not disturbing what you are not sure of.”

“Oh, I must remember that,” Rami laughed.

“I’m not going to get into a lengthy discourse on platinum because we’ll be here until midnight. For now, it will suffice to cover it very briefly.” The professor explained the atomic number, weight, standard state, and color. He spoke about platinum’s coefficient of expansion being almost equal to that of soda-lime-silica glass and its usefulness in making sealed electrodes in glass systems. “The metal doesn’t oxidize in air.”

Fascinated, Rami was writing as fast as Nolan was speaking. Phonetically, he spelled out many of the technical terms and struggled to understand it all.

“In its finely divided state, platinum is an excellent catalyst . . . such as a catalyst for cracking oil. That’s why it’s used as a catalyst in fuel cells as well as in anti-pollution devices and catalytic converters for cars.” Nolan looked at his watch. “We’ve been at this for almost four hours and I’m beat. More another time.”

Rami did not want to stop. He had more questions. “Where is this metal found?”

“In Colombia, Ontario, the Ural Mountains, the United States.”

When Rami started to ask another question, Nolan stopped him. “That’s all I have left in my head to give you today. We can pursue this later. Take some of my books to read.”

“Thank you. Now . . .”

“Rami, I know what you want. I’ll work on the diamond’s components first, then the platinum’s. My research will be extensive. I will leave no stone unturned. No pun intended,” he chuckled. “This work may take months, but more like years, if I can stretch it out.”

“Good,” Rami smiled. “We must extend this for as long as possible. Our lives depend on it. We will continue to meet once a week, more often when needed. And each week, a full report, directly to me. No one else.”

“Of course, Rami. No one else.”

“And your loyalty. To me and no one else.”

“You already have that.”

Pleased with the solid relationship forged with Nolan, and with securing the professor’s commitment to extend the life of the project for as long as possible, Rami reflected on how he looked forward to presenting Yousef with the weekly reports, loading them with technical terms that Yousef did not understand. But Rami knew that the leverage he now enjoyed and the generous monthly stipends from Yousef were to be short lived.