A Place to Call Home?
By Lynda Smith
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About this ebook
Torn between his loyalty to his wife and daughters, his deeply embedded Jewish roots, and his mistress and his son, Jacob is in constant turmoil about what to do so as to cause the least amount of hurt and pain to all the people he holds dear.
The story takes into account the horror of the Great War, in which Jacob enlisted as a boy solider in 1916.
Threaded throughout this story are the themes of socio-economic disparity, religious bigotry, ignorance, and anti-Semitism.
Lynda Smith
Lynda Smith was born in 1946 in Manchester, England, and was raised in a typical working-class childhood. She married at the age of twenty but is now divorced. Lynda has three adult children aged 45, 43, and 26. Ms. Smith took early retirement due to poor health and so decided to renew her interest in writing, completing the sequel to A Place to Call Home?, which was published in 2013.
Read more from Lynda Smith
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A Place to Call Home? - Lynda Smith
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1 Curry Street, 1936
Chapter 2 At Home
Chapter 3 Mimi’s Warning
Chapter 4 Home Again
Chapter 5 Becky And Jake Remember
Chapter 6 Esther At The Factory
Chapter 7 Miriam Sarah
Chapter 8 Refuge
Chapter 9 Becky’s Story
Chapter 10 Kathleen’s Story
Chapter 11 The Fight
Chapter 12 Agnes’ Notes
Chapter 13 The Confrontation
Chapter 14 Esther Meets Patrick
Chapter 15 Chanukah V. Christmas
Chapter 16 Foxhole
Chapter 17 Full Circle
About The Author
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Curry Street, 1936
Jacob Dolovitch turned up the collar of his overcoat against the biting November wind. He allowed himself a wry smile, recalling a time when he had not even owned a coat… but all that was a long time ago, a lifetime ago; now he was doing very nicely, thank you, with his own lucrative garment business, a beautiful home in the leafy, affluent suburbs, a lovely wife, and enchanting twin daughters who adored him. What more could a man ask? His well-shod feet turned onto a long and narrow cobbled street. His footsteps quickened as he passed the tiny terraced houses—their curtain-less windows and grimy windowpanes like a row of sad eyes, he thought to himself. He lengthened his long strides in anticipation of reaching house number 10 at the far end.
He knocked sharply on the polished door knocker, noting that this house boasted crisp net curtains and gleaming windowpanes and had a well-cared look to it. The door opened slowly to reveal a small boy of about eight or nine years of age. His brown eyes squinted quizzically into the semi-darkness. Recognising the visitor, he yelled excitedly, Uncle Jake, it’s you! Shall I get Mam?
Jacob smiled at him, delighted by the warm welcome. Yes, please, Patrick, if she’s not too busy.
Oh, she’s not,
the boy replied with some authority. Then he bellowed up the miniscule hallway. Mam, come quick. It’s Uncle Jake. He’s come to see us!
A tall, slim woman appeared. She was wearing an old-fashioned wraparound floral pinafore and was hurriedly wiping her hands on a tea towel.
Patrick, for goodness sake! Stop that shouting, please!
Jake, what are you doing here? It’s not Tuesday, is it?
she asked, looking confused.
No, Kath, it’s Friday—just wanted to see you.
But about your Sabbath? I thought you weren’t allowed to…
Her words trailed off as she noticed the concerned look in his eyes. There’s nothing wrong, is there?
Nothing for you to worry about, love.
She looks so thin,
he thought, thin and tired. She works too hard.
He observed her pushing away obstinate strands of long, fair hair that had escaped the neat, long plait she always wore for work. He saw the dark circles under her blue eyes and then beheld her pale face, which in his opinion only enhanced her fragile Irish prettiness. She works too hard, and her bloody stubborn pride won’t let her accept my help… . Things have got to change; enough is enough.
His musings were interrupted when she said, "Don’t stand