“Henry was hungry before bed, so I gave him some ice cream.”
“He’s not supposed to have sweets, Adam! Rose is going to pitch a fit.”
Adam just looked at him.
Danny picked up the bowl and spoon. “Not now, Adam, okay? I’ve been arrested and interrogated. I just spent an hour and a half in a jail cell with a drunk, crazy homeless guy. I waived the right to an attorney so I could get released tonight, but it took me fifteen minutes just to explain why I’m not a flight risk and they should give me a reasonable bail. Where do they think I’m going to run with a kid and a house and two funeral homes? I’m a partner in a cemetery, for crying out loud.” He walked the bowl and spoon over to the kitchen sink.
“How did this happen, Danny?” Adam asked.
There was no response as Danny turned on the faucet and scrubbed at the dishes.
Adam sat down at the kitchen table. “Did you hear what I asked you, Danny?”
Danny sighed and turned off the water. He laid the bowl and spoon to dry by the side of the sink. “I heard,” he said. “I heard. The guy’s name is Richard Calloway. I’ve known about him for a long time. I’ve never seen him in person, but I knew. Rose isn’t as clever as she thinks she is, and she’s been seeing him for a while. He works in Rose’s department. I think he even reports to her.” Danny dried his hands. “Pathetic piece of shit. Couldn’t get promoted on his own, so he started fucking the boss.”
“He works for Rose?”
“I know, right?” Danny said. “I didn’t think women were supposed to have a midlife crisis. At least I’ve never heard of it. Rose being Rose, you’d think she’d be banging some rich bigwig, not some pretty boy with a fancy car he can only afford because of her.”
Danny sat down across from Adam. He looked down as he spoke “This marriage has been over for a long time,” he said. “We both would have walked a long time ago if it weren’t for Henry. But there are rules, you know? Unspoken rules . . . when I saw him pull up in that fucking sports car, I just lost it.”
“But you knew he was seeing Rose . . .”
Danny’s looked up into Adam’s eyes. “This is my house, Adam. My kid sleeps here! Do you understand? It was instinct. A man has to protect his family, right? He got out of the car and I saw his face under the streetlamp, and I just lost it. Rose isn’t even home tonight. I thought, ‘Is he trying to see Henry? Does he think he can just come over and read my son a fucking bedtime story?’ and that was it.”
Danny took a breath and let it out slowly, quietly. “I was on him before he shut the car door. The whole thing only took a few seconds. I punched him once in the gut and he doubled over. The car window was half open, and I guess I pushed his head through it. I heard the glass crack.”
“I saw you pull him out of the car.”
“He must have tried to scramble back in. I don’t remember.”
Adam looked at him in horror. “But there was no argument? He never hit you?”
Danny felt his swollen cheek. “No. That was you. You hit me pretty hard, you know. It hurts like hell.”
“I was afraid you were going to kill him!”
Danny shook his head. “Don’t be stupid. I wasn’t going to kill him.” He shrugged. “I was pretty mad, though. I don’t think I’ve ever been that mad.”
Adam’s temples were throbbing. He cradled his forehead in his left hand. “Do you know how much trouble you’re going to get into if the police figure out you were lying?”
Danny’s voice was a high-pitched whine. “I panicked, Adam. What could I do? I had to say something, didn’t I? If they thought I was violent, do you think they’d even let me see my son after we split up? And my cheek was throbbing where you hit me. It was too perfect.” He shook his head.
“Tell them, Danny. Maybe it isn’t too late.”
Danny stood up and walked over to the sink. He stopped for a second before turning around to face Adam again. “It is too late. If they find out I lied about this, I’ll lose custody. I could go to jail.” He paused. “Look, you were right about the lawyer, Adam. I’ll call tomorrow, first thing. I already filled out a complaint against Calloway. Maybe that will give me some leverage. Maybe he’ll drop the charges. But we have to stick together. You have to help me.”
Adam cursed under his breath. He got up. “I can’t talk about this now, Danny. I’ve got to go. I have class in the morning. I need to get out of here.”
Danny took him by the shoulders. His eyes glistened with tears. “Please, Adam. For Henry. For Hank. I need you.”
Chapter 4
Adam didn’t remember saying goodbye to Danny. He didn’t even remember driving home. He did remember the impact of Danny’s cheekbone on his fist, and the adrenalin that ran through him like an electric surge. He didn’t sleep much. Throughout the night, Adam’s mind kept racing back to the scene on the ground, to Calloway’s bloodied face lying among shards and particles of broken glass catching the light of the streetlamp where they weren’t stained dark red.
Adam felt underprepared and underdressed when he arrived at work, just before the start of his class. A tie had seemed out of place with his stubble and baseball cap, so he wore a dress shirt and jeans. He took a deep breath and forced himself to put everything else out of his head. He had taught this lesson before, he reminded himself. He’d be okay. But this wasn’t the impression he wanted to make on the first day of the semester.
Adam counted twenty-four students in the room, none familiar. Almost all were sophomores majoring in another field. Two others on his list might have already changed their schedules or else they’d be coming in late.
As the students’ voices died down and the rustling of paper gradually faded, Adam said, “Welcome!” His voice sounded clear, he thought. Authoritative. He could pull this off. “In case anyone is in the wrong room, I’m Professor Drascher, and this class is called Hebrew Scripture Through Jewish Lenses. This class fulfills a theology requirement for the core curriculum. More important, from my perspective at least, this course is designed to introduce you to the different ways in which Jews have read the Hebrew Bible, from early Jewish sects, through the rabbis and mystics to modern scholars. If you are looking for Christian perspectives, this class won’t help you, but our department offers plenty of other courses that also fulfill the core.”
There were a few scattered questions. Students asked questions about the course requirements. Adam pointed them toward the syllabus he had posted online. One student said that as a Christian, he believed the Bible was God’s word, and he asked if he should take a different class. Adam told the student he would expose him to different perspectives and that he if he stayed, he would be expected to apply the tools he learned in the class.
Adam looked around the room. There were no more raised hands.“OK,” he said. “Now, this isn’t a language class, and we don’t have time for you all to become conversant in Hebrew before we begin, but you will need some basic knowledge of how the language works if you are going to look at the texts the way Jews have always looked at them. The first thing you need to understand about Hebrew
