The Masada Complex

Greater than pearls, her worth,

her husband’s heart trusts her,

he never lacks in wealth;

She pours goodness upon him, none bad,

all the days of her life.”

Rabbi Josh could sing no more. He continued strumming while the group hummed the familiar tune.

Elizabeth drove back to the office in a daze. A baby! At first she had thought Dr. Gould was wrong. With multiple abortions many years ago, several surgeries on her abdomen, and rare, irregular periods, she had long accepted her infertility. David himself had seeded her weekly for five years without results. Why now?

The answer came to her just as the light turned green at Third Street and Osborn. This was no coincidence. Her subconscious mind sensed their true commitment, a safe future for a child! “Allah hu Akbar,” she whispered in awe of the great God she had not worshiped in decades.

Elizabeth parked at her assigned spot and stepped out of the car. A wrought-iron fence separated the parking area from a yard where hundreds of immigrants queued up to enter the building and file their applications. Their eyes followed her to the staff entrance. Was there a pregnant woman among them, standing in line between the rails, exposed to the August sun?

Upstairs, she hurried down the hallway. David would jump with joy. He loved kids. Now their little family would start with the gift of a new life.

David was not in his office, and his secretary was away from her desk. Elizabeth left him a note to come by ASAP. She tried to work on a case that was scheduled for arguments the following week, but couldn’t focus. It was a boy, she was certain, and he would be tall, like his father, not short like her, his mother! She almost laughed out loud. A single piece of news had turned her world upside down. She would be a good mother. And a good wife. David needed guidance. He was effective in the courtroom, with his boyish good looks and his all-American charm, but his inattention to details could hurt his career. And why shouldn’t she help him? He was her partner!

Impatient to share the news, Elizabeth went to check David’s office again.

His secretary, a new girl with a nervous look, was back.

“Is David back?”

“No, I’m sorry.” The girl blinked. “He’s gone for the day.”

Elizabeth walked into David’s office and sifted through his cluttered desk, hoping to find his calendar. “Call his mobile for me.”

A moment later, David was on the line. “Good afternoon, Elizabeth.” His formal tone indicated his wife was nearby.

“Hi, sweetheart. Is everything okay?”

“What is the issue?”

“The issue is,” she chuckled, “I wanted to hear your voice.”

He hesitated. “Yes?”

“And to tell you that Dr. Gould found nothing wrong with me.”

“That’s good.”

She lowered her voice. “I have great news!”

“David?” His wife’s screechy voice sounded very close, then his daughter’s laughter. He said, “We have tickets to the ballet.” His pretentious wife was a devotee of the Phoenix Ballet, forcing David to accompany her to every performance. “Got to go.”

“I love you,” Elizabeth said.

“Same here.”

Rabbi Josh had picked up a pentagonal birthday cake, its sidewalls marked: R-A-U-L- 5. The top was shaped like a dog snout. Candles pointed sideways like whiskers, intriguing Shanty to no end. She put her front paws on Raul’s chair, sniffing the cake. Raul put his arms around her and rolled to the floor. Shanty fell with him, barked, twisted her neck to face Raul, and licked his face from chin to forehead. He yelled, “Phew!” and exploded with laughter as they rolled farther, bumping into the leg of the table.

“Hey!” Rabbi Josh lifted the tray with the cake in one hand and Masada’s brownies in the other. “Let’s sing, birthday boy.”

They lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday in English and in Hebrew. Raul blew out the candles.

Rabbi Josh kissed his son, taking in the fresh smell of the boy’s shampooed hair. His mind made the inevitable connection, and he looked up at Linda’s photo on the wall, her smiling face framed by carrot-red ringlets. He kissed his son again. “May the Lord bless you with many wonderful years.”

Raul took his time smudging his name on the frosting, relishing the taste of each letter. He offered Shanty a crumb, which she licked off.

After consuming a slice of cake, Raul pointed to Masada’s brownies. “I want a piece of that too!”

“Let’s take a break,” Rabbi Josh said. “We’ll go outside, throw some ball, okay?”

“Masada El-Tal?” The caller’s voice was familiar.

“Who wants to know?”

“Ross Linder, WRGX Radio in New York. We just had Dick Drexel of Jab Magazine on the air. He said you’ve never spent time in an Israeli jail for manslaughter. Can you confirm?”

Masada grasped the edge of the kitchen counter. Linder had millions of listeners. “As a nineteen-year-old kid in the Israeli army, I spent a few months in confinement, but my conviction was later cancelled. The Israelis are trying to discredit me, that’s all.”

“You might have heard,” he added quickly, before she could hang up, “that Temple Emanuel in Manhattan lost two Chagall windows last night to vandals. Do you feel responsible?”

“No.” She hung up and called Drexel. “Don’t talk about me without my permission! Never!”

“Masada, darling, you’re absolutely right. But you must realize the value of this free publicity. I mean, we’re getting thousands of e-mails, new subscriptions-”

“You’re a greedy bastard.”

“I take offense,” Drexel whined. “I’m greedy for good writing, for real journalism, for opportunities to inform the public with all the news that’s fit to print.”

“Give me a break.” Masada started doing stretching exercises for her back, bending all the way forward until her forehead lined up with her knees.

“Our readers deserve to know who exactly bribed Senator Mahoney, you agree?”

“Dick!” Masada bent sideways, feeling the muscles of her lower back.

“You need to get on with it. Internet blogs and chat rooms are abuzz with rumors that you’re involved with Judah’s Fist, that you staged the whole thing to hurt Israel, or that you’re a sleeper agent for Israel, working for Mossad.”

She placed her left foot on a chair and bent forward, trying to touch her good knee with her forehead. “Who would believe such nonsense?”

“Ross Linder’s listeners, for example.”

Masada stood straight, pulling back her shoulders. “What do you want?”

“Get your investigation going, find someone else to occupy the hot seat.”

She switched legs, careful not to straighten her bad knee. “I don’t have much to go on. My source came upon the information by chance. He’s a bystander, terrified of getting snarled in a scandal. He’s got no more information.”

“Rubbish! Sources always know more than they realize. And what about that spy video Mahoney