I went on: “Our masters say that whenever a man and a woman come together in the spirit of all that is pure and holy, the Divine presence is with them.”
Then I said the blessing over the wine. “Borukh atoh Adinoy, eloheynu meylekh ha-oylem, boyrey pri hagofn.”
“Omeyn.”
“Now repeat after me: I will have thee as my wife.”
“I will have thee as my wife,” said Yankev, his voice tight with emotion.
“And you echo his words.” I had to prompt her: “I will have thee as my husband.”
“I will have thee as my husband,” said Anya, like a woman who had just awakened from a pleasant dream, only to find the real world drab and cold by comparison.
“Now, I don’t know how they do it in this meshigene town, but where I come from the bride protects the groom from jealous demons by walking around him three times, although some do it seven times.”
“Then we better make it seven times,” said Anya.
Her feet traced seven circles around her bridegroom as the sky grew lighter and lighter.
“Is that all there is to it?” she asked when she was done.
“Almost.” I said the seven benedictions, then held the glass to the groom’s lips. He swallowed what little he could, then I held the glass to Anya’s lips. She took a sip, then I handed the glass back to Yankev. He took it from me, turned to the north and hurled the glass at the blackened bricks. It shattered into a hundred pieces, scattering the hordes of spiteful spirits and sending shards of wine-soaked glass flying toward their greenish eyes.
“Mazl tov!” I said.
They kissed. It was a hurried glancing peck with dry lips, but they would have plenty of time for deep and soulful kisses later.
“When you get where you’re going, you’ll have to go through the proper legal formalities and immerse in a mikveh,” I told Anya. Only then would she be a full-fledged Jew, and ritually cleansed.
She looked worried.
“He’ll show you what to do,” I said, which brought a smile of relief to her lips.
I guided the newlyweds to the secret passageway beneath the whore house, which snaked dimly through the sunken ghosts of ancient houses for half a block or more before connecting to a house on the other side of the high wall.
I started up the steps, but Yankev grabbed my sleeve.
“Don’t go,” he said. “I mean, it could be dangerous. You better let me go first.”
I let him go first. Anya watched him climb the steps, admiring his bravery.
Then she reached into her sack, brought forth a shiny golden ring with a clasp in the shape of a fishhook, and clipped it to my ear.
“Ow!”
“You’re going to the waterfront,” she said. “And every true sailor knows that a gold earring will keep a man safe from going down with the ship.”
“Good thinking,” I said, trying not to show any pain.
We started up the steps. Yankev lifted the latch and stuck his head out the door, then motioned for us to follow. We emerged through an unmarked door to the street, where the glowing skies in the east threatened to expose our activities.
It was time for us to separate. But Anya suddenly seemed to remember something, and said that she had one more thing to give me. She slid her fingers under her collar, undid the clasp, and removed the medallion and thin gold chain that she had been wearing around her neck.
“Come closer,” she said, and she slipped the chain over my head. “To complete your disguise.”
The chain was still warm from the touch of her body.
I looked at the medallion.
“It’s St. Jude,” she said. “The patron saint of lost causes.”
She threw her arms around me and gave me a parting hug, pressing so close that I caught a whiff of her sweet smell, which reminded me of an early spring flower, while Reyzl had always reminded me of a late summer rose.
She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she broke away.
Yankev bowed his head, but he didn’t offer me his hand, saving me the trouble of having to refuse it.
I didn’t know what to say.
But when the words came, they came straight from the heart. “I wish you both happiness. You truly deserve it.”
And I watched them go, hugging the shadows as they headed east along the riverbank like a pair of beggars fleeing the city.
Part of me actually envied the young couple. For in spite of all their troubles, their life together was just starting.