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It's Only Money
An Abrams Family LegacyPublished by Zahav Press
M. Luxenberg
It's Only Money
Enter the compelling world of the Abrams family.
Mordechai and Leah Abrams had it all — a terrific marriage, four wonderful children, and a gorgeous home. Then, in a flash, their money is gone, and they are plunged into debt. Like a deadly oil spill, the effects ooze into every aspect of their lives, wreaking havoc on their world.
Where can they cut the budget without leaking their terrible secret? How will their oldest daughter, Yaffa, find a shidduch? What will happen with Huvi’s seminary plans? As the new reality sets in, the entire family gets sucked into a vortex of pain and shame.
Across town, an eight-year-old boy fights for his life. Leukemia is sweeping through little Yaakov’s body, and without a bone-marrow transplant, he doesn’t stand a chance. Leah davens for him in her weekly Tehillim group. But little does she know how their lives will soon be linked together — or of the terrible test she’ll have to face.
Betrayal and belief.
Duplicity and determination.
It’s Only Money is a powerful novel about the choices we make in trying times. This first saga in the stirring Legacy series will capture your heart and transport you into the inner world of the indomitable Abrams family.
Book Excerpt from It's Only Money
 |
It's Only Money:
The
newest Jewish novel paperback series from Zahav Press: book 1 of Legacy
Jewish novels is a compelling, contemporary tale of debt, deceipt,
& disgrace - as a wealthy Jewish family struggles with finances
gone bad. |
Meanwhile, across the george washington Bridge in Midtown Manhattan, Mordechai Abrams found himself wondering if it was really possible to die of shock, or if hair really could turn white overnight. He walked into the painstakingly camouflaged private bathroom he maintained within the walls of his spacious office and stared at his reflection in the large mirror hanging over the sink.
Do I look any different? he wondered. When I walk into the house tonight, is Leah going to realize right away that something is wrong, just by looking at me? Will she know, just from the expression on my face, that our life as we know it is now over?
He tried to arrange his features into a neutral, pleasant expression, but quickly gave up. Even if he smiled from ear to ear and floor to ceiling, his clenched shoulders and shaking legs would surely give him away. He hoped it would spare him, at least for a short time, the agony of having to inform his wife of twenty-one years that everything they had worked for had disappeared that morning in a puff of smoke.
How could I have been such an idiot? Mordechai chided himself. I am an intelligent person. I’ve worked hard every day of my grown life to get to where I am now. I have pounded out deals like glass crushed underneath my feet, and fought hours just to save a few dollars. I’ve left no stone unturned. Why? Why did I trust that guy with every last penny I had to my name?
He thought back to the Sunday afternoon he and his good friend Heshy Reiss had sat around his backyard waiting for the steaks to finish broiling over the barbecue.
“So, Mordy,” Heshy had said. Heshy was just about the only one besides his mother who still called him that. Mordechai had gone through a phase shortly after starting beis midrash when he realized that if he didn’t stop everyone then, he’d be Mordy for the rest of his life. It didn’t fit the image he had of himself even then, and he had insisted that everyone start calling him Mordechai. He even corrected his maggid shiur until he got it straight.
For some reason it had never taken with Heshy, and Mordechai hadn’t pushed it, even though it irked him. There wasn’t much you could say to a man whose father had knocked on the door to your house every single Shabbos evening and morning for eight years to escort the orphaned Abrams boys to shul, and to sit them next to him as though they were his own sons.
“So how’s business?” Heshy had asked him then.
“Not bad, not bad,” replied Mordechai.
“Tell me,” prodded Heshy, “have you heard of this guy Sanger?”
Mordechai replied immediately. “The one they call the Miracle Man? That guy? Who hasn’t? He’d never touch my money. I don’t have nearly enough for him.”
“That’s the thing,” Heshy had said excitedly, pouncing on the opening Mordechai had given him. “It’s the chance of a lifetime. I just found out about it. He opened up a shop window and he’s taking smaller bids. Apparently he’s onto something huge, and he needs a lot of capital right away. It’s basically first come, first served, until he gets what he needs.
“From what I understand,” Heshy lowered his voice and bent his head toward his friend, “the returns are supposed to be as-tro-nomical. Out of this world and not normal. What do you say, Mordy? You wanna go in?”
“You in?” asked Mordechai.
“Not yet...I was waiting to see what you wanted to do, if you were interested. You know you’re my lucky charm.”
It was true. Even though Heshy was a talented businessman, for some reason, he always checked in with Mordechai before doing anything major.
Over the years, it had served them both well, with Heshy finding the interesting opportunities and Mordechai deciding yes or no. It wasn’t logical, but it worked.
Even though Heshy was the older of the two and Mordechai’s benefactor once removed, the two maintained their tacit agreement that for all his good qualities, Heshy just didn’t have Mordechai’s brilliance. Heshy called him the “lucky charm” as a joke, but it really wasn’t funny. Over the years, the results of this alliance had grown larger and larger, until the two found themselves owners of large, very large, homes with multiple garages. But for all Mordechai’s talents and abilities, Heshy was always a few steps ahead. Always.
“Let me look into it, okay, Heshy? If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. I’ll do the numbers and let you know.”
“Mordy, there’s no time. I have to have the money to him by eight-zero-zero tomorrow. He’s almost at his quota. Sanger’s a no-brainer. C’mon, Mordy. ”
Mordechai hit the pause button on his mental reviewing screen, viewing this scene over and over again in his mind, and took a deep breath. He hit play.
“You know what, Heshy? Let’s go for it! We’d be crazy not to. We’ll never have to work another day in our lives, unless we feel like it.”
Mordechai banged his forehead onto the desk as his own words echoed in his mind. You know what, Heshy? We’d be crazy! Crazy! Let’s go for it, go for it, go for it...
Mordechai tried to remember what he was thinking that day when he and Heshy had sat together, what kind of mood he’d been in, what had been happening then. He knew Leah had gone way over budget with the renovations, but he remembered that he’d crunched the numbers and decided he could handle it and let her go ahead. That hadn’t been it. He saw Heshy’s excited face leaning close to his...
Mordechai sat up like he’d been shot. He tested out the new thought slowly, like a sore tooth. Had he agreed to invest all of their money just to impress Heshy? Had he, just for a moment, felt himself at the top of the wave, capable of anything, and no longer the pathetic orphan he had been, eternally indebted to the Reiss family forever and ever? That just this once, he’d stand on equal footing with Heshy Reiss?
Oh no, Hashem. No. Mordechai felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead and the back of his neck. I beg of You. Please don’t let it be that.
Pulling himself together as best he could, he ran down the side stairway so no one could see him and exited the building through the back entrance to the parking lot. Sometimes he hated the commute home and sometimes he loved it. A lot depended on how things had gone at work, and what he was expecting to find at home. It was a kind of no-man’s land for him, a time to decompress without interruptions. He rarely spoke on his cell phone during this precious hour.
Okay, here we go, he said to himself. “Leah, I have something to tell you. We’re broke.” No, I don’t think she’s going to go for that. Let’s try hypothetical: “Leah, what would you do if you found out I had done something really, really dumb?” No good. She might say I always do dumb things and we’re still married, so what’s the problem? How about this: “Leah! We’ve been robbed! We’re finished!” No, too scary. It’s too scary even for me to say it.
Maybe I could just pretend to be dead, leave a divorce somewhere for her so she won’t be an agunah, and then she can have the insurance money to live on.
Mordechai slapped himself on the forehead. Idiot! You cashed in the insurance policies. Mordechai my friend, there’s no hope for you. You are a first-class bonehead. You’ll be lucky if you have anything left after this is over.
Oh great, I missed my exit. Nice going, Abrams. Looks like today’s your lucky day.