Free Saving Sophie: A Novel by Ronald H. Balson Page B

It makes him very sad. He says it’s ‘just the cliff at the end of Jack’s road.’”
    “What does that mean?”
    “It means Jack was in a tailspin. The events in his personal life had devastated him.”
    “His wife?”
    Liam nodded. “Sharon was a close friend and gave me the Sommers family history at her kitchen table. It’s a long story.”
    Catherine opened her hands and raised her eyebrows. “And?”
    “Jack met Alina overseas about ten years ago. He was a junior Foreign Service specialist on assignment for the State Department in Amman, Jordan. She was pursuing an advanced degree in psychology at the University of Jordan. She was also an accomplished pianist, and that’s how Jack came to meet her.
    “Alina was performing at the embassy one night with a classical trio. It was a cocktail party for some dignitaries, and Jack was in attendance. According to Sharon, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He was smitten. Sharon showed me pictures, and I don’t blame him, Alina was striking. Dark hair, perfect complexion. A Middle Eastern beauty. They were a good-looking couple.” Liam paused. “She wasn’t Jordanian.” He wrinkled his brow. “Palestinian, I think. Sharon said her family lived in one of the West Bank cities.
    “Anyway, Jack takes a liking to her and hangs around after the concert to ask her out, which according to Sharon was a giant step because Jack’s a very shy person. He’s a Jew, she’s an Arab. He’s an American, she’s a—I don’t know—a Palestinian. This is a relationship that’s never going to work. But, like Sharon says, he’s smitten, so he musters up his courage and asks her if he can call on her. Customs being what they are over there, she won’t go out without a chaperone. She’s staying with her aunt Safiya, who lives in Amman, and so the three of them take a walk. Then they go to dinner. And then another dinner. And, you get the picture.”
    “I like this story,” Catherine said.
    “I would too, if it didn’t end so tragically.” Liam reached over and took a healthy share of sausage and peppers off the serving plate. “They dated solidly for the better part of a year. Safiya was their cover. She liked Jack and delighted in the intrigue. Then in the spring, things began to change. Alina graduated and Jack was informed that the Foreign Service was going to send him to Turkey. At that crossroads, they decide to get married. Neither of them wanted to move to Turkey, so they decide to move back to the States.”
    “Uh-oh.”
    “Right. Alina hadn’t told her parents about Jack. They didn’t know she had been dating anyone, let alone an American Jew. And Jack, he wanted to do the right thing. He told Alina he was going to ask her father for her hand in marriage. So the two of them travel to Alina’s home to see the father. Naïve as can be. Surprise. It did not go well.”
    Liam offered the sausage-and-peppers plate to Catherine. She took a single green pepper and cut it into small bites. Liam shook his head.
    “What does Sharon know about Alina’s father?” Catherine asked.
    “We didn’t talk too much about the father’s background. Supposedly he comes from a very old and respected Arab family. He’s a doctor. A prominent man in his community. Alina’s family is well-to-do and lives in a large home in some West Bank city.”
    “It must have taken enormous courage for Jack to petition her father.”
    “Without a doubt. But he shows up at the front door with Alina. A manservant shuttles them into this fancy library with marble floors and Oriental rugs. A few minutes later, Alina’s father comes into the room and asks them to sit down. Not wanting to be rude, Jack waits to be recognized before he starts speaking. The silence is deafening. Finally, Alina’s father nods and gestures with his fingers in a rolling motion, as if he’s saying, ‘You may begin.’ Jack stumbles with an introduction, tells him how much he loves his daughter, tells him that