Marta didn’t want to appear to be eavesdropping, but she was intrigued by the interaction between the young man and the elder. There was such ease and comfort between them; they may not be friends, but they are familiar enough with each other that they don’t need to say much to know what needs to happen. Marta feels the same way about Abraham, their pharmacist. Marta’s father has bad knees, so her and her mother are constantly picking up pills to help with the pain. It was the highlight of her week going into the pharmacy and having her conversation with Abraham. His life and family were so interesting to Marta, who is surrounded by people who act and talk like her mother. It becomes boring after awhile. 

Marta completely missed the Star of David on the box, but she also wasn’t really looking. If she had, she would have thought nothing of it. It would make things clearer for her though. Her sheltered upbringing has made it that she knows enough about Judaism and its existence, but she knows nothing of its rituals and apparently food. She has never heard of babka or seen some of the other baked goods surrounding her. 

When she heard Ezra say miss, she looked up at him and noticed he had a rather offended look on his face, as if Marta did something wrong. Just as she was about to ask about a loaf of bread that looked almost braided, which is called challah, she heard Ezra’s comment to the elderly man. 

[i]"she appears to be new to this side of town. Be careful walking home..."[/i]  

Marta felt her heart stop. What was that suppose to mean? And then in an instant, it all made sense. She finally noticed the Star of David on the label, her lack of knowledge about all the food, the part of city she has never been to. This was a Jewish community and this bakery must be run by a Jewish family. And Marta, in her designer dress and heels, and pearl earrings on, was clearly not from this neighborhood. 

Despite Greta’s best efforts to keep her daughter sheltered from the real world, Marta is fully aware of what is happening in the country she has lived in her entire life. She knows one man is flipping everything upside down and creating such a divide between the people. Marta, being naive and as optimistic as possible, truly wanted to believe that this discrimination and hate hadn’t trickled down into the mass population, but it clearly had. Just being a rich girl, who was brought up to believe something slightly different, makes her the enemy. Even though, Marta’s real belief is everyone is equal and can believe and do whatever they want so long as it doesn’t harm another person. She is 100% against Hitler.

But obviously this boy had her pegged differently. He thought she was here to hurt them, or rather assist someone else in hurting them. And Marta would never hurt another person, let alone a fly. Unsure of how to react, and her emotions running rampant, Marta felt tears beginning to swell in her eyes. She didn’t fully understand why she was so upset, but she knew that what is happening in this country must be a thousand times worse than she realized to have Ezra thinking she was the worst human ever.

Not wanting to cry in front of stranger, or upset them anymore, she quickly muttered, “I apologize. I just realized I am late for a party. Thank you for your help.”

She turned to leave, not before a single tear slipped from her eyes and she quickly wiped it away. She opened the door, the bell jingling once again, and Marta left. The second she was outside, she turned to head back in the direction she came. She made it about a block, before her emotions were too much. She sat down on the curb, letting the tears fall freely. She reached into clutch to see if she had a handkerchief, but unfortunately forgot one. So she settled with dabbing her cheeks with the backs of her hands and letting out a sigh. She felt defeated and so upset. She was definitely not in the mood to got to a party now.