Ezra felt the pull of the blanket as his mom removed it from his body. He'd somehow managed to over sleep, probably from staying up so late thinking about Marta and how he wished she was sleeping next to him. He cursed himself for the words he spoke last night, but it didn't stop him from hating the words that had left her mouth before he called her selfish. He couldn't believe he'd allowed her to walk back home all by herself in the middle of the night. His parents would yell at him if they knew, but they would yell at him even more if they knew the two had shared more than just one kiss. 

"Ezra, I need you to run the shop this morning. School will have to wait till next week. We need you here. Johanna called and said you never delivered her bread. She missed a meal because of it. You will bake her fresh loaves and your father will take them to her. I don't know what all happened yesterday, but if that girl is going to distract you then I suggest you don't see her again. I believe she's a Christian girl, one of those Hitler advocates. She seemed lovely enough, but you can't get mixed up in that if you're still having those terrors," Edith said to him as she folded up the blankets and set them inside of a makeshift basket. 

Ezra stood up and went to the bedroom to change his clothes. His father was already at the bakery downstairs, he could smell the oven and the morning pastries. They didn't have any orders today so it would be all walk in unless somebody called. He slipped on his shoes and walked back out to the living room. "Mom...she's not distracting me. If it becomes too much I'll stop seeing her. I promise. I'll be down in the bakery helping Pa," he said as he took the steps two at a time.

He closed the door quietly behind him and began his day. The loaves for Johanna fresh out of the oven and packed neatly. He placed the sealing label on them and his father titled his hat and went out for the delivery. His mother was out buying fabric for new clothes, and once his father returned from his little venture he would be released of his duties. Today would be his day off, but since school wasn't priority today he was fine with the distraction of work. A few regulars stumbled in and he found himself glancing at his watch wondering if Marta would show up or not. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see her or not. The thought of her traveling back here...to him made his heart beat erratically. 

"You're a stupid and foolish girl, Marta. But you're burned into my brain and now I can't move on from you," he whispered to himself as he loaded the glass cases with fresh items. It was just pass lunch time. His father would be back soon and Marta would appear before him. "Convert. If she'd said that to anyone else they would have smacked her, but she was so genuine in her words. She has no idea what this life means. She has no idea the struggles we face today. It was easier before [i]him.[/i]" 

Everyone was nice and they were friends with strangers, but now things were tense and the radio had mentioned the word ghettos again. It was becoming more of a possibility. He'd been trying to figure out a way to get his mother out of the country, but she would never leave without his father. He begged and pleaded with her, but she was so stubborn. Then he heard the bell above the door go off and he smiled. Father was finally back and he'd get to go. But the faces that greeted him were angry ones. Crosses around their necks. Ezra's smile dropped as he recognized them.

"We've come to see how you've healed up," the leader said.

Two of his friend went around the counter and grabbed Ezra's arms. They were stronger than him and no matter how he tried to struggle their grips held him tight. The leader pulled out a knife...the same knife that had once entered Ezra's soft flesh and his heart began to pound in his chest as he was shoved around the counter and placed in front of the man.

"Word on the street is you've got yourself a rich girlfriend. People around here talk when their lives are threatened. I think your girl goes to school with my lil sister. Your soiled hands touched a girl like that," the man spoke and then spit in Ezra's face. 

The knife was brought closer to his body. It cut down his shirt to show the bumpy marks across his body. Ezra looked away, but the men forced his head back. His legs buckled and he was on his knees biting his lip to keep from crying. 

"I should have had them draw a cross straight down your chest, but we were nice," he spoke again. 

The knife found his chain and Ezra began to trash around trying to keep him from taking it. It had belonged to his great grandfather, and was passed down from son to son. It was all he had when it came to personal items and he would be damned if he lost it. He could hear them laughing around him as the chain ripped from his neck and fell into the open palm of the man before him.

He let out a snarl, "Touch a Christian girl again and I'll take your life...Ezra."

Ezra flinched at the sound of his name and boys let his arms drop. They walked out of the store and his hands reached for his neck. Empty. His pendant gone. His safety gone. When his father finally came back Ezra was still on the floor, sitting in the fetal position. His body was shaking, but he wasn't sure if it was from anger or fear. His only good shirt ruined. He was ferociously apologizing to his father for losing the necklace, but his dad just grunted. Abe was just glad the necklace was all they took from his son.