Marta hopped off the bus when it reached her destination. It was the same spot she has been meeting Ezra for the past week and a half. Over that period of time, Marta and Ezra have become closer, but they had to continue to be cautious. After the night that they baked Marta's first ever cookies, which came out pretty decent considering, Marta had spent the night. Ezra's mother said it was ok, but when they awoke in the morning, Marta could feel the tension in the room. Marta suddenly didn't feel very welcomed. Ezra, being blunt like tended to be, said his parents were not comfortable at all with what happened. Marta worried it meant it had to end, but Ezra said they would find a way. 

So after that day, Marta did not just show up at the bakery. They agreed on a place to meet. It had to be far enough away from her side of town too. So they agreed on meeting on the outskirts of town, right before the border with the next city over. There was a small bookstore with a bench outside where they met everyday. From there, they would either sit and talk on that bench, or if they felt too out in the open, they would go into the bookstore and read together or talk quietly in there. Sometimes they would share kisses behind the shelves in the back. Marta was learning more and more about the Jewish culture everyday, and understanding what it means to be Jewish. Some days, if Ezra was certain his parents would be out of the bakery, they would sneak in and bake something together. Marta was becoming more and more familiar around a kitchen.

It was almost half past three in the afternoon. Marta and Ezra were to meet soon. They never made plans of what they were going to do, just when they would meet. As Marta hopped off the bus, she started to walk over to their bench. She knew she was early, the way the bus schedule ran, she tended to be earlier than Ezra. But she didn't mind. She would take the time to sit and read her copy of the Torah that Ezra loaned her. At least attempt to. Ezra was teaching her Hebrew, but it was difficult to learn a new language, but with Marta's photogenic memory, she picked it up fairly quickly. However, it appeared she wouldn't be getting much reading done, because as she walked towards the bench, she saw a girl standing there, waving at her and calling out her name.

Marta scrambled in her mind to remember the girl's name. Ezra and her had run into last week as they were walking into the bakery. The way she spoke and looked at Ezra made Marta very uncomfortable. Marta and Ezra never really discussed what their relationship was. Marta's feeling have not changed, and only have grown stronger, but they tend to avoid the "L" word. They do still share kisses and tender touches, but really they just enjoy having each other around. Ezra's presence calmed Marta, made her feel safe and warmed. And she hoped she did the same for him. So when this girl acted like Ezra was her's, Marta felt the green eye of jealousy flair a little, but she contained it. Ezra never mentioned that he was suppose to marry this girl, he just told her that his family and her's were very close.

As Marta got closer, the girl's named popped into her head. "Hi Atalia, how are you?" she asked kindly. 

"I am well. Have you seen Ezra?" she asked.

"He should be along shortly." Marta said, feeling very awkward and a little frustrated. What did this girl want with Ezra?