Juniper Blue (NaNoWriMo2023; manxman)

Chapter 23

Juniper

Before splurging on a plane ticket and a hotel room, I attempted to reach Gabriel again. In fact, I acted like a possessive, crazed boyfriend. I just wanted answers and not a bunch of bullshit. His phone didn't even ring; it went straight to voicemail. It was like he shut himself off from the world. A part of me wondered if I really wanted to be with a man who ran from his problems, hurting others along the way.

But I wasn't ready to give him up. I intended to get to the bottom of his stupid decision.

When I got no response from phone, text, or email, I stopped at the hospital, hoping someone would tell me something... anything. Staff members barely took the time to acknowledge me, let alone answer my questions. My trip to the hospital was a complete waste of time. There was only one other thing for me to do and that was to go to Brooklyn and hunt him down.

Hunt him down? Damn, I made Gabriel sound like an animal. 'Hunt him down' weren't the right words. I was determined to find him and do whatever I could to confront him and make him talk to me, one way or other.

During my lunch break, I googled synagogues in Brooklyn and had little difficulty locating Rabbi Chaim Benowitz. I'd made up my mind--I was going to Brooklyn this weekend and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

Although my dad agreed to drive me to the airport, he did his best to talk me out of going to New York. The biggest city I'd ever visited was Moncton in New Brunswick, and I was getting tired of my dad reminding me of that fact. Maybe it was about time I explored the world a little.

It's not to say I wasn't nervous about flying and visiting a big city; I was, but I knew what I had to do. My dad acted like I was leaving home forever, watching me pass through the metal detectors. I waved one last time. I had every intention of returning. Right now I wasn't willing to move to Brooklyn, not after Gabriel ran off the way he did. I was going to Brooklyn in search of the truth. Gabriel had to prove his love to me if he really loved me, and I believed he did.

The plane was as small as I expected it to be since the flight was only a little over an hour. Still, I had a vision of flying on a Boeing 747 or the equivalent, but I couldn't expect something like that for an hour and a half flight. Anyway, I suppose I had a lifetime to fly a big plane.

On Saturday morning, I planned on attending Shacharit, or the Jewish morning prayer service. I'd checked the website of the synagogue to make sure Rabbi Benowitz was leading the service. The swarm of people at La Guardia Airport completely overwhelmed me. I'd never experienced anxiety before, not like this. My hands sweat, my heart raced and I thought I was about to have a heart attack. Fortunately, I was tall enough that I could see over the heads of people. With my backpack, I weaved in and out of people, making my way to the exit. I'd never even taken an Uber before, but I added the app before getting on the plane. I waited almost an hour for an Uber. I already missed Maine.

By the time I checked into a Quality Inn, the cheapest place I could find, I'd relaxed somewhat. I felt even better after taking a hot shower and getting a burger and fries at the nearby cafe. I couldn't sleep, and it wasn't just because a couple on one side of me argued all night and the couple on the other side of me fucked for hours and didn't make a secret of it.

After a sleepless night, I walked the several blocks to the synagogue. I'd never been to a synagogue before, so I had no idea what to expect.  As I entered, I grabbed a yarmulke from a basket and plopped it on top of my head before finding a seat in the back so as not to draw attention to myself, although it was pretty obvious I was out of place. I noticed that men and women didn't sit together, and there appeared to be more men than women. Because I was sitting all the way in the back, I had to squint to see the man out front leading the service.