It had been a long time but after about three months, Shem was completely healed. It was so nice to see him finally be able to see and play with the children. Of course Naomi and Asher didn't realize anything was different, and Elijah was too preoccupied to notice, but the girls had been terrified the whole time. They knew something was wrong with Shem and they knew that I was hurting inside.
We had finally been able to go back to our home and for the first time in three months, I felt like I could breathe again. The children missed seeing the family, but after a few nights, they enjoyed the solitude of our little home.
"Mama, are you and papa going to have any more babies?" Adah asked Shem and I during dinner a few days after we returned home.
"I do not know Adah." I told her, "What made you ask?"
"I heard Naama and grandpa talking about it." She replied.
"What were they saying Adah?" Shem asked her, curious.
"They said that if there are going to have to be more babies repopjulate the world." Evi cut in.
"The word is repopulate Evi and do not interrupt your sister." Shem scolded her.
"Sorry Adah." Evi said to her sister half-heartedly.
"What were you girls doing listening in on your grandparents?" I asked them harshly, "You are to treat your elders with respect and spying is not respectful."
"Sorry mama." Both girls said.
"Drop it Ila, will discuss this later." Shem whispered into my ear.
After dinner was over I bathed the girls and Elijah and put them to bed while Shem cleaned up and took care of the twins. Once all the children were asleep, I put some Tzohar in the furnace and started a nice fire. I was sitting down resting my eyes when I felt Shem sit next to me and pull me close to him.
"There is no need to yell at the girls, Ham and I did the same thing when we were young. Well Ham did more than I did." Shem told me.
"I know I do not understand what came over me. I just got so mad, I never want them to find out what father tried to do to them." I replied sighing, "They would never forgive him; they would never forgive us for forgiving him so easily."
"The only reason we forgave him was because we knew deep down inside the task had made him mad. And in the end he couldn't kill them." He said.
"I still think about what would've happened if he had done it. He would've killed them in my arms. You would've never been able to hold your firstborns. They would've never grown up to be the beautiful girls they are today." I cried into Shem's shoulder.
He held me tightly and I could feel his tears on my hair. This was always a rough subject to bring up with him. That day was traumatic in so many ways and that night he wouldn't put them down at all. I will always remember that day as the day I almost lost my daughters and my husband, but each year we try to do something nice to distract that thought from everyone's mind.