Burned

22

          While London was swarming with whispers of Alfie's marriage, Camden Town had its own take on the matter. Simply put, Alfie was Jewish through and through. He was raised that way and despite his criminal activity, he would stay that way. Louise was not Jewish. Baptized in the Church of England, she had lost most faith in God. As far as Jewish law was concerned, they would not be allowed to wed.

Ever since he hit puberty, Perle would say Alfie needed to find a nice Jewish woman to marry. He never did, most fathers didn't want their respectable daughters around the hellish Solomons boy. That didn't bother him because he wasn't interested in settling down. As a young man, he was more interested in laying out his empire.

Now that he had, Alfie only had eyes for one woman. Jewish law wouldn't' stop him. He tended to disregard all laws except his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ollie and Alfie were inspecting areas of the bakery, making sure everything was running smoothly.

"Ollie, mate, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, sir." The curly-haired man nodded. He looked up from his checklist.

"You said you and Shayna went to temple in Hampstead? What's the rabbi's name?"

Despite years working for him, Ollie was never able to guess what his boss was about to say. But they normally didn't talk about religion. Alfie celebrated holidays typically with friends of his late mother or Ollie's family. Camden embraced him because he gave to the Jewish community. Men tipped their hats and greeted him politely. Grandmothers often scolded him, saying he looked thin and promised to bring him heaps of food.

But they all knew what he did and how it conflicted with their shared beliefs. A busy man, Alfie attended temple when he had the chance. He sat in the back, a silent and domineering figure.

"Rabbi Mayer?"

"Right, you know him well?" Alfie continued to be cryptic.

"I suppose." Ollie shrugged. "He married Shayna and me." He reminded his boss who had been present.

"Thought so." He scratched at his beard. "You think he'd be willing to overlook a few things?"

Well, Ollie had been asked stranger things before. "Like what?"

"Small bits 'n bobs. Louise's religion mostly." He answered casually.

Rose had told her husband about what the other Camden women were gossiping about. How was Alfie, a Jewish gangster going to marry someone of a different faith? Certainly, no rabbi would conduct the ceremony. So would he neglect Jewish tradition? That was simply unheard of.

"And what if they have children?" Shayna had asked, throwing her hands up in disbelief. "It's in his family. His brother did the same thing! He had some legal ceremony and never taught his son properly. Look at Goliath now."

Ollie could understand his wife's opinion. The community struggled to keep their traditions and identity. But he also knew Alfie would do as he wished. Hence, why he was asking for a rabbi who would break the rules.

"Sir, I'm not sure-"

"Look, I fucking know." Alfie cut him off. "Not s'posed to do this but I ain't going back on what I said. I'm marrying her." His tone was firm and unyielding.