We Were the Lucky Ones

Bella and Jakob are married in a secret ceremony in the basement of an abandoned building. Bella’s sister Anna is with her as she prepares for the ceremony and helps Bella feel better about the fact that their parents cannot be there.

Adam has become active in the resistance Underground and knew the building was a safe house, suitable for the wedding. He also found a rabbi to perform the ceremony, which was difficult because the Soviets have banned rabbis from practicing. Bella is grateful to Adam for all his help and is surprised at how Halina’s quiet boyfriend has become a master document counterfeiter: “By now, hundreds of Jews have pocketed his IDs, which he produces with such a meticulous hand, Bella would swear they are real” (66).

Wearing the wedding gown their mother had made for Anna’s wedding, Bella goes out to the foyer where the others are waiting. Quietly, the rabbi leads them through the wedding ceremony. Instead of a glass, he puts a burnt-out lightbulb into a handkerchief for Jakob to break; even a lightbulb is now too precious to waste.

At the modest dinner, Genek toasts the new couple, joking that it only took nine years for the nuptials.