The Way of Shalom

By Tom Frist

In this stand-alone story, Tom Frist brings together characters from his previous novels situated in Brazil, Nicaragua, Turkey, and the U.S. He weaves his own life and the lives of his character friends into an intriguing international adventure which features romance, family dilemmas, the pursuit of the Good, and the clash of religi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tom Frist
• Release date: May 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781737139522

Tom Frist

Thomas Ferran Frist Tom Frist has spent much of his life promoting the health, relief, rehabilitation, and economic development of people in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He is the author of seven books and has co-founded several nonprofits. Tom and his wife, Clare, have two children and mostly divide their time between their home in Montreat, North Carolina, and their farm and projects in Brazil. More information about him, his books, and projects can be obtained at his website, tomfrist.com.

Book preview

The Way of Shalom

Books by Tom Frist

(See tomfrist.com for descriptions)

Don't Treat Me Like I Have Leprosy!

A Guide to Overcoming Prejudice and Segregation

The Descendant

A Novel set in Brazil

The Thoughts of a Good Man

Sermons and Talks of Dr. John Chester Frist Sr.

Be Good, Do Good

An amateur's guide to making the world a better place

Through Fire and Water

A Novel set in the Río San Juan Region of Nicaragua

Can These Bones Live?

A Novel of the Armenian Massacres of 1915 and of ISIS Today

Before the Grass Withers

A Memoir

Simple Definitions of Words That Matter

Things to Ponder

The Way of Shalom

A Novel

The Way

of Shalom

A Novel

Tom Frist

The Way of Shalom

A Novel

Tom Frist

Copyright © 2021 by Tom Frist.

All Rights reserved.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, or by information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of very brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This is a work of fiction. While the author, Tom Frist, and his wife, Clare, are real persons, all the other characters are fictional. While the Town of Montreat, N.C., is a real place, the Brazilian cities of Campo Feliz, Mariana, and Batalha are fictional. While Montreat College is a real institution, all the references to it in the book are fictional. At the time of writing, the college did not have a Portuguese language program. The novel, Karine and Zara–A Story of Survival is fictional as are most of the  institutions and organizations mentioned in the book. All references to those that actually exist are also fictional.

The cover photograph was taken by Tom Frist.

Softcover ISBN: 978-1-7371395-0-8

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-7371395-1-5

E-book ISBN: 978-1-7371395-2-2

Library of Congress Control Number 2021908654

Dedication

To family and friends around the world who have blessed me with their love, friendship, humor, and wisdom.

Let there be no compulsion in religion. Qur'an 2:256

...The Prophet said, 'If somebody (a Muslim) discards his religion, kill him.' Sahih Bukhari (52:260)

You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Matthew 5:43-44

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. John 17:20-21

²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."

1 Corinthians 15:22

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: New York City

Chapter 2: Montreat, North Carolina

Chapter 3: John Adkins

Chapter 4: The Hollins Family

Chapter 5: Peter Johnson

Chapter 6: The Book Signing

Chapter 7: The Hike

Chapter 8: Last Days in Montreat

Chapter 9: Back in Brazil

Chapter 10: The Welcome Home Dinner

Chapter 11: The Paulo Benton Institute

Chapter 12: The Farm

Chapter 13: São Paulo

Chapter 14: Carnival

Chapter 15: Arrival of Hakob and Zulehka

Chapter 16: Janet Adkins

Chapter 17: The Memorial Service

Chapter 18: Peter and Ashti

Chapter 19: The Inauguration

Chapter 20: Nadim and Adana

Chapter 21: The Aftermath

Chapter 22: The Shalom Place

Appendix: Novel Characters

Chapter 1: New York City

It was 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, 2015, that Jay Benton was walking down Central Park West towards his hotel near Columbus Circle, ruminating on the almost three hours he had just spent at a dinner party with his friends. Jay, a Brazilian-American in his early forties, had arrived that morning in New York City from his home in Campo Feliz, a city of 300,000 founded by his Brazilian great-great-grandfather in the center of the State of São Paulo.

On Thursday, Jay was to meet his twenty-five-year-old adopted son, Felipe Montini Benton, at the Newark airport returning from two years abroad working in a Christian sports camp in Ethiopia and traveling in the Middle East and Europe. They would then fly together to Asheville, N.C., and the nearby town of Montreat, to help Jay's seventy-five-year-old mother, Linda, deal with the recent stroke and broken hip of Jay’s much older stepfather, John Adkins. After spending six days in Montreat, Jay and Felipe had tickets to return home to Brazil where Jay hoped that Felipe would join him and his wife, Michele, in their next big project—creating a non-profit camp for disadvantaged children on their farm.

Since Jay had twenty-four hours between flights in New York to wait for the arrival of Felipe, he had emailed Joseph Myers, his former suitemate at the Harvard Business School, and proposed that they get together for dinner Wednesday night as they hadn't seen each other since they graduated fifteen years earlier.

Joseph was delighted with the proposal and replied, I took the liberty to contact three other classmates who live in the Manhattan area. They want to see you as well. Cheryl Nesbitt insisted on hosting us all at her apartment near Columbus Circle for a catered dinner at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. She said that eating at her flat would be much quieter and more relaxed than at a restaurant. I hope that is OK. Joseph then gave Jay Cheryl's address, telephone, and email as well as his own.

Before agreeing, Jay checked first with Michele to see if she felt comfortable with that arrangement. Michele knew that Jay and Cheryl had been engaged to be married after their graduation from HBS and that Cheryl had broken off their engagement once she learned that Jay had refused her father's offer to hire him as a hedge fund manager in his Wall Street investment firm and move to Brazil. Jay never regretted his or Cheryl's decisions, as he was certain that a marriage with Cheryl had little probability of success. Their worldviews and personalities were far too different. Anyway, by then, Jay was deeply in love with Michele.

Of course, you can go with your friends to eat at her apartment, Michele said. I trust you.

With that settled, Jay confirmed the dinner with Joseph and made reservations to stay Wednesday night in an economical hotel within walking distance of Cheryl's apartment.

At first, Jay had delighted in the gathering at Cheryl's luxurious flat on Central Park West. After drinks in her spacious and elegant living room with fine art on the walls and splendid views through the large windows of Central Park and the buildings beyond, the five friends moved to the apartment's dining room where a white coated waiter served salmon that had been prepared and artistically presented by the professional cook Cheryl had hired for the occasion. During their drinks and the meal, the five friends reminisced about their times together in Cambridge and then each told of their lives since then. Since Jay was the guest of honor and the others saw each other often, he was the one who was asked the most questions, especially about how and why he ended up living in Brazil.

In response, Jay explained that his father, Paulo Benton, was a fourth-generation descendant of Southerners who immigrated to the country from South Carolina after the Civil War. Paulo grew up in Campo Feliz but went to a North Carolina college near Charlotte on scholarship. There he met and later married Jay's mother, Linda McKnight. After Paulo finished seminary, they both returned to Brazil as Presbyterian missionaries and Paulo soon was invited to be a chaplain and then director of the large leprosarium in the city that his Brazilian grandparents had helped establish.

I never really knew my father, Jay explained. He died in a car accident in Brazil while I was still a baby, so I was raised in Charlotte by my mother and by my grandparents, Frank and Margaret McKnight. Even though I was born in Brazil, the first time I returned to the country was twenty-five years later in 2000 right after we graduated from the MBA program. That visit changed my life, and I decided to remain.

I never did understand why you refused Father's offer of a job, Cheryl said. You would have earned a lot of money, and if we had married, you would probably now direct the firm.

Jay smiled. The offer was tempting, and I know you will think that I am crazy, but money interested me less than being useful. I had enough money because of the bank stock I inherited from my American grandfather. What I didn't have was a purpose in life that was fulfilling. My Brazilian uncles presented me with one that intrigued me.

And what was that? Joseph asked.

They asked me to stay in Brazil as an advisor and investor to help them fulfill my father Paulo’s vision to end the segregation and stigmatization of people with leprosy or Hansen's Disease as he called it. He wanted to transform the leprosarium he headed into a medical and social rehabilitation institute serving not only people affected by leprosy but those with other disabling conditions as well. He planned to use the vast land holdings of the leprosarium and of the bordering Benton family farm as sites for well-planned commercial and residential developments. These would ensure the financial maintenance of the new institute, transform the city and economy of Campo Feliz, and bring profit to investors, Jay explained. I invested almost all the bank stock that my grandfather left me in the project and have spent a decade helping to direct it.

And how has it turned out? Joseph asked.

It's been a big success both financially and in helping people, Jay replied.

Well then, you can come home now with money in your pocket and a feather in your cap, Cheryl said, patting his hand.

Not really, Jay replied. I still have responsibilities and dreams to fulfill in Brazil. I'm Chairman of the Board of the new Paulo Benton Rehabilitation Institute, and besides, my wife and I have another project that is close to our hearts—to build a camp for disabled and disadvantaged children on our farm in Brazil. We hope that our son, Felipe, will be its first director. Tomorrow, I will pick him up at the Newark airport. He has been learning in Ethiopia how to establish and run such a camp.

Congratulations then, Joseph said. I'm glad you are happy and fulfilled, but I still feel that someone of your brains and talents could do so much more here in the U.S. 

The others agreed.

When it was her turn, Cheryl, still a beautiful and interesting woman, told of her life since graduation. Her divorced father, well known in the financial world, had died a few years earlier and had left her tens of millions of dollars and his Manhattan apartment as she was his only child.

Cheryl loved living in New York and served on the boards of several corporate and philanthropic organizations based in the city. She was also heavily involved in using her time and money in promoting the Arts and progressive political causes, especially those focused on women and their reproductive rights. She even confessed that she once had an abortion herself because her doctor had told her there was a significant probability that the child would be born with Down syndrome.

The one thing I haven't been successful in has been love, she wryly admitted. Divorced. No children. No prospects! She turned to Jay and smiled. The fact is that I should have married you, but I still can't imagine trading New York for your 'Happy Place', or whatever your town in Brazil is called.

She and the others at the table laughed, but while Jay smiled, he felt uncomfortable.

As the evening progressed and the drinks flowed, Jay's discomfort increased. His friends began comparing their rich life of socializing with famous and powerful persons in theaters and restaurants in New York, Boston, Washington, Los Angeles, and Europe with Jay's obscure, boring life in a backwater town in Brazil. With no malice intended, they made jokes about leprosy and Jay's Confederate ancestors who had immigrated to Brazil. They also kept coming back to the theme that Jay could do so much more in the U.S.

If you ever decide to return and need a good job, just let me know, Cheryl said.

Making Jay even more uncomfortable were Cheryl's advances during the evening which he feared were also obvious to the others at the table. Cheryl, who was dressed tastefully but somewhat provocatively, sat next to Jay and during the dinner often gazed at him and patted his hand. She even rubbed his leg under the table with her own as she talked about their past romance.

But the worst was at the time of farewells in the vestibule after the others had just left. Cheryl asked Jay to stay a minute, and when he did, she blamed him for her divorce. The truth is that I married the wrong person on the rebound after your decision to reject Father's job offer and move to Brazil. She then added, If you ever decide to move back to the U.S., I really think that we should try again. I just know it would work. You are, and have always been, the true love of my life. She then raised her hands to Jay's cheeks and pulled his face towards hers, kissing him passionately. She whispered in his ear, You are welcome to stay here tonight instead of returning to your hotel.

Jay did not know what to do or say except to pull away, thank her, and to offer the excuse that all his luggage was at the hotel. He added that he would be in touch, and then he left as quickly as possible. Although he had done nothing wrong, Jay felt dirty as he said goodnight to the building's doorman, emerged on Central Park West, and began the five blocks journey to his hotel.

As Jay walked down the still busy avenue towards Columbus Circle, he pondered what had just happened. While he could not deny that Cheryl was still physically attractive to him, he could not imagine betraying Michele, his two children, his conscience, and his God for a few moments of pleasure. Nor could he imagine how Cheryl could propose such a thing. How could she say that he was the true love of her life and yet be so willing to ruin his life and that of others? Jay knew the truth. He was just one more conquest to be discarded like Cheryl’s first husband when her interest in him waned.

Jay quickly reprimanded himself for so quickly judging Cheryl, as he knew his own weaknesses. At another time in his life, he probably would have succumbed—not only to the sexual temptation presented to him tonight, but also to the temptations of pride, power, influence, and pleasure represented in the offers to leave his obscure life in Brazil for one in New York City with its huge salaries, limousines, famous people, prestigious addresses, fancy restaurants, and theatres—where he could make a real impact.

Fifteen years previously, in a near-death experience, Jay had been stripped of everything that he had previously taken pride in—his background, his popularity, and his accomplishments. It had been a terribly painful experience, but gradually, that pain had turned into joy. Humbled by the truth he discovered about himself, Jay no longer needed to protect and feed a false self. He could now turn his attention to the needs of others. Doing so had brought him both peace and a sense of fulfillment.

When Jay got back to his hotel, he took out his laptop computer from his carry-on baggage and wrote a short email addressed to all four of his friends, expressing his thanks for their efforts to get together and to Cheryl for hosting the event. He then a wrote an email to Michele detailing what had happened that evening and telling her that he planned to write Cheryl and send Michele a copy of what he wrote. He then typed his second email to Cheryl:

Dear Cheryl,

It is late, and I am struggling to understand and respond to what happened tonight as we said goodbye. You are truly a beautiful, accomplished woman, and I will always carry with me the many good memories of our times together. But I am now committed by heart, will, and solemn vows to another beautiful woman, my wife, Michele, and I could never betray her or be dishonest with her. For that reason, and hopefully with your understanding, I am sending her a copy of this email.

The truth is that I am flattered that you still find me attractive despite all that you know about me, but I am also ashamed if I have done anything to encourage you. I truly wish your best, Cheryl, and I hope that one day you will find the happiness and peace that you seek and that you and Michele can one day meet and become friends.

May God bless you,

Jay

He then turned off the light and went to sleep.

Chapter 2: Montreat, North Carolina

Late Thursday morning, Jay checked out of his hotel and took the subway to the Port Authority Building and then a bus to Newark Airport. There he waited with eager anticipation the arrival of Felipe's flight from Paris, France.

Jay and Michele had delighted in Felipe ever since the day that they adopted him as a twelve-year-old right after they were married in 2001. Up until then, Felipe's life had been tragic. Both of his parents and his grandparents were afflicted with leprosy, and both his mother and father had died in two separate violent events a couple of days apart. Jay and Michele decided to adopt him as Felipe’s grandfather, a dear friend and relative of both Jay and Michele, could not possibly care for him because of his age, finances, and disabilities. They considered that decision one of the best that they had ever made. Felipe had only brought them pleasure, turning into a fine young man—smart, handsome, and fun; but also humble, generous, and grateful.

Just as Jay expected, Felipe, bronzed, thin, and with his long hair a bit disheveled, emerged from the customs area of International Arrivals carrying only his backpack. A huge smile appeared on his face when he recognized Jay waiting for him and they hugged enthusiastically.

Their commuter flight to Asheville left on time a couple of hours later in another part of the airport. When they arrived Thursday evening at the small mountain city, Jay's mother, Linda, was waiting for them.

You can't imagine how happy I am to see you both! Linda exclaimed as they walked to the parking lot and put their bags in the trunk of her car. I'm at my wits' end!

Because of John? Jay asked.

Linda nodded. You are hardly going to recognize him. Not only did he break his hip during his stroke, but his doctor says that he has a bad heart and dementia. Because of his age, things can only get worse. The doctor advises that he stay in the nursing care unit at Hightop indefinitely. John and I are both depressed!

Can we stop by and see him before going home? Felipe asked.

Of course, if you are not too tired from your trip, Linda responded. I don't think it's too late.

A half-hour later, they were at the nursing facility of the Hightop retirement center, and just as Linda had predicted, both Jay and Felipe were astounded at John’s deteriorated state. Instead of his normal exuberant welcome when he saw them, this time, Jay could barely discern a smile. The sparkle in his eyes was gone. John even seemed not to recall that Felipe had been overseas for two years, and he repeated the same questions, especially about when Linda was going to take him home.

On the three-mile ride from the retirement center to Linda’s house in Montreat, Linda confessed that she did not know what to do.

I’m glad that you are both here to help me decide. John desperately wants to come home, but I just can't take care of him there. The doctor says that he needs around-the-clock nursing care indefinitely. I can't give it to him or afford to pay someone who can.

She gripped the steering wheel harder, and her voice broke as she continued. I feel that my duty to him is to sell our house to raise the money for his care and move to Hightop to be with him, but I hate to abandon my friends and volunteer activities in Montreat.

But why would you have to do that? Jay asked his mother. You can visit him as much as you want and still continue to live in your house, see your friends, and volunteer. At seventy-five, you are still relatively young, and you and John are well off with his pension and social security, and especially with the bank stock that Grandfather left you.

Linda shook her head sadly. Yes, we have John's pension and social security, but unfortunately, the bank stock is gone.

I don't understand, Jay said.

John sold it during the 2008 downturn to finance the building of our Montreat home and to invest in a real estate project with golf course that one of his friends claimed was a sure bet. Unfortunately, it wasn’t, and the company went bankrupt. The house is about all that we have left.

Jay was perplexed by this unexpected piece of news. Why didn't you tell me, Mother?

I never told you because John was embarrassed about his financial decisions and didn’t want anyone to know.

Jay quietly pondered this information on the rest of the drive to Linda’s home.

Linda and John had built their majestic stone and cedar Montreat retirement home in 2008 to replace the sixty-year-old small, board and batten summer house that Linda had inherited from her parents, Frank and Margaret McKnight. After Linda's remarriage to John Adkins, many years after the death of her first husband, Paulo Benton, she and John decided to move to Montreat when John retired from his CPA job in Charlotte, N.C.

Since the McKnight home in Montreat was not winterized, they tore it down and built their dream home in its place. In doing so, they spared no expense. Their new home, made of the best materials, had expansive living quarters which included three bedrooms and a study upstairs and three bedrooms in a separate apartment downstairs to house Jay and Michele and their two children, Felipe and Gabriela, during their yearly July vacations in Montreat.

Jay and his family loved Montreat just as much as Linda did. They loved rock-hopping in the small town's streams and hiking on the many trails in the mountains surrounding the community. Often, they would spot families of deer and black bears in the mountain forests of tall trees, boulders, mountain laurel, and rhododendron. They loved the afternoon rain showers, the Friday night square dances in the barn, pottery making, tennis, and participating in community musicals. They loved the Fourth of July parades, and their access to the many religious conferences at this Presbyterian retreat center. Most of all, Jay loved the people in Montreat—from families like his own that had passed their homes down from generation to generation. They had spent summers there as children, then as college students working as counselors in the club programs, and finally as retirees, returning to live out their last days in the presence of life-long friends. To them, Montreat was the anteroom to heaven.

When they arrived in front of the house and gotten out of the car with their bags, Linda handed Jay a key. Here's your key to the downstairs apartment. As soon as you get settled in, come upstairs, and I'll make you some hot chocolate. Then we can discuss our plans for the week.

Sounds good, Jay said, hugging his mom again. "We'll just freshen up a little, call Michele and Gabriela on Skype to tell them we arrived safely, and then we'll be up."

Give them my love! Linda replied, as she headed to open the main door of the house which she rarely locked.

As always, Linda had prepared the downstairs apartment for them with care, making up the beds with fresh sheets, stocking the refrigerator, putting flowers in the sitting room and cookies and fruit on plates on the kitchen counter. After Jay and Felipe had put their bags in their separate bedrooms and used one of the two bathrooms, they returned to the sitting room to call Brazil on Jay's computer. Michele and eleven-year-old Gabriela were delighted to get the call. Gabriela had insisted on staying up to wait for it as she adored both her father and her older brother.

At the end of the conversation, Michele thanked Jay for the copy of his email to Cheryl. I think that you handled matters well, and I took the liberty to reply to both of you.

After the Skype call was over, Felipe went upstairs to join Linda. Jay stayed a little longer in the apartment and opened his email account to see what Michele had written. Her email read simply:

Dear Jay, I love you and trust you. Dear Cheryl, I can understand your attraction to my remarkable husband, but as we both know, he does have some faults! I do hope one day to meet you and be your friend. Michele

Jay smiled when he read it. It was typically Michele with its’ wisdom, grace, and humor in a few words. He then went upstairs to join Felipe and Linda where Linda had donuts and hot chocolate on the table waiting for them. Jay got his cup and a donut and took one of the stuffed chairs in the high ceiling room across from Linda and Felipe.

Tomorrow morning, I've set up a meeting with us with the doctor and social worker at Hightop to discuss our options with John, Linda announced.

Good, Jay said.

And I hope you don't mind, but I have also scheduled some other events for the days that you are here. I did so before John had his stroke and I found out that you both were coming.

We don't mind, Jay said. We are here to support you in any way that we can.

The main event is Saturday afternoon. A month ago, as president of the ‘Friends of the Montreat Library,’ I scheduled a book signing party for Tom Frist and for a local author you don't know—Peter Johnson. He is a young journalist, and his family owns a real estate agency in Asheville.

Tom has written another book? Jay asked.

He has, Linda replied. And like his first two novels about our family in Brazil and the Hollins family in Nicaragua, this one is also a historical novel with adventures thrown in. It's about Peter Johnson and his travels to Turkey to discover his Armenian and Turkish roots. While there, he was captured by ISIS in Syria.

Sounds fascinating, Felipe exclaimed.

It is, Linda replied. I’ve almost finished it. She took a sip of hot chocolate from her cup. At the same event, Peter will be launching his own first novel about two Armenian sisters who survived the genocide in 1915. One of them was Peter’s great-grandmother who escaped to the U.S. Her sister survived in Turkey by converting to Islam and marrying a Kurd. They met again in Istanbul many decades later. Linda paused and then said, I hope you both will go.

Of course, we will go, Jay said, Like Felipe said, the stories sound fascinating, and it is always good to see Tom and catch up.

Jay had known Tom Frist since Jay was a teenager and came with his mother and grandparents for summer vacations to Montreat. He often saw Tom at the post office, at square dances, at church, or at softball games, and he knew of Tom's long friendship with his parents, Linda and Paulo Benton, and with Elizabeth Hollins and her family.

In the summer of 1959, as college students, Linda and her future husband, Paulo, were counselors to fourteen-year-old Tom in the Montreat summer club program, and Elizabeth was one of the college-age lifeguards at Lake Susan, the freezing mountain lake where Tom and the other kids of Montreat swam, sun-bathed, and flirted.

When Linda and