To America and Back

by Mordechai Landsberg

At that time Effy was really heading to the south of the country. On Tuesday evenings he would visit a dancing class, organized by Beer Sheba small municipality and district Kibbuts’ union. He would pay attention there to some pretty girls, coming to study original Israeli Popular dances, as well as Russians’ ones. No British or French or American country dances. But Effy didn’t mind. He was satisfied, that after a hard workday, loading and unloading boxes and sacks, full of many types of products, he could come to a cultural place, and try to move his tired limbs and uplift his spirit.

  At first he was standing aside, looking at the girls, who were braver than guys, in trying to make some movements – listening to the guide woman and to the music that was bursting loudly from the electric recorder.

  While his eyes were trying to hunt a certain girl’s eyes, he saw her girl friend slipping, and falling on the floor. Effy stretched his hand to her, and helped her to rise. She thanked him, and he opened a conversation, that seemed to him to be promising. He asked her politely how was her feeling after the fall.

  She said: ”Very well. And thanks again”. He continued to ask if she had come alone.

  She said: “No, with my girl friend, Etty”.

  And so the ‘acquaintance went further on’, and the girl invited Effy to visit her home one day. Maybe she had done so, after having become to know his Hebrew strange accent and way of speaking, which indicated that he had been a foreigner.

  At that time, as well as nowadays – an American was a highly respected personality in Israel. Girls had been used to (and had the right to) think that most of Americans were rich and so on, though it had not been the full truth. Knowing that Hedwa (this was her name) was the only girl who had shown any interest in talking with him, Effy’s head was filled with pride. On thursday he brought Hedwa a present of milk chocolate packet. He had found out that except her, also her old father was in the house. He was a religious Jew from Tunis or Moroco. Effy didn’t care, and accepted to wear a cap that Hedwa handed him, ‘as a gesture for her father, who would see an American guy, who was well educated and not ignorant of Judaism or whatever…’

  Effy told Hedwa he was distributing food and sweets all over the Negev and center of the country. He was quite satisfied with what he was doing. His cousin was working with him, he added. After an additional short talk, Effy discovered that Hedwa was a sister of the well known singer Semadar, one of the ‘Girlsingers’.

  “Let me try to talk English with you,” said Hedwa in Hebrew, ”My sister, who had visited the States not long ago, told me how important was the English language. I want to study some words, in addition to what I know. I have finished six classes at school, and we have not learned a lot.”

  “I’ll be very glad, and speak slowly,” said Effy, “But we will talk also Hebrew, to help me elaborate what I need.”

  He understood that Hedwa had been raised by a good and honest and modest family. Though she was living far from Tel Aviv, and it would be quite an effort of two hours drive to see her, Effy decided to court her: His joint business with Naitty was extending activity in the south. He began to like Hedwa’s way of talking and smiling and looking at him, and it was enjoying for him to answer her questions about his parents:

  “I have parents, of course. I am their only son, and they are feeling quite lonely now.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” said Hedwa.

  “When I’ve heard about your big family,” said Effy,”I understood what an advantage it had been to all involved. I’m lucky to I have a cousin here, Nathan, who is my business partner.”

  “Both of us are sore,” he added, “that we have left my parents behind. They are his uncle and aunt… But… It’s not awful. I mean – their financial condition. They are living comfortably.”

  Effy understood that Hedwa’s mercy had been wrapped him already, and she was interwaving her fingers with his, and advanced her loins to his.

  “My sister will be here with the Singingirls,” she said, “So we’ll go out together to see their Show. O’key?”

  “Of course,” he said and she wrote a note with the exact date and hour, and handed it to Effy.

  “I’ll come with Naitty’s Transporter to pick you up,” he smiled.

  “Would you bring your cousin too?”

  “He has some suppliers here, that he would like to talk to. We have already spoken about the target of my travel.”

  “What target?” she asked.

  “You are my target, dear Hedwa. You!” he laughed and she joined him in that.

  “I know that the vehicle is owned by him,” she said. “But you don’t be frustrated because of that, Effy. I am sure that you’ll buy also a new one to yourself. It will be even better than his.”

  “O’key,” said Effy.

  “If Naitty would be happy to help you,” she said, “He is a good man. Well, you are welcome, Effy.”

  “Thank you again.”

  “But it bothers me,” she suddenly said, “that your parents are there alone, without a family. I would have brought them here to Israel.”

  “No, they are too old for this hard country and difficult climate. But rich people like them, you know. They are very rich, and can afford themselves even…to be going to Florida in summertime, and so on.”

  “But they will be dead to see you, I’m sure.”

  “One day – maybe you’ll see them here,” said Effy, “They will come to a visit I am sure. Or maybe you will travel to America.”

  “Of course,” she said, “I hope that one day I will be there, and see wonderful things. But they are a kind of parsimoniuos persons, aren’t they? If they had sent you here, to work so hard.”

  “No, I am an ethical kind of man. I wouldn’t dare to take a lot from my old people. I have come here as I’m a traditional guy. Not so religious, but God Believer. A prayer for me is a prayer, and preferrably where we’re close to God, here... If you take my cousin as an example, he is a much more religious person than myself. He’s an orthodox Jew. Therefore we’ve both arrived here. Naitty had once manged a part of my parents’ business. Because of his extraordinary religiousity- he decided to emigrate to the Holy Land… Now they have found another Jewish manager, instead of him.”

  After listening to Effy’s pride about his family, Hedwa was pushing her breast even more tightly to his arm and shoulder. Now Effy said:

  “There is a little problem with Naitty. He is almost thirty, and having here no girlfriend yet, he… “

  “It would have been well – if we could find some girl fit for him,“ she said. “Look, I would talk to my sister. Maybe she can find a spare ticket for next week’s Show here, which Naitty would also attend… No. I’m sorry. She has too much friends, begging to have tickets- free of charge… ”

  “We could try to to find tickets for the Show in Tel Aviv, of next month,” said Effy, “Nathan will see it there.”

  “You know?” she said in slow Hebrew, “My sister, Semadar, had met a young American, who has recently come to Israel. Like you. He also was in New Yok, in a suburb: Mantattenn.”

  “Hedwa,” said Effy, “you have meant : Manhatten.”

  “So, this just-friend, not exactly boyfriend,” Hedwa looked into Effy’s eyes, to see if he had understood her exactly, “this friend had come to Israel, in order to volunteer to the Parachutists’ Unit. Now he’s already in the army. His name is Humik. Maybe you have met such a guy in New York, Effy?”

  “Why do you ask that? You know how big is New York? and America – as a whole? I’ve forgotten how many millions are dwelling in New York. Mayb six millions, much more than in Israel. But are you sure that his name was Humik? an Israeli born youth?”

  “Yes,”she said, “So, maybe you’ve known him?”

  “No, but I heard such a name, from a friend of a friend of him.”

  “That Humik is a little strange fellow. A month ago my sister had told me, that Humik said he would pick up stars from the sky and put them on her cushion, like they had been flowers.
”

  “So, is he courting her?”

  “Not at all. But she said that today a man gets mad for a beautiful girl like her. She is prettier than me. A little, that’s the truth. If you’ll listen to her sad songs, you’ll have such a wish to weep.” “What topics has she chosen to sing about?”

  “Oh, about lost days or nights. Or about a drawning ship. Or about sad clowns. Every song is fit for a particular audience. For example: Before the army soldiers she would sing happy songs, about love, about cats, about movies.”

  “And you say, that she is not a girlfriend of that Humik?”

  “No, they are just good acquaintances. She had a friend, who had been his girl-friend, a short time.”

  “Do they already broadcast your sisters’ songs in the radio?” he asked.

  “Of course. The Singingirls are famous now. You can hear them in your Transporter’s radio. You have there a radio, don’t you?” Effy nodded, and looked at his watch.

  “How many months has this Humik already been in our land? More than a year?”

  “No, I am sure.” said Hedwa, “Only a few months. You ask it, as if suddenly you have become aware that you know him.”

  “What was he doing there in New York, do you know? Because the guy Humik, that I heard about, had come from Los Angeles.”

  “Listen, I am three years younger than Sermadar, and I have not inquired so much details.”

  “Oh,” He said and scratched his forehead,” I have to think why I … had asked you all that.”

  He began meditating, if he should tell her what he had known about Humik. No. Humik would prefer, of course, that nobody would know or talk about Raphaella. Therefore Effy said:

  “Let’s leave that subject. It seems like I mixed up two Humiks. Oh, I’m in a hurry now, Hedwik. Would you like this new name that I’ve just given you? Hedwik! See you again. You’ll get me and the Transporter next week, and we’ll see the Show together.”

  She escorted him to the courtyard. A guyava tree was growing there, and she kissed Effy under it. A swift rain shower of April made their faces wet.

  Effy was running to Beer Sheba center’s square, where Naittyy was waiting for him with the Transporter, to take both back to Tel Aviv. It was a windy evening, like citizens there were used to. Naitty closed his vehicle’s windows, and waited patiently for his cousin.

  ‘That Humik is for sure- our Humik’- Effy told himself. ‘I’ll consult with Naitty, if I’ve to tell something to Hedwa. If Humik is a boyfriend of the singer, a fact that her sister doesn’t know- then I may have an ethical problem: Really, I don’t have anything against Humik, so why should I open my mouth? To cause a heart pain to a guy, who is a patriot and a soldier ? What Humik had done, like my cousine had done- with Raphaella, is Humik’s own busines. Why should I smear mud on him? There is some moral defect not only in Humik, but in Hedwa’s sister: If she is really a girlfriend of such a guy, who is surely an atheist. Not like me or Nathan… But, really: I would have acted like Humik, had I the chance to be with Raphaella… No, Naitty is in another category of personal behavior. He was serious about Raphaella. He loved her, he said, though in a devilish manner. And that was the real reason, so he told me confidentially, that he had decided to go to Israel. He was afraid she had been Lilith, the delegate of Satan, and would have stabbed him, had he remained in U.S.’

  The cousines were discussing Humik’s matter, while already driving toward Tel Aviv.

  “No doubt- my girl friend’s sister is friendly with our Humik from Manhatten,” said Effy, but he saw that Naitty had been indiffernt to his chat. So he became silent, meditating again:

  ‘Instead of thinking about Humik, I have to concentrate on Hedwa herself. Think logically, yes... Had she been only just three inches taller, and three inches thicker, then she would have been an ideal bride for me. I know that she’s a little bit infantile,

  but who’s not? She’s the type of a woman that I can live with and love… How had I forgotten? -I Myself and Naitty are dealing with food. So, I will cause her to eat much more fat food, like geese meat. She is too meagre now. Then I’ll buy her in the best cosmetics store- very good creams for face and hands and shoulders and legs and whole body. Then I’ll buy a vermallion colored lipstick, that will make her doll faced. Then her nails will get a treatmnet, and be smeared by burdeu color. I know that in America they had started to extend the size of the breast…

  “Naitty,” asked Effy, “what d’you know about extending a woman’s breast by a plastic operation? would it disturb you, had you been a husband of such a woman?”

  “Generally not,” answered Naitty, encircling his steering wheel and grabbing it fiercely, as a semitrailler had surpassed them and forced Naitty to drive deep onto the roadside.

  “Take, for example, Raphaella,” continued Naitty, “she had a wonderfully shaped nose. Did you know that she had been operated, after having a serious accident, that almost erased her nose? So… But please, don’ty mention her any more. I’m deadly longing. Enough! I sometimes think we’d been mistaken – leaving everything behind us. Oh, God.”

  “Don’t worry,” said Effy. “God will help, he has already begun with me.”

  Some days later the two American guys have already met Semadar, Hedwa’s sister. They were seated in Cafe Ruth in Dizengoff street, and Semadar said something to Effy in Hebrew. He and Naitty had understood her talk.

  “You know what? After I had left my singer friend Tamar- in new York, and returned to Israel – there were rumors.”

  “About who?” asked Effy.

  “About that Humik. The guy that you had known in New York, so Hedwa had told me.”

  “Why have you reminded him now?” asked Effy in a rebuke.

  “Because we had then received a letter from Humik’s friend. Mike. And he… Tell him, Hedwa. “

  “Mike wrote, that Humik was not such an innocent fellow as we

  had originally thought. He was doing a very nasty job.”

  “I suggest that you stop that discussion!” said Naitty in English, while rising from his seat.

  He pointed on Effy, like warning him to stop talking.

  “Humik was…” continued Semadar, who had not understood well Naitty’s words – “a Jigolo of old women, who used to arrive in New York, to see the city and visit Manhatten’s museums. That was after I had already left New York… He had also arrived here – two months after me, or more.”

  Naitty sat down calmly, after having heard that Humik had been mentioned; but only about his activity with old women tourists.

  “Who had invented that rumor?” he asked loudly, as if to be sure that no other rumor had existed. “The guy Humik was no Jigolo, and I don’t understand why you are talking about him so long.”

  “We don’t believe in any rumor about Humik. O’key?” said Effy to both sisters. “I don’t know,” he added, “how should behave a man, being gossipped like him: Shoot his own leg, or what?”

  “Any blame or accuse” said Naitty, looking at Semadar with a strange smile on his lips,( she had not felt it to be strange), “Has to be witnessed by two. So is written in our Torah. Am I right?”

  ”Yes, you are right,” said Semadar, humbly dropping her eyes and aftertward looking at her sister.

  Hedwa said very complacently:

  ”O’key, Humik is a good guy, and maybe there were two… “

  “Oh, Hedwa! Why are you talking so badly about a soldier, my acquaintant?” said Semadar. Her eyes had become wet, and she told Naitty, looking at his face:

  “If you say the rumors are not true, I’ll beg a pardon from Humik… Within three or four weeks- we’ll all receive an invitation from him, to attend his Finalizing Recruitment ceremony. I had promised him to come.”

  “You are a good Jewish ‘meidl’(maiden)”, said Naitty, and smoothed her palm; then he embraced her shoulders fraternally, while rising from his chair. She had not felt uneasy by that touch.

  CHAPTER 38