Jerusalem Stone

by Susan Sofayov

  “Let’s go back to the hotel, swim in the pool, and eat dinner at the roof top restaurant,” he said, slinging his arm around my waist.

  Chapter 13

  At eight a.m., the next morning, we boarded the plane to Tel Aviv. My stomach churned with dread while he acted like a kid on his way to Disneyland, talking non-stop about all the places he wanted to take me and how much his sisters, Aviva and Rivka would love me. By the time the plane landed twelve hours later, I wanted to run to the nearest ladies’ room and throw up.

  “Our first stop is my apartment building to pick up my car. Then we’ll drive to Aviva’s house to pick up Brutus. She doesn’t live far from me, but I don’t want to have to carry Brutus’s bed, bowls, and assorted toys. After we drop off the dog, we’ll need to buy some food. There isn’t a thing to eat in my apartment. I can cook, a little. What about you?”

  “Actually, I love to cook. I grill a wicked hamburger.”

  “I’m not surprised.” His face glowed with excitement. He pulled me close and kissed me. “Welcome to Israel.”

  At Ben Gurioun airport, we walked down a ramp flanked by huge windows on one side and, on the other, a stone wall that grew larger as the polished stone floor descended. A lot of people stared at us as they passed by. A few pointed and a couple of teenage girls squealed “Hi, Avi.”

  “This is weird,” I said.

  He shrugged. “I’m used to it, but walk fast.”

  Outside the terminal, we jumped into the first available cab and let the driver load our overstuffed backpacks and assorted plastic bags into the trunk.

  Within a few minutes, he climbed in. “Hi, Avi,” he said, followed by a rapid fire string of Hebrew words. Avi replied in Hebrew that sounded much smoother.

  The driver put the car in gear, and we began the forty-five-minute journey to Jerusalem.

  “How did he know your name?” I whispered in Avi’s ear.

  He rolled his eyes. “Same as everyone else.”

  I stared out the taxi window. It wasn’t the tropical view I’d become accustomed to in Thailand. The land was flat and dry, with an occasional grove of orange trees. A half hour into the ride, we began the ascent into Jerusalem. I told myself to relax and enjoy the trip. My stomach refused to cooperate.

  Avi held my hand and chattered about something. “What’s wrong, you look pale?”

  I bit my bottom lip and shook my head. He stroked my cheek. “We’re in Israel, and you’re still beautiful.”

  I gazed into his eyes. “Can I wait in the car while you pick up Brutus?”

  His expression changed to disappointment. “That’s one of the main reasons I wanted you to come home with me, to meet my sisters. You’ll love them--really.”

  “It’s not about me loving them. It’s about them wondering what kind of girl has a vacation fling and the chutzpah to meet his family. I’m just going to look like some kind of slut.”

  His eyes opened wide, and for the first time, I saw anger. “What did you say?”

  “You heard me. Don’t make me repeat it.”

  “We’re not going to have this conversation here. We’ll pick up Brutus tomorrow. You and I need to have a talk.”

  We spent the rest of the ride in silence.

  A door man met us at the taxi, retrieved our bags from the trunk, and loaded them on a cart. We followed him through the empty lobby to the elevator. Five floors later, the elevator doors glided open. We stepped into a small hallway with only one door. It appeared that Avi’s apartment took up an entire floor. He opened the door and directed me into the most breathtaking apartment I’d ever seen. The far wall was glass divided into sections by the same stone as the exterior. The furniture mixed elegance with comfort. It matched him, high class with dreadlocks. The marble gleamed. I took off my shoes.

  “That’s not necessary,” he said sharply before turning and taking our bags from the doorman. “Toda, Manny.” He closed the door and turned to me. “What the fuck is going on inside your head? Please tell me, because I don’t get it. I don’t understand how you could even think what you said in the car.”

  My throat choked.

  “I’m waiting.”

  “If my brother brought home a girl who was just a fling, that’s what I’d think. I wouldn’t want to meet her, but he would know that. I only met the girls he felt serious about.”

  “How the hell do you think I feel about you? I didn’t bring home a fling,” he said, making air quotes around the word fling. “In case you haven’t figured it out, I fell in love with you the day we met. There was no way I was letting you get away--bashert, remember? Why do you think I brought you here? To extend a cheap short-term relationship? Damn, you hurt me.”

  Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my mind jumbled. I couldn’t talk. Instead, I walked to the sofa, sat down, and held my throbbing head between my hands--Oh, God, help me.

  He walked to the kitchen, and I heard the refrigerator door slam and then the water running. He came back into the room, placed a glass of ice water on the glass coffee table, and sat next to me. “Let’s start this trip a different way.” He wrapped me in his arms, which triggered more tears, because it was the one place on Earth that felt like home. “Julie, I’m sorry, I brought you to Israel on a ruse. It was never my intention to extend our Thailand bubble, as you called it. I hoped that, with more time, you would fall in love with me, like I am with you.”

  “Can I have a tissue?” I sniffled. He walked back toward the kitchen, grabbed a box off the granite countertop dividing the kitchen from the dining room and handed it to me. “I already love you--so much. But...”

  “You over complicate things.” He kissed me, and my body turned to liquid, flowing into his arms. “You don’t want me to be PhD Avi. How about for the next ten days you stop being overly-pessimistic Julie?”

  “I’ll try,” I said, blowing my nose.

  “Make me happy. Let me spoil you for ten days.” He picked me up, cradling me in his arms like a child. “It’s time for me to show you around this place. We’ll start in the bedroom.”

  ***

  Six hours later, we woke and, due to our jet lag, it was only eleven p.m.

  “I’m starving,” he said, between nibbles at my ear. “At this time of night, we’re not going to find a place serving breakfast. Have you ever eaten falafel?”

  “Yes, once, and no, I don’t want to eat it now. Let’s find a supermarket, buy eggs, bread, orange juice and anything else that looks interesting. I wasn’t joking. I really do know how to cook.”

  “Excellent, because the only things I can make are salad, noodles, and grilled cheese sandwiches.” He engulfed me in his arms, kissing me until my body lay limp on the bed and moved his mouth to my ear. “I’m completely in love with you.”

  His words flowed through my ears to my blood and bones like a melody, sweet and tragic. “I love you, too,” I said, wallowing in the feeling of his skin pressed against mine, but what difference would it make? Physically, we lived continents apart. In other respects, our lives seemed to be universes apart. I pulled his face to mine, kissing him. Screw the continents and the universe, for the next nine days, he was mine.

  ***

  “Israel with Julie, day one,” Avi said. “Meet Brutus and Aviva. Go to the Kotel and the Shuk Mahane Yehuda.

  “The Kotel is the Western Wall, right? And the shuk, whatever you said after the word shuk is a...”

  “Yes, the Kotel equals Western Wall in English. Shuk is an outdoor market and my favorite place in this city--a lot of candy.”

  I finished loading our second breakfast dishes into the dishwasher as he wiped down the counter top. “I still can’t believe you never used the oven. At least you could have removed the plastic and the warranty papers,” I said peeling off the tape that held them to the inside of the oven door.

  He shrugged. “Didn’t know they were in there.”

  I dried my hands “Can I send a quick email to my father before we go?”

&nbs
p; “Follow me.” He led me to his office and opened the door.

  “Holy hell.” I gasped and scanned the room. The floor to ceiling shelves lining all four walls overflowed with books in Hebrew and English. Piled on the floor, in front of the shelves, more books. A giant industrial looking desk sat in the center of the room, covered with paper, more books, three monitors and enough wires to connect a small village.

  He sat down in the desk chair and booted up the system. “Sit,” he said, rising from the chair.

  I shook my head.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Your computer is scary looking.”

  He tossed his head back laughing and pulled me into a rib-crushing hug. “It’s a regular computer. Ignore everything except this monitor. He pointed to the one on the left of the chair. I recognized the start-up screen and sat down.

  “This is mind-boggling.”

  “I’ll take you to my lab and show you a few really mind-blowing things, but for now just type the email and let’s get out of here.”

  The pit of my stomach trembled a bit. I’d had two boyfriends who took me home to meet the family, and neither went so well. The father of the first one didn’t like Jews. And the mother of the second one didn’t like me.

  “You’re stalling to avoid my sister.” He kissed the back of my neck. “Move it.”

  Chapter 14

  Aviva lived a few blocks away, so we walked, giving me my first daytime glimpse of Jerusalem. The sky was bluer than Avi’s eyes and completely cloudless. The first thing I noticed was the noise--car horns, pedestrians yelling into cell phones, and the swish of rushing air, each time a bus opened its doors. The heat of the August day captured the scents of food being fried and spices I didn’t recognize. The atmosphere energized me.

  As we walked street to street, I noticed all the buildings were built with the same creamy colored stone. Avi explained the stone was called Jerusalem Stone. Its color ranged from cream to pale pink. The city law required all buildings be faced with it, rendering Jerusalem the most color coordinated city on Earth. The building Aviva lived in was only a few stories high and sported large balconies overlooking a small street off Jaffa Road. The double glass door with the name stenciled in elaborate, gold Hebrew script achieved its goal. I was impressed.

  She buzzed us in, and we walked quickly through a lobby with cavernous cathedral ceilings to the elevator. He pushed the up button. When the elevator doors opened, a few people stood waiting to enter. They greeted Avi and very obviously checked me out.

  Aviva stood waiting in the doorway when we walked out of the elevator. Her long brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. Her blue eyes were different than her brother’s, paler--like me and Jack. My eyes were dark green, and his always reminded me of pale-green after-dinner mints. She held out her arms and squealed Avi’s name. As we approached the door, I heard a dog bark.

  He wrapped his arms around her for a few moments and then released her to pat her very pregnant belly. “How’s my future nephew?”

  “Kicking like a madman,” she replied in perfect English.

  “Julie, my sister Aviva.” Before I could say anything, I was engulfed in a hug.

  “So nice to meet you! Sorry, to shock you, but we’re a family of huggers. Come in.” She ushered me through the door and said something in Hebrew to Avi.

  I thought about asking him to translate but didn’t have the courage.

  “Let’s keep it in English for Julie,” Avi said.

  “No problem,” Aviva replied.

  Avi entered and was immediately attacked by a hyper, tail wagging dog. “Brutus,” he said, moving his head to keep the jumping dog from licking his face. “Hey, Brutus. I have someone better to kiss now.”

  Aviva and I both laughed. A few moments after the dog, a little boy ran into the room, yelling Avi’s name. Avi scooped him up and swung him around like a windmill. “Ofir!” He said something in Hebrew and the little boy giggled. Avi signaled for me to come closer. “Julie, this is my nephew, Ofir.”

  I looked at Avi, embarrassed I couldn’t even say a word to the child. He must have read the discomfort on my face. “He speaks English. My brother-in-law is an American. Ofir, say hi to Julie.”

  “Hi, Julie. I’m five, and my sister is two. She’s sleeping. Do you want to see what I made with Legos? It’s really cool. Follow me.” He grabbed my hand and led me toward another room. I looked back over my shoulder and saw Avi and his sister smiling.

  After a few minutes, Avi entered the room and found me building a castle with his very precocious nephew. “Sorry, but you have to share Julie with me and your Ima.”

  “I’ll come back on another day. Thanks for letting me play,” I said to Ofir and shook his hand in a pretend grown-up fashion, which elicited a huge grin from him.

  “You like kids?” Avi asked as he led me to the kitchen.

  “Yep. Love kids. For a long time, I thought about being an elementary school teacher.”

  “Why did you switch to finance?”

  I shrugged. “No money in teaching.”

  We sat around the granite topped island, drinking strong Turkish coffee and eating delicious chocolate chip cookies, still warm from the oven. A half hour into the visit, I met Leah, who resembled her uncle more than her mother. For a moment, I imagined a child with Avi’s eyes and my hair. Stop it.

  Still sleepy, the toddler sat on Aviva’s lap, crushing her head against her mother’s breasts. Aviva explained that Leah could only say a few words because her brother never stopped talking. “Sound familiar?” she asked, playfully punching her brother in the arm.

  But, watching the gesture felt like a hammer to my heart. I had a brother who loved to talk, but he was gone. The flood gates opened. The guilt I restrained seized my thoughts and moisture filled my eyes. “Could you point me to the bathroom?” I needed to get away before the tears streamed down my face.

  A few minutes in the bathroom gave me time to gather myself back together, and a few extra gave me the opportunity to admire her bathroom--a lot of marble and granite in this country.

  “Where’s Brutus’s leash?” Avi asked as we prepared to leave.

  “Since you’ll be traveling for most of the next ten days, why don’t you just leave him here and not worry about walking or feeding him?”

  He patted the big dog’s head. “Ten more days of vacation, buddy.”

  She escorted us to the door, reminding us that Shabbat dinner was starting at seven-thirty. She reached up and pinched Avi’s cheek. “For once, please be on time.” She turned to me. “Julie, please make sure he gets here on time. I’ve invited our great aunt and uncle. She’s eighty-two, and he’s eighty-seven. If we don’t finish eating by nine o’clock, both will be snoring at the table.”

  “No problem.”

  As we waited outside the elevator, she hugged me goodbye. A warm feeling replaced my initial nervousness. It would be easy to be friends with his sister. In some ways, she reminded me of my cousin Danielle--very domestic.

  The elevator doors opened, and as they closed, I promised again that we would be on time for dinner.

  “Even Ofir is bilingual,” I whined, leaning against the back wall of the steel and glass elevator.

  “You should have paid attention in Hebrew school.”

  “They didn’t teach the language, just the holidays.”

  “Too bad.” The doors parted, and we headed for the exit. “Ah, shit,” he said.

  “What’s wrong?” I looked around the lobby, noticing nothing strange.

  “You’ll see in a minute.”

  Outside the building, a man rushed toward us, speaking in rapid Hebrew to Avi, as he snapped pictures of us. I shielded my eye from the bright flash.

  They spoke for a few seconds before Avi turned to me. “Julie, this is Omer. We play soccer together on Fridays. Unfortunately, he works for the newspaper, and someone called and reported seeing me with a woman.”

  “Julie. You’re an American?”
He snapped a close-up of my face. “Hi.”

  I looked at Avi, unable to process what was happening.

  “Stop it, Omer. You’ll scare her away.”

  “Sorry, Julie, but it’s my job.” He shrugged at me before turning back to face Avi. “Are you playing tomorrow?”

  “No, I plan on being busy for the next few Fridays.”

  “Go, play,” I told him. “While you play soccer, I’ll bake something we can take to your sister’s house for dessert.”

  “I’m playing.”

  “Great. By the way, Ezra’s wife had the baby--a girl. Maybe you and Julie can stop by my place for a drink one night this week. Hannah would love to see you.”

  “Tell Hannah I said hello. But I can’t promise we’ll stop for a drink. We’ll be traveling all week, doing the tourist trail. Julie’s only here for ten days.”

  “Well, the invitation is out there if you can fit it in,” Omer said.

  “If your editor decides to publish a picture, try to talk him into making it a small one.”

  “I’ll do my best,” he said, walking away, giving us a quick wave.

  “You’re going to explain to me what happened, right?”

  “My soccer buddy is a photographer for the newspaper. His boss knows we’re friends, so he always sends him when he wants a scoop on me because he knows I’d never dodge Omer. Omer’s family needs to eat, so I cooperate.”

  “Paparazzi.”

  He sighed, sounding disgusted. “I guess you could call it that.”

  I leaned in and pecked his cheek. “You really are famous.”

  He made an unpleasant face. “You’re not going to hold it against me, are you?”

  “Nope, I love you anyway.”

  He kissed me and smiled. “Where to next--the Kotel or the shuk?”

  “You pick.”

  “Hummm, food or prayer?” He grabbed my hand. “Let’s eat.”