by Yael Hedaya
“You go down, I’ll be right there.”
They went downstairs and waited for her on the street, until she came down in black pants and a knit top, and Dana thought, Shira was wrong: Observation brings not only sorrow but sometimes also comfort.
The bus window opened on to a dimming valley with squares of fields: a quilt of greens, browns, and grays.
“I’m bored.” Tamar sighed.
“We’ll probably be there soon.” Her voice, like her thoughts, sounded happier, as if it belonged to someone who had felt a great relief.
“Aren’t you hot with that sweatshirt on?”
“A little.” She rolled the sleeves up to her elbows.
“Take it off, then,” Tamar said.
“Soon.” She stared out at the view. It looked familiar, as if she had been here before.
“I really can’t be bothered with goats now.” Tamar leaned over her, also looking outside. “I’m starved.”
“We’ll eat soon.”
“But I hate cheese.”
“I like it.”
“Yes, but you like everything. Is this the Galilee?” She stared indifferently at the rocks alongside the road. The bus seemed fearful as cars and trucks passed downhill on the other side.
“I think so. Why don’t you ask your friend?”
“Who?” Tamar’s bored eyes lit up.
“Him.” Dana pointed her chin at the guide, who was standing with his back to them, talking to the driver.
“Gross!” Tamar said, shocked.
“Why?” Dana faked surprise. “He’s cute. Look how his pockets are coming out at the bottom of his shorts.”
“That’s disgusting,” Tamar whispered, pressing up against Dana protectively.
“No, really. Look at his cheeks, they’re kind of red, like apples. It’s so sexy.”
“Stop it.” Tamar giggled. “I’ll throw up.”
“And look at that cute roll of fat on his neck, like those dogs have, the wrinkled ones. Don’t you feel like petting him?”
“I swear, I’ll throw up on you!” She buried her head in Dana’s legs and stifled a scream, and then the guide breathed into the loudspeaker.
“Can you hear me?” he asked.
“Yes!” the class answered.
“We’ll be there soon. You’ll see it in a minute; it’s just around the bend. Are you hungry yet?”
“Yes!” everyone screamed cheerfully. Dana was surprised to hear her own voice amid the shouting.
“But are you really hungry?”
“Yes!” they all answered.
“And do you feel like a fantastic meal of cheese?”
“No!” Tamar shouted, as Dana once again yelled, “Yes!” with everyone else.
“And will you be well behaved?”
“No!” her voice mingled with Tamar’s.
“So what do you say? Are we going to have fun?”
“Yes!” the class screamed.
“What’s that you say?” he shouted into the microphone.
“Yes!” she heard her voice reply, as if she were alone in the bus.
“I can’t hear you!” the guide said, and she felt hot and raised her arms and peeled her sweatshirt off. “Whaddaya say?”
“Yes!” she yelled, her voice louder than any other, as if she too had a loudspeaker. “Yes!”
ALSO BY YAEL HEDAYA
Housebroken
Yael Hedaya is a journalist and humor columnist for the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot, and the Tel Aviv weekly magazine Halr. She currently teaches creative writing at Tel Aviv University. Accidents, her first novel, was a bestseller in Israel and will be published in four languages. She lives in Tel Aviv, Israel.
ACCIDENTS. Copyright © 2001 by Yael Hedaya. Translation copyright © 2005 by Metropolitan Books. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hedaya, Yael.
[Te’unot. English]
Accidents : a novel / by Yael Hedaya ; translated by Jessica Cohen.
p cm.
ISBN 13: 978-0-312-42604-0
ISBN 10: 0-312-42604-6
I. Cohen, Jessica. II. Title.
PJ5055.23.E33T4813 2005
892.4'36—dc22
2005041977
First published in Israel in 2001 under the title Te’unot by Am Oved, Tel Aviv
First published in the United States by Henry Holt and Company
eISBN 9781466855113
First eBook edition: September 2013