From Siberia With Love

by Ilana Cohen

  “I would like to see you, Edith,” he said quietly. “I’ve taken the day off on Wednesday,” he whispered in her ear, and with a quick movement pulled her toward him. He bent close to her, so close she could feel the caress of his hair on her cheek, flowing above his perspiring brow. She took a long look at his handsome face, flushed with excitement and physical exercise. She felt happy and excited as well, but decided not to get carried away. She didn’t feel like explaining to him about all the difficulties and hardships in her life. Actually, she wasn’t into him anymore. She hadn’t seen or heard from him for the past six months. She didn’t think of him during the days, nor dreamed during the nights of the hero that had once showed up in her life long ago. Since she had been widowed, she needed to face a difficult reality, to confront genuine existential problems.

  “Tomorrow at four o’clock in the afternoon, I’ll wait for you here, next to the country club’s gate,” he announced with utter simplicity.

  Everything faded away on that magical moment. All her troubles seemed to vanish. Hypnotized, she looked into his bright eyes, which dazzled her mind. She modestly lowered her head and gently moved his arm from her shoulders, releasing herself from his sweaty grip. Without saying a word, she entered the dressing room.

  On her way home, Edith’s heart went wild with joy, convincing her with clear and powerful signals, flowing from her heart to her brain, beat after beat.

  “Mother, you’re smiling, what happened?” Ruthie remarked with surprise when Edith walked inside the house. “It’s a good thing you’re going back to your normal routine, mother. You did yourself a world of good by deciding to go to the gym tonight.”

  The children immediately noticed the significant change that had taken place within her that evening.

  “Mother, you’re still a young and beautiful woman, you can remarry,” her naïve and kind-hearted son affirmed her right for a new life.

  “My children, you are a true gift for me.”

  Edith warmly embraced her two children who stood side by side next to her, and tears of excitement welled in her eyes. She couldn’t sleep that night, even though she wanted to rest before the coming day. She thought and was excited and thought some more. And so it went throughout the night. In the morning, when she woke up, she felt tired. She gathered the honey-red curls of her hair and left thin bangs that covered her forehead. The dress she wore was light and loose, made of pink silk, smooth to the touch. The dress covered her entire body and its sleeves descended to her elbows. The neckline was adorned with delicate embroidery, pink just like the dress. She wore high-heeled black shoes to improve her appearance after a white night in which she hadn’t even slept a wink.

  She went to the four o’clock meeting exhausted, but with great expectations from the unknown awaiting her. Alex was already there, standing by the gym’s entry gate. He wore a pair of close-fitting jeans and a white t-shirt, his hair wet and carefully combed, gleaming and golden with sunlight.

  He’s still just a kid, she thought to herself while examining him from behind the wheel.

  She stopped next to him and when he came inside and sat, she noticed a serious expression on his face. What is it? She asked herself, excitement or concern? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

  When he closed the door of her car, she avoided his eyes and only asked briefly, “Where are we going?”

  “Are you familiar with a street called ‘The Golden Age’ in Kiryat Rishon?”

  “I have no idea where it is,” she admitted.

  “Just drive straight all the time and I’ll direct you,” he instructed.

  They treated each other like old colleagues going to a business meeting.

  “What are we supposed to find in that Golden Age Street in Kiryat Rishon?” she asked naively.

  “The apartment of a friend of mine who went to Russia for a business trip and left me his keys.”

  After exchanging a few brief sentences, they spoke no more. Their silence was filled with mutual excitement. The sharp scent of cologne filled up the car. He must have shaved just now in the dressing room before their appointment. Edith smelled of perfume and the deodorant she had used in the morning before going to work.

  “Perhaps we’re going too quickly about this, we barely know each other. You know, I’ve lost my husband only six months ago,” she mumbled, looking for last minute excuses. He continued to sit still beside her.

  “We didn’t take any tests… you know, you just showed up in my life, came to me from nowhere. I don’t know anything about you, what you really do, where you’re hanging out and with whom,” Edith entangled herself with her words, and he didn’t tarry with his answer.

  “I’ve been drafted about a month ago, they ran all the tests, including blood work and HIV,” he dryly remarked. “You have nothing to be afraid of, everything is fine with me, I assure you.”

  “Are you in a relationship with anyone? Are you having sex with another woman?” she continued with her interrogations.

  “I’ve been sleeping only with my wife ever since I immigrated to Israel. Is that what you want to know?” he answered rudely and she asked no more.

  The Golden Age Street was located in a new neighborhood still under construction. The neighborhood had been built in the suburbs of the city, kissing the sands of the beach. From the new apartments, the magnificent view of the open sea could be seen. Alex instructed her to park the car in a parking space belonging to a tall new building. Kiryat Rishon, that’s right, she thought, Yossi had worked in these construction sites, it was here that he had fallen and became mortally wounded. Her memories drifted from past events to the place in which she currently found herself in. She didn’t say a word.

  “Are we getting out?” he hurried her when she froze in her tracks, lost in thoughts behind the wheel.

  “Yes, we’re getting out,” she agreed and went out the vehicle after him.

  The moment she exited the vehicle, the wide skirt of her dress rose up with the force of a strong gust of wind, blowing from the nearby sea. It was four thirty in the afternoon of a mid-May day, the month of love. She dragged her large travel bag up the stairs while they climbed to the third floor. The elevator was still not operating in the new building, and she didn’t ask for his help. She brought everything from home, a towel, a night gown, an extra pair of underwear and a packet of condoms she had bought in the pharmacy for the first time in her life. She never had any use for them before. The two entered the new apartment, which was still unfurnished other than the kitchen the constructor had already installed. The only furnished room in the apartment was the bedroom, which contained a double bed, set and ready, covered with clean sheets.

  We have everything we need here, she thought to herself.

  Shutters shaded the dark apartment and the two turned on the light, even though it was still a bright day outside. He hugged her immediately while she was still holding the travel bag.

  “Kiss me, my baby, kiss me,” he whispered in her ears, asking with great charm, closing his eyes, raising his beautiful face for her to kiss. When he had spoken, she felt him in the depths of her heart. During their first long kiss, she let go of the bag which fell on the floor next to her feet. She brushed her hand across his pants, which turned even tighter, and the young man quickly undressed, took off his clothes and removed his sandals then removed his close-fitting underwear. She stood shocked in front of his naked body, still wearing her long dress. He was big, big, big… she didn’t have much experience with men, but she had never expected this. He kissed her on the lips again, passionately, and with a single practiced motion, took off her dress. She stood before him, wearing the fancy undergarments she had bought especially for the occasion during her lunch break: White chiffon bra and panties, ornamented with white lace. He continued to advance with her quickly, tried to take off her bra, but received no help from her.

  “Wait a moment, why are you in such a hurry, I want to put on a nightgown I’ve brought with me,”
she arrested him. She had bought the new nightgown at noontime as well, in the same lingerie show.

  “What do you need a night gown for, I don’t get it.”

  “Just because,” she insisted.

  Even though she tried to conceal herself, he still managed to take a brief look at her naked body.

  “You have a gorgeous body, you’re a knockout. What are you covering yourself for?” he looked at her disappointed as she stood before him wearing a revealing nightgown, made of white chiffon and some lace as well.

  “What, my night gown is not beautiful?”

  “You’re more beautiful, take it off please.”

  “I don’t want to,” she continued to insist; she had never stood naked in front of a man. Not in front of her husband who had never asked for it, not even while facing herself in front of the mirror.

  He embraced her again. The burly man wrapped his arms around her. When she took off her high-heeled shoes, he became half a head taller than her, the perfect height difference for a harmonious match between a man and a woman. She was overtaken by fear mingled with desire. The excitement burned within her and flooded her entire body. It’s been a long time since she had been with a man, and she certainly had never been with one like Alex, handsome and with a gorgeous athletic build. One who moved with the grace and agility that typified sportsmen.

  While standing next to the bed, she made a feeble attempt to dress him up with the condom she had brought in her purse.

  “It shows that you don’t have any experience, doll. Leave it. It’s on me, I’ll keep you safe,” he promised and delivered. He was excited by her, loved her, her perfect body, and remained a king in bed. Surprisingly enough, Alex felt her well from the very first moment, and she delighted in his very first touches. She lay in bed like a mesmerized doll, and he took it upon himself to do everything both for her and for him. He climbed on top of her, cleared himself a space between her long legs and reached her nipples with kisses, sucking them and licking gently just the way she liked it.

  “Ohhh…” she moaned, wriggling beneath the touch of his fingers that sought her underbelly in order to pleasure her and prepare her for penetration. She was still afraid of him, she had never been with a man like him. To be honest, other than Yossi, her late husband, she had never known another man. Even now, at the very beginning of her affair with Alex, she realized that in spite of her love for him, Yossi wasn’t very skillful in bed.

  “Try to come, sweetheart, because I can’t hold it any longer,” he whispered excitedly in her ear. She didn’t have enough time, he came right after he had asked her to.

  “I’m sorry, doll,” dressed in his underwear he returned to lie beside her following a quick shower. “I was really excited by you, you’re very beautiful and you’re new to me, I didn’t handle it very bravely,” he confessed with charming sincerity.

  “It’s all right, cutie, we’ll do it next time, I suppose,” she gleefully patronized him.

  While still smiling, pleased with both herself and her lover, she rolled on her stomach beside him and rose on her elbows. She clung to him until each part of her body’s skin touched his. She hugged him, and lowered her head to kiss his beautiful face. They kissed passionately, tasting each other with pure pleasure, and voila, he was ready and willing once more.

  She slid her way down, unrolled his underwear and felt him pulsating in the palm of her hand, stunned by his masculine vitality.

  “I’ve never seen one like yours,” she said, filled with wonder.

  “How many naked men have you managed to see,” he joked on her account, content with himself.

  She managed to contain herself only for another lick or two, then got up and mounted him. Swaying, pulling her fancy nightgown above her head and exposing herself completely to him, in all her glory.

  “You’re a very beautiful woman,” he ruled again, “I know what I’m talking about, unlike you, I’ve seen a thing or two in my life. You doll, are a true find for me, you’re sculpted just for me.”

  “Shut up already,” she laughed joyfully and stormed him with a kiss.

  She went for it again, this time all the way, sitting on him, slowly rocking her body, and a short while later, melting in sweet orgasm.

  “Six months, where have you been for the past six months, man?” she asked, tranquil and on her way home.

  “I was where I’m supposed to be, but you weren’t there.”

  “How do you know where I’ve been and what I’ve done?” she was surprised.

  “I know everything about you,” he said, “I’ve been in touch with your children and they told me all about what happened with you for the past six months. I’m sorry about your husband’s mortal injury, about his fall from the scaffolding, sorry about his death.”

  “Thanks for your sympathy, but where do you know all this from? No one has mentioned you at home. They haven’t told me about you taking an interest.” She was surprised by his words, but she wasn’t excited by anything anymore. She felt so happy.

  “Apparently, my calls didn’t really interest your children, and I never asked them to give you any messages. I stopped calling in the last two months because I knew your husband had passed away. I respected the family’s period of mourning.”

  She smiled while driving. When she was in love, she loved the entire world.

  The fatigue she suffered from on the way to their appointment melted away now, as if it had never existed. She felt at her best, sitting beside him following their romantic date, filled with passion and love. The thought the he took interest in her while she wasn’t there, flattered her and warmed her heart.

  It was still daylight when they reached the country-club’s parking area.

  “We’re here, my car is parked right over there,” he said and opened the door right after she had stopped the vehicle.

  “Thank you,” he said briefly and got out.

  Chapter 12

  Just another Ordinary Friday Night

  “Are we going out tonight, dear?” Julia stretched herself in her husband’s arms after a perfect Friday afternoon siesta. She was constantly in love with her beautiful husband, enjoying her every moment with him.

  “We’ll go out, why not,” he approved, relaxed; everything is fine with him as well.

  She gave him a long kiss, still comfortably lying in bed and picking up the receiver of the telephone resting on a small chest next to it.

  “I’m calling the girls, we’ll all go to have a drink on the beach tonight, what do you say?” she rose from his embrace and kissed his large warm hand again.

  “Call them, it’s an excellent idea, we can take the parents too, if you’d like.” Tonight, Alex is very much at ease, he is in love again. For the past week, he had known a new woman, an impressive woman who had ignited his heart and made him happy.

  “Ninochka darling, we’re going out to the beach, I was hoping you could join us,” Julia spoke with her elder sister while still lying in bed. Arranging a family outing, calling her sisters to invite them to a traditional Friday-night gathering. “Karen is out with friends in Tel Aviv? Our child is going dancing? That’s wonderful, you have a young lady at home. How old is she? Fifteen? Sixteen? Don’t worry, Nina, everything will be fine, stop being a panicky Jewish-Russian mamushka. We’ll spend the evening together until the child comes back from her dancing. We’ll have a good time, tell each other stories about the past week, just stay with me and I’ll take care of you, sister. Tell Kola as well, dress up nice. You don’t have a car? Misha has taken the girls and he’s driving them back home as well? You see, so everything is fine. We’ll pick you up in an hour, be ready. I’m calling Mara and Lora as well. When was the last time you’ve spoken? I haven’t seen you all week, we’ll have the time of our lives together, we’ll have fun tonight. We’ll chat in the open air of the sea till late into the night. It’s my weekend off from work, what fun, I can’t wait to see you all!”

  The Rishon Beach coffee shops were full of
diners that Friday night. It was the first day of July, high summer, a beautiful night following a scorching day, nice and cool at the beach. At the center of the coffee shop square, the men and the waiters joined three tables together so that everyone would sit at the same place. In the evening lights, a lively conversation flowed between them, as well as outbursts of laughter, caused by Alex’s jokes. With his powerful voice and in their native tongue, he won the hearts of everyone gathered round the table. Julia, his wife, sat close to her husband, all over him with hugs and her resounding laughter infects all the others with her joy. Only Nina, the elder sister is not joining in the company’s merriment. She is sitting at the end of the table, arguing with a young waiter who is standing above her with the serving tray.

  “What’s your problem, why can’t you give me more hot water for tea?” she scolded him nervously.

  “I’m sorry, Madam, those were my instructions. Just order another tea and I’ll get you some extra hot water with it,” the young man tried to continue and wait on other guests.

  “Are you deaf? I want you to make me another cup of tea with this teabag, I like drinking my tea weak, and that’s what I want now.” Nina insisted on saving a few shekels for an additional cup of tea.

  “What’s the problem, Nina?” Alex raised himself up to look at what was taking place on the darkened end of the table, while Julia was still holding his hand.

  “Nina, come on, what do you want from the guy? Let him work. Order yourself another tea, everything’s on me today,” he generously invited everyone to celebrate on his expense. He didn’t even give his wife a quick glance to seek her approval. After all, these were her sisters and their husbands and Alex was extremely happy and content that day.

  “Guys, come on, each of you should order something else, tea, cake or a shot of vodka, don’t be shy. I said, I’m paying for it all tonight.” He sat in his chair already laughing, remembering a dirty joke one of the girls exercising in the gym had recently whispered in his ear.