Double Interest

by Odeda Yaari

  His first stop was in Bogota, a city of many faces and extremes. There was great wealth in the northern part of the city, with its beautiful boulevards, lush gardens, and extravagant houses of the diplomats and the rich. Next to that were the slums, or tugurios, poverty-stricken ghettos of neglect and oversight.

  Edo was actually more drawn to the poor, run-down neighborhoods, which he had heard about from his grandfather in the short time he’d lived in Israel before passing away. About sixty years before, one of Colombia’s rulers had decided to import a Swedish plan to industrialize the country. For the purpose of development, he’d showered the villagers with promises of lives of wealth and abundance, should they leave everything behind and move to the big city to work in the upcoming industry. And indeed, many villagers had flocked to the cities, except the big plan was never realized. A small number of people returned home to their villages, but most remained in the tugurios in the cities, living in horrid poverty.

  Despite all the warnings, Edo went out to explore the alleys of the tugurios, in the southern part of the city. Hardship was evident wherever he looked. Narrow streets, some unpaved, winding between small houses made of mud, rough stones, or even tin or cardboard. In many places, he saw open sewage flowing through the streets and children dressed in rags running around. There was no running water, and many of the houses did not even have electricity.Despite his Colombian appearance, it seemed he managed to draw the attention of a group of boys, who followed him. He tried to ignore them, waiting for them to find some other interest or someone else to harass, when suddenly he felt a sharp blow to the head, followed by complete darkness. When he woke up, he was in his underwear in a putrid ditch. The money belt that he had kept on his body had been stolen, and so had his socks and pants, in which he had made sure to sew internal pockets for money and credit cards. He looked around but saw no one. When he tried to sit up, he felt so dizzy he thought he might black out again. For a moment, he was almost tempted to close his eyes in the hopes that when he opened them, this would all turn out to be a dream. But the awful stench left little room for illusions.Edo sat up and tried to retrace what had happened to him, wondering what he was going to do now that all his money and clothes were gone. After a few minutes, he spotted a slight movement behind a filthy window and a pair of eyes staring at him. What do I have to lose? he thought to himself, and started dragging himself toward the house.

  When he was close enough to the door, it opened slightly and a hand pulled him in. It took a few moments to adjust to the darkness in the room. He looked around. On the floor in the corner was a dirty mattress and, next to it, a simple wooden table and two chairs. The young woman who’d let him into her home held a baby in her arms. A toddler held on to her tatty dress, which barely concealed her once-again-growing belly. She signaled for him to take a seat on one of the chairs, went over to a pile of rags, took out a pair of raggedy pants and a frayed shirt, and threw them at him.

  Edo, who just a short while ago had felt rich and safe, put on the clothes and mumbled his thanks in Spanish. When she realized Edo spoke Spanish, the woman burst out in speech that was half accusation, half pity.“What were you thinking wandering around out there? Do you want to get killed? You should be thankful you’re still alive. They find people dead in the ditches here all the time, and no one even bothers to find out who they are. And who are you anyway? What are you doing here?”

  At that moment, Edo realized that whatever explanation he tried to give her would come off as idiotic, just like his actions had been. He introduced himself to the woman and told her he had been curious to see the area where his grandfather had grown up so many years ago.

  “In my grandfather’s stories,” said Edo, “it wasn’t this sort of place.”

  The woman laughed a painful, bitter laugh. “Yes, life wasn’t so bad here when I was a child either. But, just like those rich people on the other side of town keep getting richer, we keep getting poorer. There’s nothing we can do.”

  “You live here alone with your kids?” wondered Edo.

  “No. Their father works all week for them. Maybe one day we’ll have enough money to get out of here and save our children.”

  Silence fell. Edo sat there, helpless, trying to figure out how he was going to get out of there and back to his hostel in midtown. Night was beginning to fall and that did not bode well. If he had hardly made it out alive in broad daylight, at night he would surely end up dead in these alleys. On the other hand, he thought, I can’t stay here.

  The woman, who was busy lighting a charred oil lamp, took a more practical approach and said, “You can’t go anywhere now. You’ll have to sleep here on the floor. Tomorrow my husband will come and escort you back to town. Those boys who took your money won’t let you live if you go out now.”

  She placed the baby on the mattress and went over to put on the scorched kettle. Then she placed two tin cups on the table and filled them with hot coffee, which was like a remedy for Edo’s aching spirit. He finished his coffee, but refused to accept the humble food she offered him, saying he wasn’t hungry, even though he felt famished. He realized he hadn’t had anything to eat since that morning, but the thought of taking something from these impoverished people bothered him more than the hunger did. He curled up on the floor, where she pointed.

  Edo couldn’t sleep a wink that entire night. The cold, hard floor, the pain in the back of his neck, and the baby’s crying all made it impossible to fall asleep. He knew his parents wouldn’t be able to help him with money to continue his trip. What little savings they had, they had given him before he left Israel. They had given him the money feeling that he was fulfilling their dream of going back to visit their motherland, a dream that they themselves would never follow. And now, with no money, he wouldn’t be able to go on. Luckily, he had an open plane ticket buried deep in the bottom of the backpack he’d left at the hostel. When he’d packed it back home before his trip, he’d thought it would take a long while before he used it.

  As dawn broke, Edo managed to fall asleep for a bit, and woke up to the sounds of a lively conversation taking place in the corner of the room. He got up, his entire body stiff and sore, trying to make himself invisible. The young man looked to be about Edo’s age, but his face bore the signs of a lifetime of hardship and struggle.

  He approached Edo, and with clear anger at the stranger who had burst into their lives in such a fashion, as if their own troubles weren’t more than enough for them, said, “Do you understand you should be grateful to even be alive right now? I don’t understand why you came here or if you have any idea what you want to do.”Edo started by thanking them and apologizing profusely. “I’ll leave right now and go back to the city. I’m from Israel, and I just wanted to travel and get to know the place my parents came from, but now it looks like I have to go home, because I don’t have any more money. If I found a job and could earn some cash, I’d stay and continue my trip.”

  “What could you possibly do?” asked the man contemptuously. “Look at you, all pale and weak, and you have such delicate hands. You couldn’t even work in the drug fields, otherwise I’d send you to my uncle’s village to work there.”“You’re right,” said Edo. “I’ve been studying at the university for many years and have spent most my time in labs, not doing any physical labor.”

  For a moment, the room was quiet. It looked like the man was thinking about something. “If you want to work in a lab, maybe I can arrange something. I just need to see if they’ll have you, you know.” Then he went on. “We are not educated people, and we don’t have many suitable jobs, but you’re a smart man. Maybe they’ll take you.”

  Suddenly Edo felt a slight breeze of hope. Maybe this wasn’t the end of the road. True, he had no idea what kind of job this was or how much it paid, but it was something that would keep him going. And anyway, a lab is a lab—that was his home field. He nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll take whatever job I can get, and I’m willing to work as hard as it takes.”r />
  “Here’s what we’ll do,” said the man. “We’ll have something to eat now and then we’ll go, you and me, and see what we can do.”

  This time Edo didn’t turn down the slice of bread that was offered to him with the coffee. He swore to himself the moment he had some money, he would make it up to them for saving his life. Right now, he thought, I can’t afford to be too noble and picky, I have to focus on surviving.

  When they went back out into the alley, Edo felt dirty and unkempt. All he wanted was to get as far away as possible from the tugurios and never come back.

  ***

  After about an hour’s walk in the scorching sun, leaving the poor quarter behind them, Edo could feel his steps become lighter. They stopped by a large iron gate and the man went over to speak with the armed guard that was standing at the entrance. After a few minutes, he returned to Edo and told him to wait by the gate until he came back.Half an hour went by, which to Edo seemed like an eternity, and then the man reappeared, accompanied by a stern-looking fellow, who stared at Edo piercingly.“I hear you know how to work in a ‘lab’ with materials. We need people. It’s hard work. No talking, just working.”

  Edo asked no questions and simply nodded his consent.

  “Follow me,” said the man, and turned toward the gate.

  Edo reached out his hand to the young man who had saved him. “Thank you for everything,” he said. “I don’t even know your name. If you tell me what it is, I promise to pay you back for saving my life.”

  The man held out his hand. “Roberto,” he said, and went his own way.

  6

  In the morning after her date with Ron, Sophie woke up on the living room couch, where she had fallen asleep the night before. Her body was tense and sore, and her muscles were stiff. She rushed to wake up Matan, looked at him for a moment, and stroked his cheek. He was so peacefully asleep.

  “Matani, wake up, sweetheart.”Matan mumbled something incoherent. This was their usual routine every morning. He would pretend to be asleep and she would play along. After that, he would get ready surprisingly quickly.

  Sophie threw on the first pair of sweatpants she found in the closet. Then she glanced at her watch and saw she had five minutes to spare, and decided not to leave the house like that. She quickly changed into a pair of old but figure-hugging jeans, paired them with a simple white top, and left with Matan for school. As always, she gave him a big hug and he tried to wiggle free in front of his friend. That was another game they played, because right after that, he whispered in her ear, “Mommy, I love you,” and she reciprocated with a big kiss on his forehead.

  On her way back home, she bought herself a pack of cigarettes. She unwrapped it slowly and took out a long cigarette with her slim fingers. She breathed in her first fix of smoke for that day and exhaled with a deep, contented sigh. Now her morning was ready to start.

  At the house, she saw her work cell phone, which very few people had the number to, flickering and wondered who it was.

  “Hi, Dana, this is Ron.” She listened to a message on her voicemail. “I had a great time last night. I enjoyed everything. The food, the wine, the conversation, but most of all I enjoyed you. I hope we can meet again. I’d like to get to know you better. Call me. I’m available all day, and you can call at night too, if you want.”

  Sophie smiled. She imagined how many times Ron had thought to call before he’d mustered the nerve, and maybe, she thought, he had even written down what he should say. She made herself a cup of coffee, lit a second cigarette, and tried to put her thoughts into order. She almost felt guilty about Ron, who seemed so lonely and vulnerable, and it pained her to know that she, too, like so many others in his life, was going to have to hurt and disappoint him. For a moment, she let down her professional guard, but then came quickly back to her senses. This was not professional, and she couldn’t mix emotions into her work. She called Yoni to report to him about the date with Ron, but the call went straight to his voicemail.“Screening calls, as usual,” she said jokingly. “The mission is a go. Call me and we’ll set up a meeting and decide how to proceed.”

  The house was too quiet, and Sophie became restless. She dialed again, Ron’s number this time, and he picked up the minute he saw her number on his screen.

  “Dana! How are you?” he said, and let out an involuntary sigh of relief.

  “I’m great. I had a great time too last night. It was really fun. And you…” She paused. “You’re just lovely.”

  Ron blushed all the way to the roots of his hair. He wanted to tell her to come over now, the hell with work, but all he could bring himself to mumble was, “You’re lovely, too. It’s been a long time since I had so much fun.”

  “What do you say to a quick meetup in about two hours?” asked Sophie, knowing full well he was going to say yes. “If you’re not working, of course.”

  “I am, but I can be out in two hours. How about lunch?”

  “Let’s not decide what to do. Let’s just go with the flow. What do you say? By the way, lunch sounds pretty good.” She laughed.

  Ron couldn’t believe it. Everything he wanted was happening.

  “Ron!”

  “What?”

  “You’re not laughing at my jokes, and my feelings are starting to get hurt.”

  Ron smiled. “Honestly? I’m too nervous. You’re too good to be true.”Sophie sighed for a moment and looked at Dana in the mirror. “I am totally real, and I promise I’m going to prove it to you,” she whispered into the phone, enjoying the game.

  “So, it’s a date?” Ron broke his embarrassed silence.

  “It is, sweetie. I’ll wait for you at the beach. I’ll wear a red tank top and you’ll have to find me,” she said in a raspy voice, and hung up before Ron had time to react.

  She went over to the stereo system and turned it on. Music by the Gipsy Kings took over the house and filled it with energy.Sophie was a dynamic, action-loving girl, and to sit around all morning doing nothing was not like her. In a frenzy, with the rhythm of the music, she started going from room to room, tidying and cleaning until everything was spick and span. She stopped when she heard her phone ringing and saw Yoni’s name on her screen.

  “Yoni! How are you?” she answered in a cheerful voice.

  “Hello, Sophie,” said Yoni in a somewhat serious, to-the-point tone. “I gather you had the date with Ron. I’ll meet you today at three for updates.”

  “I did, and I’m meeting him again today. Actually, I have a little less than an hour to get ready to meet him, and I’m going to show him a good time today, so it’ll require some time and patience.”

  Yoni smiled. “I hope you enjoy yourself. Just don’t be late for our meeting.”

  Sophie confirmed and hung up. She didn’t have much time before meeting Ron, and she’d be gone all afternoon, and perhaps all evening, too. She knew from experience that the meeting could go on for a long while, and she had to make arrangements for Matan so that she could be completely free.She had one hour. She took off her clothes, peeling away Sophie. The hot water washed her hard, and she closed her eyes and gave in to the sensation. Her fingers kneaded her head gently, creating fragrant foam with the scent of a new, fresh woman.

  She stepped out of the shower, dried her black hair carefully, lathered her body with expensive lotion, and dressed in a tight red tank top and snug jeans. She looked almost like a teenager. A young, easygoing, desirable woman. The thin straps of her top accented the delicacy of her arms and neckline. The top clung to her breasts and waist like a second skin. To complete the look, she wore white sandals and a necklace with a teardrop diamond that sparkled in the light. She looked at herself in the mirror, serious the one moment and laughing flirtatiously the next. She heard her driver honk, letting her know he was there. She finished her makeup, reapplied her lip gloss, put on a pair of big, red sunglasses, and left.

  7

  At lunch time, the senior research team at APC was gathered around the table. They made
use of the fact that Bob Carrigan wasn’t there to crack some jokes at his expense. Secretly, they admired the man who was responsible for the development of some truly amazing things, and who let everyone feel like an equal partner. Usually they enjoyed working beside him and learning from him, and it was only of late that he had become gloomy, distant, and hard to please.

  “Well, what do you want? His retirement is approaching. When you get older, your brain cells retire, too,” said someone jokingly.

  “Joanna, that’s not the issue. The issue, my darling, is that when it’s retirement time, Bob needs to retire. And he really wants this achievement for himself. Who wouldn’t?”“Why wouldn’t he? After all, it is his baby. And especially with the company president so personally involved, seeing this development as a memorial to his son who died of an overdose years ago. If you ask me, he really does deserve a Nobel Prize,” said someone else.

  “We’re not asking you,” answered some others, in unison.Despite the pleasant, jovial atmosphere, everyone knew Bob was serious. Since the last staff meeting two and half weeks before, the clock hadn’t stopped ticking. This project was a whole new level of secrecy, and it clearly meant a great deal to Bob on a personal level.

  “You know, there’ve been rumors…” Joanna lowered her voice and looked to the corner of the room.

  The rest looked at her. Some knew what she was referring to.

  “Joanna, I don’t believe that. We’re all honest people here,” someone else said.Another added, “And another thing, we’re all brilliant people, in case you haven’t noticed, and we don’t need anyone else’s help. There are enough brains here. If you ask me, some of the best in the world!”