Three Separations

by I J Shur

  He made the precise calculations and felt he knew where she would be. She would receive the call and say playfully, “Let me breathe!”

  He would say in response, “How, after all the years that we’ve known each other, do you still manage to excite me?”

  And she would say, “Don’t patronize me, young man. We haven’t even known each other for a year yet.”

  “Are you mine for the whole day?” he would ask with obvious excitement, and she would reply with the pathos from an old black and white movie, “Until death do us part.”

  Chapter 40

  While he waited for Rona to finish up with her kids, his mind shifted from fantasy to reality, and Udi decided to call Eli, the experienced lawyer who had agreed to take on the Jeep situation.

  Eli spoke wearily. “You are lucky that I love your wife so much, since you need to pay a lot for this mistake. I went over the Jeep’s history and found that it had been totaled and sent to the junkyard. A car salesman bought it and got it back on the road with the kind of makeover that is usually reserved for a bride on the way to her wedding. What the dealer didn’t know was that a car that was designated as a ‘total loss’ needed a special permit from the DMV before it could be put back on the roads. I am telling you that this diamond neither possesses, nor will it ever possess, this permit, because nobody would ever give it one.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  “You call that guy and ask him to show you the permit. Once we’re done with that, the rest will be easy. He’ll receive the impression that you’ve lawyered up, and he’ll start making all kinds of offers. You’ll insist on a mutual deal in which you both negate the transaction and return the goods—you the car and he the money. If he wises up—and it’s likely that he will—tell him that your lawyer will be handing his details over to the DMV. That ought to convince him! Don’t be afraid. He’s not the first moron that I’ve dealt with. Okay? So you get hold of him and let me how it goes. Send my regards to Varda, and take care of her.”

  Udi thanked him warmly, promised to take care of Varda, and looked through the coffee shop window in anticipation of Rona’s arrival. He didn’t have to wait long. She locked her car, grabbed her bag, and began to walk toward Udi’s car. He checked her out from head to toe. She added to her not inconsiderable height with some high-heeled black leather boots. Tight jeans revealed a perfect figure, and her red shirt flapped in the cool morning breeze, the wide collar moving gently over prominent collarbones. Golden earrings adorned with brown beads poked out, playfully, from within her curly hair. He opened the passenger door, and she climbed in. Udi squeezed her hand hard and held on for a while. Her palm was cold, and Udi didn’t let go. He was surprised to see a tear roll out of the corner of her eye.

  “Drive already! Let’s get out of here.”

  Rona looked at the view as they sped along, and her head sank down between her shoulders. She would talk when she was ready. Sure enough, after several moments, her voice pierced the silence. “This is killing me,” she said. “At work, they’re setting deadlines that are a prime example of wishful thinking. I usually manage, by the end of the month and by the skin of my teeth, to provide them with what they need, but then I get a new fantastical deadline that is even harder to meet—and so on. I come home to a mess and two sons full of energy who need attention, food, help with their homework, games, and a strong parent who knows how to put them in their place when necessary, who can deal with their occasional disrespect. My husband never helps out at home, and now he’s also coming home later and later and treats me like shit. He watches me like a hawk. I’m being spied on! The feeling never goes away. He checks my messages, looks at my phone every time it rings, looks over my shoulder when I’m checking emails, and makes snide comments at every opportunity. Maybe he’s decided to make my life miserable—to destroy me! Well, it’s working!”

  She breathed heavily. “For the most part, he falls asleep on the sofa in the living room, but once every few nights, he comes and sleeps in our bed, at a safe distance from me, just to make the point that I disgust him. I’m just so grateful that he doesn’t want to touch me, but his stinging words have turned my life at home into a kind of living hell.”

  Udi reached out to hug her. “I’m so sorry, but I can promise you that the next few hours will make up for it. It’s going to be a great day, and we’re going to spoil ourselves, starting with a great breakfast that’s already waiting for us. I hope you’re hungry…”

  “Who cares about breakfast?” she said. “What? Are you already trying to plump me up? The only thing that I want to eat is you!”

  Chapter 41

  A woman named Mickey greeted them at the spa entrance. She led them to a table in the corner of a wooden porch, near a railing. Large trees created pleasant shade in the corner that had been chosen for them, and wooden chairs were laid with comfortable cushions that gave the place an atmosphere of calm and quiet. Rona cuddled in Udi’s arms and glanced around. Udi tensed when he noticed her looking around. “What can you see?” he asked.

  “Relax,” Rona replied. “Nobody’s going to look for us here at the end of the earth. You’re really being paranoid.”

  “I don’t have any control over that. I’m sorry.” He kissed her on the mouth. Mickey approached the table holding a menu.

  “Are you ready?” she asked with a smile.

  Rona wanted to hug her. “I’ll eat anything you suggest.” Rona glanced at Udi.

  He smiled at Mickey. “Can you please bring us everything that’s good here? We want to try everything that makes people come back for more, as if this were our Last Supper.”

  Soon after, Mickey placed one dish after another on the table: eggplant, avocado, tuna, olives, tahini with parsley, tomato and cucumber salad, flat bread, and cheese omelets. They ate hungrily with their eyes fixed on each other.

  “Thank God we didn’t buy our own food and eat in the room. That was delicious! Bedroom! Now! In two more minutes, I’m going to tear your clothes off.” She licked her lips, and Udi felt his body stiffen.

  Quickly, they made their way across the garden to their room. They opened the door and gaped at what they saw: A large bed covered with red satin sheets stood in the center of the room, and lazy smoke rose from sticks of incense, enveloping them in sensuous fragrance. A bottle of wine with a curly blue ribbon around its neck stood on a small table next to the bed. Next to the bottle, two tall, elegant wine glasses stood like flamingoes. Piano music played through small speakers that were embedded in the walls and ceiling. In the center of the table was a small straw basket containing beautiful seasonal fruits and flowers made of chocolate.

  “Excuse me a minute.” Udi went to the bathroom and watched himself in the mirror as he relieved himself. “You lucky man!” he said to his reflection.

  When he returned to the bedroom, Rona was standing stark naked and smiling at him. He gasped and then smothered her in his arms. The touch of her body was so warm and soft that he trembled.

  Her hands undid his shirt buttons, and then she led him to the shower. In the double shower, they were struck by firm jets of warm water. Udi took a handful of liquid soap and massaged Rona’s back, slowly moving down to her buttocks.

  She groaned with pleasure, and he felt an overwhelming desire to penetrate her, to feel himself deep within her. His voice was gruff as he whispered, “I want to be inside you.”

  Chapter 42

  The large bed received them, softly caressing their skin.

  “Come here,” Rona whispered into his ear, and then she kissed him deeply.

  He pulled her toward him, stroking her, touching her between her legs, kissing her as she breathed heavily in his ear. He felt himself grow hard against her. On one hand, he felt the need to penetrate her, but on the other, he wanted the moment to go on forever.

  “Let me in.” He spoke urgently. “I can’t hold myself back any
longer.”

  “You don’t need to ask. I want you just as much!”

  Afterward, when the storm had passed, he looked at her for a long moment before she fell asleep in his arms. His eyes closed, and he too dropped into a deep sleep. He awoke to the feel of Rona’s hand caressing his penis.

  “I understand that you want to keep on sleeping, but one of your body parts has taken the initiative and woken up before you. Due to my proximity, I couldn’t help but notice. If you want me, I’m yours.” She kissed him, lustily sucking on his lips.

  They showered again, and Udi opened the bottle of wine and poured it into the glasses. “L’Chaim! To life!”

  They clinked their glasses together, looking into each other’s eyes as they sipped. Udi’s heart froze. Rona’s shoulders were hunched, and her smile looked forced. That’s not how a woman is supposed to look when she comes to you for love.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked quietly. Her shoulders heaved involuntarily, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

  “I love you,” she said. “I want to be with you forever. All of you! These moments with you aren’t enough anymore. The pain at the end is too great. I want you with me all the time.” She cried uncontrollably.

  Udi hugged her, kissed her tears, and stroked her hair.

  She continued. “Whenever you say, I’ll leave everything, and I’ll come live with you. I don’t want to go on without you.”

  Udi looked at her, and his heart was flooded with emotion. Her words were like cool water on a dry throat.

  You have nothing to lose! Ask her!

  “And if I get divorced, will you also leave your husband?”

  “I won’t break up my marriage without you. I don’t want to be alone.”

  He was not surprised by her answer. I know she loves me, but does she see this relationship as a diving board from which she can jump out of her marriage? I don’t have the nerve to stand in front of my wife and tell her I’m leaving. I just couldn’t hurt her that way.

  “I can’t say right now that I’m capable of leaving Varda. I’m here because I’m head over heels in love with you, but I didn’t intend to break up my family.”

  “Wow! That hurts.” Tears sprang into her eyes as she looked away from him.

  They dressed slowly, straightened up the room, and walked to the car. They passed the drive in silence, holding hands. Udi kissed her, taking his eyes off the road, and told her that he loved her. The cold fist of anxiety twisted his gut.

  Chapter 43

  Udi arrived home to his wife’s furious face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “What happened to you? I couldn’t reach you all day!” Varda’s hands were on her hips, and her bottom jaw stuck out belligerently.

  “Correct! Sometimes I need to disconnect for a few hours, Varda!”

  “Couldn’t you have told me that you were going to disconnect for a few hours? Maybe called me? Sent a carrier pigeon?”

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t think. There was a certain lawyer who was driving me crazy, so I turned off my phone.” Udi avoided her eyes.

  “So what happened exactly? Anything you want to share?” She forced him to look at her.

  “How interesting that all of a sudden you care about what happens to me over the course of a day. Maybe if I shut my phone off every day, I’ll be able to get your interest on a daily basis. I feel like there’s something you want to tell me, so please, say it.”

  Her penetrating glance felt almost as if it went right through him and hit the wall on the other side.

  Very quietly Varda spoke. “Your son fell today and hit his chin so hard that you could see his jawbone through the cut. The entire classroom filled with blood.” She turned away from him so he could not see the expression on her face.

  His heart skipped a beat. “How did it happen?”

  “Two of his friends had a fight, and your son, the delicate soul that he is, tried to break it up. One of the boys tried to push him away but hit Oren’s chin with his elbow.” She sighed. “They called me at work, but I was in a presentation in the hotel lecture hall. They tried to reach you, but you were ‘disconnected’ since your client was being a pain in the ass. So they called me back and finally spoke to the hotel manager. Somebody told me what had happened while I was giving my lecture. I apologized and tried to reach you, but as I said, you were busy being disconnected, and so I had to apologize to all of the people who had come to the convention, and I took off for the school. Can you imagine that?”

  Varda’s voice rose. “Twenty-five managers were sitting in front of me. It took months to arrange this meeting. A senior organizational consultant, your wife, standing alone in front of this powerful audience, and all of a sudden I receive a phone call and I need to close the meeting. Can you imagine their faces? Can you imagine how I felt? At the school, needless to say, I found your son sobbing and holding his chin, which was wrapped in bandages that were soaked in blood. In response to my question about why they hadn’t already sent him to the hospital, he replied that he wanted his parents.”

  Varda poured herself a glass of wine, took a sip, and slammed the glass down on the kitchen counter.

  “I took him to the emergency room, and after I dealt with endless procedural questions, I finally got him into the doctor’s clinic, where they gave him no less than twenty stitches. By the look of things, after they remove them, he’ll have a nice scar that will arouse the imagination of members of the fairer sex.”

  Udi’s blood boiled. This attack was the last thing that he had expected at the end of his pleasurable day. All that he wanted to do was to go to his son and hug him.

  “I’m sorry that you had to cut short such an important day,” he said in a flat tone. “Who could have known that today, of all days, Oren would get hurt? As usual, the rage is aimed at me. Now, with your permission, I’ll go and see Oren. Where is he?” asked Udi.

  Varda sniffed. “He is sleeping in his room.”

  Udi turned toward Oren’s room, but then he stopped. He turned back to Varda and said, “Thanks for being there for him today.”

  Oren’s pale forehead and blonde hair poked out from beneath the blanket. Heavy breathing and relaxed facial muscles confirmed that he was fast asleep, and he probably needed it after such a rough day. Udi gave him a long kiss. After that, he inspected the bandage on his son’s chin and tried to estimate the damage. He thought he knew how much importance men placed on every detail of their face—and essentially every part of their body—and he hoped very much that his son would not begin his adult life with a scar.

  Udi went to his study and sank heavily into his chair. How is it that she’s always there? Why do I always miss these critical moments in my children’s lives? What in their internal wiring makes mothers more available for their children, always, unconditionally? How did it fall through the cracks with us men? How come it wasn’t divided among the sexes equally?

  I wonder what Oren thought of me and whether Varda told him that I have been unreachable. Was she happy enough with the fact that she was there for him, or did she use the incident to try to turn Oren against me? These questions caused him to choke up. You have to change direction. What’s important is that Oren is okay. He’s lying in his bed, relaxed, with minimal damage. It doesn’t matter who got there first, and it doesn’t matter that Varda tried to use it to score points against me.

  Udi got up from his desk and walked to the kitchen, took one of Oren’s favorite chocolate bars, and wrote with a black marker on the wrapper, “I love you. Dad.” He put the chocolate next to his son’s bed, gave him a kiss on the forehead, and left the room.

  He went back down to his study, his thoughts drifting to his son, asleep upstairs, and to his son’s injured chin. He imagined how Oren’s face would look in another forty years. I wonder what the scar will look like and how it will affect him during his adoles
cent years. Will he be embarrassed by it?

  Without his noticing, his hands had reached down and were rubbing his knees. The torn ligaments in both were causing him great pain and preventing him from doing many things. Ah! When I was young, I wouldn’t have been prevented from playing anything. It was basketball and volleyball, soccer and tennis, running and lifting heavy loads whenever I felt like it. Pity nobody ever warned me about the price I was going to pay!

  His fingers found some of the other old injuries—hands, sprained ankles, broken fingers. In my teens, I never imagined that the knees and back I was born with would have to bear my load in old age.

  At that moment, Michal came into the study and took a seat in the chair next to Udi’s. Her face showed her inner emotional tempest and her vulnerability. Udi looked at her for a long moment, and then placed his arm on her shoulder.

  “What happened?”

  “I’m fed up,” she said with obvious indignation.

  “With what?”

  “With who,” she corrected.

  “With whom,” he said, smiling.

  “It’s none of your business.” She looked at him with hostility.

  “You are my business, and everything that has to do with you is my business. Who is annoying you?”

  “Omry pissed me off, and I’m fed up with him.”

  Udi was silent and thought about what he could say to give his daughter a feeling of self-confidence. He moved close to her and hugged her. She tried to break away, but he didn’t let go.

  “Leave me…” she whispered, her voice cracking.

  He stroked her trembling back, and a minute later, her eyes brimmed with tears and she began to sob.

  “What did he do to you, this Omry guy, that you are so angry with him?”