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“That’s putting more pressure on her.” He wasn’t sure of this tactic, and he was worried about his daughter’s mental health. What if she blamed herself for the ruined wedding.
“Performing on stage is a very stressful profession,” Dafna reasoned. A waiter with tall champagne flutes found them and they helped themselves. He took a white one and Dafna took a pink champagne. They touched flutes, and he stared into her brown-gray eyes.
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you too,” he answered, thrilled as always when she said that.
“Gal would be okay–and she knows I’m around, that there’s a safety net. Now, isn’t it great that we get to sleep for the first time tonight in our new place? And that it’s so close by?”
He didn’t mind her changing the subject, since she’d gone on to a favorite of his.
“Can’t wait.”
Dafna bought a place in Tel Aviv near Shuk Hacarmel, a five-minute walk from Charles Clore beach. A penthouse which was renovated to Dafna’s taste, which he liked. The only thing he was involved in was the designing of his den, his writing lair. His first book came out three months ago, and it was so successful in Israel that it was already being translated into English, German, French, and Spanish.
A piano sounded, and Dafna grabbed his forearm.
“This is it! This is it! Gal needs to start singing soon.”
The instrumental introduction sounded very familiar, but he failed to recognize it. He waited for a dreadful beat, fearing it would last and linger, but then his daughter’s voice filled the loudspeakers. “He may be the face I can't forget, a trace of pleasure or regret…”
“We have to see this.” Dafna tugged at his sleeve, as invested in Gal’s performance as he was, and he didn’t believe it was possible, but now he loved her even more. “She came through. Let’s go to watch the ceremony.”
And they did, watching two young men walking down the aisle, both looking sharp in suits, to the music of Elvis Costello, the lyrics changed to ‘he’ instead of ‘she’. He kissed his beloved’s fragrant neck, closed his eyes, and immersed himself in his daughter’s gorgeous voice.
Chapter 48
Epilogue Part 2: Home
The apartment had a new place smell. Fresh wood from the kitchen, fresh paint from the walls, new floors. She activated the electric shutters, and the magnificent view of the lighted boardwalk and the dark sea stretched before them. Erez closed the door and hugged her from behind, his large frame enveloping her completely. They stood together in the dark room and absorbed the sights.
“It already feels like home,” she said.
“Yes. Our kids will love it here.”
Her sons liked Erez, which was important. Ilan kept his life with Kelly apart from Ori and Tom, and that was his choice. But she wanted to share a home with her new partner. Tom liked Gal and got along with her, Ori not so much. But between Gal spending time with her mother, and her children with their father, they wouldn’t meet all that much.
“Yes! If my boys had one complaint, it’s that Ilan’s apartment isn’t a seaside one.”
She and Ilan got on great, but giving her sons what he didn’t was a small fun victory.
“Well, you showed him.”
“Tom wants to learn to surf,” she told Erez.
“Hmmmm…” Erez’s nose nuzzled her neck. She turned into his arms and gave him her lips, loving how big he was and how gentle. She loved him. She’d never dared to hope that she’d come to love someone like that again.
“I like this kitchen island,” Erez said. Then his large palms were on her waist, and he lifted her onto her new island.
“Hey!”
“I like this dress. But I want to tear it off you.”
“Don’t you dare!”
“Do you know what date it is today?”
“July 19th,” she answered. “So?”
