“I will not calm down!” Libby flared. “This jerk is coming to harass you atmyhouse?!”
“Idit!” Halimi shouted.
“Repugnant playboy scum!” Libby shouted at him from the window.
I started to laugh. Libby looked at me, wide-eyed.
“Dita, are you okay?” she asked in disbelief.
I did not reply. This shouting at the building was so stupid. Libby raised her hands in the air and shook her head in despair.
“Idit! I’m not leaving until you come down here and talk to me!” Halimi shouted. A few heads were already looking curiously from thenearby windows. I stopped laughing and silently put my shoes on. Libby sat on the couch. I took the elevator down with Libby’s fleece blanket wrapped around me.
It was noon. Halimi was unshaven, and he asked if he could hug me. I said no. He asked if I wanted to see pictures from the trip with the daycare, and I nodded. When I saw Lily with the other kids, the tears began to flow.
“Ditush,” said Halimi. “My Diti,” he added.
I did not even try to speak.
“I decided to leaveFree to Be,” said Halimi and put an arm around my shoulder after all. “Ditush, my love, I am so, so sorry.” His voice trembled. I looked at him in surprise.
“What? You decided to leave?” I finally spoke. “Where did that come from? And how do you plan to make a living?”
“I can’t ask her to leave,” said Halimi, his voice still trembling a little. “And if we keep on working together, it will just be the same vicious cycle again and again.”
I sniffled.
“And as for money, it’ll be fine,” Halimi went on. “I’ve had enough with the makeup and skincare tips as it is.”
I looked at him. He looked at me.
“I know I acted like total shit, Ditush,” Halimi continued. “But you and Lily … you are the most important part of my life. The rest is just distraction. The only thing that I care about is that you’re happy. And I have another idea …” he began. But now I was really crying, and when he pulled me to him, I did not resist.
“Please, Ditush,” he said after a few moments. “Please, come home. I promise you—on my mother’s life—that we’ll start a new life. We can leave Tel Aviv if you want. We’ll establish the new state of Rozhevsky-Halimistan. Please. Last chance.”
I kept crying, but I knew that now there was also some relief in it. I had no longer expected him to try to win me back, and I certainly had not expected him to give up his coveted job for a chance to mend our relationship.
He waited downstairs while I packed up my minimal belongings. Libby was so enraged, she could hardly speak. “You are making a terrible mistake” was all she said when I thanked her for her concern. She shook me off when I hugged her.
“My lady!” A voice cried in my ear. “Lady Édith!” I strained to open my eyelids, which felt as though they’d been stuck together with glue. There was a pungent vinegar smell, and I moved my head to get away from it. This action tripped a switch in my brain, and I opened my eyes.
Leaning over me were Jean, Father Jerome, and a shape that took me a few moments to realize was a nun. She was holding a bowl up close to my nose, and I almost vomited from the smell. I straightened up, dodging the bowl.
“What happened?” I asked. The three stared at me in puzzlement. I realized I had asked in Hebrew and tried again in French.
“You fainted, my lady,” said Father Jerome. I looked around. I was in a small, windowless room, on a straw mattress. The nun served me a goblet of wine and some bread.
“You must regain your strength, my lady,” said the nun. I took the bread gratefully.How much wine do these people drink, and at every chance?I thought wearily and took a tiny sip out of politeness. I also gnawed on the bread, which did indeed restore my strength.
“I don’t know why I fainted,” I said to Jean, who was still sitting on his heels before me, his brow furrowed with worry. This was almost correct. I remembered golden and crimson letters, outlined in blue … again I saw black spots before my eyes and quickly closed them.
“We have to take you somewhere where you can rest and recover as quickly as possible,” said Jean. Someone came to summon Father Jerome, and he asked our forgiveness and stepped out. The nun told Jean to call her if he needed further help with me, and then she left too.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered with eyes closed. I kept seeing my spring before my eyes, as if it were calling to me to return.
“Any news from Thibaut?” I asked and opened my eyes.
“Not yet,” said Jean. “And maybe that is for the best. Today’s sailing is probably already full, and anyway, it is better you not take another journey in your current state.” Jean sat down on the floor and leaned his back against the wall.
