One Day You'll Thank Me: A Novel by Vered Sion

Author:Vered Sion [Sion, Vered]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

44 Ya Papa, Deinken shine: Yes Papa, thank you.

CHAPTER 13

How Good It Is When the Family Gathers (1958)

Mina and Yanina became close with each other. Across the road, next to the jujube tree, was a bulletin board next to which the children used to meet. Alon, Yanina’s age, lived three buildings away from theirs, and attended Katznelson School, in eighth grade. In the past they studied in parallel classes. Alon tried to endear himself to Yanina. She appreciated his kindness - he knew that she stayed down a class in the fifth grade, and he did not mention it. When she talked about it with Mina, her sister said:

“Only you do not forget it, no one cares what you did in fifth grade, you are thirteen, in seventh grade now.”

Mina was the stronger of the two, and Yanina turned to her when she felt hurt or depressed. She had a very hard time in math and geometry, as if a wall blocked her. Her father already understood that her difficulty was real and had pity on her. Occasionally, he did her homework in math. When she told Alon about her difficulty, he offered to help her with her homework. He tried to explain the exercises to her in math, but when she got confused again and again, he just did it for her. Sometimes in the evening, he even took the trouble to come to her apartment and push a page of solutions under the door.

***

“The girl already has a figure,” Rita said to Leah. “This afternoon I will go to Froilich with her to buy her bras and clothes. In recent months, everything has become small for her.”

Ronny came home for the Passover holiday, and Yanina met him at the grocery store.

“Excuse me,” he said when he wanted to leave and she blocked his way.

“Excuse me for what?” she smiled at him.

He looked at her and his eyes lit up.

“Yanina! You grew, you changed. I didn’t recognize you! Have you finished your shopping?”

“I just arrived.”

“I’ll wait for you,” he said.

“It’s going to take a while.”

“Never mind.”

“So help me.”

Yanina asked Ronny to put milk, bread, cheese and three margarines in the basket, and added the rest of the products. Ronny carried the basket and escorted her home. He had also changed greatly. He grew, and she reached his shoulders. There were pimples on his beautiful face.

“Acne,” said Ronny.

“I have it on my forehead too, but I hide it with my fringe.”

“How are things at school?” Ronny asked.

“Except for math and geometry, I’m very good. I don’t have any friends in the class, only in the neighborhood. Yoav flew with his father to England and they live there, and Tony already has another best friend.”

“Did you quarrel?”

“No, but we are no longer the friends we used to be. I have friends at school, but no one invites me home or comes to me.”

“You have Mina.”

“Sometimes. She’s more sociable than I am. I only see my cousins, Daniela and Pizzi, on Saturdays and holidays.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.