Safekeeping by Jessamyn Hope

Author:Jessamyn Hope [Hope, Jessamyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781941493076
Publisher: Fig Tree Books

The quad was still in the blue half-light of morning while Adam waited for Ulya at the picnic table, next to the strange tree, its fruits having transformed again, the green balls now flecked with red, the flower at its end, desiccated, woody. If she didn’t come out in five minutes, he was leaving without her. He hoped if he got to the United Kibbutz office early enough, they would check their files before he left Tel Aviv at the end of the day.

Ulya emerged from her room, red plastic bangles on her wrists, eyeliner as bold as ever. She came forward swinging her purse like a little kid. “Let’s go!”

Adam had never seen her this happy. He pointed at her sandals. “Can you hightail it in those things? The bus comes in fifteen minutes.”

“No problem. I wore platforms today because I want to walk all over the city.”

Adam and Ulya scampered down the road, away from the kibbutz. They reached the bus stop at the bottom of the hill just as the bus was coming around the bend.

“Will you pay for my ticket?” said Ulya.

“What?”

“I don’t have any money for the bus.”

Adam groaned. “Fine.”

A half hour later the bus was climbing through the hill city of Haifa, making its way to the central bus station at the top of the mountain. Adam couldn’t believe he was finding five-story buildings tall. Two months on a kibbutz had warped his perspective. Ulya seemed impressed too, staring out the window, watching the small city start the workday.

It was the heart of rush hour at the central station, where they needed to switch buses to Tel Aviv. They disembarked into a chaos of blaring CD stores, competing food stands, people running for the green buses. Ulya paused in front of a kiosk to study the covers on the fashion magazines. She pointed at a picture of a girl wearing only white cotton undies, her small breasts hidden behind a spindly arm. “Kate Moss is so skinny. Do you like it?” Adam grabbed her arm. “We can look at magazines all you want in Tel Aviv. We can’t miss this bus.”

On the bus, Adam extended his hand, offering Ulya the window seat. He had enjoyed how keenly she had looked out the window. Her curiosity made everything they passed seem more interesting. Waiting for the bus driver, it occurred to Adam that this might be the same bus route Ofir had been on.

“Yes,” Ulya said. “An early bus from Haifa, heading in the direction of Tel Aviv.”

Adam observed the next few people to board. A darker guy climbed inside, and once again Adam found he couldn’t always tell if someone was Jewish or Arab. So many of the Jews here came from Iraq or Egypt or Yemen. If the person wore a keffiyeh or kippah, easy, but this guy in a T-shirt waving at someone through the window, no idea. He figured people who lived here must have no problem telling each other apart,

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