What to Do About the Solomons by Bethany Ball

Author:Bethany Ball
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grove Atlantic
Published: 2017-03-28T15:44:45+00:00

Chapter 13

The Soldier Gabriel

Step away from the door, Joseph says in his biggest, most grown-up voice.

The weight against the door lessens and Joseph pushes it shut as hard as he can. Joseph turns the dead bolt.

The soldier begins to weep. Joseph sits down on the floor of the apartment. He is too stunned to cry. He stares at the floor. It is wooden parquet, newly installed.

The phone rings.

Joseph, please, the soldier whimpers. Please let me in.

No way, Joseph says under his breath. No way.

The weeping on the other side of the door grows louder and Joseph’s stomach begins to growl. When he stands up, he is dizzy and slides back down to the floor. Shh, Joseph says, addressing the door. Shtok! Joseph says. Shut up!

I cannot, the soldier says. I am heartbroken and I have lost my way.

The phone stops ringing and Joseph crawls across the floor toward his bedroom. He will shut the door and pull the blankets up over him and by morning the man will be gone and the cafe will open. He will dress quickly and get himself a croissant. No, thinks Joseph. Do not think about the croissant. But it is too late. His stomach is growling and the man is pounding on the door again. He wails Joseph’s name. But Joseph is halfway across the new living room floor that Saba Yakov put in as a consolation gift when he’d forced Joseph’s mother to break up with her last boyfriend.

The soldier pounds on the door. He shouts, Joseph, Joseph! Ach sheli! My brother!

Joseph has no brother.

Clawing animal noises come from the other side of the door.

Allo? a voice shouts from deep in the stairwell. A woman’s voice. The neighbor upstairs. Mi zeh po? the voice asks. Who’s there?

Joseph springs to the door. He must shut up Mrs. Tzifat, who is a busybody and who will ask for Joseph’s mother. Never mind, Mrs. Tzifat, Joseph says, calling through the door.

Joseph, is that you? Joseph Mendel? Is that you?

Yes, Mrs. Tzifat. I’m fine.

But who is there, Joseph? Who is making so much noise?

Never mind. It is just my cousin. He’s come to visit.

Let me talk to your mother, Joseph.

Never mind!

The soldier calls out, It is okay, Mrs. Tzifat. It is only me, Gabriel Strauss. Don’t you remember me?

Joseph opens the door quickly. Shut up! he whispers, furiously. The soldier pushes through the door with the butt of his gun.

Rabble-rousers! the old woman shouts down the stairs. They wait until Mrs. Tzifat’s door closes. Joseph crouches down in the doorway between the apartment and the stairwell. Joseph could escape now. He could run all the way to his father’s house. But somehow he is curious and no longer afraid.

The soldier wanders around the apartment. He stares at the bright new floors, the gleaming table, the invisible particles in the air. Joseph wonders what he is thinking. The soldier lingers by the stereo, shuffling through a pile of CDs. He selects one. This was my father’s favorite, the soldier says, and Neil Young fills the room.

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