“Break a glass,” Max urged, handing me a thick one.
“Are you crazy? The religious guys in the course told me: it’s enough to sanctify with a ring and witnesses. No need to break a glass – or a leg…”
On the ride back to Tel-Aviv, Lily rested her head on my shoulder, her hand nestled in mine, and fell asleep. I couldn’t even doze off.
I held her hand and felt the ring – our wedding ring. Only weeks earlier, I had told David, “She’s mine.” Now she truly was. I felt the weight of responsibility settle on me.
My heart overflowed with emotion. It had all happened so fast. But I knew – I would never regret it. The knowledge that we had to tell our parents, though – that she was now mine, and I hers – cast a shadow over my joy. I couldn’t imagine how they’d react. That’s why I wanted to face them alone. Later, I realized that was the right decision.
Chapter 26
The Gospel According to Michael
Around five in the afternoon, Serge dropped me off at my parents’ house.
I had parted withmy wife– my Lily – earlier outside her parents’ home. We agreed to meet later at the apartment, after I carried out the “mission” which seemed more and more impossible the closer we got to Tel-Aviv.
All the way from Jerusalem, I imagined how I would tell my parents they could set aside one more worry. That I was already married.
Eli, my brother, their eldest son, had married two years earlier, and now their younger son was following suit. True, in a rather strange way, and certainly not in a very family-oriented one.
I went into the building, skipped the elevator, and climbed the stairs to my parents’ apartment slowly, deliberately. With each step, I bought myself a few more seconds to reflect on what exactly I was about to do, and how they might react.
I rang the bell several times. No answer.
Maybe they weren’t home? Maybe something had happened? Maybe Max had already interfered, called Rachel, and she’d told my parents I had gotten married – and an ambulance had already taken my mother to nearby City Center Hospital. My imagination was getting ahead of me.
Couldn’t be!!!
“Who’s there? Who’s there?” My mother’s voice came from behind the door.
“It’s me.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
“Who?” The door opened wide. My mother stood in the doorway, trying to brush the sleep from her eyes. Clearly, she hadn’t recognized me yet.
“Oh, it’s you. Come in, what a surprise.”
I stepped inside and stood in the entryway.
“Want to eat something?” she asked, already turning toward the kitchen before even shutting the door.
“I’ve already eaten.”
“There’s gefilte fish that you love, and schnitzel, and…”
“Mom, I’ve eaten, I’m full.”
“Then compote, I know you love that.”
“Mom, I want to tell you something.”
“Maybe some good ice cream, or cheesecake, or poppy seed cake which I baked just for you, I know you love them.” She was laser-focused.
“Mom, Mom, stop,” I finally gathered the courage. “I got married.”
