Second Honeymoon
“At the end of the week, I’m taking three days off,” I announced excitedly.
“It’s about time we had our honeymoon,” she laughed. “Where? Where do you want to go?”
“To the United States,” I answered without a second thought.
“Me? To the U.S.? Are you out of your mind?” she exclaimed in surprise.
“I’ll take responsibility.”
“To America? No way. I can only dream of that,” she added.
I was startled. What had happened? Until now, Lily had never let her medical condition hold her back. More than that, she had often risked herself in the name of her passion for living and experiencing.
“I’m afraid to be too far from the hospital,” she admitted to me.
“In the future, we’ll see… You can’t … you just can’t … not see New York, Washington…” I mumbled randomly.
“My man, I don’t believe I’ll ever get there, even though I want to. I’d die to be there.”
“Just don’t die on me,” I said, and meant every word.
“For now, let’s be realistic. Where will we go?” she brought us back down to earth.
“The Galilee, the Golan Heights. You told me you hadn’t been there in years.” Lily nodded.
“I haven’t planned anything, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy ourselves just being free. We’ll go, that’s all,” I told her the night before we left.
“So what should I pack?”
“Something for the day and something for the night.”
“About a year ago, all of us went to the Meshushim pool in the Golan Heights. Worth a look. Amazing. Let’s start there.” I was getting excited.
“You mean the Hexagon Pool?”
“Yes. You can drive pretty close to it, so you won’t have to climb too many steps.”
“All right. It’ll be fine.” Lily convinced herself – and me.
“Take care of her,” her mother said before we left.
“Mom, I’m a big girl.”
“Don’t listen to her. She hasn’t gone on a trip like this in years!”
“Maybe it’s about time.” I left behind our talk about traveling to America.
“She isn’t the strongest, but she isn’t a coward either.”
“To me, she’s the strongest there is.”
“That’s exactly what scares me. The problem is she thinks so too.”
“I’ll take care of her. I promise,” I pledged to her mother – but in truth, I was pledging it to myself.
“Lily, please don’t walk too fast,” I begged. I had parked the car in the closest spot possible to the Hexagon Pool. Lily decided to lead the way.
