“So, he’s your boyfriend?” Halimi asked, removing an invisible crumb from a lock of my hair.
“Was my boyfriend, I guess,” I said.
“Seems like a nice guy,” Halimi said lazily.
“Don’t be a jerk,” I said.
We fell silent and watched Ronen go. When he paused to say goodbye to Eran, they both cast glances in my direction. Eran looked a bit spooked, but Hila, who was standing next to him, raised her glass in our direction.
“What a sweetheart,” Halimi said.
“Totally,” I agreed and then added, “A good fuck too?”
Halimi choked on his drink. “What, she told you?”
“Actually, no, but I guessed as much,” I beamed. Halimi smiled back, revealing small, overcrowded teeth. He surveyed me with renewed appreciation.
“So was she?” I asked again.
“Was she what? A good fuck?” Halimi repeated my question. I shrugged my shoulders and took a drag of my cigarette.
“And why would you want to know?” he quizzed me.
I exhaled smoke slowly. “You can never tell,” I replied. “Maybe I want to sleep with her?” He laughed and stood up. “I’ll bring drinks, and then I’ll tell you everything you want to know. Whiskey?”
“I don’t really drink,” I admitted, one hand dipping into my bag for the little joint I always had ready at parties.
“Today, you do,” Halimi determined and blinked once in my direction, like an owl.
“You’ve got nerve,” I said.
“Damn straight,” Halimi agreed. “Whiskey?”
“Vodka,” I replied. “And something nice to wash it down with.”
He liked that.
“‘Vodka and something nice to wash it down with,’” he repeated. “Did you walk straight out of a Russian novel?”
“Perhaps,” I said.
“‘Vodka,’” Halimi repeated again, as if to himself, and moved in the direction of the drinks.
I got out of the uncomfortable chair I’d been sitting on and dragged a sun lounger over. I flopped onto it with a sense of liberation. I checked out all the couples who were gathering up their overheated children, barking orders at each other, and dedicated myself entirely to the pleasure of being free. I thought with gratification of the novel I’d finished translating a few days before, meaning I was free for the next two weeks. I looked at Halimi chatting with Eran and whispering something to Hila—who erupted in howls of laughter that disturbed a raven on a nearby antenna. I wondered how wanton I’d feel if I slept with him that very night.
The movie finished. I tried to reach the remote to turn it off, but Halimi’s head had cemented my arm to the couch, and I had to squirm my way out from under him. He lay on his side, his nose thrust into the embroidered cushions. I stopped the movie as the credits began rolling and switched off the TV. A distant noise made me look up, then silence resumed.
New sounds, I told myself.I need to get used to those too.It takes time to differentiate among the different barks of the neighborhood dogs, the habitual gurgling in the pipes, the rumbling that sounds like footsteps but is simply the generator adjusting itself.
Halimi’s cell phone vibrated. He usually kept it close to his person, and I preferred not to snoop too much. More than once, I’d come across text messages that sickened me and made me hate him. This time, in a rush of adrenaline, I reached for the phone, ready and waiting to hatehim, to accuse him of being a complete bastard. I imagined the two of us fighting, me scratching and kicking, him slapping and shaking me. Not that anything like that had ever happened.
“Saul, call when you can” was the WhatsApp message in French. His mom. I put the phone on the table and hugged Halimi from behind. A few hours later, we dragged ourselves, exhausted, off to bed.
In the morning, after stashing fresh rolls in the bread bin, Halimi sat down beside me on the bed. He stroked my head, and I opened drowsy eyes, my hand searching for his. “How was it with Liloosh?” I mumbled. Lily was still undergoing a period of adjustment at her new preschool, and I was grateful to Halimi for not stressing over her predictable morning tears when he parted from her in the preschool yard. “Awesome, she barely cried,” Halimi answered, pleased with himself. “There’s a kid there who cries much more than Lily,” he added. He leaned forward and planted a gentle kiss on my nose. He continued kissing me, traversing my mouth, then my neck, his hands gathering up all my warm flesh.
“Are you trying to take advantage of me?” I asked, tingling a little at his touch.
“Absolutely,” Halimi replied. He spread my legs with his knee.
