Yitzhak Tuito - author of the book "Collecting Gifts from the Floor"
Part two (continued from last week)
Claire
She stood before him in all her glory.
She looked just as glamorous and impressive as he remembered her.
No doubt - a queen.
In her expressive eyes, you could see a hint of a smile.
It took him a few seconds to recover.
About seven years ago they studied together at university.
She learned a year under it.
One day, she was looking for a certain material in the library
And she got lost in the tangle of busy shelves.
Behind the desk where he was working, he saw her bragging
And he came over to help.
An hour later they became a couple.
Two weeks did not go by. the perfect couple.
Michael grumbled next to him almost every day.
Say, what's the code? what's the secret
You are also in the volleyball team, also in racquetball, and in basketball
And also wins a girl, Miss Tebal looks like her
like a hedgehog in distress.'
It took two weeks.
She wanted a modeling career and he could understand that.
But it didn't suit him.
He knew what the package with the name 'Modeling' on it included
And he was very far from it.
He didn't want to fool her.
There were many tears.
She even thought of giving up the idea, the career
And while he appreciated the sacrifice, he knew it was
It will be etched in her mind as a miss.
It doesn't matter what you do, the thought will always nest in it.
Harass, bully, tease...
"Where could I go?" 'Where could I be today'.
Since then, seven years have passed without any contact
And now she is here in front of him, completely real.
There's news, mate
"Wow…Claire" he instinctively blurted out, feeling stupid
Even before he finished the sentence.
She must hear it a thousand times a day.
"Come on, come in."
"No… no… thanks."
She seemed to be searching for the right words.
"Look, I don't have any demands, really.
I… I just wanted you to know, that's all."
He waited.
He had no idea how it had appeared out of nowhere
What is the purpose of her coming, or what she intends to say.
"Look, a year after we broke up, I got married.
On the day of the wedding, the baby was three months old."
Boowoom… and then, another resounding, brain-shattering boom.
He stared at her. shocked.
One part of his mind asked: 'What? How can it be?
Of course it could be, Ahbel', answered the other part against him.
"What??? You want to tell me I'm a…"
"Yes. You are the father of a cute boy, who we celebrated last week
Seventh birthday.
But, like I said, I don't have any demands on you. Absolutely nothing.
I just thought it wouldn't be fair for you not to know. It's all.
My husband, his stepfather, knew what he was getting into.
He loves him very much and the boy loves him back.
And yes, the child knows he is not his biological father.
We told him, and he accepted it nicely and with understanding.
At least that's how it seems. Well, that's it.
I just thought it wouldn't be fair to hide it from you.
that's it."
what what what
Jordan, stood frozen as a statue, without any thought. emptied.
He didn't know what to say.
Claire studied him with interest.
Finally managed to find the words, which in the process
The one who said them, already felt how out of place they were.
"Do you want me to come? Maybe meet him? Is he even interested?"
"I don't think it's worth it.
It will add more complexity to his life. will only make it worse."
"Won't you even show me a picture?"
"Maybe over time." she said, turning and walking to the car.
"Hey" Jordan shouted to her from the door of the house "how is he in basketball?"
Her rolling laughter was heard all the way into the house.
"At least you came back to yourself." yelled at him from afar,
got into the car and jumped with a screeching tire screeching.
He closed the door and entered the house.
Michael, for all his two feet and the cropped haircut,
who had gotten used to it since his military service, was still sitting in the same place,
His legs are straight in front, resting as best he can on a nearby chair.
Jordan sat down across from him, staring at the already cold cup of coffee.
Two minutes of silence passed before he murmured
"You have no idea what was here now..."
Michael raised his hand.
“If you don't mind, you left the door open
And I'm sitting less than four meters from the door.
I even heard your thoughts."
Jordan was still upset
"I'm a father. And he's already seven years old. Unbelievable. It's completely psychotic."
father
Michael, in a conspicuous attempt to look bored,
Make a show of extremely loud and prolonged yawning.
"Listen, try to be focused and give me a moment to clear your mind."
Jordan looked at him with interest "What?"
"Listen" Michael began, trying to look patient.
"'Father' is nothing more than a semantic term.
You are not really the father of this child.
Certainly not the way we interpret that word.
forget about it.
This, yours and Claire had a 'nice' evening seven years ago,
Doesn't make you his real dad.
This, yours and the child, may have the same blood type
And maybe he even looks like you, doesn't create any relationship between you.
Not beyond dry genetics."
Jordan looked a little intrigued and a little more frustrated.
"What are you brainstorming?"
"Well, calm down and try to understand.
There is someone who knows and accompanies this child from the age of zero.
He got up at night to soothe him when he cried.
He made him a bottle when he was hungry.
He changed his diaper when needed.
Apparently, the baby had one of the children's diseases,
Or his fever rose to frightening heights,
He took him to the hospital and waited with him for hours in the emergency room.
He took him out of kindergarten when needed and was at every party
His birthday has been seven times. Meanwhile.
He lifted him on his shoulders and danced with him to the accompaniment of an annoying song
some, from this repertoire they sing in kindergarten, and the boy was in the clouds.
He bought him gifts and spent countless hours with him
playing in the yard
He was always there for him when needed. Always.
he loves him it's dad
Bro, you're not his father - he is His father.
And you? you are no more than five 'nice' minutes
that the child is their result. that's it."
Michael paused for a full minute, letting the words sink in
before continuing.
"As part of my military service on the aircraft carrier, we spent very long periods at sea.
There is almost no port in the world where we haven't docked.
And there is almost no port without nice minutes.
I appreciate that even if it doesn't catch every time,
Ten years of service can yield an average grade
in elementary school.
And there is an excellent chance that they are all similar to each other. And me too.
So what? Am I their father?"
The million dollar conundrum
Jordan stared at Michael.
And that, more or less, is the main thing he did in the last few minutes.
Although he understood the simple logic in his friend's words
It still hasn't worked out for him.
The whole thing didn't sit well with him.
Deciding how to treat it was agonizing.
Both options are difficult to digest. Both have difficult consequences.
A real dilemma. Controversy of life.
He heard Michael as if from a distance
"In the end, it's you who causes the whole thing
to be a million dollar dilemma, when actually, the dilemma
The only one I see is whether to make you a new coffee
Because your coffee is closer to 'ice' than it is
was ever So, what did you decide?
Do you want a new one?"
Yitzhak Toito
Yitzhak Toito, born in Haifa - 1956. Only son of six other brothers and one sister (yes, there is such a possibility). The setting of his childhood ranged mainly from the lower city to the splendor of the Carmel.
After four years of service in one of the Navy's elite units, he turned to teaching, and until recently served as a fitness trainer and physical education teacher at a high school.
These days his book was published "pick up gifts from the floor" whose plot takes place mainly in Haifa.
Has a master's degree in education and a bachelor's degree in physical education.
Happy holiday.
A surprising sequel. A story completely from life, wonderfully written.
I read that you are a teacher, it turns out that you are just a writer. Beautiful writing, fun to read.
Claire is quite nasty, left no room for hesitation...
I don't understand what her point is, what was her purpose in actually passing on the news, on the one hand, on the other hand, preventing his biological father from doing anything????