The Covenant Read Online Free
thought how fortunate it was he’d decided against becoming a surgeon.
Chapter Two
Maaleh Sara,
Judea Monday, May 6, 2002
7:00 A.M.
R IGHT AFTER SHE heard the final fade-out of Jon’s car wheels from the driveway, Elise heard the door open and her neighbor Ruth’s cheerful “Ahalan! What’s up pussycat?” followed by liana’s squeal of joy. The child adored Ruth, who brought her home, baked cookies and never tired of chasing after her, Elise thought with a prick of jealousy.
“Hi, Lanooshr Ruth called to the child. “What do you have on? Your dancing shoes? Does Mommy know?” liana twirled into the bedroom. Her long, dark hair was a mass of tangled curls, her big brown eyes sparkled. She was wearing her leotard, backward, and her pink ballet tights sagged at the knees because they hadn’t been pulled up properly. She pirouetted around the room.
“liana! What did you do?” Jon always dressed and fed her before leaving for work, so the volunteer wouldn’t have to. How she’d managed to take off all her clothes and put on her ballet gear…
“But Ima , I’m practicing!”
“I know you are. But there’s no time, liana. Ruth has to go home and take care of her own children, Sammy and Daphna… Now she’ll have to dress you all over again…”
“It’s all right, Elise. I’ll manage. Come my little dancer, let’s dance over to your closet and get some clothes, okay?”
“Ima , do I have to?” She seemed genuinely forlorn, Elise worried. It wasn’t like her.
”Yes, you do, liana,” Elise said more sternly than she would have if her own feelings about turning her child over to another woman’s care weren’t so mixed. Ruth was just one of an army of neighborhood volunteers who, unasked, had worked out an elaborate schedule to make sure that every single day, someone would be there to help Elise.
In a place like Maaleh Sara, such kindnesses were taken for granted. Through the years, Elise had done similar things for her neighbors.
A small yishuv was more than a housing development. In many ways, it was like one house divided into many rooms, and all the people one large, extended family. If you saw someone’s child in need of a Band-Aid, or a sandwich, or just a hug, you provided it, no questions asked. People did the same for yours. The Biblical injunction of “love your neighbor as yourself” wasn’t a saying; it was a lifestyle.
Like a little group of space pioneers who had landed on the moon, each family understood its well-being was dependent upon their neighbors’. In extraordinary circumstances like births and deaths, neighbors watched your children, cooked your meals, washed your clothes and filled your freezer. And on ordinary days, when you needed a cup of sugar, or a doctor’s referral, or the name of a plumber, they made sure you got it. You were never alone to fend for yourself.
“Are you coming to see me dance, Ima?”
“Not this time, rnotek”
“Because you can’t wake up the baby?”
Good explanation, Elise thought. “Right! The baby needs to keep real quiet until it’s ready to come out.”
“Maybe it won’t want to come out?” she said hopefully.
Elise studied her, surprised. “Don’t you want it to? So you can play together?”
“Noooh. I have no time to play. I have to practice…” She twirled around the room, then stopped. “Do you need a new baby to play with, Ima?”
“Come here, baby.” Elise motioned to her. Cradling liana’s warm little face between her hands, Elise kissed every feature separately: the fluttering eyelids, thick little nose, attentive little ears and the rosebud mouth that didn’t stop talking for a second. “You’ll always be our special girl. Our first girl,” she whispered to her as she nuzzled her hair, breathing in the fragranceof baby shampoo, rosemary oil and that special scent that rose from her young, fresh skin. She was so delicious, Elise thought, tightening her grip.
“Ima!” liana finally
Chapter Two
Maaleh Sara,
Judea Monday, May 6, 2002
7:00 A.M.
R IGHT AFTER SHE heard the final fade-out of Jon’s car wheels from the driveway, Elise heard the door open and her neighbor Ruth’s cheerful “Ahalan! What’s up pussycat?” followed by liana’s squeal of joy. The child adored Ruth, who brought her home, baked cookies and never tired of chasing after her, Elise thought with a prick of jealousy.
“Hi, Lanooshr Ruth called to the child. “What do you have on? Your dancing shoes? Does Mommy know?” liana twirled into the bedroom. Her long, dark hair was a mass of tangled curls, her big brown eyes sparkled. She was wearing her leotard, backward, and her pink ballet tights sagged at the knees because they hadn’t been pulled up properly. She pirouetted around the room.
“liana! What did you do?” Jon always dressed and fed her before leaving for work, so the volunteer wouldn’t have to. How she’d managed to take off all her clothes and put on her ballet gear…
“But Ima , I’m practicing!”
“I know you are. But there’s no time, liana. Ruth has to go home and take care of her own children, Sammy and Daphna… Now she’ll have to dress you all over again…”
“It’s all right, Elise. I’ll manage. Come my little dancer, let’s dance over to your closet and get some clothes, okay?”
“Ima , do I have to?” She seemed genuinely forlorn, Elise worried. It wasn’t like her.
”Yes, you do, liana,” Elise said more sternly than she would have if her own feelings about turning her child over to another woman’s care weren’t so mixed. Ruth was just one of an army of neighborhood volunteers who, unasked, had worked out an elaborate schedule to make sure that every single day, someone would be there to help Elise.
In a place like Maaleh Sara, such kindnesses were taken for granted. Through the years, Elise had done similar things for her neighbors.
A small yishuv was more than a housing development. In many ways, it was like one house divided into many rooms, and all the people one large, extended family. If you saw someone’s child in need of a Band-Aid, or a sandwich, or just a hug, you provided it, no questions asked. People did the same for yours. The Biblical injunction of “love your neighbor as yourself” wasn’t a saying; it was a lifestyle.
Like a little group of space pioneers who had landed on the moon, each family understood its well-being was dependent upon their neighbors’. In extraordinary circumstances like births and deaths, neighbors watched your children, cooked your meals, washed your clothes and filled your freezer. And on ordinary days, when you needed a cup of sugar, or a doctor’s referral, or the name of a plumber, they made sure you got it. You were never alone to fend for yourself.
“Are you coming to see me dance, Ima?”
“Not this time, rnotek”
“Because you can’t wake up the baby?”
Good explanation, Elise thought. “Right! The baby needs to keep real quiet until it’s ready to come out.”
“Maybe it won’t want to come out?” she said hopefully.
Elise studied her, surprised. “Don’t you want it to? So you can play together?”
“Noooh. I have no time to play. I have to practice…” She twirled around the room, then stopped. “Do you need a new baby to play with, Ima?”
“Come here, baby.” Elise motioned to her. Cradling liana’s warm little face between her hands, Elise kissed every feature separately: the fluttering eyelids, thick little nose, attentive little ears and the rosebud mouth that didn’t stop talking for a second. “You’ll always be our special girl. Our first girl,” she whispered to her as she nuzzled her hair, breathing in the fragranceof baby shampoo, rosemary oil and that special scent that rose from her young, fresh skin. She was so delicious, Elise thought, tightening her grip.
“Ima!” liana finally
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