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Show 218 that brought Moshe and the others running. And behind our mechanical calm, Talma and I were both excited. We were at the center of things, we were our own news; we were inching our wav quickly now toward the Temple wall and the best was clearly yet to come. I was at the bottom and Chaim, once again, was at the top; talking about his new job at the airport, cleaning his sunglasses and watching the buckets rise as though he were invisibly directing them. "Well, well," he said in English, plainly for me to hear. "I see we are still employing Goyim to do the work of Jacob." I kept my head down, just kept digging, but after a moment I heard Talma talking to him in Hebrew, low and harsh, and I knew that she was defending me and punishing him with her dark eyes and careful words. I didn't like it; I was a good worker and they all knew it, I didn't need her protection. I wanted to be alone. When she sat down beside me at coffee break, I didn't want to talk. When she offered me a pastry I said no thanks, give it to one of them over there, give it to Chaim, I don't want it; but she simply dropped it back in its greasy paper sack. "It's warm enough to sit outside, Ian Alden," she said. "You go ahead," I said, "I think I'll stay here." I tried to make my face distant and preoccupied, but she didn't move, stayed beside me on the wooden bench. And when I felt her eyes fixed on me I said, "Why don't you talk with Moshe and the others anymore?" "They do not wish to talk with me," she said. Suddenly I was aware just how much her English had improved |
