Chapter 7: THE MANGO TREE AND THE BABYSITTER
God's Little Drop of Water
If you’ve just discovered this (Hi!), begin with Chapter 1 HERE.
New chapters every Saturday morning @ 9:09 a.m. EST. Yay!
The next morning, Taliya dressed, washed her face, brushed her teeth and made her way to the kitchen. Ima and Yaroni were at a stalemate over Yaroni’s clothing combination. When Taliya took her place at the short side of the L, she discovered Yair was already at the table, dressed and ready for school.
“You’re awake,” she said.
“Yes,” said Yair. “It’s Friday. A short day. It’s going to be a good day.”
Abba was preparing sandwiches.
“Abba,” Taliya asked, tentatively, because she feared what she already suspected would be Abba’s answer, “do you and Ima have plans for this evening?” Taliya pushed the oatmeal around in her bowl. She discovered chocolate treasure near the bottom, but she was at the moment more interested in Abba’s response. And that was saying something.
“Yes,” said Abba, “we are meeting friends in Ashdod.”
Taliya didn’t care at all for this.
She preferred that her parents remained at home, where everyone would be together. They could all gather around the television and watch The Love Boat. Together.
“Can we come?” Taliya asked.
“No, it’s only going to be grown-ups,” said Abba. “You’d be very bored. Don’t worry, we have a nice girl coming to stay with you.”
“A babysitter?” Taliya asked. “I don’t need a babysitter. I’m not a baby.”
“Neither am I,” said Yair.
“Of course you’re not,” said Abba. “She’s a very nice girl. You’ll all have a good time.”
Taliya and Yair shared a look. Taliya knew that Yair, like herself, very much doubted this.
Taliya chose a different tack. “Abba, are we going to Sabba and Savta’s tomorrow?”
“Of course,” said Abba.
“Is everyone going to be there?” Taliya asked.
“Yes.”
Taliya was very pleased to hear this. She was looking forward to seeing her aunts and uncles and her many cousins. Most of all, she was looking forward to seeing her grandparents, Sabba and Savta.
♦♦♦
Friday was a short day at school, so Taliya’s studies at her university were curtailed. But she was very pleased to meet Yair at school once classes had been dismissed.
Across the street from the school was a small corner shop which sold candy, bubble gum, candy bars, and other treats.
Taliya led Yair to the shop. The proprietor was a man with a lush black beard. Taliya began to point to things, asking him the price.
The proprietor answered.
Yair stood a few meters behind Taliya. He was most uncomfortable with Taliya’s strategy when it came to negotiations.
But Taliya was determined to be a savvy shopper. Only when she knew the price of every item would she be able to come to an informed decision.
In the end, she selected two pieces of Bazooka Joe bubble gum, which were fifty agurot each, equivalent to half a shekel or 25 cents.
“Can we have a discount?” Taliya asked.
“A discount?!” said the proprietor.
Yairi wanted to run away.
But Taliya was determined. “Yes, a discount. Two for the price of one? We are very loyal customers.”
The proprietor stroked his beard, deep in thought.
“Okay, two for the price of one,” said the proprietor.
He held out the two pieces of chewing gum.
Taliya handed him the five gold coins and took the gum. She handed one piece to Yair and they turned for home.
A few minutes later, as they were approaching their building on Strauss Street, they encountered Nimrod, the bully boy. He was walking toward them.
Taliya immediately stepped into his path and put out her arms. “Stop! This is our sidewalk and you’re not allowed to walk on it! You have to walk on the other side of the street!”
Taliya glared up at Nimrod as he towered over her. She held firm, arms spread wide.
Nimrod turned, crossed the street, and continued on his way.
Taliya and Yair continued toward home.
“You stood up to him,” said Yair. “You’re so brave.”
“You can’t let other people tell you what to do.”
Once upstairs, Taliya and Yair lay on the cool floor, waiting for Ima and Yaroni to arrive.
Once Ima and Yaroni were home, Ima immediately sent the children downstairs to play so she could cook.
A short while later, the children were delighted to see Abba arrive home. Abba carried several bags of groceries. The children helped Abba carry everything upstairs to Ima.
Taliya immediately noticed a noxious smell in the apartment. She followed the smell to the kitchen. Ima had four separate pots cooking, from which great blasts of steam were escaping.
Taliya lifted the lid on the largest of the pots.
Inside was a pile of meat chunks and countless long stringy things. She slammed the lid back down.
“What is it?” Taliya asked, covering her nose with her shirt.
“Liver and onions,” said Ima. “It’s very healthy. It has a lot of iron.”
Taliya didn’t care how much iron it had. Were it made entirely of iron, she would not eat it.
The children were once more sent downstairs to play so that Abba could sweep and mop the floors. It was an important weekly custom for the house to be thoroughly and properly cleaned before the Shabbat arrived at sunset.
Taliya was all too happy to escape the liver-and-onion smell which had now permeated the entire apartment.
Downstairs, Taliya and her brothers played in the grass beside the mango tree.
After a time, Taliya announced that she was going to climb the tree.
Yair advised against it, saying she would get stuck and would be unable to climb down, as this was what had happened the last time Taliya had announced she was going to climb the mango tree.
And the time before that.
And the time before that.
Taliya was confident, however, that she had learned from her past mistakes. She would not get stuck this time.
She approached the mango tree. From where she stood, it was quite tall.
Yairi and Yaroni stood nearby, watching, along with a handful of other children who had also been sent outside to play so that the floors could be mopped and the Shishi meal prepared.
Taliya jumped up and grabbed the lowest branch of the mango tree. She hooked one leg over the branch and pulled herself up. The bark of the tree was light grey and smooth. The leaves were large, and were a dark, shiny green on one side and a dull light green on the other.
“See!” Taliya announced. “It’s easy.”
Taliya ignored the fact that the ground now appeared very far away.
“Well?” Yair asked, looking up at Taliya as she sat perched upon the branch.
“Well what?” Taliya asked.
“You’re stuck again, aren’t you?” Yair asked.
“No.”
“Yes, you are,” said Yair.
“Yes, you are,” Yaron agreed.
“I am not,” said Taliya.
“Climb down,” said Yair.
“Yeah, climb down,” said Yaroni.
“I don’t want to.”
“Because you can’t.”
“Yeah, you can’t.”
“Sure I can.”
“Prove it.”
“Yeah, prove it.”
Taliya found herself in a pickle. She did not care for being challenged. Particularly when she could not answer and subsequently defeat the challenge.
However, it was now quite clear, even to her, that she was, in fact, stuck.
Taliya considered her options. She could maintain the illusion. She could simply remain in the tree. But for how long? Eventually she would be forced to climb down or to admit that she was unable to do so.
She could jump.
But it seemed such a long way.
What if she twisted her ankle? Ima would insist on taking her to see a doctor. It was Friday evening and the doctors were at home. They would be forced to go to the hospital. Taliya did not care for hospitals. She cared for hospitals even less than she cared for meat.
She scooted to the edge of the branch, preparing to drop.
But she lost her nerve.
“Go get Abba!” she said.
Yair turned and ran into the building. Yaroni stayed and looked up at Taliya, perched on the branch above him.
A short while later, Yair returned. Abba was with him.
Abba smiled up at Taliya.
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” said Taliya.
“She got stuck again,” said Yair.
“Yeah, she got stuck again,” said Yaron.
“Help me down, Abba!”
“Okay,” said Abba. From his pocket, Abba withdrew his camera. He took a photograph of Taliya stuck in the mango tree. He then put away the camera, reached up, and caught Taliya as she leaped down from the branch.
♦♦♦
Later that evening, Taliya watched as Ima and Abba prepared to go meet their friends in Ashdod.
Ima had lit the two Shabbat candles after dinner. She did this every Friday evening after dinner. She lit the candles, covered her hair with a hat, and prayed for safety, health, and happiness for everyone in the family.
Dinner had been an ordeal, at least for Taliya. Yairi had quietly forced himself to eat the liver and onions.
Taliya, however, had not. Some of it had been flushed down the toilet, some of it went behind the washing machine, and the last of it had been concealed beneath the soil of one of Ima’s potted plants. Taliya felt confident that the plant would enjoy the cooked liver more than she would have. It did contain a lot of iron, after all.
Once the babysitter had arrived, Ima and Abba went to meet their friends, much to Taliya’s displeasure. The babysitter was a girl named Smadar. Smadar was fourteen years old and lived across the street. Taliya could not understand what qualified Smadar to watch children when she herself was, apparently, unqualified.
A short while later, not long after the conclusion of The Love Boat, Smadar was stretched out on the sofa, fast asleep.
Taliya became indignant at once. She climbed onto the sofa and then onto Smadar, shaking her and pulling on her hair.
“Wake up! Wake up! You’re supposed to be watching us! You’re not doing your job!”
Smadar awakened, appearing confused.
Satisfied, Taliya returned to her chair.
Minutes later, Smadar had once again fallen asleep.
Taliya went to her, climbed right on top of her, and resumed pulling her hair.
“Wake up, wake up! You’re getting paid to watch us. You’re not doing your job!”
Smadar sat up once more and Taliya retreated.
Mercifully, Abba and Ima arrived home a short while later. Upon sight of them, Smadar became very upset and began to cry.
“They’re mean, horrible children!” Smadar cried. “I’m not watching them ever again!”
Abba and Ima were concerned. They turned to Taliya.
“She fell asleep!” Taliya declared. “She was supposed to watch us and she fell asleep! She didn’t do her job!”
Ima now became quite upset. The notion that her children were left unsupervised was most disconcerting. And she informed Smadar of such.
Smadar was, eventually, permitted to leave.
Taliya didn’t know if Abba paid Smadar for her services. She very much hoped not. If there was one thing Taliya did not care for, it was people being paid to do a job and then not doing it.
Read next chapter:
