nearly over.
He dropped Joe in the lane outside the Brig's house in Em Karem.
I won't bother to invite you in, Joe said. I guess you've got plans.
Good guess, David smiled. Will we see you and Hannah? Come to dinner
tomorrow night.
Joe shook his head again. I'm taking Hannah down to Ashkelon to visit
her parents graves. It's traditional before a wedding. Perhaps we'll
see you Saturday Right then, I'll try and make it. Debra will want to
see you. aloin, Joe. Shalom, shalom, said Joe and David pulled away,
flicking the gears in a racing change as he put the Mercedes at the
hill. Suddenly he was in a hurry.
The terrace door stood open in welcome, and she was waiting for him.
Debra was vibrant and tense with expectation, sitting in one of the new
leather chairs with her legs curled under her. Her hair was freshly
washed and shimmering like a starling's wing. She was dressed in a
billowing kaftan of light silk and subtle honey colours that picked out
the gold in her eyes.
She came out of the chair in a swirl of silk, and ran barefooted across
the rugs to meet him.
David! David! she cried and he caught her up and spun on his heels,
laughing with her.
Afterwards she led him proudly about the rooms and showed him the
changes and additions that had turned it into a real home during his
absence. David had convinced her that cost was not fundamental and they
had chosen the designs for the furniture together. These had been made
and delivered by Debra's tame Arab and she had arranged them as they had
planned it. It was all in soft leather and dark wood, lustrous copper
and brass, set off by the bright rugs. However, there was one article
he had never seen before, a large oil painting on canvas, and Debra had
hung it unframed on the freshly painted white wall facing the terrace.
It was the only decoration upon the wall, and any other would have been
insignificant beside it.
It was a harsh dominant landscape, a desert scene which captured the
soul of the wilderness; the colours; were hot and fierce and seemed to
pour through the room like the rays of the desert sun itself.
Debra held his hand and watched David's face anxiously for a reaction as
he studied it. Wow! He said at last. You like it? She was relieved.
It's terrific. Where did you get it? 'A gift from the artist.
She's an old friend. 'She? That's right. We are driving up to
Tiberias tomorrow to have lunch with her. I've told her all about you,
and she wants to meet you. 'What's she like? She's one of our leading
artists, and her name is Ella`Kadesh, but apart from that I can't begin
to describe her.
All I can do is promise you an entertaining day. Debra had prepared a
special dish of lamb and olives and they ate it on the terrace under the
olive tree. Again the talk turned to Joe's wedding, and in the midst of
it David asked abruptly, What made you decide to come with me, without
marrying? She replied after a moment. I I discovered that I loved you,
and I knew that you were too impatient to play the waiting game. I knew
that if I didn't, I might lose you again. Until recently, I didn't
