Sir! the Brig stopped and looked back at him. David spoke rapidly,
almost guiltily.
How is she, sir? and then again, how is Debra? Have you see her, I
mean, recently? She is well, the Brig answered heavily.
As well as she can be. 'Will you tell her I asked?
No, answered the Brig, ignoring the pleading in the dark blue eyes. No.
You know I can't do that David nodded and turned away. For a moment the
Brig looked after him and then with a frown he went on into the
colonel's office.
David dropped Joe in Em Karem, at the entrance to the lane, and then he
drove on into the main shopping area of East Jerusalem and parked
outside the big new supermarket in Melech George ! to do his shopping
for the weekend ahead.
He was hanging over the freezer tray pondering the delicate choice
between lamb cutlets and steak, when he became aware that he was being
watched.
David looked up quickly and saw that she was a statuesque woman with a
thick mane of blond curls. She stood beside the shelves farther down
the aisle. Her hair was dyed, he could see the dark shadow of the
roots, and she was older than he was, with a womanly heaviness in her
hips and bosom and tiny lines at the corners of her eyes. She was
eyeing him, a steady appraisal so unashamedly sensual that he felt the
check in his breathing and the quick stirring of his loins. He looked
back at the meat in the freezer, guilty and angry with the treachery of
his body. It had been so long, so very long since he had experienced
sexual awareness. He had believed that he never would again. He wanted
to throw the pack of steak back into the freezer and leave, but he stood
rooted with the breathless feeling squeezing his lungs, and he was aware
of the woman's presence at his side. He could feel the warmth of her on
his arm, and smell her, the flowery perfume mingled with the natural
musky odour of the sexually aroused female.
The steak is very good, she said. She had a light sweet voice and he
recognized the same breathless quality as his own. He looked at her.
Her eyes were green, and her teeth were a little crooked but white. She
was even older than he had thought, almost forty. She wore her dress
low in front, he could see the crepe effect of the skin between her
breasts. The breasts were big and motherly, and suddenly David wanted
to lay his head against them. They looked so soft and warm and safe.
You should cook it rare, with mushrooms and garlic and red wine, she
said. It's very good that way. 'Is it? he asked hoarsely.
Yes, she nodded, smiling. Who will cook it for you?
Your wife? Your mother? No, said David. I will cook it myself. I
live alone, and she leaned a little closer to him, her breast touching
his arm.
David was dizzy and hot with the brandy. He had bought a bottle of it
at the supermarket, and he had drunk it mixed with ginger ale to mask
the spiritous taste. He had drunk it fast, and now he leaned over the
basin in the bathroom and felt the house rock and sway about him. He
steadied himself, gripping the edge of the basin.
