I hear the front door open and my heart leaps when I see Avi. He's wearing black sweats and a T-shirt. When he smiles at me, a warm calmness spreads over my body. I think God definitely had something to do with bringing us together. Life is too short not to be with the person you love the most, even if you have to work through both of your emotional baggage while you're together. Who better to deal with your issues than a person who loves you?
"Hey," he says. "You okay?"
"I am now that you're here," I answer back as I hug his waist and bury my head into his chest.
Osnat pretends to gag. "Ugh, please get out of here before I catch whatever love disease you have."
"Come on," I say, leading Avi to Osnat's room.
He watches from the guest bed while I blow-dry my hair. Afterward, I sit next to him while he takes the extra gauze the nurse on the base gave me and carefully rewraps my forearms.
"I hope one day I can take care of you," I tell him.
"You already do. You're a constant reminder that life is not one-dimensional. I forget that sometimes."
I lean my back against his chest and hold his arms around me. I feel so safe and protected wrapped in his arms.
"I've got to report back to the base in two days," he says quietly. "We might not get to see each other after that. I assume you're not going back to the base."
There's so much I want to tell him right here, right now. I turn around and sit on my knees, facing him. "I need to say some stuff, Avi. And I need to say it before I lose my nerve, so don't interrupt me." I take a deep breath, hold his hands in mine, and look into the depths of his eyes. I can get lost in those chocolate depths so easily. "I admire you so much... the way you lead by example... the incredible drive you have to succeed at whatever you're doing... the way you know how to lead our group with authority, but you can also follow directions like you do with Sergeant Ben-Shimon... I admire the skills you possess in so many different areas... I love the way you protect the ones you love... I love the passion you have for your country and your willingness and dedication to protect it at all costs..."
I cup Avi s cheek in my hand. "I think God had something to do with us getting together, because we're so different. But I seriously think we were meant to be together."
He swipes away tears falling down my cheeks. "God definitely had something to do with it. Amy?"
"Yeah?"
"I think we can do it. You know, just date each other. Nobody else."
"You do?"
He nods.
"Me, too." One by one, my worries and fears and insecurities start melting away.
I lay my head in Avi s lap and he runs his fingers through my hair.
"I should leave," he says after a while.
I wrap my arms around him, holding tight. I know that if he leaves I'll be more of a mess than I already am. Avi makes me stronger. "No. Please don't go. Not yet." I look up at him, this boy/man who challenges me to be a better, stronger person. According to Liron's assessment, I've ruined his Israeli warrior reputation and he's still unconditionally by my side. I don't know if anyone else in this universe could handle me except a guy like Avi.
I hear the front door open. I'm too weak to sit up. My dad cracks the door to my room a minute later. "Amy, you up?
"Yeah. Just so you know, Avis with me."
"Oh." If it was any other time, my dad would order Avi out. And maybe even threaten his life. But he sees Avi comforting me and his face softens. "Just... keep the door open. Okay? And no touching... things... things, um, things you're not supposed to be touching."
Yeah, that's how comfortable my dad is talking about sex. He stutters and hesitates and then asks me to talk to my mom. Unfortunately for him, my mom is back in the United States.
My dad is about to give us privacy when Avi calls out, "Ron?"
My dad stops and asks, "Mah?" which means "what" in Hebrew.
"Todah rabah." Thank you very much.
My dad's response is a nod.
Avi slides his body behind me on the bed and holds me tight the entire night. I think he stayed up all night. When I woke up and cried against his chest, he caressed my hair and wiped the tears from my face. When I whispered my fears about Safta dying an hour later, he listened, gave support, and rubbed my back until I fell back asleep. And when I open my eyes in the morning, he's watching me sleep.
"You must be exhausted," I say, my body curling into the warmth of his body heat. It feels so good in his arms, it almost lulls me back to sleep. But thoughts of Safta bring me back to reality.
After a quick breakfast, Avi drives me and my dad to the hospital a half hour away. My uncle and Osnat follow in their car. While my dad and Uncle Chime talk to the doctors and nurses about the next test to determine what's wrong with Safta, and Osnat goes to the cafeteria to get coffee, I sit next to Sofia's bed. Avi leans against the window sill off to the side, giving me privacy.
My grandmother slowly opens her eyes. It takes her a minute to adjust to her surroundings, but when her eyes focus on me she has an apologetic look on her face. She pulls off the oxygen mask. "Amy, motek, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be at boot camp."
"I came to make sure you're okay. And to be with you.
"I don't want... you to see me like this. It's no fun in a hospital watching some tired old lady sleep."