Yaâel?â Her father leans toward me his legs spread menacingly Yaâel looks at me with loathing. âI told her you had arrived and that you looked well. She asked if you still had a cramp in your neck and I said that I hadnât noticed any cramp there. Then she asked if you were bothering the children. I said on the contrary, the children are happy that youâre here. I did tell her that you were finding it difficult to adjust to Israeli time. I gave her the agreement and recommended it. She asked if she had to read it. I said yes because thatâs our professional duty, not to let people sign any contract or document that they havenât read. They wonât understand it anyway, but itâs better for them to feel that theyâve read it without understanding it than that they havenât understood it without reading it, ha ha ...â (No one laughs.) âShe tried to read it but she couldnât because her glasses are broken. Or maybe the dog ate them. You really should take care of it, Yaâel. So I read it to her. She listened quietly while I explained all the fine points to her, how her rights are all guaranteed. I really did talk carefully and gently but she hardly seemed to respond. She just asked once about you, Yaâel...ââ âWhy I hadnât come...â âPrecisely. But I explained why and she understood. I told her youâd come tomorrow or the day after and meanwhile we agreed that sheâd think it over and sign and give the agreement to you. Of course weâre pressed for time. I tried telling her that as gently as I could....Could I have another cup of tea? Iâm totally bushed. Iâve been running all evening after this check...â âShe wonât agree,ââ blurts the old man hopelessly. He leaves the room. Deep down I know that heâs right. âWhy wonât she?â I object. âThatâs not my impression. Can I have some more tea or do I have to request it in writing?â Yaâel brings me tea her hands shaking she takes the baby from her chair and puts her into her crib Gaddi shows me his picture some tall women standing in the rain. âItâs a terrific picture.â I kiss him and send him off to bed. Yaâelâs father has disappeared. She looks at me hostilely. âWhatâs gotten into you?â âI donât know. Iâve been a wreck all day.â âThatâs obvious.â âIt was all just too much for me.â And really Iâm dead on my feet it canât be just that damn check something scared me today the world itself. Those broken alleyways ... that nude old woman in the yellow water ... that feeling of straw in my hair... I get up to look at the mail I turn on the TV Iâm exhausted my eyes close I canât make out the words Yaâel is cleaning the table the babyâs already asleep. I turn off the light and get into pajamas I put the check in my pajama pocket and look for a newspaper I can hardly move I get into bed and pull the big blanket over me. Itâs ten oâclock. The telephone rings itâs my mother yes says Yaâel to her as though I were a three-year-old yes heâs eaten and now heâs in bed. Her father returns from a walk with a pack of cigarettes he whispers something to her. My eyes shut the newspaper slips to the floor. The old man comes into the bedroom to ask if I bought the present for Gaddi. âIâm sorry. I forgot.â He takes thirty dollars from his pocket and puts the bills on the night table by the bed. âYou donât have to,â I whisper. But he lays an ashtray on them. He stands there morosely. Yaâel is washing dishes in the kitchen. âWhat should I buy him?â He doesnât answer. âIf itâs all right with you, Iâll find some little electric train. Heâs never even ridden in a train...â He stands