home with a new bruise or scratch. Eliza had promised herself she would never say them, never put herself in a position where she was forced to comfort herself with that lie.
----
Saul has spent the day rehearsing speeches in his head, playing out entire scenes between himself and his daughter. He knows the enormity of what he is taking on and knows that if it is to work at all, he must take things slowly. He must not frighten Eliza with the scale of his plans, the height of his ambitions. As much as he’d like to, he can’t start out with his bee epiphany. If Elly is to realize her enormous potential, she must realize it on her own terms.
They will start by focusing solely on spelling. Eliza must have a strong foundation from which to jump if she is to have any chance of flying. The dictionary will be their foundation. The ancients advised thorough knowledge of the texts before undertaking the Kabbalah. The national bee is approaching. They will prepare for it together.
While Eliza is at school, Saul purchases Webster’s Third International Dictionary, the English language spread among three hard-bound volumes.
He is waiting for her when she gets home. He pretends not to notice her look of surprise, as if his presence at the kitchen table upon her arrival is the most natural thing in the world.
“You look as if you could use a snack,” he says before she has a chance to say anything. “I cut up an apple for you and a little bit of cheese. You can have a cookie if you want, but too much sugar will make you crash later on, which is bad for sustained concentration. If we’re going to do this right, we need to start taking things like that into account.”
“Huh?” says Eliza, and Saul realizes that he’s already strayed from his script, so caught up in his excitement that he skipped over the part where he lets Eliza in on the plan.
“Here,” he says, leading Eliza to his study door. The far corner of the room has been magically cleared of papers and notebooks. In their place is a small wooden worktable and two chairs. The three volumes of the Third International are stacked on the table’s center.
“I thought this would work well as a study area. We don’t have as much time as I would like, but I think we can get through a lot in two months. I’ve drawn up a sample schedule that covers daily practice as well as a rough syllabus for the entire period, but it will all depend on what we find works best for us.”
He stops for breath, notices the confused expression on his daughter’s face, and shyly smiles. “So, Elly-belly, you want to give it a whirl? Can I help you study?”
For a moment, Eliza catches a glimpse of her brother in her father’s face, the dogged determination and unflagging hope of a boy waiting to get picked for the team. Though she knows it is not an option, not something she would ever dream of doing, she is filled with momentary giddiness at the idea of saying no.
“Are you sure it won’t be boring for you?”
“Elly,” Saul replies, placing his hands on her shoulders, “you have no idea how exciting this is.”
Elly nods. She manages an “Okay” in place of the jubilant “YES!!” that is inside her, fearful its intensity might scare him. She can hardly believe when Saul motions to the table and says, “This is your space, Elly. You can come here whenever you want.” When she hesitates, he insists that she be the first to sit down, the first to open a volume of the dictionary. She feels the book’s weight, smells the new paper smell bought for her nose alone.
Eliza is amazed by what she sees inside. The dictionary’s words are the exact size of those she has pictured lining the inside of her head, chest, and legs. The dictionary is her body’s knowledge made manifest. So that, as Eliza reads the words, she feels as if she has done this before, is merely ghosting with her hand and eye what her brain has been doing all along.
They study for five hours each weekday
----
Saul has spent the day rehearsing speeches in his head, playing out entire scenes between himself and his daughter. He knows the enormity of what he is taking on and knows that if it is to work at all, he must take things slowly. He must not frighten Eliza with the scale of his plans, the height of his ambitions. As much as he’d like to, he can’t start out with his bee epiphany. If Elly is to realize her enormous potential, she must realize it on her own terms.
They will start by focusing solely on spelling. Eliza must have a strong foundation from which to jump if she is to have any chance of flying. The dictionary will be their foundation. The ancients advised thorough knowledge of the texts before undertaking the Kabbalah. The national bee is approaching. They will prepare for it together.
While Eliza is at school, Saul purchases Webster’s Third International Dictionary, the English language spread among three hard-bound volumes.
He is waiting for her when she gets home. He pretends not to notice her look of surprise, as if his presence at the kitchen table upon her arrival is the most natural thing in the world.
“You look as if you could use a snack,” he says before she has a chance to say anything. “I cut up an apple for you and a little bit of cheese. You can have a cookie if you want, but too much sugar will make you crash later on, which is bad for sustained concentration. If we’re going to do this right, we need to start taking things like that into account.”
“Huh?” says Eliza, and Saul realizes that he’s already strayed from his script, so caught up in his excitement that he skipped over the part where he lets Eliza in on the plan.
“Here,” he says, leading Eliza to his study door. The far corner of the room has been magically cleared of papers and notebooks. In their place is a small wooden worktable and two chairs. The three volumes of the Third International are stacked on the table’s center.
“I thought this would work well as a study area. We don’t have as much time as I would like, but I think we can get through a lot in two months. I’ve drawn up a sample schedule that covers daily practice as well as a rough syllabus for the entire period, but it will all depend on what we find works best for us.”
He stops for breath, notices the confused expression on his daughter’s face, and shyly smiles. “So, Elly-belly, you want to give it a whirl? Can I help you study?”
For a moment, Eliza catches a glimpse of her brother in her father’s face, the dogged determination and unflagging hope of a boy waiting to get picked for the team. Though she knows it is not an option, not something she would ever dream of doing, she is filled with momentary giddiness at the idea of saying no.
“Are you sure it won’t be boring for you?”
“Elly,” Saul replies, placing his hands on her shoulders, “you have no idea how exciting this is.”
Elly nods. She manages an “Okay” in place of the jubilant “YES!!” that is inside her, fearful its intensity might scare him. She can hardly believe when Saul motions to the table and says, “This is your space, Elly. You can come here whenever you want.” When she hesitates, he insists that she be the first to sit down, the first to open a volume of the dictionary. She feels the book’s weight, smells the new paper smell bought for her nose alone.
Eliza is amazed by what she sees inside. The dictionary’s words are the exact size of those she has pictured lining the inside of her head, chest, and legs. The dictionary is her body’s knowledge made manifest. So that, as Eliza reads the words, she feels as if she has done this before, is merely ghosting with her hand and eye what her brain has been doing all along.
They study for five hours each weekday
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