Interrupted Romance (5 page)

Adam was miserable.
 
He was disappointed that Dafna would be so easily put off by his condition.
 
He had thought from their last meeting that things were going along nicely.
 
Obviously, she had thought twice about it and decided it was a lost cause.
 
All he could remember was the touch of her soft lips, the warmth of her body when he had held her, so briefly, the other day.

He sat on the sofa to wait… to hope…

CHAPTER 5

Dafna woke to an Australian summer's day… blue sky, sunshine and heat.
 
Being February, the humidity would be high as well.
 
She had thrown off the sheet during the night and it lay crumpled at the foot of the bed.
 
Her skin was clammy and she needed another shower.
 
Strange, but she hadn't even noticed the temperature yesterday when she arrived!

She lay there, gathering herself to move to the bathroom, watching the curtains move slightly in the breeze that was struggling to make itself felt.
 
Already, it must be close to 30 degrees.
 
"God!
 
It will be 40-something today, if this is how it is starting," she muttered.

Twenty minutes later, showered, hair washed and glistening, dressed in cool shirt and shorts, she stood on the verandah in the sun, drying her hair.
 
She dropped the towel on a chair beside her and stepped off the verandah onto the grass, walking towards her mother's much-loved and cared-for gardens.
 
The beds were full of roses under-planted with phlox, pansies, petunias and some other plants, which Dafna couldn't identify.
 
To the right, the pergola was draped with a climbing rose, white and abundant, where her mother's favourite garden bench was placed.
 
Dafna sat on the bench, shaded from the early sun and enjoyed the coolness and tranquillity of this part of the garden.
 
She could survey the rest of the yard from where she sat.
 
In another corner, a lemon-scented tea-tree grew near a stand of gums.
 
The leaves of the lemon-scented tea-tree were often used by her mother to freshen up clothes stored in drawers.
 
They produced a strong lemon scent when crushed, and were an environmentally friendly way of perfuming the fabrics.
 
Dafna used to complain to her mother that she went out smelling like a piece of fruit!
 
The gums weren't too close to the stone house, built in the 1880's, but because of their height were now able to drop leaves and twigs into the guttering around the roof.
 
Dafna could see a job looming.
 
Clearing the guttering was time-consuming but not difficult.
 
After she'd been to the hospital, she would drag out the ladder and tend to that job.
 
It was one she'd done many times in the past, whenever she was in Australia.

She stretched her tanned legs out before her, draped her arms along the back of the bench and thought about a picnic lunch, right in this very garden area.
 
It was pleasant in the shaded nooks, with birds whistling and calling above her, bright flowers all around, plenty of food in the fridge, a bottle of red in the wine rack and… ADAM!
 
She'd totally forgotten her picnic date with Adam.

She'd jumped to her feet in agitation, hands to her head.
 
She ran towards the house, thinking about telephoning him, and then came to an abrupt halt.
 
What time was it over there?
 
Close to midnight in Israel.
 
It wouldn't be right to call now, so that meant waiting until after the hospital visit, late afternoon, which would be early morning in Israel… but the wrong day.
 
She'd even missed the right day!
 
Dafna couldn't believe that she had totally forgotten about Adam in her rush to leave Israel.
 
While she was busy trying to remember his phone number, she became aware that her shirt was sticking to her shoulders.
 
Already the heat was intense enough that perspiration had dampened her clothes and hair.
 
She wriggled her shoulders in annoyance at this added distraction and moved back to the pergola's shady comfort.
 
Sitting, leaning on her knees, she started to work out the day's timetable in her head, covering first a call to the neighbour, Mrs Bergman, then a visit to the hospital, followed by a call to Israel.
 
The picnic lunch didn't seem half so attractive an idea any more.
 
She could only think about the picnic planned with Adam and how bewildered he was probably feeling.

The call to Mrs Bergman took close to half an hour.
 
The elderly lady was relieved that Dafna had arrived at last.
 
She offered to make some meals for Dafna to put in the freezer, but Dafna declined nicely, saying that she enjoyed cooking and would need to fill in some time by working in the kitchen.
 
In fact, she'd need to make a trip to the supermarket to restock the pantry and fridge.
 
There was time to do that before lunch, before the midday heat became unbearable.
 
At this time of year in Australia, the build-up of heat inside a car left under a blazing sun, with closed windows, could reach way over 50 degrees Celsius before the middle of the day.
 
It was like stepping into a sauna, fully clothed.
 
Even air-conditioned cars, like her mother's, took time to cool down under these conditions.

That decision made, Dafna lost no time in driving to the nearest shopping centre, managing to park under a tree.
 
She would need to be back before the sun moved around to heat the car.
 
She'd been to this place before with her mother, so that she was familiar with the layout of the shops.
 
Dafna was able to gather her food supply quickly, returning home within the hour.
 
She parked the car back in the garage and went inside the house to unpack the groceries before putting them away.

The house was relatively cool inside.
 
Thirty-two degrees was cool compared to the forty-one degrees outside.
 
Dafna prepared a small salad, poured a glass of cold orange juice, turned on the radio to listen to some music while she finished her lunch.
 
She caught the end of the news - bushfires in the outer south-western suburbs again; an eminent visiting eye specialist from Israel, Dr Roni Feldman, was lecturing at the Sydney University Medical School over the coming week; the Australian cricket team had won another series - the world champions were hard to beat.

Dafna listened intently at the name of the Israeli doctor, wondering if he were the same one for whom Adam was waiting.
 
It was almost a certainty.
 
How many eye specialists from Israel would be on a lecture tour to Australia at this time!
 
She considered trying to contact him, to tell him about Adam, to ask if there was any way that he could, or would, help restore Adam's sight.
 
Perhaps she would have to go to the lectures to meet him.
 
There didn't seem to be any other way, as she had no idea at which hotel he would be staying.

Time was getting on and Dafna needed to shower and change her clothes again, to be on her way to the hospital to visit her mother.
 
Surely, the testing would all be over now and her mother settled back in the ward.
 

The drive to the hospital didn't take more than ten minutes, despite the fact that from the house there was no direct route to the hospital.
 
There were many acres between the two locations, which were the site of the historic Old Government House, situated in Parramatta Park, also renowned for its historical value.
 
Dafna had to drive around the park, skirting the fringes of the reserve.
 
Finding a parking space in the hospital grounds took almost the same amount of time.
 
Dafna walked to the hospital entrance and caught a lift up to the fourth floor.
 
At least it was cool inside the hospital.
 
By the time she reached her mother's ward, she was feeling comfortable again.

Her mother was pleased to see her, holding up a hand for Dafna to hold in her own.
 
The report from the tests was encouraging.
 
Time would tell.
 
Meantime, her mother would remain in the hospital for another week at least.
 
If her condition continued to improve, she may be allowed home, with daily nursing help.
 
Dafna would also be able to assist with bathing, meals and gentle exercises for as long as possible before returning to the book shop in Israel.

Dafna wasn't able to stay with her mother for too long, seeing that she tired easily.
 
On her way out of the hospital, she stopped at the information desk to enquire about Dr Roni Feldman.
 
Would he be coming to this hospital during his tour?
 
The staff was not able to supply the information she wanted, but gave her a number to call later that day, which could be helpful.
 
She thanked them and walked out into the heat, to the car.

The interior of the car was too hot to sit in, so she started the engine, switched the air conditioning to full power and walked up and down beside the car while the cooling process took place.
 
Finally, it was comfortable enough to at least get in the car.
 
The steering wheel felt like it was burning her hands, but would soon be OK to hold properly.
 
She drove home deep in thought.
 
If she could reach Doctor Feldman, maybe she could arrange for him to see Adam when he returned to his practice in Israel.

Before calling the number she had been given, Dafna decided it would be courteous, at least, to ask Adam if he wanted her help.
 
She still hadn't spoken with him.

CHAPTER 6

Ever since he had been 'stood up' by Dafna, Adam's mother was concerned about him.
 
He was depressed and grumpy with everyone.
 
Nothing would please him.

It seemed that the only way to bring him out of the doldrums would be to take him home, where he would have the company of his parents and sister, Susan.
 
Adam wasn't keen to move away from his familiar surroundings, but was at last persuaded to try it for a while.

So it was done in a matter of days.
 
His apartment was let to one of his cousins and his new wife, on a short-term basis… probably three months, which suited everyone concerned.
 
The situation could be reviewed at the end of that time.

At least now Adam had someone to take him out of the house, for walks, shopping trips, even fishing if he chose to go.
 
Deep inside, he still yearned for Dafna.
 
She had hurt him by not coming on the day of the picnic.
 
To add to that, he was frustrated by the delay of the operation which would restore his sight.
 
Everything had gone wrong in his life.
 
And all because he had chosen to fill in at work for a friend who was ill.
 
He had taken the extra day of duty, on what should have been his day off.
 
Instead he'd been blown up by a bomb!
 
He'd met someone through that injury with whom he felt comfortable, but who apparently didn't think much of him.
 
She'd chosen not to continue their friendship.

Dafna had Adam's phone number in front of her and sat down to call him.
 
She had to apologise for not taking him on the picnic and for leaving without any word.
 
Then, she would ask if he would allow her to approach the doctor here, on his behalf.

She dialled the number, which was answered after a time by a young woman.

"
Ken
?"

Dafna spoke rapidly in Hebrew in reply to the woman's 'yes?'
 
"Is it possible to speak with Adam, please?" she asked.

The young woman, whose name was Nurit, explained that Adam didn't live there currently, that he had moved to his parents' home for a time.
 
She explained to Dafna what the new arrangement was and gave her the number of Adam's parents' home.

Dafna dialled the new number and waited, but there was only a message on an answering machine.

She left a brief message for Adam, saying she would call back later as she was in Australia due to a medical emergency, and hung up.
 
She'd hoped to speak with him personally right away.
 
But this was all she could do.

The heat of the day was easing down to about thirty-five degrees.
 
Dafna walked out into the garden.
 
The bench under the pergola was in full sunshine, too hot to sit there.
 
She strolled about, looking at the drooping plants.
 
The garden would have to be watered well this evening, after the sun had dropped below the line of houses.
 
Her mother wouldn't thank her for letting the flowers suffer during her illness!

She sat on the grass under a tree, deciding what time to call Adam again.
 
Even the birds had given up in the heat, and flown away to find a cooler place to rest until evening.
 
It was quiet in this secluded part of the yard.

By the time twilight had arrived, Dafna was ready to tend to the gardens.
 
She spent the next hour thoroughly watering the plants and then the lawns.
 
The flowers would all be standing up, bright and perky, in the morning.
 
The lawns felt lush and soft underfoot and, as yet, hadn't been burnt brown by the summer sun.