Interrupted Romance (11 page)

Dafna's heart was heavy.
 
She had a horrible feeling inside her that she would never see Adam again, just when everything between them was coming together so well.
 
As much as she tried to shake this dismal thought from her mind, it niggled away at her, never giving her peace.
 
She didn't want him to go, but neither could she expect him to stay.
 
That would be too selfish of her altogether.

They sat up until the early hours of the morning, their lips never very far apart, whether talking or not.
 
Dafna clung to him until she could see how exhausted he was by the events of the evening, and so they decided that some sleep would be needed before she took him to the airport to pick up his flight ticket.
 
He walked her to her bedroom door, kissed her longingly once more, then moved slowly along the corridor to his own room.
 
He fell on the bed, tormented by his mixed feelings, but fell into a fitful sleep almost at once.
 

Dafna sat by her window, looking out into the night, tears of frustration rolling unchecked down her cheeks.
 
It was some hours before she fell asleep, only to be woken by the morning calls of the magpies in the gum trees outside her room.
 
They sounded happy at least.
 
She had been asleep less than two hours.

Adam and Dafna and her mother all met in the kitchen for an early breakfast.
 
Neither of the young people looked rested.
 
In fact, Dafna was pale-faced and dark under the eyes from lack of sleep.
 
Adam appeared to have not slept deeply or well.
 
He looked haggard and weary.

Mrs Zoreff couldn't talk them into eating.
 
They both had only coffee, strong and sweet, to sustain them on the trip to the airport.
 
Dafna kept looking at the kitchen clock as though her very life depended on knowing the time.

Adam carried his suitcase out to the car and loaded it into the boot.
 
His carry-on bag with toiletries, he put on the back seat of the car.
 
His face showed the marks of his nervousness and tension with a shaving cut down his cheek.
 
The blood had dried, but not been washed off properly.
 
When he returned to the house to say his goodbyes to Mrs Zoreff, she dampened a tissue at the kitchen tap and cleaned the dried blood from his face.
 
She held his face between her soft, wrinkled hands, in a gesture of regret that he was leaving them and smiled ruefully up at him.
 
After all, he could be her son-in-law if she read the signs correctly.

Sadly, he wrapped his arms around her small body and hugged her.
 
She kissed him on the cheek, then patted it.

"I'm sure everything will work out well, dear," she said to him.
 
"I certainly hope so, anyway.
 
Don't be a stranger, stay in touch with us.
 
We’ll be anxious to hear how Susan is, and how your recovery is progressing.
 
Safe trip."

"Thank you for all your kindness, Mrs Zoreff," Adam said, trying to smile.
 
"I hope to see you again soon."

Dafna had been standing by, watching and listening, tears not far from showing in her eyes.
 
She didn't know how she would stop them when Adam said goodbye to her, too.
 
Crying would only make it worse for him, she knew.

They didn't speak as they walked to the car.
 
Dafna backed out onto the street.
 
Adam waved to the old lady once before turning and looking straight ahead as Dafna accelerated away from the house.

At the airport, there were people everywhere, with early morning flights arriving, friends and relatives waiting for the arrivees, airport staff busily going about their business.
 
Dafna went straight to the check-in counter.
 
The only vacancy that had been available at short notice was on a flight via Johannesburg, with connections to Cairo and on to Tel Aviv.
 
There would be a few hours wait, but they were happy to have some more time together.
 
Adam checked in his luggage and carried only the small shoulder bag with him.
 
They headed for the coffee shop, where Adam ordered coffee and sandwiches, while Dafna found a table away from the main thoroughfare.
 
However, she had to walk to meet him and guide him back to it.
 
He placed the tray of food and drinks on the table, shakily.

They sat close together, holding hands, sipping the coffee and nibbling slowly at the sandwiches, neither one being very hungry.
 
Adam was trying to focus on her face, but it was still a bit fuzzy to him.
 
His frustration at being unable to get even this last clear look at her was tormenting him.
 
He didn't know when he would see her again.

Dafna, for her part, was gazing at his deep blue eyes, knowing that he was struggling to see her.
 
She leaned closer to him, resting her cheek against his.
 
He moved his face against hers, feeling the soft skin, aware of the perfume she was wearing.
 
He sighed his disappointment at being denied the sight of her face.

"What is it, dear?" she asked him, knowing full well that he was troubled by the turn of fate which was going to separate them yet again.

"You know I don't want to go, to leave you, don't you?"

"Yes. I know.
 
I don't want you to go either, but I know you must."

Adam asked, "When will I see you again, darling?"

"As soon as possible, I hope.
 
I will stay with Mum until I know she is going to be able to care for herself again.
 
Maybe another few weeks yet.
 
I'll need to speak with her doctor, too, to be sure when the time is right.
 
So, you just look after yourself and take care that you cover your eyes when you go outside."
 
She reached up and gently touched his eyelids with her fingers.
 
"I want you to be able to see me when I arrive," she whispered.
 
She was so close to tears that her voice was deserting her.

Too soon the announcement came for passengers boarding the South African flight to please make their way to the departure lounge.
 
Adam and Dafna stood up and moved towards the entrance to the departure area, lagging behind other passengers doing the same.
 
Some, like them, didn't want to hurry away from a loved one and lingered for a last word, a last kiss, a last touch, before disappearing through the doorway.
 
Adam held her so tightly that she felt he would crush her.
 
Her arms were around his neck.
 
They kissed long and passionately.

A voice beside them said, "Excuse me, Mr Lavan, I'm to take you to the boarding gate, sir.
 
Would you come with me please, sir?"
 
Dafna had forgotten that she had arranged for someone to guide Adam through the departure procedure and see him onto the plane.

Tears rolled unheeded down her cheeks as she took one last look at Adam.
 
He couldn't see the tears, but he heard her breath catch in her throat.
 
He kissed her once more, then turned quickly away to the man who was to take him to the plane.
 
He put his hand on the man's shoulder as an aid to keeping up with him.
 
They walked away.

Dafna couldn't hold in the sob that broke from her as she watched him go through the doorway.
 
She had half-raised her hand in a last wave, but he didn't turn to see it, couldn't have seen it anyway.

She stood staring at the doorway through her tears, then slowly turned toward the exit.
 
She had no idea when she would see him again.

CHAPTER 14

After leaving the airport, Dafna drove home in a daze.
 
She arrived at the house with no memory of driving there.
 
She thought, 'that's the second time I've driven somewhere like that without realising how I did it'.

The rest of the day passed in a misery of such a sense of loss that she didn't think the day would ever end.
 
Her mother was sympathetic but unable to lighten her mood.
 
It was with relief that she went to her room after dinner and fell on the bed, hoping for sleep.

A new day dawned, bright and sunny, and Dafna decided to work through the warmth of the day to give herself something to do.
 
Her mother had jobs lined up in the garden.
 
The guttering was overflowing with leaves, which she still hadn't cleared.
 
It would be a good place to start, before the roof became too hot to touch.
 
The ladder was in the garage and she half dragged, half carried it to where there was still some shade to set it up against the guttering.

She worked steadily throughout the morning, clearing the guttering, sweeping up the leaves that she'd thrown down, cleaned the outside of the windows, even mowing the lawns at the back of the house.
 
Her mother brought frequent glasses of cold orange juice or water to sustain her efforts.
 
They sat a while under the rambling rose bush under the pergola, while Dafna rested for a lunch break.
 
Afterwards, she intended to do some of the other garden tasks, which her mother would like done.
 
The garden edges needed trimming, the sprawling allamanda needed cutting back along the fence.
 
The wisteria, which hung from the front verandah, was draped along the ground and would have to be trimmed back.
 
It was a full day, and went by fairly quickly once all the jobs had been completed.

The following day was filled with taking her mother to the doctor for a check-up on her progress, followed by a short trip to the shopping centre to give her mother an outing, then a movie that they'd both said they would like to see.

Dafna was half expecting a call from Adam to say he'd arrived OK and had seen his sister in the hospital, but there was no call.
 
She considered making a call to him instead, but thought that perhaps he was still busy seeing the family, going to the hospital, as well as getting over jetlag etc.
 
She decided to leave it another day.
 
If he hadn't called by then, she would ring him at his parents' place.

She fell into bed, weary from the past few days of hectic activity and emotional strain.

Early the following morning, the phone rang.
 
Dafna was so deeply asleep that she didn't hear it.
 
Her mother was awake and answered the call.
 
It was from Israel.
 
Not from Adam, but from his father.
 
She listened to his news with one hand over her heart.
 
The flight carrying Adam between Johannesburg and Cairo had been hijacked.
 
The plane had come down somewhere on a desert runway.
 
At this time, little information was available other than the hijackers were demanding the release of colleagues in a Cairo gaol, in return for the passengers who were now hostages.
 
As far as was known, no deaths had occurred, but the hijackers had threatened to start killing passengers from midnight onwards if no progress was made with their demands.

Adam's father was frantic with worry.
 
He knew that Dafna would want to know what was happening.
 
He was concerned that the plane's engines would have stopped running, which meant no air conditioning on board.
 
In the desert heat, it would be unbearable and unsanitary before too long, and it had already been some days since he'd left Sydney.
 
His son was almost totally blind still, and would not be able to defend himself if a situation arose where that became necessary.

Mrs Zoreff finally put down the phone with a shaking hand, turned and walked to Dafna's room.
 
The door was ajar and she went into the bedroom.
 
Dafna was still asleep, lying with one arm over her eyes, the other one hanging out over the edge of the bed.
 
She looked drained.
 
Gently, her mother shook her shoulder, calling her name.

With an effort, Dafna opened her eyes, focused on her mother's face and smiled up at her.

"
Boker tov, Ima
," she said.

"Good morning to you, dear," her mother said.
 
She hesitated, not knowing how to go on.
 
"Dafna wake up properly.
 
There's been a call from Israel.
 
It's awful news from Adam's father."

Instantly, Dafna was wide awake.
 
Surely, Susan hadn't succumbed to her injuries?
 
She took notice of the expression on her mother's face.
 
It was tragic.

"What's happened?
 
Is it Susan?
 
Oh, no.
 
She didn't die, did she?"

Her mother shook her head.
 
She didn't know how to tell Dafna about Adam.
 
There was no easy way.

"Darling, it isn't Susan.
 
Something has happened to Adam.
 
There's been a hijacking between Johannesburg and Cairo."

"NO!" Dafna screamed.
 
Her face seemed to drain of its blood supply.
 
Her mother sat on the bed beside her and held her hands.
 
She went on to explain what Adam's father knew of the events over there, finally drawing Dafna into her arms to try to quell the violent trembling which shook her body.