Outside Eden (7 page)

‘Tensions get. High.’

The waiter served the main course. Harper looked at the platter in front of her. The eye of a crusty black fish looked back.

She turned away, glanced at Hank’s plate. His chicken breast had no face.

‘Need help. Boning?’ Hank grinned.

Harper stiffened, shook her head. She wasn’t going to be queasy about food; she was Army. Could survive on bugs if she had to. And she knew how to bone a fish. First, she removed the skin, then ran her knife under the meat above the bones. Felt the fish watching her. Lopped off its head.

Saw the man lying in the shuk, his throat slashed.

Gulped some wine.

‘When leaving. For dig?’

‘In the morning. About ten.’

His eyes widened, surprised. And something else. Sad? Scared? Before she could figure it out, the look was gone.

‘Away how long?’

‘Ten days.’

Again, his eyes flickered. ‘Seems long.’

Harper’s face got hot. ‘It was the shortest volunteer session. Most are for a month or more. And I don’t have to stay the whole time. I can leave whenever.’ Damn. She felt guilty. Missed him already.

‘Hoppa. Go. Dig.’ He looked into her eyes. ‘I’ll. Every night call. Okay?’

Of course. Every night. His eyes were dark, fiery. They made her skin tingle. For ten days, she wouldn’t see them. She wouldn’t fall asleep lulled by his breathing. Wouldn’t wake up to his kiss. Lord, why was she going? What had she been thinking? How could she leave this man, even for a few days?

Hank looked away, finished his wine. And Harper reminded herself why she was going: the dig opportunity; the murders. Besides, Hank wouldn’t even be around; he’d be off visiting potential pipeline sites. And it was only ten days.

Only?

Harper looked down, regarded her headless, half-boned fish. Damn, her eyes were tearing again. When had she become such a sap? Hank reached over, picked up her plate, swapped it with his. ‘Better?’

She laughed, wiping her eyes. ‘Yes. Much.’

Back at the hotel, they made love slowly, sweetly, knowing they’d be apart for a while, and then Harper fell asleep against Hank’s chest.

In the morning, when she woke up, he was already gone.

Hagit drove the jeep up north, to the fertile Jezreel Valley. Everywhere was lush farmland, rolling green hills. Hagit pointed out landmarks.

‘That’s Mount Carmel,’ she said, pointing to the west. ‘North of us is the Lower Galilee and Nazareth. That way is Jordan Valley.’ She pointed to the east. ‘You know the story of King Saul? That’s Mount Gilboa. He committed suicide there instead of falling to the Philistines.’

Harper strained to see it. History, stories of the Bible, the lives of the ancients seemed carved into the land, the hills.

They passed fields of sunflowers, and farm after farm. ‘This one is silk and honey,’ Hagit told her. ‘This is wheat. That one grows cotton.’

Chloe slept most of the way. When she woke up, she called out, ‘Meetz?’

Harper smiled. ‘Hi, Chloe.’

‘Meetz, Mama?’ Chloe repeated.

Hagit said something in Hebrew to Chloe, then told Harper, ‘She wants her juice.’

‘Juice?’

‘
Mitz
. It’s Hebrew for juice.’

‘But she needs to learn English—’

‘Just a few words. I already told you.’

‘So now I have no idea what she’s saying?’

‘Why is it a problem for you?’

‘Meetz, eeeeeemah,’ Chloe persisted.

Hagit laughed. ‘Juice, Mommy. She sounds like a little
sabra
.’

Harper’s jaw tightened. Hagit was overstepping, taking too much control of her child, excluding her. She pulled the juice bottle from her bag, handed it to Chloe.

‘What do you say? To—’

‘Dah!’ Chloe began drinking.

‘She doesn’t know the difference,’ Hagit said. ‘Hebrew. English. It’s all just sounds to her. I can teach you, too.’

Harper didn’t answer. She wanted to learn, but wouldn’t admit it.

Hagit began singing in Hebrew, a peppy song with a haunting melody.

Harper wondered if she was making a mistake, bringing the baby to a kibbutz, leaving her with Hagit for so much of the day. On the other hand, what was the harm in Chloe learning words in another language? Why did it bother Harper so much? Was she too possessive? Jealous?

Harper gazed out the window at the hills. They looked peaceful, welcoming. Even so, Harper felt uneasy. She told herself it was excitement about the dig and anxiety about being away from Hank. Nothing more. Her reaction was normal – she was starting a new endeavor for the first time since Chloe’s birth. Of course she was uneasy. But by the end of ten days, she probably wouldn’t want to leave.

And by the end of ten days, Chloe probably would be fluent in Hebrew. Wouldn’t understand a word of English.

Harper turned to look at her. Chloe made a silly face; Harper mimicked it, their game. Chloe giggled, showing her six teeth, and made another face. Harper imitated that one, too, and again, Chloe shrieked with laughter. Harper reached into the back seat, put her hand on the baby’s thigh and squeezed.

‘Settle down, you two.’ Hagit turned into a narrow driveway lined with pines, blocked by a guarded security fence. ‘Behave so you’ll make a good impression. We’re here. Ramat Goneh, right down this road.’

They had their own bungalow; their hosts called it a chalet. It was up in the hills, on a winding road of similar bungalows overlooking fertile valleys and verdant fields. Mountains towered in the distance. They had a kitchen, two bedrooms. Their own hot tub. A fireplace.

They were assigned a host couple, Adi and Yoshi, a young couple with matching smiles and sparkling eyes. They helped them get settled, then took them on a quick tour. First stop was the nursery school, a vine-covered cottage, its inner walls painted with bright balloons and cartoon characters.

‘This is Yael,’ Adi introduced a woman holding an infant. ‘We both work here, though Yael puts in more hours than I do.’ Adi stopped to talk with Yael; Harper wandered around, watching toddlers play in secure areas, finger-painting, looking at picture books, building with blocks.

Yoshi followed her to the window, pointed to a little boy of about three. ‘That’s our son, Ari.’

Harper saw him, riding a tricycle on the pavement. Other children were on the swings or wading in an inflatable swimming pool. The children seemed happy, safe. Chloe wiggled to get down.

‘It’s okay. Let her explore,’ Adi said. ‘She will have a good time.’

A long, toddler-sized table was set with juice and crackers for snack time.

Chloe pointed. ‘Eemah? Meetz?’

‘Already she’s learning Hebrew? She knows Mommy and juice?’ Adi smiled. ‘She’s very smart—’

‘Hush.’ Hagit scowled and spoke harshly in Hebrew to Adi, ending with ‘Kenahara.’

Adi answered in Hebrew, then explained, ‘She’s afraid of the Evil Eye—’

‘I can hear you,’ Hagit scolded. ‘And you should be afraid, too.’

‘It’s just an old . . . Yoshi? How do you call it?’

‘Superstition,’ Yoshi said. ‘A
bubbe meise
.’

‘Exactly.’ Adi’s laugh was light, like bells. ‘An old wives’ tale.’

‘Don’t be so sure,’ Hagit replied. ‘You both should know better than to say such things. Are you daring it to find you?’

Chloe freed herself from Harper and ran to the table.

‘Meetz?’

‘See?’ Adi nodded. ‘She is already at home. Can she have some snack?’

Chloe drank some juice, ate a cracker, and ran from section to section to see what was going on. She seemed confident, suddenly older and more independent. And she didn’t want to leave when Harper lifted her to continue the tour.

‘Chloe, will you come back and play?’ Adi asked. ‘If you want, I’ll bring you myself tomorrow.’

Chloe smiled, sucking her fingers.

Harper considered how odd it was: she felt perfectly at ease with this stranger offering to play with her baby. She trusted her even though they’d just met.

Yoshi led them along the main road, looking out over the valley. ‘It’s the most beautiful part of all Israel,’ he said.

A dog ran by. Chloe pointed and grinned, but Harper stiffened.

‘Dogs run loose here?’

‘Of course. They are free. Dogs. Cats. You’ll see them everywhere. They play outside all day, then go home for food.’

‘They don’t bite?’

‘Bite? You mean people? Of course not.’

Hagit lagged behind, made a comment in Hebrew, her voice snippy. Adi answered in the same tone.

Yoshi ignored them both, talking to Harper. ‘This kibbutz was settled by survivors of HaShoah, what you call the Holocaust. Settlers came from Poland and Germany, raised their families, grew their own food. Now, many more are living here, but still it’s like a big family.’

‘And children are our joy.’ Adi stepped forward and tweaked Chloe’s cheek.

Chloe smiled coyly.

‘Come this way.’ Yoshi stopped beside some bushes and stepped through them to a mound of stones. ‘This is one of our shelters.’

It was? Where? Harper saw no entrance.

Yoshi led them around to the back of the rocks; the entrance was camouflaged, hidden in foliage, not visible from the road. ‘It’s good to know where it is, even though most likely you won’t ever need to go inside.’

Of course they wouldn’t. Harper told herself that the tour stop was just routine, like pointing out fire escapes. Nothing to worry about. Still, she took hold of Chloe’s leg as they moved on, passing gardens, small homes. The main office was a new building with high windows and lots of light. It contained the meeting hall, which doubled as a theater, and the recreation area, with a gym complete with exercise equipment, volleyball nets, ping-pong tables, and a swimming pool.

After the main building, they stopped at the medical center/infirmary. Then at two more bomb shelters, concealed within leafy gardens. Yoshi and Adi pointed them out casually, the same way they had the dining hall and the swimming pool. But Harper didn’t feel casual about them. She wanted to know more. Had the shelters been used often? If so, why? Was the kibbutz a target for rocket attacks? How big were the shelters? How safe? What provisions were inside? She had lots of questions, but held herself back. She was overreacting; Yoshi had said there would be no need to go inside.

Even so, the shelters were a statement that life here was not always peaceful. That it was necessary to remain on alert, always prepared. Harper recognized the undercurrent of vigilance. Here, she was not the only one perpetually watchful. Here, she would fit right in.

Adi and Yoshi brought them back to their bungalow, made sure Hagit and Harper had their cellphone numbers, said they’d be available to them night or day. Reminded Harper that the dig organizers would be holding a meeting in the main building after dinner.

As they left, Harper thanked them for the tour, and Adi and Chloe exchanged a hug. ‘You are such a good girl! All the other kids will love you.’

‘Kenahara!’ Hagit’s skin went gray. ‘What is wrong with you?’

Adi’s eyes twinkled. ‘See you at dinner, Hagit.’ And she walked off with Yoshi, waving goodbye.

‘Thanks again,’ Harper called.

Hagit poked her arm. ‘Don’t thank them. The Evil Eye already follows you, and now she made it worse—’

‘Hagit, stop,’ Harper snapped. ‘You were rude to them. They were trying to be nice.’ She turned to Chloe. ‘Come on. Let’s get you a bath before dinner.’

‘Fine.’ Hagit fumed. ‘Don’t listen to me. Pretend I’m a lunatic—’

‘Hagit, can you get her yellow outfit from the suitcase?’

‘Ignore me if you want, but sooner or later, you’ll see. The Evil Eye is nothing to make light of.’

Harper walked away, feeling the pierce of Hagit’s gaze on her back even as she filled the tub.

When Harper arrived at the meeting hall, only about half a dozen chairs were filled. She took a seat near a long-legged woman with golden hair.

‘That was something today, wasn’t it?’ The woman had freckles, a sunburned upturned nose. Prominent cheekbones. She looked athletic. Maybe a runner. ‘Hot as Hades. Never gets like that back in Indiana.’

Harper explained that she hadn’t been at the dig site yet. Had just arrived that afternoon.

‘Really? Well, never mind. You didn’t miss much. They just handed out gear and explained what all of it was. Who knew there would be so much stuff? I thought they’d give us a sifter and a shovel, but man, all that equipment could fill my garage. Kneepads. Trowels. Tweezers. Screens. Buckets. Brushes . . . I can’t remember all of it. But trust me: tomorrow, don’t forget to wear a hat. And sun block.’

Harper smiled. She knew all about the equipment she’d need. ‘I’ll have to get a kit.’

‘I’ll show you where. I’m Lynne Watts. That’s my husband over there. Peter. The one in the blue shirt.’ She pointed to a group of men standing by the door. Peter was tall, wiry, with a dark crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses. ‘We’re here with our church.’

Harper smiled.

‘It’s a special mission – just a smattering of us came. The church council – that’s twelve, like the apostles. A few other select members. Plus our pastor. We came yesterday, after four days in Jerusalem.’

Harper didn’t say that she’d been there, too. In fact, she didn’t have time; Lynne Watts kept on talking.

‘I’m sure you’ll meet our pastor. He’s one in a million. A genuine Bible scholar. Inspirational. I’m blessed to be with him here in Megiddo.’

Harper smiled. Nodded. Had nothing to say.

‘Oh look, there’s Pastor over there.’ She pointed to several men standing by the window. One was beefy and taller than the others, had receding ginger hair. Harper had seen him before; he was staying in the bungalow next door to hers. Now that she thought about it, her neighbor looked like a pastor. ‘He’s the big, handsome one. Those others are council members.’ She turned back to Harper. ‘Who are you here with?’

Harper hesitated. ‘Just me.’ She didn’t mention Hagit or Chloe. Wasn’t sure why.

Lynne eyed her with pity. ‘Divorced?’

‘Oh no. No. Actually, I just got my degree in archeology. So I’m here for some experience.’

‘Really? Wow – a professional! Well, I’m sticking close to you, so someone can tell me what the Sam Hill I’m doing out there.’