Interrupted Romance (16 page)

"I… well, yes, it would, actually.
 
OK.
 
When we finish our picnic we'll do that."

They sat listening to the surf, and in the background the 'Adagio' by Albinoni played into the night atmosphere.
 
It was a companionable silence that they kept, listening to pleasant music in a setting such as this.
 
The 'Adagio' changed to Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'.

As the music ended and another tune was begun, Adam asked Dafna, "Have you finished eating now?
 
Could we walk to the beach now, do you think?"

"Sure.
 
I'm ready.
 
Let's go."

Adam stood first and reached out his hand to pull Dafna to her feet.
 
"Wait," she said, "I think we should put these things back into the car and lock it up first."

Having secured the picnic gear in the car and locked it, Dafna then took Adam's hand again and gave it a little tug.

"Come on, Adam, we can go now."

He waited while she turned him in the direction they needed to walk and then stepped out eagerly, up and over rows of small dunes, none more that two metres high.
 
It would have been easier to walk along the track, but the dunes were more interesting.
 
They made their way over the last of the dunes and down onto the beach itself.
 
The hiss of surf was more like a gentle roar now that there was nothing between them and the sea.
 
Adam stumbled as his feet came down off the slope of the dunes.
 
He let go her hand and ran towards the sound of the sea.
 
Laughing, and calling him, Dafna followed as fast as she could go.
 
His speed over the sand was surprising and she only caught up with him when he stepped in the remains of a hole dug in the sand, sprawling on his chest, sand spraying up from the impact.

Dafna fell beside him, gasping from the effort.
 
"My God, you're fast on your feet!
 
I didn't know you could run like that," she said as he rolled over onto his back.
 
He lay on his back, hands behind his head, gazing unseeingly up at the night sky.

"It feels so good to be here… away from rooms, houses, hospitals!
 
Even though I couldn't see much, I was claustrophobic always being inside somewhere.
 
This is invigorating, wonderful."

Dafna put her arm across his chest, snuggled close to him.
 
"I didn't realise it was driving you mad or I would have taken you out more often, sooner," she said.
 
"Why didn't you say something?
 
I thought you were comfortable and feeling 'safe' being indoors most of the time."

"I suppose I was, some of the time.
 
At your mother's house, in the garden, it was nice.
 
I could smell the flowers and trees, but I knew it was enclosed to a certain extent.
 
I couldn't just get up and walk as far as I liked in any direction without treading on something or falling over something, like I can here.
 
The beach, at night, is perfect.
 
Nobody to fall over, no steps, gardens, walls… if I go too far one way, my feet get wet, then I know to turn and go another direction.
 
This is where I feel most comfortable."

"I'll remember that," Dafna murmured above his chest.
 
She could barely see his face in the moonlight, but he looked happier than she could remember.

He took his hands from behind his head and wrapped his arms around her.
 
She put her head down on his chest, listening to his heart beating, and they stayed close, like that, for some time.
 
The sound of far-off traffic could barely be heard… just an occasional angry blast on the car horn, as an impatient driver tried to hurry things along; a siren wailing in the distance.
 
Out to sea, a few lights twinkled on a vessel well offshore, moving ever so slowly south, towards Tel Aviv perhaps.

Eventually, Adam stirred.
 
He rolled Dafna over so that he lay across her, slowly moving his lips across her face, down to her lips, where they lingered, teasing.
 
Her arms were tight about his shoulders, eyes closed, lips parted.
 
She gasped slightly as he took his lips away from hers, choosing to kiss her nose, her forehead, her cheek.
 
She turned her face towards him, inviting him to kiss her fully on the lips.
 
But Adam, teasing still, turned away again to kiss her ear, her other cheek, until finally she caught up with his roving lips and kissed him firmly.
 
Dafna felt his arms clasp her in a vice-like grip, his lips hard upon hers, pulling her body to mould with his.
 
She thought she would stop breathing if he continued to crush her onto the sand.
 
Slowly, he eased his weight from her, lips never parting, passion never fading as one hand slid from beneath her body up along her thigh, her hip, her waist to her heaving breast.
 
Once there, his hand fondled the breast, playing with the nipple until it rose up hard and perky.
 
He lifted his head from hers, slid kisses down along her neck, along her shoulder to where the loose, over-sized T-shirt had slipped off her shoulder, lingered there a hot moment before moving again toward the nipple.
 
As his lips and tongue moved over her nipple, Dafna gasped again.
 
There was only the thin T-shirt between his lips and her skin.
 
Adam moved his hand from her breast and slid it up under the T-shirt, again caressing the breast, as his lips found hers once more.
 
She moaned in ecstasy and moved beneath him.

Gradually, they became aware of a different sound close by.
 
A snuffling sound, followed by a soft cough.
 
They broke apart, both breathing heavily, and turned towards the source of the sound.
 
Standing about twenty metres away was a large dog on a leash, watching them intently with dark eyes - the snuffling sound came from him - the cough had come from the man at the other end of the leash - part of an army patrol team, whose duty it was to see that the shoreline was kept safe and free from invaders from the sea.
 
The soldier was carrying an automatic weapon, which was pointing at Adam.

Adam, of course, had no idea who or what was near him.
 
Dafna was somewhat embarrassed and more than a little frightened.
 
The IDF had a reputation of ferocity if threatened in any way - perceived or actual.
 
It wouldn't be the first time Arab infiltrators had come ashore at night, intent on causing as much damage as possible to person or property.
 
The soldier standing over them wasn't going to let them go without making sure they were 'innocent'.

She sat up quickly, placing a steadying hand on Adam's arm, as she felt the tension in him responding to her sudden movement.

"What is it?
 
What happened?" he asked.

The soldier stayed where he was, keeping a safe distance until he was assured that they weren't terrorists pretending to be lovers.
 
He whistled shrilly and three more soldiers appeared from the dunes.

Adam jumped, not realising someone was so close to them.
 
"Who is that?"

"ID!" The soldier barked at Adam and Dafna, shining a torch into their eyes, blinding Dafna.

Dafna spoke almost simultaneously… "We have no ID on us.
 
Everything is back in the car - over there."
 
She pointed back toward the dunes.

The other soldiers arrived on the scene and the patrolman with the dog appraised his corporal of the situation as he saw it.
 
They agreed there was a car parked at the far side of the dunes, a cork from a wine bottle had been found nearby.
 
Some ten minutes later, having been escorted back to the car, they were told that they could proceed on their way home.
 
The traffic jam had eased following the clearing of the accident a few kilometres along the road.
 
One of the soldiers recognised Adam from the newspapers and TV coverage of his hijacking adventure, so they were allowed to leave the beach.
 
They were joking with Adam, saying that they were on a training patrol and they wished the dog hadn't alerted the pair to their presence, as the scene they witnessed was just getting interesting!

Dafna was blushing furiously by the time they got into the car again.
 
The memory of Adam's body over hers was still vivid in her mind's eye.
 
The feel of him, his lips hot on her skin - she could still feel it - his arms around her, so tightly… and those bastards had been watching for God knows how long!

Adam was reading her mind.
 
He reached out and held her hand, squeezed it.
 
"I'm sorry I let you in for that," he said.
 
"I didn't know we had company, sweetheart."

"I know you didn't.
 
Neither did I."
 
She let out a long sigh of relief - or was it frustration.
 
"I want to get away from here, from them," she said, starting the engine.
 
They had spoiled an almost perfect night.

CHAPTER 19

Days went by, with Dafna and Adam trying to spend as much time as possible in each other's company, between visits to the hospital to see Susan, who was making slow progress towards recovery from her injuries.

It was during this time that Adam first complained of headaches.
 
Dafna thought maybe he was out in the sunshine too much and the glare was affecting his eyes, even though he said he couldn't see anything.
 
But, wearing his broad-brimmed Akubra, sitting under an umbrella or a tree, still didn't seem to relieve his discomfort.
 
The blow to his head in the hijacking was now thought to be the probable cause of the trouble.

One day, while Dafna was preparing lunch in the kitchen with Adam, he suddenly swayed against the benchtop.
 
His arms, which had been around her waist, dropped to his sides and he staggered backwards before reaching for a chair.

"Oh, Adam, love, what's wrong?" Dafna cried.
 
"Do you have pain again?"

She made sure he was sitting on the chair properly and wouldn't fall off, before turning swiftly towards the packet of painkillers in the corner of the bench.
 
Pouring a glass of water, she hurried back to Adam's side with it and placed a tablet in his hand.
 
He swallowed slowly and washed the tablet down with a long drink of water.
 
Then he lay his head on his arms, on the table, waiting for the medicine to take effect.

Dafna was worried about him.
 
He had dark circles under his eyes and his face was drawn with pain.
 
Should she call an ambulance?
 
Should she take him to the hospital herself?
 
She stood beside his chair, one arm around his shoulders, the other resting on his arm, holding him to bring him what comfort she could, under the circumstances.

After about twenty minutes, Adam finally lifted his head towards Dafna who was kneeling beside him, her dark eyes watching him with anxiety.

"How are you feeling now, darling?" she asked, caressing his arm with soft fingers.

"I'm OK now.
 
That was a bad one - right through from the back of my head to the front.
 
I guess I'll have to go back to Dr Feldman as soon as he arrives back here."

"When will that be - do you know?"

"No.
 
Should be any time now, but I don't know exactly when.
 
Would you mind calling his clinic for me?
 
Ask them when they expect him back and make an appointment for me please."

Dafna looked up the number of the clinic in the phone book and made the call.
 
Dr Feldman wasn't due back for another three weeks - and his first week back was already booked out.
 
However, she made an appointment for Adam for the following week and left Adam's home phone number, in case of an earlier cancellation.

"It's done," she said, walking back into the room.
 
Adam was still sitting in the chair, head down, miserable.

"When will it all end?" he groaned.
 
"When will the troubles stop happening?
 
It's just one thing after another, isn't it?"

"I know," Dafna replied.
 
She felt so sorry for him.
 
He was a hero, twice a hero, but he couldn't function properly because of the battering his body had taken in two traumatic attacks.
 
He was looking depressed - and no wonder, she thought.
 
On top of that, his beloved sister was nearly killed in a traffic accident.
 
What more could go wrong for him!

This was a scenario which was repeated a few more times over the following weeks.
 
Short, sharp headaches, leaving Adam feeling drained and unhappy.
 
His mood-swings were now becoming plain to all the people in the household.
 
He could be angry and vocal one moment, but pale and silent the next.
 

This was such a contrast to the young Adam.
 
From his pre-school years onwards he had always had a sunny nature.
 
He could be thoughtful and serious when his mind was engaged in working through a problem during his adolescence.
 
But a sullen, angry Adam was perplexing for his parents.
 
Even Dafna, who hadn't known him all that long, knew this was an alien emotion he was suffering.
 
It was a difficult period for everyone, to cope with this Adam.