Epilogue
“So perish all Thine enemies, O Lord; but let them that love Him be as the sun when it comes out in its might.
And the land was quiet for forty years.”
Ro’el went to the men’s room and was overcome by the stench that assailed his nostrils.
When he returned to the table, he noticed that the black cloud hanging in the sky had moved on.
The skies were brighter and, once again, joy floated in the eternal blue.
Through the café window, he spotted the tow truck approaching.
Tammi, who sat with her back to the window, didn’t notice and Ro’el signaled her with his eyes to turn around.
When she saw the tow truck, she let out a sigh through her pressed lips. She looked at her watch.
“He’s fifteen minutes late, but it’s okay, I’m not sorry about that. The camaraderie has been fantastic…” she looked directly at Ro’el with her honest, brown eyes. “Just yesterday Adam and I broke up, but… look, Ro’el… it’s been a great day.” She smiled and blushed a deep red.
Ro’el smiled at her shyly. “And, thanks to you, I too have taken a surprising and positive turn.”
“Ro’el, it’s a lovely story,” she said as she leaned towards him, placing her hand on his.
“You are very talented. You’re wasting your time there in the courtrooms. And also, the end of the story is really…
wait… the end?!” She froze for a moment and squinted suspiciously as she said: “When we met this morning, you told me that you still haven’t found an ending to the story!
I remember you saying that… let me see that,” she grabbed the yellow pad from him, flipped to the last page and was stupefied.
“What’s this? There’s nothing here!” she waved the pad at him.
He remained cool. “That’s right… the last page that I wrote is before this empty page.
I told you this morning that I still don’t have a suitable ending for the story.
I lied. You see… I believe that if the lines refuse to be filled with words, then you needn’t force it.
Eventually, it will happen. And today… well, it happened. ”
“So, towards the end, you pulled a fast one on me? You made me believe you were reading a text when, in fact, you were making it all up as you went along?! That’s amazing!
” Her line of thought took a quick turn.
“So, in fact, thanks to me, you found your inspiration. That’s lovely, but a bit kitschy, no? ”
“Every kitsch contains a kernel of truth. And now, after you leave, I’ll start writing out the ending that came to me today.”
A loud blow of the tow truck’s horn assaulted their ears and they looked at one another.
Her thoughts were sluggish. She knew she had to go and her face clouded over.
“Listen,” she said and his eyes opened in anticipation, “I’ll be happy if we meet again sometime…
at a nice place… perhaps along the lake…
I’ll probably order a cup of chai for myself and you’ll order several rounds of Tia Maria.
What do you say, would you like to get together again? ”
He glanced at his watch. “Five hours and twenty minutes weren’t enough for you?
” She pursed her lips and shook her head from side to side.
“I’ll be glad to see you again, Tammi, but at a nicer place with a different vibe, so that we won’t have an aftertaste of reused tea leaves.
But I don’t know your last name, so the internet won’t do me much good.
You also didn’t give me your phone number, so… I’m pretty stuck.”
“But Attorney Givati… you are the one who taught me what to do when you get stuck somewhere.” He looked at her and didn’t reply, as he couldn’t figure out the drift of her words.
She took out a fifty shekel bill and placed it on the table.
“When you get stuck, dear Ro’el, it is best to turn to a reliable towing company, preferably not on a wintry day…
” she winked at him, carefully picking up her corduroy bag in which Macchiato nestled sleepily, and left the café.
The smart-alecky guy behind the bar observed her shapely behind as she walked away.
Ro’el stared into space, not able to make sense of the strange ending of this coincidental rendezvous.
His eyes fell on the flyer he had given her that morning.
He opened the folded paper and in its center saw the name “Tammi Waldman” written in blue ink.
Under her name was her phone number, which he now understood she had written down when he had gone to the men’s room.
Ro’el paid for the multiple Tia Marias he had drunk and walked to his car.
He didn’t notice, nor would he ever know, that the woman sitting in the café with the bordeaux sports cap stood up after him and watched him through the café window as he drew farther and farther away.
She removed her cap, revealing her hair that shone like copper, and she had big, round, brown eyes, a chiseled nose, full red lips and gleaming white teeth.
Her cheeks were flushed and her dark skin was smooth and glistening.
She was beautiful. She was divine. She was a femme fatale.
From the bag slung over her shoulder she pulled out a bow and a sharp arrow.
A small boy suddenly entered the café and approached her.
She handed him the bow and arrow, winking at him as she did so.