Scenes From Village Life - Amos Oz [50]
"Sure. But I felt like waiting here."
"Have you brought back a book?"
"I haven't finished it yet. I came to ask you to let me have another book for the weekend. I'll finish them both." And so he started telling her, as they walked up Founders Street, that he was almost the only boy in his class who read books. The rest were addicted to computers or sports. The girls, yes, a few, there were some girls who read. Ada Dvash knew this but did not want to mention it, so as not to embarrass him. He walked along beside her, talking nonstop, as though he were scared that if he paused even for a moment she would be able to guess his secret. She guessed it anyway, and wondered how she could avoid hurting him while not giving him the wrong idea. She had to restrain herself forcibly from reaching out and stroking his hair, which was cut short apart from a little quiff that stuck up in front and gave him a childlike air.
"Haven't you got any friends?"
"The boys are childish, and the girls are not attracted to someone like me."
Then he added suddenly:
"You're not exactly like the others either."
She smiled in the dark and straightened the neckline of her blouse, which was askew. Her big wooden earrings swayed when she walked, as if they had a life of their own. Kobi went on talking nonstop. Now he was saying that society mistrusts and even despises people of true worth. As he talked he felt an urge to touch the woman who was walking beside him, however lightly or fleetingly. He reached out and nearly touched her shoulders with his fingertips, but at the last moment he drew back, clenched his fist and let his arm drop. Ada Dvash said:
"There's a dog in this yard that once chased me and bit my leg. Let's hurry past."
When Ada mentioned her leg the boy blushed, glad that it was too dark for her to notice. But she did notice something: not his blushing but his sudden silence. Tenderly she touched his back and asked what he thought of Mrs. Dalloway. Kobi started talking excitedly about the book, his voice unstable and strained, as though he were confessing his feelings. He spoke for a long time about Mrs. Dalloway and other books, maintaining that life has meaning only if it is devoted to some idea or emotion around which everything revolves. Ada Dvash liked his elaborate diction but wondered if it was not one of the reasons he was so lonely and had apparently never had a girlfriend. He was still talking when they reached the library, which occupied the ground floor of the rear extension to the Village Hall. They went in by a side entrance. Since there was ten minutes to go before opening time, which was seven-thirty, Ada suggested making them both a cup of coffee. Kobi began by murmuring, "No, thanks, there's no need, really," but then he changed his mind and said, "Actually, why not, yes please," and asked if he could help.
3
THE LIBRARY WAS LIT by bright white neon lighting. Ada switched on the air conditioning, which started with a soft gurgling sound. The library consisted of a smallish space lined with white-painted metal bookcases, and off this three parallel aisles of shelves opened, lit slightly less glaringly by the neon lighting. Near the entrance there was a desk on which were a computer, a telephone, a pile of brochures and periodicals, two piles of books and an old radio.
She disappeared from view down one of the aisles, at the end of which was a sink and the entrance to the toilet. There she filled the kettle and switched it on. While waiting for the water to boil she turned on the computer and sat Kobi next to her behind the desk. Looking down, he observed that her lemon-colored skirt ended above her knees. His face turned red again at the sight of her knees, and he laid his arms on his lap, then thought better of it and crossed them on his chest, and finally placed his hands on the desk. As she looked at him, he thought the slight squint in her left eye was giving him a wink, as though to say, "It's not so bad, Kobi. So, you're blushing again."
The water boiled. Ada Dvash