Michael / Call Me When You Do It
“Very pleased. I am to be Tanya Monosov. Want to ask…” Mom started as she made us omelets. She has a job interview today as a draftswoman, and she’s been practicing her Hebrew for a week. It’s really driving me crazy, but they pay better than cleaning offices and besides, she says it’s a step up the ladder.
“Don’t say ‘I am to be Tanya Monosov,'” I told her for the eighth time.
“So how do I say it?” Mom asked, sliding the omelet into my pan with a smooth motion.
“I am Tanya Monosov,” I explained to her. “And also, don’t say ‘want to ask’,” I added. “So what do I say?” Mom asked, as she turned to take my cheese toast out of the toaster. “I want to ask… with ‘I’ at the beginning,” I explained to her. “Oh, that’s too many rules,” she switched to Russian, “I’ll never learn them all.” Before I could tell her she was wrong, and of course she could – Anya announced she wanted scrambled eggs and I told her Mom couldn’t make her another omelet now because the eggs were expensive and Mom said it was okay, here, she’ll make her another one, and I said Anya was spoiled, and Anya started crying and Mom said she would take her to kindergarten, and I said no way, because she has a job interview and then Mom gave her scrambled eggs and gave me a kiss on the forehead, which also sort of annoyed me, so in the end I told Anya that was enough and that’s it. She should take her bag, and we should go already.
Downstairs we met Lala, who had finished her morning walk with Davka. “So, did he manage to convince her?” I asked, as Anya sat down with her clean dress on the dirty floor and hugged Davka. He, for his part, licked her thoroughly from all angles. Well, now at least we won’t have to wash her face. That’s also something. “They still aren’t talking, but she stopped screaming every time she sees him,” Lala reported. Her mom didn’t take well to the new dog, but Lala told me they were working on it together, her grandmother was also on Davka’s side.
“Say, where’s your friend? Is she sick?” I suddenly remembered. I thought that the day after the clash with the wolves, she would be sure to move back to sit next to Lala. We even agreed, Alex and I, that if that happened, then he would come sit next to me, although if you think about it… Mira has a nice smell, of flowers, while Alex, after gym class… ugh.
“I really don’t know,” Lala thought aloud, as she pulled off the small thorns that stuck to Davka’s tail during their walk. “You need a haircut,” she told him, and he licked her too, without a second thought. “I don’t know what to do,” she admitted hesitantly. “It’s not like her mom suddenly likes me and I think she still isn’t allowed to talk to me. I can’t just call her and ask.” I thought about it for a moment. “Maybe… ask Shirel? Mira’s mom likes her, you told me.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t think of that myself,” Lela said. “I could kick myself, ugh!”
“Call me when you do it,” I told her. “That will be interesting. Davay Anya, come on, get up from the floor and let’s go to your kindergarten.”
