behind clouds; up the stairs, wide and steep, which Tom followed exactly behind, so as not to creak the rotten wood, almost groping his way .A narrow hallway, two bedrooms, but they went up another flight of stairs, trying not to make any noise. At last they reached the converted attic, passed through a massive door, and were inside. Lily turned on the night light and collapsed on the bed.
«Do you look like a Princess who lives on top of a tower?» Thomas asked, looking at the painted Wallpaper, the bookshelves, the small Desk, a few photographs, and the square window with yellow curtains. The dim light of the nightlight warmed the air.
If Lily hadn't pulled her dress out from behind the wardrobe, he would have felt uncomfortable in such a small room.
«Tommy, open the window.»
He lifted the frame, barely able to hold the rusty and bent nail, and returned to Lily, but she was already sitting in her grey pyjamas, braiding her hair.
«Why do cafe owners sell methyl alcohol?»
«Because it's a business.»
Tom didn't lie, but he didn't give away his origin either. She didn't need to hear it, especially before going to bed.
«Why did you drink at all, Lily, even such questionable alcohol?» she asked, losing her composure and taking off her jacket.
«I'm having a ball, in case you haven't noticed, Tommy! And I'm not a sommelier,» she snapped, pulling the blanket over her legs as Thomas took off his jacket.
«I didn't notice because you didn't take me with you!» He said, pointing at the girl.
Lily's drunken tongue was doubly rude to him.
«Do you think it's normal to sit with… A teacher?!» Lily spread her hands.
«Old, I understand.»
«I mean, with an adult, Tommy!» Lily was angry.
He grunted, unable to control the button on his trousers that wouldn't fit in the loop. And obviously, she was just shy of him .Lily got up from her seat, went to the Jew who was kneeling, undid a button, and looked up at him.
«What are you up to, huh?»
Lily snorted, returned to her seat, and moved to the walls. He took off his shirt, threw it on the same chair where his trousers and socks had fallen, and lay down next to the girl in her underwear. Lily studied his body with interest, running her hungry gaze over his chest, touching the muscles of his arms, squeezing them until they were white, feeling the veins swell from the constant lifting of weights .
«So … why did you invite me?» Tom was joking when he got bitten on the shoulder for it.
«I told you so! You're just biting me, aren't you, dear?»
Lily stared at Thomas with unnecessary swagger, her eyes clouded, and she pulled up her pyjama shirt to show off her charms .Thomas looked down at her rounded Breasts.
«Stop it, Lily!» Tom was annoyed, knowing that nothing would fall, it wasn't kosher, it was fucking «Put your shirt down and lie down» he pulled the fabric down, «You've had three SIPS and you're acting like a seasoned whore, not a Jewish girl!»
«Because I'm English and have Russian roots!» She turned her face to the wall, thinking of what Tom had said: «Are you forcing me» she grimaced, trying to find a word, «To be a part of your faith? Was it a rite of passage??? Oh, no!» She screamed, and Shulman put her hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't Wake the whole house.
He leaned toward her, his lips tightening slightly «don't yell like that, do you understand?»
She blinked, and the man took his hand away when he heard that he was Judas, and how he believed in Judas, and how she believed in Jesus, and how he betrayed him, and all that stuff.
«Your Judas is a Jew! I don't want to believe in this traitor!»
«Jesus, the sun, was also a Jew,» Thomas chuckled. «you must read the Bible from beginning to end.»
The Jew spent half an hour trying to explain to her that she was just confusing terms and names, misrepresenting Jews in a bad light.
«We all walk under the same God, the Creator, right?»
Tom told her a favourite and Great parable, filling her young and naive ears with infused urine that allowed her brain to start turning the other way. Thomas had a certain gift of persuasion.
«What a speaker you are, Tommy! Go and stand on the podium!» she bit him once or twice, but her ears were already hanging down, so it was too late to roll them up.
So they lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, arguing about who would turn off the night light, pulling off each other's short blanket. In the end, she simply threw Thomas off the bed with her feet, and he fell on his back, propping himself up with his hands.
«And you know how to handle men!»
Part XI
A few weeks later
Friday afternoon in the East End was a pleasant day with warm weather and a pleasant breeze. A large multi-purpose hospital sprawled along the main street, taking up a decent area. A two-story old building with white Windows and a beautiful sign at the entrance – a haven for people who are sick or injured by their own greed and betrayal of the «higher» world.The best appliances, new tools, snow-white gowns and patients with a silver spoon in their mouths – welcome to St. Raphael's hospital.Thomas and his «entourage» crossed the threshold of the gynaecological chair. The dark-haired man took off his thin felt hat and mechanically straightened his hair, as always clean and fresh. Grey eyes darted from wall to wall, painted beige, with large Windows looking out over the forest. Shulman became the focus of attention of pregnant, young and elderly women. Statuesque, tall, broad – shouldered, in a pressed three-piece suit, sparkling oxfords and a white shirt, he looked like a woman's dream. Such an imposing gentleman could turn the head of any girl, but as soon as he opened his mouth, the demonic essence slipped away, scaring the beautiful half of humanity. His full, pursed lips were visible under a thick but well-groomed beard that he cut weekly at a Barber he knew. All of this indicated that the male hormones were surging through him. Probably, no one could have imagined that this hero had a gun in his belt, loaded, but not cocked, for the time being. Tom opened the door without knocking, stormed into the Manager's office as if it were his home or a shared toilet in a restaurant, and looked around the room. Whitewashed walls, a Desk, stacks of maps, a couch, and a new midwife's chair, the sight of which caused the Jew a slight revulsion. Finally, when he saw his classmate sitting at the table, Shulman smiled haughtily.
«I'll sit right here, okay?» He was wheezing, leaning back in his chair, rubbing his leg.
«Thomas?!» A thirty-six-year-old man with small blue eyes and straight jet-black hair exclaimed, holding out his hand. «Thomas Shulman! How many years?»
«Zachariah Shmael-grew up, got stronger, and finally lost his virginity by marrying his second cousin?» Thomas joked about a childhood friend with whom he often played in the yard, got into a fight for the first time, and accidentally stole a girlfriend at the prom.
«With my cousin, Thomas, my cousin. Calm down.»
Shulman looked at the wedding ring on his friend's ring finger without envy.
«What about you? Added to the Jewish family?»
