Head West, To England - An Alfie Solomons' Tale

Chapter Seven: LeChaim!

Eliana was finally pregnant and Alfie couldn't have been happier. In celebration of the occasion he treated her father and brothers to drinks one night.

"B'sha'ah tovah!" Eliana's father and brothers shouted as they slammed their drinking glasses together with Alfie's.

"It took bloody long enough. When you want something to happen, it doesn't and when you don't want it, it does," Alfie said, taking a long drink from his glass.

The men were gathered at a Jewish pub, so every so often one of the patrons would shout "B'sha'ah tovah!" to Alfie and the whole tavern would go up into a storm of good cheer. Alfie was being plied with free drinks all night and he was very drunk.

"Eliana is stubborn! She probably was hoping it wouldn't happen. She isn't in favor of domestic life." Eliana's second eldest brother, Dov said.

Lazar, Eliana's oldest brother, elbowed Dov in the side.

"Did...uh, Eliana say she was unhappy?" Alfie asked.

"Eliana is fine," Tevya said, patting Alfie on the arm.

After the merriment was over, Alfie made his way back home. It was one in the morning as he entered the house. His house was large, so he didn't try to be quiet as he thought whatever noise he made wouldn't reach the bedroom. He was humming a tune and in good spirits as he hung his hat and pulled off his coat and boots.

He walked toward his study, hoping to smoke before retiring for the night. He noticed the light was on and thought perhaps he'd forgotten to turn it off from before. When he entered the room he saw Eliana at his desk working. She was scribbling upon a ledger when she heard him enter.

"What...what are you doing up?" Alfie said with a frown. "You should be getting your rest for the baby."

She returned his frown. "Baby isn't even baby," she said in broken English.

He figured she meant she was only a few weeks pregnant, that there wasn't anything to worry about yet. He plopped himself in the chair on the other side of the desk intended for guests, not himself. Drinking had made him tired and he didn't want to argue further with her.

"Eliana, are you happy, love?" he asked, off-handedly.

Placing her pen down and closing the ledger she looked at him. "You are drunk, you should go bed."

Eliana was becoming more confident in her English, not as fearful of making mistakes, but still making them.

"I go bed later," He said, imitating her broken English. "Now, answer me. Are you happy?"

"Yes, why?"

"Dov...he said you weren't happy with domestic life."

Eliana could lie, she was actually very good at it. When the women would ask her what Alfie really did for a living she could easily maneuver around those questions. But with Alfie, she couldn't lie to him, at least not well.

"I am happy," she said, fiddling with the pen.

Alfie felt a pang in his heart. She was the Rachel to his Jacob, the pillar of fire in the desert that was his life and now, she might not feel the same for him.

He stood up from his chair, "You know what, I am tired. I think I'll sleep on the couch."

Eliana sighed and left her place behind the desk and stepped in front of him.

"I'm bored," she said in Russian. "Not with you. It's just that womanly responsibilities aren't very fun. I want to be on an adventure like my brothers and I used to go on. Kill cossacks, ride horses, go swimming in the wild. England is safe, but safe...it can be so dull..."

She held her arms and looked down with shame. She wanted to tell him the truth, but she knew it would do no good, she would have to adapt to her new life.

"Ah, pet. Why didn't you just talk to me about this? I don't demand you to be a proper housewife. I let you control everything that happens in the house. And with the business, you've been balancing all the books."

"I know, but your bobe, my aunt and my female cousins, they all are constantly nitpicking at what I'm doing wrong as a wife."

"You fuckin' don't listen to them then, yeah? Don't tell my bobe I said that. But for the rest of them, they need to mind their own business." He said, wrapping his arms around her.

She pressed into his chest and in turn wrapped her arms around his waist. He smelled of vodka and tobacco smoke, but she liked it and snuggled further into him. He stroked her hair and kissed her head.

"But can you do me a favor tomorrow? Can you be as wifely as possible? Because I'm going to be fucked. Your family drank me under the bloody table tonight."

"You plan to sleep now?" She asked, sliding her hands down his chest, then taking a hand to pet the side of his beard.

"Not unless the misses needs me for something," he said, pleased with the attention she was giving him.

She was speaking to him in Russian and that always made him randy. He brought her into a kiss, working his tongue into her mouth. Her hot, wet tongue touched his and he groaned with pleasure. Bending down, he meant to pick her up, but he got light headed from the alcohol and he landed on the floor with her on top of him.

Eliana burst out laughing. She rolled over onto the floor, laughing until tears spilled out onto her cheeks. Alfie remained on the floor and laughed as well. When she found her composure she crawled over to him.

"Do you think you can even get it up?" She asked.

"I don't know love, maybe you should check, " he said with a wink.

He turned his head to face her as he was still resting on the floor. She gave him a wicked grin that made his heart skip a beat. She clambered over to him and began unbuckling his belt, then pulled his trousers down. Indeed he was hard and he watched her take him into her mouth. He remembered when he first taught her how to blow him. She was like a little kitten trying to lap milk. Now, she was a tigress, devouring her prey.

"Praise be to God," he exclaimed.