A Different Shade Of Spy

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Going home

(Since Iris and her family had been forced to change their flight, because of the events of the last few days... The prime minister arranged for Iris and her family, to travel home first class (Iris figured, he must have called to the White House and gotten the president to pull a few strings, how else had they gotten first class tickets on a full flight.) Iris started to write on the airplane home, another entry for her journal, and dated it with the day of her going home, as she sat in her seat, in first class, alone (since her dad had moved seats, and there was actually a spare chair) just before drinks where to be served, it read...

Monday 27th of June

It's evening, as I write this on the airplane, but I didn't get to finish everything that happened so here I am trying to...

We got back very late on Thursday and I kept wondering, where that monster of a pest, my little brother José, had snuck of to. Mom and dad kept me busy, by telling me I should look after him while they went to have a "night cap" (funny way to call having an alcoholic beverage like brandy.) I found him in the room reserved for staff (it's a sort of lounge cum coffee type of room) with Ahmad watching T.V; they were watching a Maccabee Tel-Aviv game (and he hadn't even called me, and he knows I love basketball.) There was José waving and screaming with Ahmed and as I got closer a couple of others (obviously fans as they were wearing the yellow type of jersey and waving flags as much as my pesky little brat of a brother.) They looked at me and soon I was watching too and cheering as much as they were. It was like being in the stands, well almost. Israel was in the final four of the European cup championships. "It's funny," I said, making what was obviously a lame joke as I continued with, "I didn't know Israel was a part of Europe. Later during half-time break Ahmed (and the other's) explained to me about Israeli sports and especially about Maccabee Tel Aviv's team and its players. He also told me about the game I had missed that was on while I was at the boring tea (party.) That motzi Shabbat (Saturday night) I missed another game but the next day as I was going out our last day out, Ahmad gave me a going away present, a video tape of two games plus the soccer team with the name of Betar Yerushalayim. I am so happy he gave it to me. I snuck down to the room with the V.C.R. and watched it (ok, not all, but most of it, I was worried my parents would wonder where I was) so I'll have to watch the game when I get home. It's different on T.V. back home when I once wanted to see what the fuss was about I watched American football they are always gabbing or showing stuff they never let you just watch the game... it's why I don't watch football in America or any other kind of sports they spoil the watching by gabbing.

Then dad's friends, the former ambassador and his wife, gave me two sets of books or rather what I thought were books they turned out to be books and language tapes. It turned out to be a set to learn Hebrew and another to learn Arabic (they heard Ahmed was from Abu-Gosh and naturally figured I might be interested in learning Arabic so, "When you come next time"(they so naturally assume there will be a next time) I would be able to speak Arabic to Ahmad or anyone else. They must have known how frustrated I was not being able to understand what was said on a program dubbed from English into Arabic, when we had visited their house the day before we left (talk about a crammed day). Finally we were told that we would go in two limos arranged by the prime minister he also called and asked if there was anything I would like? I said, "Yes, a signed jersey shirt of Maccabee Tel Aviv, the basketball team and to give it to Ahmad Nesam also known to the folks here at the hotel as "Nissim". He asked why and I told him why, so of course he got it for me and I was able to give it to him. We got in without being photographed by anyone because the closed off the area and it was weird to be treated like some celebrity.

Naturally José drove the security people assigned to escort us in the limos crazy by touching all the buttons (mom and dad were in the other one, José stopped being a pest as the guard gave him a look, then he (the security guy) made a sign to the driver to stop the car and José who didn't want to be sent to the car with our parents calmed down, and we moved on. In the end he got friendly with both the driver and the security guy even getting the driver to give him the car air freshener since it was a Maccabee Tel-Aviv type. He started collecting them before some how since I saw him with about a dozen or more. If mom had seen those car air fresheners she would have said," What more garbage?" José and his collections. Which reminds me, I bet that cop, the one in the old city who didn't believe me, is kicking himself, and feeling like a big idiot.