When death hovers above

A story about a certain friendship.

When death hovers above

 

There was a lot of noise that Sunday morning in the production engineering department hall. It was quite early yet, about a quarter of an hour past eight am. But there are always those few, who would not get down to work before informing in detail their weekend’s adventures, to anyone around whether he wishes to hear it or not.

It was hard to concentrate and Amir Goshen was sitting frustrated next to his desk, watching his computer screen with open eyes " hardly perceiving the lines and figures on it. There was a lot of work he had to catch up with, and he kept hoping that one of the several seniors among them, would put an end to those bragging noisy voices.

The hall’s door opened up behind his back, and silence fell right away.

Thank God, he thought it must be the department’s head appearance that made them shut their traps, the braggarts " and he started to work right away.

A hand touched his shoulder, he turned round to see Nathan Baker the electricity crew head, standing next to his chair, bending over him.

‘I need your help, come…’

‘What, I can’t I’ve a lot of work to do, and there’s a dead line I've to meet…’

Leaning down over Amir’s face with one hand on the desk, and tapping slightly with his left hand on Amir’s shoulder Nathan smiled and said: ‘all is fixed and settled, Rubi knows all about it, I’ve told him. It’s an emergency job, come, we’ll do it in my office.’

The mention of an emergency job alone would have made several curious close-by technicians to stop their work and watch them, but what really attracted their attention was the friendship between these two, an ordinary technician and one of the department’s powerful bosses. 

Amir himself was surprised not less than his comrades, and those who raised a brow watching that early morning episode; as he was walking beside Nathan’s tall figure along the aisle, leading to the latter's office.

Right after having crossed the small office threshold, Nathan closed its door and asked Amir to sit down next to his broad desk, while he brought two envelops out of his desk drawer; emptied their contents on top of the desk before Amir amazed eyes.

Nathan seemed unperturbed and asked him to check the lot of it and choose the best three photographs in his opinion, out of some eighteen hundred different shots.

‘Take your time,’ Nathan told him. ‘I’ve got a meeting to attend, I’ll fetch you a takeaway at lunch time, just tell me what you wish to have.’

‘Is it that important, I mean my opinion and what is it for, if I may ask?’

‘Well, it’s for an important international photography competition…’ Nathan replied with a slight cough. He scrutinized Amir’s face trying to divine what his friend’s reactions could be, and went on after a few seconds of silence.

‘I’ve won last year the second prize, a year earlier I’d a fourth place " I want to win the first prize, it's high time I'll win it.’ He said quite resolutely.

‘What if…’ Amir hardly managed to utter these two words.

‘No one would dare to bother you, don’t worry about that, it’s okay.’

‘Then get me a sandwich of some sort and a soft drink.’ Amir told him after another short embarrassed pause.

‘Okay, but don’t rush I intend to rely on your choice.’ Nathan remarked with emphasize before leaving.

So he must have been impressed while visiting my exhibition last week… Amir thought as he was passing over Nathan’s numerous photos. An amateur they say, he’s very good, but when am I going to finish it up and make my choice? He doesn’t even know what a Herculean task he left me with to tackle. He kept thinking quite worried. He knew that nobody would disturb him, but to leave his urgent work for this peculiar job, left him with a bad feeling.

Last Wednesday Nathan visited his third exhibition, he must have heard positive comments of Amir two previous ones. There on that evening after work, they met and had a lively conversation on art in general. That is how their friendship started, but that was the lot of it; some twenty minutes at the most of strolling before Amir’s paintings while exchanging views, and getting to know each other better.

Thus when Nathan asked Amir to follow him to his office, he was sure that some crucial problem was waiting for him to be solved " it was not the first time that he was asked to save the department of unpleasant arrears of even worse complexities " and here he was reviewing his friend’s photographs, instead of working as he should.

When Nathan came back at about one thirty Amir had the three chosen shots, which he believed were his friends best ones ready before him.

‘Don’t tell me you’ve checked all of it…’ Nathan remarked surprised.

‘I did it twice and these are the three that I like best, it wasn’t easy.’

‘Are they that bad… Nathan smiled to him satisfied. ‘That’s exactly what I thought except this one, do you really think it’s good enough?’

‘Yeah, I think it’s the best one.’

‘I wasn’t sure, but okay...’ Nathan mumbled still undecided. ‘I’ve brought us some food, you must be famished.’

It was a pleasant surprise and it did flatter Amir. So he treats me as his equal, and he is disliked by most of us, taking him for the haughty type of a boss. He skipped the restaurant and his elated colleagues’ company, to have a snack with me and talk shop.

Whether Amir’s conscious troubled him or not it was a rather pleasant pastime. The fact Nathan decided to rely on his choice, was another reason to boost his good feelings.

Their friendship was developping quite fast, and became one of the department’s hottest items. Each time Nathan passed next to Amir's desk, he used to stop and exchange a few friendly words with him. There were of course those who pricked their ears, or turned envious glances in their direction " with pale faces. It did not trouble Amir at all, he did not have real friends there " they had enough reasons to envy him. Thus his relations with most of his working comrades were the ‘hi and bye’ type.

The first week of their budding friendship passed rather fast, on Sunday Amir took a day off; it was the last day of his exhibition, and he had to pack up and leave the humble public hall that hosted his paintings.

He did not hear anything from Nathan and did not expect to, their friendship was restricted to their working hours and place. Nathan was some ten years older, a married man and except art they had nothing in common. The submission dead line to Nathan’s competition was not closed yet, and results were supposed to reach not before the next three months.

 

Thus on Monday when Amir did not see his friend up to noon time, and not even in the plant’s restaurant Amir was not too bothered. He noticed some unusual unrest in the department’s hall, but he knew that sooner or later he’ll know what it's all about, if it was some important matter " and not some foolish feud with a superior's whims or some other trivial matter of such sort.

About half an hour before his day of work was over, Amir thought he had better walk over to his friend office and see how he is.

Nathan's office was closed and as he turned back someone called after him: ‘You won’t find him nether tomorrow nor next week…’

‘What happened?’

‘Your friend had a heart attack, had a raw with his divorcee. He’s in Ichilov hospital. You surely miss your friend, but we gained some freedom…’

The malicious relish with which these words were said, shocked Amir for a friction of a second. He watched for a just an instant the smiling face of that technician, whom he hardly talked to, turned his back to him and left.

He rode straight to Ichilov hospital in Tel Aviv, which was not far from his own home.

So he’s divorcee, I know so little about him, but as he is my friend paying him a visit is my duty. He thought while making his way in the huge hospital’s corridors. There were some more reasons, their common interest in art; and his friend’s elated status as one the department’s leading bosses, which was the main and very natural cause. Amir of course did not admit it consciously, but there he was on his way to pay his ailing friend a visit.

It did not take him too long to reach Nathan’s room.

He found his friend sitting in his bed, propped on two big cushions and pale as the white walls of his room and the white hospital’s garb and gown, which covered his friend's emaciated body. Two women were there near Nathan’s bed, his daughter and his friend.

So that’s the cause, to his divorce and its outcome… Amir thought right after greeting his friend and asking him politely how he is doing.

Whether Nathan was glad to see him, he could not know; for Nathan’s expression did not change, he was scared to death. It was so obvious one did not have to be a doctor, or to have a rich life experience to realize it.

Amir did not stay next to his friend’s bed too long, the two women treated Amir with their looks as if he was an intruder, but above all he could hardly exchange a single sentence with his friend " as the latter kept grasping the oxygen mask from a nearby stand, and breathe deeply and desperately, as if these seconds were his last upon earth thus there was no possibility to exchange more than a few words, with his ailing friend. .

Was it cowardice in its ugliest form, Amir thought on his way back to the hospital’s parking lot.

If I were in his shoes how would I have behaved? Well, I can’t know and I can’t blame him.

Hardly a week passed and Nathan was back. He summoned him again to his office, to check another batch of photographs.

‘Was it the first prize then?’

‘Oh no,’ Nathan replied laughing. ‘Don’t remind me I might get another attack, there are still a few months left thank god.’ He added somewhat relieved. ‘I must have left a very bad impression on you, haven’t I?’

‘No, not at all, I was very worried that’s all.’

‘But I saw your face,’ Nathan insisted. ‘I passed a real nightmare I’d terrible aches, and I was sure I was done for. Was it your first time to see someone about to die? For that’s what I thought and was quite sure of.’

‘No it wasn't my first time,' Amir replied coughing slightly. 'I’ve lost my best friend a few years ago it was in this same hospital…’ Amir added after a short pause. ‘He’d cancer, the night I’ve visited him he left his bed as if nothing was wrong with him; roamed about spitting death straight in the face… The next morning I’d a phone call, he died that very night. 

 

© Haim Kadman 2010 " all rights reserved