Park Bench (Delilah)

[Jace's Thread Moving Account]

Benjamin couldn't believe the one day he didn't have to sell his papers, his parents wanted him to go with them and Nira to plan the wedding. What did he have to go for? It wasn't his wedding, he argued, it was Nira's, and she certainly didn't want him fouling anything up for her. By this argument, vainglorious Nira had been convinced, but Benji's mother was slightly less easy to convince (as always). It took a great deal of cajoling, now by both Benjamin and his older sister, to convince her to allow Benjamin to stay at home. But of course, Mother had the last word: Benjamin wouldn't be allowed to stay in the apartment alone; he would have to be out and about until they got back. That's fine with me, Benjamin said, how long will that be? Four hours?!

So, here he was. He'd walked through Central Park until he was almost certain he would fall over if he didn't take a seat; and so he chose the nearest park bench and collapsed into the seat. His post offered a view of the low white bridge (he didn't know the name of it) that lovers like to cross at twilight, but during the day belonged to children with breadcrumbs to feed the resident ducks and toy boats to set assail in the lake's calm waters, their parents standing nearby keeping vigil: fathers stooping down to save a sinking boat, mothers standing nearby with shy, sweet smiles that bespoke all kinds of wonderful affection for their children. New York was a nice place, Benjamin mused as he fiddled with the brim of his cap. Really, you just had to know where to look.

Benjamin momentarily closed his eyes, thinking. For a long while he had been pondering on the money he was saving up from his work as a newsboy: anything his family didn't need he got to keep for himself. Depending on how his father's job was faring, some months he got to keep more than others. He often wondered what he would do with the money he was saving. He was sorely in need of a new vest, but when was the last time he'd had honey? He would love to go to a sports game at the polo grounds in Harlem...but then again, there was a bookstore there, wasn't there? He could use something to read besides the misery he sold in his papers. He almost chuckled to himself. In this respect, he was as real a newsie he could be: too much to buy, and not enough money to buy them.

Suddenly, Benjamin felt water drip on his clothes in a splash. His first thought was rain, but a look to the cloudless September sky omitted that possibility. It was from the lake, he realized. But how...?

A quick glance around, and he had his answer.

[Delilah]

Delilah had spent the day as she usually did, selling newspapers. She had been very proficient in her selling today and so she'd made enough to drop off some money on the doorstep of the people who had given her a roof over her head when she'd been new to america. She wandered through central park feeling happy that she'd been able to help them out. In that house there were more mouths to feed than there was food and so when she'd left she'd promised herself that she would help them as much as she could. The children were expecially important to her, She always left a little extra money or a toy for them on their birthdays even if it meant that she didnt get any dinner that night.

But seeing as she'd made a pretty decent amount of money today she wouldnt need to skip dinner and in fact she had enough money to buy herself a snack so she bought herself a nice juicy apple. It was with this apple that she began her walk around central park. By the time she'd finished the apple she'd walked around almost all of central park and was nearing the lake. The water sparkled in the sun and as she watched the water glisten she realized exactly how hot it wasoutside and how uncomfortable she was after a day of selling and walking around in the heat.

Never being one to care much about what other people thought she began to take off her shoes as she walked. she noted that her dark blue shirt probably hadn't helped much when it came to keeping cool and she decided that the next day she would wear a whiteish colored shirt, those seemed cooler though she didnt know the exact science behind it.

If she'd been a more self concious person she probably would have looked around her, noted her surroundings, and seen her friend benjamin sitting on the bench but she didnt care much and definetely wasn't going to let the fact that people were around keep her from jumping into that wonderfully cold looking lake. She tied her shoes together and threw them over a low branch so that they would be hidden in teh leaves and finally as she neared the edge of the lake she ran for a few paces and then launched herself into the refreshing water.

[Jace's Thread Moving Account]

Benjamin could see someone swimming in the lake. Them jumping in must have been what had sprayed him with water. He was amused at first, seeing someone who would just jump into a lake in broad daylight, and thought of all the people he knew who would do that exact thing. Then he realized: he did know who had jumped into the lake. Very well, he knew her! He gasped and jumped to his feet, and hurried to the edge of the lake. "Yali!" he cried. He and Delilah were close; they spent a lot of their spare time together along with several other friends. He hadn't expected to see her today, and certainly not in the water. He reached the edge of the water. "Hey there, Delilah!" he called, hoping she would hear him and he didn't look like too much of a moron.

Indeed, a few people were starting to look at them. What was Yali doing in the water, anyway? It wasn't all that warm out, and if she was warm there were plenty of other ways to get out of the heat. She wasn't banned from her own darn apartment for another two hours while his parents and Nira were planning a wedding. If he'd know he'd have to be bored for four hours, he might as well have gone to plan the wedding. But now that Yali had suddenly appeared, he figured things would be a little more bearable, and he would at least have someone to talk to. "Um...what're...what're ya doing?" he asked, hoping for her to explain exactly what had possessed her to jump into the water in September.

[Delilah]

The cool water felt amazing against her skin. She sumberged herself under the water a few times and relaxed as her hair fanned out around her. As she surfaced she closed her eyes and rand her fingers along the top of the water feeling the cool waters glide over her hands.

"Yali!"

As a familiar voice rang across the water ayala's eyes snapped open and she turned to face the sound. Her face split into a wide grin as she saw her friend benjamin walking towards the waterfront.

"Hey there, Delilah!....Um...what're...what're ya doing?"

If her grin could have gotten bigger than it would have. "Shalom benji, Mah shlomeich?" She said, her spanish-hebrew accent displayed brightly in the words. She pulled herself out of the water and stood to face him while wringing the edges of her shirt in a failed attempt to be rid of the water. She pushed her hair back out of her face yet it clung to her wherever it could. Her clothes dripped all over the ground but she didn't care and she was pretty sure that the grass wouldn't mind. Still she tried to wring out a little of the water because she really was soaking wet.

Once she figured out that the shirt wasn't going to get much drier she looked up at benjamin. Rather than teasing him she answered in an amused tone, "what did it look like i was doing? You've been outside all day, you know a good swim is a fun way to cool off." She smiled as she reached out to poke his shirt where a few small wet spots had appeared from her splashing, "slecha..." she added but her eyes sparkled with laughter even as she apologized.

{"Hello benji, how're you doin?"..... "sorry"}

[Jace's Thread Moving Account]

"Shalom benji, Mah shlomeich?"

"Ma pit'ome?!" he cried in response. "I've never been so bored in my life. But now that I've run into you, I think things are beginning to look up." He gave her a shy smile. He didn't doubt that Yali was aware that he was a little fond of her, but she also knew that he could grow fond of a girl at the drop of a hat. He straightened his hat and told her, "My parents are off with Nira to plan some things for her wedding. Of course, I wasn't exactly jumping to be a part of that..." Benjamin would be present at the actual ceremony, of course. He just didn't want to spend any of his time in a way he didn't have to. His mother always told him that being a newsie was what gave him such an annoyingly free spirit. He would grin, and agree.

"What did it look like i was doing? You've been outside all day, you know a good swim is a fun way to cool off."

He glanced around. "It's September, Yali. I haven't thought of cooling off for any of the...let's see...two hours I've been wandering around aimlessly..." He looked at her, and his smile widened. "But you are a bird of your own feather."

"Slecha..."

"Bevakasha..." Benji grinned as he wiped at the water droplets. "I know, I know..." He glanced around again. "Well, we have better things to do than just stand here, don't we? Yalla!" He took her arm and started leading her across the grass. When he realized that she was soaking wet, as well as shoe-less, he slowed. "I suppose you want to...pick up your shoes before we go much anywhere, huh?" He grinned at her sheepishly.

((I found this site where I can get a few phrased in Hebrew spelled out phonetically. I hope it's all right...I was trying for "Are you kidding?" "Please" and "Come on!"))

[Delilah]

"Ma pit'ome?! I've never been so bored in my life. But now that I've run into you, I think things are beginning to look up."

Ayala laughed. "always good to cheer up someones day" she responded as she smiled back at him. Benjamin was a good kid and she always enjoyed spending a few hours of her day with him.

"My parents are off with Nira to plan some things for her wedding. Of course, I wasn't exactly jumping to be a part of that..."

She nodded but she couldn't say that she understood, she'd never been in his shoes. If she had any siblings then she didn't even know them but she knew people well enough to know that wedding planning could drive people into frenzys. Plus, she knew benji's mother and didn't want to be around her when she was planning Nira's wedding... she could only imagine...

"It's September, Yali. I haven't thought of cooling off for any of the...let's see...two hours I've been wandering around aimlessly...But you are a bird of your own feather."

"We knew that already didn' we?" She replied grinning brightly. "it ain't cold enough to not go for a swim so why not?" she said with a shrug, the grin staying on her face and showing no sign of dissapearing.

"Bevakasha...I know, I know...Well, we have better things to do than just stand here, don't we? Yalla!"

"Ah the words i hear so much! Yalla ayala!"she laughed. She rolled her eyes when he grabbed her arm "im comin im coming, i heard ya!" she said as she followed him. She didn't mind in the least that she was now walking around soaking wet and without shoes on her feet.

"I suppose you want to...pick up your shoes before we go much anywhere, huh?"

"if you insist" she sighed preteneding to be exasperated as she turned to return to the tree and get her shoes. "good thing ya reminded me, i mighta left em here" she said over her shoulder. "not like i need the things but they are good to have around" she said to no one in particular. She talked out loud to herself some times- bad habit. She preferred the feel of the ground under her feet but what she'd said before held true. Shoes were good to have around, you can't run in bare feet in the streets of new york. You never know what you might step on.

She grabbed the shoes and held them in her hands as she returned to join benjamin. She didn't feel like putting them on just yet but she would probably end up putting them on once they left the park. "So. Anachnu holechim le.....eifo?" She said looking to him for guidence as she'd assumed that he'd had a place in mind when he'd decided that they were leaving the park.

{we're going..... where?}

[Jace's Thread Moving Account]

"So. Anachnu holechim le.....eifo?"

"Savlanout," Benjamin said with a grin, but shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I didn't have anything specific in mind..." He didn't know where else there was to go. No one had given him any money, so he couldn't go anywhere were food or money was concerned--which limited their options. Unless, of course, he borrowed from Yali, which he hated doing and refused to. Walking didn't cost anything, so he waited until Yali had her shoes on before suggesting, "We could just walk around. I mean--we both have time to kill, don't we? And it's not like it's too cold for a good walk around the city." Benjamin had a secret obsession with finding new and secret places around Manhattan, places that no one else knew about and that he could at least pretend belonged to him. He was always on the lookout for some secret crevice of the city he hadn't noticed before. "Sound all right to you, Yali?"

As he spoke, a gentleman passed. In the same breath, Benji pardoned himself to the gentleman, asking for the time. Uninterestedly, the gentleman opened a pocked watch of notable grandeur and replied laconically, "Eleven past three." Benjamin thanked him, and turned back to Yali, all the while thinking about the time. He did have a few hours left, and ample time to turn around and head back to the apartment, so long as he kept an eye on the time.

((I meant to say "Patience". Was that accurate...or should I just give up with the Hebrew? XD ))

[Delilah]

"Savlanout, To tell you the truth, I didn't have anything specific in mind..."

Ayala grinned. That was so like benjamin. The man without the plan. Of course, that often made things more interesting so why should she care? They'd figure out something to do and they'd have fun or die trying.

"We could just walk around. I mean--we both have time to kill, don't we? And it's not like it's too cold for a good walk around the city."

She smiled. She didn't mind walking around, thats what she did most of the time so it wasn't like a little more of it would kill her. Plus benji was around to keep her company. Knowing benji, this would turn into some sort of adventure.

"Sound all right to you, Yali?"

"B'Seder. Besides, ain li kesef" She said. Not needing money to find entertainment was something that she was rather proud of, it was a good skill that kept her from going broke. She'd seen some kids waste all their money on things they didn't need but she'd learned quickly that she didn't want to be like them. She had some money that she didn't give to her old guardians but she kept it safe and didn't usually use any except for food and necessities. Free entertainment was everywhere if you knew where to look.

"Eleven past three."

Ayala noted the time. Poor benji, he couldn't go home for a while but she knew that time flew quickly even when it didn't seem like it would. She clutched her shoes with one hand and swung her arms as she walked. She whistled a tune as she tried to figure out something for them to do.

As they approached another bench Delilah jumped up onto the seat and dropped her shoes next to her feet before sitting on the backing of the bench. She rested her chin on her hand and motioned with the other hand for him to sit on the bench. "Ha'kol beseder?" she asked searching his face. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like something was bothering him. Something he hadn't mentioned.

{okay, besides i dont have any money, everything in order/okay?-- translatioonnsss.}