As soon as the traffic lights signaled red, Eric sat comfortably on his seat, adjusted the rearview mirror so that he saw the car behind them, and rested his hand on the secretary’s pale, gentle hand beside the gear.
“Sir!” exclaimed the secretary as she caught her breath, alarmed by the sudden touch of his hand, and quickly moved hers away from him. She looked at Eric.
He only laughed coolly, and his lips showed a small flash of his teeth.
“You sound scared,” he said. “Don’t worry. I’m not harassing you in the middle of the traffic.” He grinned this time, half-jokingly, and returned his hand on the gear, tapping the round ball, with his eyes fixed before them.
“I’m sorry sir…I..I..I just thought th..th..that perhaps…”
“You’re stammering again, Nina,” the man said, cutting her off, and Nina saw that he did not look at her.
“I’m sorry sir.” Nina said, finally finding her own voice. She did not look at Eric.
“Yeah. Me too.”
Eric’s voice seemed to lighten up a bit that Nina thought to look at him once more and she saw him smile to himself, and realized how beautiful that smile was. That same, boyish smile she saw everyday at his office. And suddenly, she wished she did not remove her hand.
She had been working for Eric for only a month as his secretary at a tire company. She had found the job through her friend, Martha, who was also a full-time employee in the research department. The first time she saw him in his office, with his white long sleeves folded inches away from his wrists and his shaved face that looked stunning even in his mid-thirties, she had immediately predicted that her boss was the type she could get along with. His smile, that same smile which greeted her on her first day on the job, assured her of his kindness.
A few minutes after escaping the traffic, Nina sat on her seat more silent than before. She then noticed that her boss wore blue slippers and realized that his toes were as beautiful as the fingers that now touched the steering wheel. She looked at them for a while, smiled in hesitation over the new thing she discovered as though this was one of her boss’ secrets.
“Oh,” Eric muttered with his usual boyish smile after noticing Nina looking at his feet. “…the slippers. I bring them with me in the car. Saves me from trouble when my feet are tired from wearing those black shoes, you know.”
Nina smiled and nodded nervously, not looking at him. She bit her lower lip until she could not bear the pain anymore. She felt stupid for herself and for being caught.
Before Nina predicted another moment of silence between them, Eric talked.
“You know what Nina, you’re the third secretary I’ve hired since uh…what’s her name…Linda, yes…after she resigned. Hmmm…you’re probably the youngest. How old are you again, Nina?”
“Twenty three, sir.”
“Twenty three.”
Nina smiled and nodded at him. She was looking not at him this time, she thought she could not bear to look at him, but at the street that lay ahead. She did not know what else to say.
They were silent for a while. Nina felt the cool air on her hands from the airconditioning and the thumping of her heartbeat that she could not understand what she was feeling. She looked outside her glass window and saw the line of electric posts they passed. Nina wished she was on her bed, resting now.
Suddenly, Eric shifted his gear and turned the car to the left, another street that led to a busier region of that city.
“Sir, this is not my way home,” Nina said, surprised both by her boss’ sudden turn and her calm voice.
“I know. Anyway, it’s only seven in the evening. What’s there to hurry, Nina?”
“Wh..wh..where are we going sir?” Her voice slowly said, in a whisper.
“Don’t worry. You’ll like it there.” Eric smiled.
Nina said nothing. She looked at her boss and saw that same smile, and thought that perhaps, this was one of his unplanned adventures. Her eyes stared secretly at Eric’s side and for a long while, neither one of them talked. She sat slowly, comfortably back on her seat and closed her eyes for a while.
For a moment, she wondered where her boss would lead her. She really did not know. Then she remembered his beautiful toes on his blue slippers, and thought, yes, they are beautiful like his fingers, and she smiled as the car sped along the street, to a place somewhere she hoped she would like.
-Aaron Jalalon-
