Trafika Europe 12 - French Bon-Bons

Marat Baskin

But Etta said “No way!” Finally we managed to talk her into it. So Lyova, my middle son, drove her to Mogilev. Tell me, Gotynyu, how are they doing there? They took almost no food with them, and they were so far from home, among strangers. I had wanted to kill a calf, but Etta cried “No”-- she wanted that calf to grow into a cow! So this is how it grew into a cow... I used to say: don’t put off for tomorrow what you need today. But what’s done is done and no matter what we say, you can’t change it . We had five children, and only one was left with me now, my little Haim. The older sons had been drafted during the Finnish war, so they stayed in the army. Tell me, Gotynyu , where are they now? Oh, Gotynyu, I think that the reason Etta got sick had to do with all her worrying about them. Every morning she would ask: how are they doing, my Lazarka and my Fayvele, and every evening she’d go again: have you heard from them, Shloyme? Have you, Shloyme? You kept them safe in the Finnish war, Gotynyu, so do me a favor and watch out for them now too. I hear Ichile is in Gomel right now. He studies and earns his keep. All your teachers said, “You got a smart one, Shloyme , let him go on with his studies.” We didn’t want to wreck the life of our own child--if they say he’s got a clever head, he’s got to study, but where’s the money for that? Thank God, our neighbor, Daniel, said

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