AHAHAHAHAAHA i just remembered this. So anyway I wrote a new chapter. Let me know if i should continue writing
Chapter 8
Samuel is at the dinozzo's
Tali POV
Sam is going to get here any moment now, honestly my dad is nervous than I am. I still haven't agreed to go on a date with him, I want to, I do but I need more time. I need him to truly understand me before I agree. I haven't told him about my birth yet, my mother, how I moved here from Israel. I guess we have to talk about that.
I haven't really spoken to anybody about my life before America. I never know how to approach the subject. A few close friends know that I was born in Israel but my dad lives here but no more than that, and that's how I like it. I don't have much to remember Ima by so I need to hold onto the things I do know and I'm not quite ready to share that with others.
Just as I was walking into the kitchen to see Abba the doorbell rings. I turn to my dad before walking to the door, he smiled at me silently letting me know that he was okay with this. I open the door and greet Samuel, inviting him in to the kitchen and offering him a drink. The tension is so blatant it's almost visible.
"Abba, this is Sam' I say motioning to my visibly anxious friend in the doorway.
"Nice to meet you Sam, I'm Tony, Tali's father, Tal suggested pizza for Dinner, my own Italian recipe, passed on through the family" giving the all knowing smirk to me.
"I'm sure it'll be great, thanks Mr Dinozzo"
"Please call me Tony, Mr Dinozzo makes me feel old… Like my father"
"Sorry, thank you Tony" Sam responded slightly less nervously.
Okay this is awkward I think, I take Sam's hand and take him to the sitting room where we can talk openly. We decided to put a film on I'm the background, we settled on Kick-ass, deciding we wanted a humorous movie.
"I would not like to get on the wrong side of her" Sam says referring to the young girl attacking grown men "not without learning how to fight back" with a small laugh.
"It's super inaccurate though, that amount of force would definitely knock him out" I tell him without thinking too much into it.
"Since when were you an expert in martial arts?" He questioned.
How do I reply to that? I've been getting unofficial training from uncle Gibbs since the incident in school a few years ago. He said I was very much like Ima, the way I move and fight. It helps me to feel close to her. Oh god what will I tell Sam, I don't want to be kno-
"Tali" he interrupted, "you okay? You zoned out there"
"I-errr studied some self defence with my uncle"
That's when my dad walked in with the pizza "she's good at fighting too, you don't want to mess with her Sam, she is stronger than she looks, it's in her blood"
"I didn't know you could fight Mr D- Tony" Sam replied looking curiously at my father.
"Don't judge a book by its cover Sam, but you're right. I'm not that good. She got it from her Mo-"
"Abba- stop. I haven't told him you know, about Ima yet" I try to hide my fear over the coming questions that will have been raised. It's not that I don't trust Sam, because I do but it's complicated
"Tali, it's fine. You don't have to say anything. You'll tell me when you're ready" he gives with a small smile. Wow he's so understanding, how did I get this lucky.
Several minutes of awkward silence later Abba breaks the silence by asking about Sam's family, a subject we hadn't spoken that much about. I know that he lives with him mom and he has an older sister at college in Chicago.
"I was adopted when I was 6" he replied with ease, like he didn't care "my sister doesn't live with us at the moment, she comes home for summer and Christmas though. She is studying Law in Chicago, she wants to be a lawyer. My mum is a social worker and currently we are fostering a young boy, he's called James. He's a nice kid but I don't know him that well. He's deaf and doesn't communicate well with pen and paper. I tried learning sign but- well I'm not great from learning things off the internet"
Wow, I feel like I didn't know him at all. I knew that his mom was a social worker but i didnt know they fostered too, it's impressive. All this going on in his life and he still has time for me, that's a big thing, I should feel honoured.
"I tried to find some local classes but they're all too expensive so I'm trying slowly to learn from the books I bought" Sam continued.
"That's quite a story" my Abba returned "sounds like you're from a great family. As for the sign language, Tal I'm sure Abby wouldn't mind teaching you both some. It's a good skill to have"
"Wait, Aunt Abby knows sign language?" I question my father
"Both her parents were deaf so she grew up using sign." He responded.
How did I not know that? Abby has been like a second mother to me. Wow I have a lot to catch up on.
"Wow, okay." I say while I consider what to do "I'll send her a message and ask."
The rest of the evening went smoothly, Abba went out to get some shopping in, me and Sam finished watching the film. Just as I was seeing Sam out, I stopped him. My head was reeling with questions but not one came out, only "yes".
"What?" he questions looking at me.
"Yes, I would like to go on a date with you" I say "But I want to take things slow, there is still a lot of stuff we need to talk about."
He just smiles and tells me he will let me know the day and time. It was a good day. Im happy.
About 15 minutes later Abba returned. I was sat on the couch with a book, one in Hebrew. Speaking my native language was something I always wanted to keep doing. It's more difficult than reading in English because I don't really have anybody to practice with but it's one of the ways I feel closer to Ima. At first I only had 3 books. A children's book 'המכוער המתכופף', the ugly duckling. It was one she read to me when I was younger. One of my only memories of my mother is reading me that book. Every night, never fail. I loved that book. Its torn and damaged but it still has its place on my bookshelf. There were also two of my mother's books in my bag. It took me years to be able to read them, but I'll never forget the day i read the first chapter. It was a month before my 10th birthday. I read it over and over again, for the first time, truly understanding what the book would be about. From then on other than school assignments, I only read in Hebrew. I found that in many cases, the books are more beautiful anyway. I even made Abba watch some Hebrew movies. I only picked the best ones of course, you know, to live up to his standards but of course English subtitles were necessary for him to understand.
"Abba" I say looking up, closing my book "do you think we could visit Israel sometime? You know, to go see where Ima grew up?
"I think, that would be perfect"
So there it is, almost 2 years later. Let me know if you want to read more!
