Chapter 13, DiNozzos in Israel: Summer 2023
It was mid-morning before the heat of the day would set in. Tony watched Tali and Anthony choose seats on the porch swings and settle in with books to read. Ziva was giving LJ a bath, cleaning the food off him from breakfast. The little boy had been insisting on feeding himself lately, and this morning was no different. Tony thought the kid had ended up wearing about half of the food. Rivka and Beth were drawing with crayons on some paper. He turned to the two girls, "Do you want to go to the beach?"
"Yes, Abba!" They chorused, and ran into their room to change into swimsuits. They came back in the room a few minutes later, Beth tugging at her suit. Tony smiled as he motioned her over, and had her step out of the suit so that he could put it on the correct way. He applied sunscreen to both girls, and made sure they had their cover-ups and hats.
He took their hands in his, and called out to Ziva, "Taking my girls to the beach." The two little girls talked excitedly as they walk the pathway to the beach. "Abba, can we go in the water? Are there fish in the water? Why does the water make that sound and move like that?"
He put their bag of hats, cover-ups and towels on the sand and took off his t-shirt and sandals. He helped the girls take off their sandals. Beth wiggled her toes in the sand and giggled. Rivka tugged at his hand. Father and daughters walked to the water's edge. The waves washed over their feet and both girls giggled. Tony slowly moved further into the water, until the girls were just above waist deep. He sat down in the water and showed them how to blow bubbles in the water. At first, they just watched him and laughed. Rivka tried blowing bubbles herself, and Beth followed her sister's lead. Then, Tony showed his daughters how to move their hands in the water. (Finally, the PE degree was coming in handy, he thought to himself!) They splashed each other and then the twins ganged up on their Abba and splashed him as he tried to grab them. He took one in each arm and told them to hold his arm with their hands. He then had them kick their legs behind them. The girls squealed and giggled. Balancing one girl in each hand, he then told them to use their hands as he had shown them. Rivka floated off his hand and doggy-paddled with a huge grin on her face. Beth, always a bit more timid than her sister, watched and then decided she would not be outdone. She paddled off Tony's other hand. He walked backwards in the water as his girls swam to him. After about ten minutes, he could see them tiring and he put an arm around each one.
"I'm so proud of you both. You can practice every time we come to the beach and get better at swimming. I love my little ninjas!" He kissed each girl on her head and then tickled them. They squealed with laughter. "Time to go back to the house, and get out of the heat of the day."
He dried them off with the towels and had each girl put on her cover-up, hat and sandals. He put his own sandals and shirt on and gathered up their bag. As they walked back to the house, they chatted about their new accomplishment, excited to share with Ima what they had done and learned.
~TIVA~
The day of Tony's birthday started off with hotter than usual weather. Ziva decided to have the children help her make a cake. Tali and Anthony measured the ingredients and read the recipe out loud. Each of the older four took turns stirring the batter, while LJ watched them. Ziva poured the batter in the cake pan and placed it in the oven to bake. While the cake was baking and cooling, she had the children choose the decorations for the cake. Tali wanted the red sugar crystals, Anthony chose the mini chocolate chips, Rivka picked the blue gel icing, and Beth decided to go with the pink heart candies. LJ, with Ziva's help, chose the Gummi Bears.
Ziva showed Tali and Anthony how to put the frosting on the cake, and was actually surprised at how well they did. With the cake frosted, each child would be allowed to put the chosen decorations on the frosted top or sides of the cake. Rivka tried to squeeze the blue icing out of the tube and lost her balance. She fell forward, one hand landing in the middle of the cake. She started crying, thinking she had ruined the cake. Ziva scooped up her crying daughter and hugged her. "Tateleh, it is okay. Abba will know that it is from you. He will see that you decorated his cake with love." Rivka nodded her head and gave a small smile. Without any warning, Tali reached out and placed her hand on the cake, making sure to avoid her sister's hand print. Anthony, seeing what Tali had done, put his hand in another place on the cake, and Beth soon did the same. Ziva laughed and helped LJ put his hand on the cake and then she put her own as well. Tony came into the kitchen to the sight of his family all licking frosting off their hands and a cake that was covered in hand prints.
"Abba, we put our love on the cake," Rivka explained to him, "and Ima did, too."
~TIVA~
The family explored Haifa and Tel Aviv, taking in the sights. In Tel Aviv, Ziva pointed out the building where her family had an apartment when she was young. They drove to Be'er Sheva and visited the kibbutz where Adam Eschel and his family lived. They played tourist in Jerusalem, with both Tony and Ziva explaining the significance of landmarks to both Judaism and Catholicism. In between the travel around Israel, they enjoyed the beach, with the children all improving swimming skills. LJ learned to blow bubbles in the water and to doggy-paddle.
One morning, Tony asked Ziva if she wanted to visit the olive grove and the remains of the farm house. She thought about it for most of the day, wanting to go, but not wanting to open the pain of the past. As they were snuggling in bed that night, she finally made her decision. "We need to go, to put a final closure for you and me. Tali was too young to remember, but we have both happy and sad memories from there."
The next morning, the family piled into the van and Ziva drove to the farm. As they approached both Tony and Ziva noticed there was no trace of the house. They got out and walked where the house had been. The ground was level and there were no remnants of either the gaping hole from Eli's bunker or the foundation of the house. Ziva let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding and squeezed Tony's hand. They headed to the olive grove hand in hand, where the children were already playing among the trees. Tony counted the trees and rows to the spot they both remembered well. He stopped and pulled Ziva to him. "We have changed so much since that day. I would not trade our life for anything, ever. Ziva, I love you so much and when I think of that day, I think of the transition we made to allow us to grow into the family that we have now." He put his lips on hers and kissed her, full of love for this woman who had completed him in so many ways. He brushed a tear from her cheek as she raised her hands to his face and caressed him. She kissed him again. "I love you forever, Tony."
~TIVA~
Two months passed quickly and the family began packing up to return to Virginia. The new school year would be starting soon, and Tali and Anthony would be busy with school activities. It was time to go home.