Dasvidaniya

Chapter 3

Chapter 3“Pa-pah…Pa-pah…Pa-pah,” Frederick exhaled, dancing in front of me, his fists flashing mere millimeters from the tip of my nose. I felt like a fool with legs splayed wide and hips and shoulders twisted.

“Keep your hands up,” Frederick barked. “Higher…higher still. Like this…”

He slapped my hands in an upward motion. Frederick walked around me in a tight circle, nodding and pursing his lips, then came to a full halt right in front of me, put his hands on his hips and stared down. Wearing a benign smile, Frederick kicked his leg out and I went down in a heap. Frederick laughed uproariously. He reached down to help but I batted his hands away.

“What'd you do that for?” I demanded.

Frederick waggled his forefinger. “Balance, Mordecai, balance, if you don't have balance as a boxer, you have nothing. Always remember that.” He clapped his hands sharply. “Back in position, let's go,” he barked.

I pushed myself to a standing position and assumed the stance; left foot forward, right back, elbows tight, fists high. I barely kept my anger in check.

“That's right,” Frederick said. “You need to protect your flank,” and he lashed out with a punch that grazed my side. “but more importantly, here,” pointing to my abdomen. “How can I find my way in? Right? You are covered. Now, I want you to push against me, as hard as you can. Come on, do it, do it now,” he urged.

I punched both hands forward. The impact jarred me up to the elbows. Frederick hadn't budged a millimeter. I tried again, harder this time, elbows back and pushed. No effect. Frederick just looked at me with that infuriating smile. I stepped back, went into a crouch and ran forward, head down, filled my lungs with air , blasted a roar…and found nothing but air. I hit the ground face first and bounced hard.

“Balance,” Frederick said, stepping to the side then hopped to and fro. “Balance is the key,” he trilled.

“You crazy bastard,” I gasped. “You tricked me.” And to my shame, I felt hot tears streaking my cheeks.

My lungs burned. I felt a furnace inside me. Far in the distance, Frederick loped ahead, his long legs barely touching the ground as I struggled to keep up. I wanted to lie down under a shady tree, press my face into the cool grass and die. Up ahead, Frederick danced lightly on his toes and gestured impatiently.

“Come on,” he bawled. “Faster. Keep up.” He waited for me, that mocking grin etched into his sleek face.

We ran down to the banks of the Vistula, turned around and ran back to the villa. I tottered, barely able to put one foot ahead of the other. When I reached the back garden of the property, I sank to my knees and gagged.

Frederick took off his shirt, then wiped his face with it. “Marvelous. What about you? What'd you think?” he asked me.

I continued to pant but remained determined not to show any weakness. “It was wonderful,” I croaked.

Frederick laughed. The braying sound hurt my ears.

Some moments later, I came back to consciousness and realized that Frederick was talking. “The best boxers, and naturally I include myself in this category, use their heads, not just their bodies. You must think about what you are doing, look at the man opposite and see his weaknesses. Does he drop his hand a little? Does he fall for the feint? Does he leave his body exposed? Does he fight with spirit? All of these things go through your mind and then you know whether you can win or not. But you can only do these things after you have all of the tools, right? Strength, conditioning, training and practice. It never ends.”

From my prone position on the grass, I was forced to listen, but only if I wanted some lemonade. I grudgingly admitted to myself that some of what Frederick said seemed to make sense.

I lay on my bed with a cold cloth pressed to my forehead. Katya knocked then slipped in and sat beside me.

“He's very handsome, isn't he?”

I looked at my sister, who'd never played with dolls and only talked of things relating to medicine, therapies and operations. “What?”

“So very tall,” she murmured.

“Katya,” I said sternly, sitting up. I grabbed her by the wrists. “What is the matter with you?”

She frowned at me. “Nothing. I'm allowed to say whatever I want.”

“But such foolish things. You're only a girl and he's a grown man.”

“It's none of your business really, Mordecai, but I was hoping you might understand. I can't talk about this to Mama and Papa.”

“Just stay away from him, he's a pig, I tell you.”

“Don't tell me what to do. I am older than you,” my sister said and yanked her wrists free.

“You warned me before and now I'm warning you. You'll look like a fool.”

“You don't understand much then, do you?” she asked, but never gave me a chance to answer. I couldn't tell her I wanted to protect her from this man. I still thought of her as a girl but I knew she had grown up on me. In those days, in Poland, we grew up quickly. We had to.