Broken Leaves of Autumn

by Eli Hai

  “You’re right. The first thing I’ll do when I return to the shop will be to call him. I promise. And in the meantime, look for a place to sleep. Next to my shop, there’s a small hostel. Rent a room there until you finish renovating. While you’re there, you’re welcome to eat meals at my house. Unfortunately, we’re not allowed to have people sleeping over…. Surely you understand,” Ahron continued as they made their way back to the shop.

  “Thank you, Ahron! Really. This is the most surprising day of my life. In my wildest dreams, I never would’ve believed this would happen. That on my very first day in New York, things would work out for me.”

  He was extremely touched by the help and warmth of the young Jew. There were no Jews in Eloy, yet he’d heard a lot about them. Some people also said things about them that he found unpleasant to listen to. And yet, on his very first day in the big city, populated with millions of Jews, he discovered that things weren’t so, at least, not in regard to Ahron.

  On that very day, Jeff rented a room in the hostel next to Ahron’s house. At night, he slept soundly and summoned strength for the following days.

  Chapter 3

  From the sixty-second floor of the large building, the large park sprawled majestically. The towering trees, the abundant greenery, the wide lawns, and the animals running around the park gave the place the feel of a dense forest, as though there wasn’t a bustling city nearby.

  Eve turned to the window and looked down to the street with satisfaction. From her vantage point, the people below seemed to rush to and fro like grasshoppers. A feeling of elation engulfed her, and she rubbed her hands together in glee. Her eyes gleamed with happiness when she watched the two computer screens on her desk. The colors flickered as though dancing in joy.

  She returned to her desk and tapped on her keyboard. The day’s trade in stocks ran on the screen. “I did it again,” she murmured to herself with a smug smile. She took a deep breath and continued to study the results of the day’s trade. Dow Jones increased by one percent, while Nasdaq increased by one-and-a-half percent. A rough calculation showed that this day would yield half a million dollars, not to mention that in the last month, the profits from the investment portfolios she managed reached four and a half million dollars. She earned two and a half percent of that sum, so after deducting her expenses, her profits would be one hundred thousand dollars! What more could a person ask for?

  But something else thrilled her even more. She pressed the intercom and called in her secretary.

  “Yes, Eve, what do you want?” her secretary asked.

  “Come in quickly, Jessica, I have something interesting to show you,” Eve called, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice.

  “Here, look,” she said, pointing at one of the numbers flashing on the computer screen.

  “What exactly?” Jessica had a hard time figuring out what she was seeing.

  “Can’t you see? I broke the one hundred barrier! Since I’ve arrived here, one hundred million dollars have accumulated in my investment portfolios! Would you believe it? One hundred million! That’s a good reason to celebrate, don’t you think so?”

  “You’re brilliant, Eve! Brilliant! I’m not surprised. I always knew you were our smartest trader. Now you have a good reason to demand a fat bonus from the bosses. And while you’re at it, get one for me, too.” She winked at Eve, a wide smile on her face.

  “You want a bonus, sweetheart?” Eve winked back. “Work for it. Drop everything you’re doing, and prepare a detailed report including all the transactions we did for all the clients, and the accumulated profits from each and every transaction. When you’re finished, arrange a meeting with the boss for me.”

  There weren’t a lot of women in Wall Street’s elite. However, Eve was one of them. Her rise to the top was dizzying. Only four years had passed since she’d graduated from New York University, and since, she had become one of the best brokers in the city. In the beginning, she managed a small investment portfolio for a company that chose to invest its money in shares. She remembered her many efforts to convince the company’s managers to trust her.

  “Why do you think you’ll succeed when so many, much more experienced people than you, failed? You’re young, inexperienced, and unskilled in matters of the stock market,” said the CEO, who had interviewed her before she got the job.

  “Exactly because of that. Because I’m young and inexperienced, I’ll be cautious with the clients’ money. In the beginning, give me small sums, and if I succeed, increase them,” she logically coaxed the CEO.

  Her unwavering self-confidence and mainly her stunning beauty and impressive appearance left its impression on the company CEO, and he agreed to hire her for a trial period. Obviously, he didn’t regret his decision. By the first month, Eve had accumulated gratifying profits, and her investments gradually grew. Her success at work led more companies, as well as individuals, to approach her, requesting that she find them profitable channels of investment. In the beginning, her income was relatively small and was based on a weekly salary of several hundred dollars. But, hand in hand with her success, her status and income grew. Only two years later, she was transferred to the mother company, “Stock” and became the company’s leading broker, the one who set the trend. Thus, for four years, Eve bought and sold equities of all sorts: shares, debentures, options; she mainly specialized in future transactions. Her success became absurd; it was enough that she decided to purchase a certain share, for the value of that share to rise. Rumors that Eve bought a certain debenture would spread and immediately many other brokers would jump on that share, which in fact would cause demand surplus and an increase in the price of that debenture. Her high position gained her a private secretary, who, with time, became her friend and confident. Her handsome income allowed her to buy a prestigious three-room apartment in the heart of Manhattan and a fancy Mercedes jeep.

  Not that she lacked for anything before. Her father was one of the largest real-estate brokers in town, and his high income allowed him and his family life in the lap of luxury. Eve never lacked a thing, if it was expensive clothes and games in her childhood, or designer dresses and shoes when she grew older. Her father outdid himself when he bought her a flashy, expensive sports car when she turned eighteen. But when she graduated from college, she decided to make it on her own.

  “If you succeeded, and you started from the bottom, so can I,” she said and returned the keys to the sports car to him. Her father wasn’t surprised. He even seemed satisfied with the way his oldest daughter chose to embark on a life of independence.

  “Don’t worry, she’ll find her way and succeed, and if not, she’ll come back to us very quickly,” he assured his concerned wife after Eve packed her bags and left home. But Eve had no intention of coming back.

  She was twenty-five, a shapely woman, tall and beautiful, with curly black hair and big green eyes. No doubt, she was the prettiest woman in the huge office building where she worked. Her dizzying success and beauty caused men to circle her and crave her company, but she didn’t want any of them. She concentrated all her efforts on the thrilling trade of equities and, apart from a few hookups, never had a serious relationship with any of the men she met. When she had just started working, she showed some interest in Paul, the broker who taught her some trade secrets, but after several dates with him, she discovered he was married. Besides, the truth was that men held little interest for her.

  All this was true until one evening, while she took her shower, and she started thinking about the guy who cleaned the outside of the windows of her office. His face, reflected through the thick glass, haunted her all night long until she finally fell asleep. She didn’t remember what exactly attracted her attention. His casual attire, his tall, masculine body, or perhaps his big, wise eyes? And perhaps she admired his courage, suspended in the air so high above the ground, only a steel noose holding him so he wouldn’t fall? A lot of courage and strength was required for that job. She was so lucky that
not even the tip of her shoe was at risk at her job, while this window cleaner, who barely made a living, was risking his life hanging in the air. Life wasn’t fair, she thought with a smile, but luckily, I’m on the side of success.

  In the morning, she stopped thinking about that guy. Shares kept her busy, and she dedicated herself to them with all her energy. But when her workday reached its conclusion, she was surprised to see that she was thinking about him again. About his chiseled, muscular body, writhing along the length and width of the window trying to reach every corner with his wet rag. About his tan face, shadowed with a light stubble. When she drew closer to get a better look at him, he waved and smiled at her, but unfortunately, just then he moved to another window. Eve sighed. The man’s appearance left her restless.

  Paul ambushed her in the hallway. “Well, how was your day?” he asked, as though it was something he did routinely.

  “Successful,” she replied curtly.

  “How about we go out today?”

  Eve shook her head.

  “We haven’t gone out for quite a while. I have an idea how to take over companies. Interested in hearing it?”

  “Paul, stop it. I don’t want to go out with you and you know why And besides, I’m already committed to someone,” she lied for reasons unknown to her.

  “Who’s the happy man?”

  “See you tomorrow,” Eve cut off the conversation, leaving her suitor mortified and confused.

  In her apartment, scrubbing herself under the shower, she continued thinking about that guy. Was window cleaning the sum of his job? Maybe he also cleaned offices, and one day, he’d barge into her room? Tomorrow, she’d check where he worked and when he may return.

  Later, untypically, she went to the mirror and studied her entire body. At first, she examined her smooth face and long neck for a long time. Then, she studied her small, high breasts decorated by big, pink nipples, which Paul had declared absolute perfection. In the end, she focused on her shapely legs and firm backside, the desire of every man. Satisfied, she curled up in her bed, and quickly fell asleep.

  In the morning, unlike every day, she woke up early and arrived at the office two hours before the day’s trading opened. She asked Jessica to urgently summon the maintenance director.

  “Didn’t you say you’re absolving me today from secretarial duties so I could prepare the report?” Jessica joked. But when she saw Eve’s tense face, she called the maintenance director.

  Several minutes later, a huge man entered Eve’s room. He was about seven feet tall, dark-skinned, in his fifties. Eve remembered using his services in the past when a water pipe exploded in the office and threatened to destroy all the investment portfolios. The maintenance director’s quick, energetic thinking, closing the main faucet, prevented a colossal disaster.

  “How are you, Mr. James?” she inquired politely.

  “Fine, Ms. Eve. And how are you feeling?”

  “I’m feeling great,” she answered with a smile.

  “How can I help you?”

  “I’m curious to know how you hire the services of the window cleaners.” She pointed at the large window.

  “Window cleaners aren’t employees of the building. They belong to a contract company,” he replied, surprised at the odd question.

  “Which company? Do you know?” Eve continued her investigation.

  “I don’t really remember. I think it’s something like ‘Menachem Maintenance Services.’ If you want, I can check and get back to you,” he answered.

  “Yes, I want. And the phone number, too, please.”

  “Yes, Miss,” he replied obediently. After a slight hesitation, he asked, “Why are you asking, Miss? Do you need a window cleaner?”

  “Yes, certainly. Next time, I’d like my window cleaned from the inside, too,” she said, without noticing that the window was gleaming clean.

  “We clean the windows from the inside ourselves. The contracting company cleans only from the outside. In order to clean windows from the outside, you need special equipment, and that’s the reason we hire the contracting company,” he explained at length, surprised Eve didn’t know that. In the end, he asked, “Would you like me to send one of the building’s cleaners over here?”

  “No, no need. As you see, the window’s clean. You can go… and get back to me with the number,” she instructed him, concluding the conversation.

  She turned on the computer, and just for a second, for the first time since she started working after graduation, she felt as though her occupation was insipid and didn’t interest her. After several minutes, the maintenance director returned with the desired number, and even though, trading had started, Eve took the scrap of paper with the number and dialed immediately.

  “Menachem Cleaning Services, good morning,” a female voice greeted her.

  Eve hesitated.

  “How can I help you?” the switchboard operator continued in a courteous, professional voice. Yet, Eve couldn’t get a word out of her mouth.

  “Hello, who’s on the line?” the switchboard operator insisted.

  Eve hesitated for a second. I’m starting to act like a dumb schoolgirl, she thought desperately, and right after that, placed the receiver in its cradle. She held her head in her hands, and for the first time, realized that something within her had changed. Again, the tall man fired up her imagination. She turned her gaze to the window. His smiling face seemed reflected in it, as though carved on the glass for all eternity.

  At the end of the day, Jessica entered with a portfolio overflowing with papers. “I finished preparing that report like you asked me to. The results are better than you thought,” she announced happily.

  “Put it on my desk. I’ll go through it later,” Eve replied indifferently, still staring at the window. And Jessica was surprised by her dreamy expression. She was prepared to swear that since yesterday, that report, which had fascinated her boss more than anything, had suddenly become worthless.

  Chapter 4

  Menachem, Ahron’s brother-in-law, greeted Jeff with a smile. Like Ahron, he was a friendly, smiling man. Even though he was only several years older than Ahron, he already overlooked most of the cleaning and moving business in the city. He had plenty of vacancies, but most of them involved the hard work of cleaning and moving. Of all the jobs offered to him, Jeff preferred to clean windows. Cleaning windows was a hard, risky job, yet Jeff chose it because he thought it sounded easier than the other jobs, and furthermore, the pay offered in exchange was the highest: five bucks for a four-meter square window. Menachem told him that a good worker could clean up to sixteen windows in four hours of work. A simple calculation showed him that his monthly salary would be two thousand five hundred and sixty bucks. Two thousand five hundred and sixty bucks! Unbelievable! A fortune! Much more than what he made in Eloy.

  “This Monday, God willing, you start working,” Ahron told him when he came to the basement apartment for a quick visit. After studying the apartment, he said, “I can’t believe my eyes. You’ve made such a lovely place for yourself. Well done, Jeff.”

  For two weeks, Jeff labored on the renovations in the small apartment. He hired a laborer, and together, they cleaned and painted the walls, replaced the tiles, and installed a new toilet as well as new sinks and faucets. They replaced the rusty bathtub with a new, state-of-the-art shower stall and shower head. The old light fixtures were replaced with chandeliers and cheap, colorful lampshades that Jeff bought at the flea market. On the walls, he hung paintings. He added some furniture, not top-of-the-market, but good enough to beautify the apartment and make the place a cozy home one wanted to spend time in. Of course, before he moved in, he didn’t forget to fumigate the apartment. He really didn’t feel like sleeping with creepy-crawly friends. On Monday, he already began work at his new job.

  At the end of the first day, he came home exhausted, bone-weary, and desperate. He was convinced he’d made an awful mistake choosing this job. Even though he was strong and muscular, his
shoulders screamed with pain. His hands felt paralyzed from the hard work. But more than anything, he was disappointed that he’d managed to clean only half of the windows he’d intended to clean. If this is how things will be in the future, I’ll reach only half of the potential salary, he calculated gloomily. He sprawled on his bed and thought of his day. But no more than several minutes had passed before exhaustion overwhelmed him, and he sank into the sleep of sweet labor.

  The next days were even harder. His aching body became weaker, and exhaustion subdued him. He thought of resigning, and only his financial situation prevented him from doing so. After the expenses he spent on living and renovations, he had two thousand dollars left. He couldn’t afford to leave his job. He found solace in making new friends, and his closest one was Rico.

  Rico was a Puerto Rican in his thirties, married with three kids. He was tall and strong, which allowed him to perform the task of window cleaning with amazing ease and skill. When he noticed Jeff was having a hard time with the job, he constantly helped and encouraged him. “Don’t worry, brother,” he promised after Jeff expressed his desire to leave the job. “I felt like shit, too, when I just started here. With time, you stop looking down, and then, your capacity increases. Your body adjusts to the job and stops aching. And if you leave, what will you do? It’s very hard nowadays to find a job. And if you do find another job, it’ll be exactly like this one—hard labor. Why would you want to do that?”

  He managed to convince Jeff to keep at it. In the beginning, when he first climbed up to the roof of the building, he wasn’t paying attention to the great height he was at. Later on, he was tied to the harness with straps, a large crane carrying him up. At first, he was suspended in the air, and then he was slowly lowered to the window of the top floor. Looking down at the street stretching beneath him, he felt so dizzy he thought he would pass out. He clutched the chain to which he’d been tied, terrified he’d slip and fall. For several long minutes, he swayed in the air, unable to move a limb. He couldn’t even sip some water. It took another fifteen minutes, as well as the encouragement of his coworkers, for him to take out his rags and start cleaning the window.