“There’s no problem, Dudi.” Gedalya claps him on the shoulder in the most brotherly way he can muster.

Tovi

I was at the little shop that sells hosiery and accessories, waiting in line at the checkout counter with a basket full of tights and socks. Near the exit, two girls were arguing in loud whispers.

“We can’t. It’s so rude!”

“No, it’s not!”

I turned my head toward them and suddenly they were quiet, pretending to browse the headband rack.

My turn came. I paid. I could almost feel the burn as I handed over the cash. Tights are expensive, but we can’t go barefoot. I didn’t buy any extras. And how were Abba and Ima supposed to pay for my operation, if we could barely afford the everyday things?

“Would you like this all in one bag, or in two smaller bags?” the cashier asked me.

“Don’t you dare,” said the shorter girl to the other.

“Umm… what?” I said to the cashier distractedly. I’d been trying to listen to all of them at once. She put all my stuff in one big bag. The two girls disappeared as I headed out. But I could feel them walking behind me.

“Was there something you wanted to ask me?” I said, turning to face them. I tried to keep a smile on my face, as if I had tons of confidence. They answered me in unison:

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” I said. “So how about if the one who wants to ask me something, asks, and the one who doesn’t want, doesn’t?”

The sun peeked out between the gray clouds. I was afraid it would start raining, and I wanted to get this over with already.

“So… hi,” said the taller girl. “I’m in eighth grade, I go to Ramat HaLev, and this is my sister — she’s in high school.”

“And?”

“Your name is Tovi Silver, right?”

“That’s right.” They were going to ask me something about my ear, I knew it. But I didn’t mind. I just pretended I was Batya. She has no problem when people ask her questions.

“So excuse us for asking,” said the eighth grader. “Maybe it’ll seem like a nosy question, or tactless…” Her voice faded, and for a moment it looked like she was chickening out. “But we do have a real reason for asking. It’s not just because we’re curious.”

“It’s fine,” I said, in my best Batya-voice.

“And if you don’t want to answer, that’s okay.”

“All right,” I said. My smile was getting a bit tired. They wanted to know how many ears I have. Was not answering really an option?

“So, is it true… that you were… born with one ear?”

She was stammering so badly, I felt sorry for her, and I started laughing.

“Not only was I born that way, that’s the way I still am,” I said.

They were staring at me. I commanded my hand to stay away from my hairband.

“And you…?” They trailed off. They couldn’t get up the nerve to finish their question.

“I live a completely normal life, if that’s what you want to know. I have friends and everything. There’s one thing about me that bothers them,” I added, “and that’s the way I am about studying for tests. When I study with friends, I won’t let them stop and talk about other stuff until we’ve gone through all the material.”

“So you mean… you’re in a regular class, and you take the tests and everything?”

“Totally,” I said. I probably could have gotten an exemption, and according to Batya, that might be a good idea. “I have a friend who has a cochlear implant,” I went on. “She says that the Ministry of Education is supposed to give us an exemption, and then we could go swimming instead of coming in for exams.”

“Why would you need an exemption?”

“We don’t. But my friend thinks that as long as we’re eligible, it’s dumb of us not to take it. It would be more fun to go to the pool than take a test, don’t you think?”

She thought so, and she even smiled.

The older sister spoke up. Cautiously. “The thing is… our married sister just had a baby. And he was born… like you. Our sister is staying at our house to recover. She just got out of the hospital today. And she won’t let us see the baby.”

“That really scared us,” the younger one said. I saw tears in her eyes.

“Somebody told my parents,” the older one continued, “that there’s a girl here in Beit Shemesh with the same… thing. So we went looking for you. We were hoping you wouldn’t mind talking to us. Or to our sister.”

I wanted to pick up that baby and hug him. Every baby deserves to have someone who’s delighted with him, delighted to have him in the world.