Cafe Nevo by Barbara Rogan Read Free Book Online Page B

hasn’t.”
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    Jemima called Caspi and arranged a meeting. He wouldn’t come to Herzliya, so she agreed to attend him at Nevo.
    â€œA charming child,” Caspi said.
    â€œChild is the operant word. I trust you bear that in mind.”
    Caspi laughed heartily. “Pedophilia is not among my virtues,” he said in an audible whisper. “Let the girl come to me in ten years’ time, if she’s willing. Then she may interest me. I prefer seasoned women.” The smile he gave Jemima was full of meaning, and despite herself, she felt a tingle in the pit of her stomach.
    â€œShe said you are a child,” Caspi told Vered an hour later.
    â€œAm I?”
    â€œI don’t think so.” Caspi ran two fingers up her bare arm. “Do you?”
    â€œOf course she’s a child,” said Sternholz, bustling over. “You could be her father, God forbid.”
    â€œSternholz, go away,” Caspi said.
    â€œYou want something, little girl? Some milk maybe I should bring you?”
    â€œI’ll have a rum and Coke.”
    â€œWe don’t serve mixed drinks.”
    â€œThen just the rum.”
    She got just the Coke.
    â€œAre you a virgin?” Caspi asked when Sternholz had gone away. “I ask purely out of fatherly interest.”
    â€œIf that is your interest, then it’s none of your business.”
    â€œSo, the little kitten has claws! How very charming. Garçon! Beer, and another Coke for the lady.”
    â€œI’ll garçon you,” Sternholz muttered, coming over with the drinks. “And shouldn’t you be in school, Vered? Does your mother know where you are?”
    â€œNo, and no,” said Vered.
    â€œThere’s Dotan. Rami, come here!”
    â€œHello, Caspi.”
    â€œSit down. This is Vered Niro. Be careful—she scratches.”
    â€œHello, hello.”
    â€œI saw you published Oz’s latest thing. I read thirty pages and put it down as trash, but Vered finished it and says it has some redeeming value.”
    â€œIt’s doing very well; we’re already reprinting.”
    â€œYes, but what’s happened to the Oz we all knew and loved? Compare this last one to My Michael!”
    â€œMy Michael sold maybe thirty thousand. I’ll be surprised if we don’t top that. What’s so funny?”
    â€œVered, don’t ever try to talk books with a publisher. All you get back are numbers.”
    â€œAnd royalties,” Dotan said.
    â€œEventually, sometimes.”
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    â€œWell, Vered,” Jemima said at breakfast the next morning, “I hardly see you these days. We have a lot of things to do before school starts. You still haven’t registered in the business faculty. And you need clothes. You’ll have to come into the place and get fitted up.”
    â€œI don’t need any clothes.”
    â€œYou certainly do. Jeans and old work shirts may be all the mode at Nevo, but for the university you need to dress decently. Don’t forget that you are my daughter, and your present manner of dressing hardly reflects well on me.”
    â€œI’m not taking business, Mother. I’ve decided to major in literature.”
    â€œLiterature,” Jemima said darkly, “is not a profession. Nor will it prepare you in any way for a responsible position in the firm. I should think you might have learned from my example the folly of a woman’s not having a profession. Read books, by all means, but don’t let them interfere with your life.”
    â€œAnd I’ll minor in journalism. You see, I do care about having a profession. After I graduate, I’ll get a job on a paper. I’ve been meeting people who can help.”
    â€œWhat people? Where?”
    â€œWriters, critics, journalists, all kinds of people. At Nevo.”
    Jemima rose to her full five feet seven inches. “That was not the plan! I have one daughter, and she must succeed