The Last Israelis - an Apocalyptic, Military Thriller about an Israeli Submarine and a Nuclear Iran by Noah Beck Read Free Book Online Page B

they’ll have to boycott your cure too,” Yisrael said, to the amusement of the group.
    “OK, enough about politics and curing cancer. It’s time to get this scientist some food,” Bao announced.
    “Sure. Good to meet you, Yoni,” Yisrael said.
    “Yeah, it was great talking,” Ambesah added. “Hope we can chat some more before we return to the sub.”
    “Great to meet you guys too.”
    Yisrael exhaled a sigh of relief. The risk of being discovered was over; even if Yoni later thought that he might have seen Yisrael at the protest, Yisrael’s behavior and statements would cast doubt on that recollection. It was a narrow escape but a successful one, the deputy captain thought to himself. He quietly resumed his jealous suspicions about his wife and Daniel.
    ****
    Bao and Yoni walked around the table trying to decide what to eat first. “Did you see all of these dishes? Persian, Druze, Indian. And some nationalities that I think the chefs must have invented before we arrived.”
    Yoni was impressed. “That was thoughtful of them to prepare Vietnamese food too.”
    “Yeah. But the funny thing is, I wouldn’t even know if it tastes like the real thing.” They each served themselves generous portions of the Vietnamese dishes and started eating, talking between bites.
    “I know…And, as I’ve told you before, that’s a shameful gap in your list of passport stamps.”
    “It’s a pretty limited list, thanks to my submarine schedule…Then again, if I could get a passport stamp for each country that the sub brought me near, it would be a pretty good list.”
    “I know. But still…You not having a stamp from Vietnam is just wrong on some basic level.”
    “Maybe.”
    “No, definitely. In fact, I just decided that we’re going to celebrate your return from this next mission with a trip there.”
    “Well, it is your turn to decide what our next trip is.”
    “Wow – you’re finally giving in? You’ve always resisted the idea.”
    “Because I know it’ll be an emotionally charged trip. But I do need to take that trip. It’s about time. And this food tastes pretty damn good. So I’m curious to try the real thing.”
    From the way that Yoni put his plate down on the table, Bao knew he was about to say something intense, so he was glad that nobody else was close enough to overhear.
    “So I gathered – from the way you introduced me – that nobody knows.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Nobody here knows your true feelings for me.”
    “I said that you were a dear friend, didn’t I?”
    “Is that all I am to you: a dear friend? After three years of sharing the same bed and living together?”
    “Of course not. But…But I’m not comfortable coming out to the crew yet.”
    “Why not? Being openly gay is no big deal in the IDF.”
    “In most units, that’s true. But it’s a little different on a sub.”
    “Why should it matter?”
    “It’s hard to explain it to someone who’s never served on a sub. But it’s a small, closed space that I share with these men day and night for weeks on end. Some of these guys are pretty macho.”
    “Is that a euphemism for homophobic?”
    “No. I don’t mean that. I just mean that they might not feel like I was one of them or that they could bond with me – or stay bonded with me – in the same way.”
    “And do you really need to stay bonded with such people?”
    “Well, they’re sort of like family. Ship unity and harmony is really important, at least on some basic level. And there’s a decent chance that it could change people’s comfort levels.”
    “So you need to be uncomfortable so that everyone else can be comfortable?”
    “I wouldn’t say that I’m uncomfortable, Yoni. I’m fine. I have you. Maybe if I were single, I would feel more of a need to let everyone know, just in case there was another gay guy on the sub or something. But it’s not like that.”
    “I think you should be able to come out on the sub, even if you’re not single.