An Arab, a Jew, and a Truck

Adjusting his thick eyeglasses and straightening his yarmulke on his thick chestnut-colored hair, he opened the door with a broad, welcoming smile on his face.

Startled by a foreign-looking man in his mid-twenties, David could only say, “You’re not Dorothy!”

That was the only thing the equally startled young man was sure of. He was not Dorothy and he probably had the wrong apartment.

David eyed this stranger who was smoothing a thick, dark mustache with one hand and holding the New York Times classified ads with the other.

Suspicious, David’s head was spinning. I didn’t put the address in the ad. I only had enough money for two lines.  Suddenly he heard his mother’s voice, “Never open the door to a stranger…have an unlisted phone number…just because you’re a man, it doesn’t mean you won’t be stalked.” Returning to his senses he remembered… Oh yea, I gave a few callers the address. I must have given the apartment number and the floor without thinking.

David studied the man standing before him in a short-sleeved white shirt that emphasized powerful bronze-colored arms and a strong chest. His eyes rested on the carved Semite features. A revelation. God has answered my prayers and sent me a Jew…a Sephardic one.

The visitor, watching the perplexed look on David’s face, said in a thick foreign accent as he extended his hand, “Good afternoon, my name is Ali Nasrallah and I’m here to see your room for rent.”

No longer a revelation, the excitement and smile faded from David’s face. He looked at Ali in disbelief realizing that the man standing in front of him wasn’t a Jew. Not even a Sephardic Jew would have a name like Ali.

David spoke without cracking a smile, giving no hint of his confusion, “Hi, I’m David Goldstein.” He shook Ali’s hand quickly then turned around and said, “Please come in.”

He strode toward the back of the apartment where the second bedroom was and with his voice rising to hide his uneasiness, he said, “This is it.”

Ali followed David. My God. I’ve responded to an ad to share an apartment with a Jew, and probably an Orthodox one.

To learn more about An Arab, a Jew, and a Truck and Moustafa Soliman, visit http://anarabajewandatruck.com/
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