Jacob

By Jonathan Kuhn

This is a story about a natural athlete whose father was world renown in this regard. It is the sequel to “Nature’s Gift” and takes place in Israel and Italy in his early years and then mostly in the US. The tale quickly moves through Jacob’s time in the Army, to his travels in Asia and finally to his days as a student at a prestigious American university. Almost by instinct he is attracted to American football where he soon becomes a star both as a quarterback and linebacker. But trouble erupts and he leaves the University to become a professional.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Aug 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664104945

Jonathan Kuhn

Professor Jonathan Kuhn is a fifth generation San Franciscan. He is a scientist that has lived in Israel for many years. Much of his life has been spent in the academic world where he has been a faculty member at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology before retiring. He has a PhD from the University of California at Davis in genetics and his post doctoral studies were at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana. Dr. Kuhn has been a visiting professor at Stanford University, Princeton University, the University of Siena, and University of Bologna in Italy. Most of his research has centered on the molecular genetics of microorganisms and their viruses. He was involved in the founding of four biotechnology companies in the area of applied genetic engineering, three of which he was the CEO. During his career he has published about 50 scientific works and been granted several patents. Professor Kuhn presently lives in Haifa, Israel where his pastimes are bridge, chess, golf and travelling with his wife. This is his first novel.

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Copyright © 2021 by Jonathan Kuhn.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the

product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance

to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Rev. date: 07/27/2021

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Prologue

Chapter 1 Third Born

Chapter 2 Miriam and Oren

Chapter 3 Sex Drive

Chapter 4 Italy

Chapter 5 Sayeret Matkal

Chapter 6 Asia

Chapter 7 On to College

Chapter 8 The Coach’s Office

Chapter 9 The Coach’s Office

Chapter 10 The Quarterback

Chapter 11 Trouble

Chapter 12 The Pros

Chapter 13 Arizona

Chapter 14 After Wynette

Chapter 15 Superbowl

Chapter 16 Anna

Chapter 17 Phoenix

Chapter 18 Anna’s Return

Chapter 19 Stalker

Chapter 20 Bay Area

Chapter 21 Home at Last

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, my great gratitude to my beloved wife, Chula, for all her encouragement during the writing of this novel. The book cover is a one of her paintings.

My heartfelt thanks to Michael Kuhn for his careful editing of the manuscript. His mother was an English teacher. Coincidently, we had the same parents.

PROLOGUE

This story is a continuation of Nature’s Gift but can be read without that. Those that have read Nature’s Gift will be troubled by some missing years. This time warp is intentional and made in order to make the present story compatible with our times.

I began writing Jacob before Josh Rosen was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. I picked that team because of their quarterback situation at the time. While writing Jacob, Josh Rosen has come and gone but never served as a model for this story.

In all my novels the persons are almost entirely fictional except the occasional mention of famous living persons. As always, one of my main motivations in writing is to portray mankind as it is in all its glory and foibles.

CHAPTER 1

Third Born

It should have been easy growing up. Yet Yaacov never felt it was. His family was extremely rich but Yaacov only became aware of that when he reached his teens. All the families in his neighborhood were very well-off, so the fact that he lived in a large and expensive villa with a pool didn’t seem unusual because almost everyone in the neighborhood had similar homes. While he lacked nothing, money was never lavished on him or his siblings unlike some of the other kids he knew. Somehow he felt that his older brother, Oren, and sister, Miriam, were treated better than he. For example, Oren and Miriam could tussle when they had an argument but he was not allowed to fight with Miriam. Even when she really made him mad by bossing him around, he could only scream at her or cry even though he ached to land some blows on her. Maybe this was for the better because she could hold her own against Oren despite his being two years older.

The same applied to his early years. Both his mother Michal and father Mark, particularly his father, told him in no uncertain terms that he was not to beat up or bully other children and this was again emphasized when he began the pre-school gan (kindergarten) when he was three. They explained to him that he was both bigger and stronger than the other children and it was his job to protect the smaller and weaker ones. Bullying was made to seem like some kind of terrible crime. It was much later that he understood why they were so strict in that regard when he realized that he was in fact far stronger than those of his age and could inadvertently inflict serious injury on them. His parents had been afraid that if he hit his sister she might end up with a broken nose, loss of an eye or some teeth. When he was little, the other kids quickly realized almost instinctually that he was the top dog and sought his protection. In the rare challenges to that supremacy, he was usually able to affirm his status with a push or some show of strength without doing much harm to the adversary. Only once in the fourth grade had a fifth-grader succeeded in making him fight and that ended quickly when Yaacov floored him with a single blow that caused a tremendous black eye. As a result his parents had been summoned to school. The teachers knew that Yaacov was not aggressive, and in fact the classes he was in were much more peaceful than all the rest. His father realized that Yaacov had had little choice and told him that in such situations it was alright to defend himself.

Both his parents worked and the kids had a nanny. While she spoke some Hebrew, she was from Russia and she often expressed herself to them in Russian. So the three children understood quite a lot of that language. Their father only spoke English with them while their mother spoke both English and Hebrew. Except for their paternal grandfather who talked to them in English, the rest of their relatives spoke exclusively Hebrew as did all the kids in the neighborhood, the gan, and at grammar school. After the family bought an estate in Italy, the kids rapidly learned that language. All the employees on the grape-growing plantation near Montalcino were instructed by the kids’ parents and grandparents to speak only Italian. The entire family spent almost every summer in Italy and when they were around 10, they had an instructor for Italian grammar every day for an hour. They knew Italian almost as well as educated Italians. In Israel their parents always had a live-in university student who was an Arab female that had few duties except to baby-sit when the parents went out at night after the nanny had left. This was quite frequent. The student was told to speak only Arabic to the children, in spite of her knowing Hebrew extremely well since that was the language of instruction at Tel Aviv University. When they reached the higher grades, the parents insisted that they take Arabic at school although this was the last thing they wanted. So they spoke and understood that language and could read and write it as well. A person with a good ear could tell that they were not native Arabic speakers. Later when they reached Army age, Army Intelligence had grabbed them. Both Oren and Miriam had been taken into Intelligence and only Yaacov had escaped with some effort. Yaacov knew Arabic even better than his siblings because he was always hanging around the baby-sitter trying to get love and attention which he felt was somewhat missing with his parents. Although this was his feeling, it in no way reflected the true situation. As the family baby, the baby-sitters were particularly fond of this extremely male child.

Yaacov also felt that his dad was harder on him than on his brother and sister. When they went to a playing field, gym or playground, it seemed that his father always made him do a lot more than the others. Yaacov didn’t mind the extra exercise, just the feeling that he was being picked on. With regards to studies, the parents were quite strict with all three kids and would accept no excuses for not completing all their homework. In addition, they were expected to read books every day for at least an hour and both parents spent time discussing the books with them. Yaacov had learned a lot from those discussions and realized how much he had overlooked when he read those texts. The reviews were always done in a warm and loving manner and none of the three kids objected to these sessions but rather looked forward to them where they had the full attention of one of their parents. Grades and behavior at school needed to be essentially perfect although this was implied rather than ever expressed. The Fein kids just understood that this was expected of them. On the other hand, none of them had any real problems in school and always excelled. Unlike many families, in the Fein home lights went out at 9 for the kids. Also the time they could spend watching TV or playing with their computers was strictly limited.

Being the third child, Yaacov received a bit less attention from his parents than his older brother who was the first child and grandchild. Then came Miriam, the first girl. By the time Yaacov came, four and a half years after the first, he had to learn to share the attention that the adults gave. An exception was his grandfather Sol, who against his will always favored Yaacov. An easy explanation would be that Yaacov was named after Sol’s father. However by that logic, Miriam should have been his favorite since she was named after his beloved and deceased wife. The truth was that Sol saw a lot of himself and Mark in Yaacov, not to forget his uncle Yosef who had been a hero-figure for Sol since childhood. Yosef had been a hero of the Jewish Partisans in Lithuania during the Second World War and died fighting the Germans. In the home that Sol grew up in, Yosef was the family legend and stories of his athletic prowess and bravery were told so many times that Sol felt he knew Yosef even though he was already dead. Especially when the family was in Italy, Sol the farmer used to take Yaacov with him and show him everything about growing grapes and later, after the estate had a winery, all aspects of making Brunello wine.

In every family, the adults relate to the different children in slightly different ways whether they want to or not. Oren was Michal’s first child and named after her adored brother who fell in Gaza. Like her brother, Oren was particularly good looking and very intelligent. She loved Miriam and Yaacov with all her heart but loved Oren even more. The wound from her brother’s early death had never healed. Michal’s parents also had a special affinity for Oren because of the son that they had lost. Sol was just crazy about Yaacov even though he loved his other two grandchildren. His wife Yardena who was not the kids’ biological grandmother was most attracted to Miriam for reasons that she did not understand. Maybe because Miriam somehow seemed the underdog compared with her two brothers. While their father Mark loved all three kids, he subconsciously favored Miriam and Yaacov. There was something about Oren that seem to grate on Mark. Most daughters are closer to their fathers until about the age of ten and then become more interested in their mothers. Even though Miriam made that transition, she remained enamored of her father. Father and daughter spent a lot of time together because she accompanied him when he played golf on the weekends. Yaacov was the son that Mark dreamed about: strong of body and mind. Yet Yaacov worried him. There was a wild streak in the child that the other two lacked. Even though Yaacov was his favorite, he showed less love to Yaacov and let him go his own way. When Yaacov was small, he pushed him physically to do more. But when Yaacov began to play sports, there was no longer any need to do so. Like Mark, the kid was born to be a superior athlete. Not only was he strong and fast, he also had reflexes like a cat. His eyesight was excellent but not as good as Mark’s had been. But his field-vision was probably better. Yaacov’s competitive drive was much greater than Mark’s had been even though very few would believe that possible. Yaacov took losses very hard and gravitated towards team sports in contrast to Mark who had preferred individual sports such as track and field and later baseball. Baseball was considered a team sport but was essentially based on individual effort whereas basketball and soccer were truly team sports.

Although his full name was Yaacov Horowitz Fein, everyone called him Cobi which was the common nickname for Yaacov. In English he was Jacob and in America would be known as Jake. When Cobi was born he was quite long but unusually heavy. While the doctor had expected the child to weigh about 8 pounds it turned out that he weighed above 10. Mark and Sol weren’t surprised because Mark’s weight at birth had also fooled the doctors. Both of them understood that Cobi had inherited the Fein strength which seemed to act like a dominant gene and passed on to about half of the Fein children if one of their parents had the trait for exceptional strength. Even as an infant of only one month, when he grabbed your finger, you knew that he had power that was very unusual. Cobi didn’t realize until much older that he was a genetic freak.

The Fein home had an extremely modern gym and a large backyard with a pool. Cobi was not allowed into the gym until he was 11 because his parents felt it might stunt his growth. Whether this was true or not, that was the rule. At home, especially on Fridays and Saturdays, Mark would play with the kids on the backyard lawn. He taught them to throw and catch, hit a ball with a bat, and let them kick a soccer ball. There was also a basketball hoop and a small area of asphalt at the far end of the garden where the kids could practice shooting. A lot of the time Cobi played alone because Miriam did not have good eyesight and wore glasses and Oren was so much older. Mark wasn’t much help with soccer since he had never played that sport. Grandfather Natan and Yardena’s kids often kicked a ball around with Cobi. He was amazing to watch. Unbelievably quick, coordinated and nimble of foot.

Mark Fein had been beyond famous as a baseball player and his great wealth stemmed from being able to hit a ball coming in at 80 to 100 miles per hour better than anyone else. Besides that, he had played basketball in college and football in high school. So he was a very good teacher of those sports. That he had been twice an Olympic champion in the decathlon was just by the way. Of his three children it was immediately obvious that only Cobi had any potential in track and field. While very fast and strong, Cobi had little interest in that and totally loved ball sports.

It was in Italy that the real sports training of the children took place. Oren showed little interest in anything except tennis and basketball. Since the estate at Montalcino had both a tennis court and basketball court, Mark stressed those for Oren. Although unable to run because of his slightly crippled ankle, Mark worked with Oren on how to properly shoot, pass and rebound. Although Mark knew how to play tennis from his days in college, he felt unqualified to teach the kids. A tennis instructor was hired and each child had 3 hours a week learning the game. Miriam didn’t really like the sport due to her eyesight and after two years was excused. She only liked golf because eyesight was not a big factor and wearing glasses was not a problem. So Mark installed a golf cage where she could hit balls and when she hit maturity also had her work out in the Montalcino estate gym. Initially Oren liked tennis and both he and Cobi had lessons and played in Israel at the very modern tennis center not far from their home in Kfar Shmaryahu. When Cobi was 10 and Oren 14, Cobi began to beat Oren on a regular basis and Oren lost interest in tennis. He devoted all his sport’s time to basketball. All three kids could swim although none were taken by that sport.

Mark spent more time with Cobi than the other two. The child could play any sport well. So Mark taught him baseball, basketball and football. He made him run quite long distances. On one of the family trips to New York, Mark had taken Cobi to a batting cage in a sports store. The child hit well and the owner was mightily impressed but Mark remembered that he had hit much better than Cobi at 8. The owner was so overwhelmed by meeting the iconic Mark Fein that he would have complemented Cobi no matter if he missed every ball. Mark thought Cobi could become perhaps a decent college player of the sport but doubted whether he would be good enough to go much further. However, the child showed real promise as a pitcher and liked it until he fell madly in love with playing soccer. It was unclear why Cobi just liked that sport to the exclusion of others but Mark felt comfortable with that.

Cobi was 10 years old and tall for his age. He wanted to join a soccer team and Mark encouraged that. From his time in childhood when he had had a private coach for baseball, Mark knew how important it was to learn a sport properly at the outset. Otherwise, habits formed that were very hard to get rid of. Mark sought and found a coach for Cobi. After he retired as a player, Yesha Turner had been the head coach of HaPoel Petach Tikva for several years after having coached juniors. Turner was known as a good coach who had only survived as Petach Tikva’s coach for two years because the team lacked players of any talent and someone had to be held responsible. The owners were at fault because they just didn’t want to invest what was required. So firing Turner was much easier. For the last two years, Turner had a part-time job coaching 12 year olds for Maccabi Hertzilya. Mark would pay him top dollar for coaching Cobi three hours a week; twice during the week in the afternoons when he wasn’t busy with Maccabi and every Saturday morning.

Mark took Cobi to his first practice and stayed to watch. The kid was very fast. It was hard for Mark to decide whether Mark had been faster than Cobi at that age. Cobi seemed bigger than Mark had been but it had been a long time ago that Mark was 10. The coach seemed to like Cobi and Mark was satisfied that he could teach Cobi the basics of the game.

Cobi met Coach Turner. He seemed really old. In spite of the fact that he was only 47, Turner looked like a very old man and Cobi imagined that he must be in his 70’s. Actually Turner was about the same age as his father but no one would have guessed that. Yesha Turner had the world’s worst teeth and was already missing all but a few. Those would not last much longer. No matter how much he brushed, flossed and avoided sugar, his teeth just always had new areas of decay. The amount of cavities that he had had might have qualified for Guiness’s Book of Records. His teeth were so bad that even his false teeth developed cavities. The fact that he was also partly bald didn’t make him look any younger. Still he had a wonderful and warm smile in spite of showing a mouth missing various teeth. He loved soccer and teaching it to youngsters. Unlike many soccer players, Turner had never cheated on his wife whom he cherished. Unfortunately they never had had any children because of a problem with her fallopian tubes even though they had gone through in vitro fertilization procedures multiple times. He had wanted to adopt a child, either from Israel or abroad and there were several sources of such children. However, she would have none of it. Either a child that was entirely theirs genetically or nothing. And nothing it was.

Coach Turner expected another rich kid of average ability. The kids from Kfar Shmaryahu were all from rich families and somehow lacked a certain drive that the less fortunate possessed. To Turner, Cobi seemed tall for his age and quite skinny. The kid had exceptional ball control and quickly learned the proper technique for kicking the ball complete with how to make it curve by kicking it off center. When Turner kicked balls to Cobi, he was amazed at how quick the child’s reactions were. He moved even before Turners foot actually contacted the ball. Besides that, Cobi’s speed was astounding. Turner had never seen anyone who could run that fast at a comparable age.

The Fein kid learned so quickly that Turner decided to see how he would do against other kids. Usually the youngest kids in real training were 11 or 12 but Turner invited Cobi to come to a practice at Maccabi Herzliya. Cobi was real happy to play the actual game which he had watched so much on TV. Among these older kids, Cobi was about average height and at first he was placed as a midfielder. He immediately shone as it turned out that he was not only faster than all of those but also stronger which came as a surprise. He dominated the field and got to balls with amazing quickness and agility.

In their private lessons Turner stressed passing to the forwards and soon Cobi was assisting on most of the goals that his side made. When other kids tried to bump him, they usually bounced off while he maintained his balance and was undeterred. Since Cobi had mostly kicked with his right leg, Turner made him endlessly practice with his left. Seeing that the child was so talented, Turner was especially hard on him. Instead of resentment, he saw that the kid liked the challenges and soon was able to do whatever he was shown.

Turner thought that Yaacov was perfectly named. In the Bible, Isaac and Rebecca had non-identical twins. First came Esau and then Yaacov (Jacob) who received his name which means the one who follows. Mark Fein had been a very great athlete. And here came Cobi following in his stead. Many athletes have parents or relatives that are also athletes.

When Cobi was only 12, he was moved to play with the 15 year olds. Most were a few inches taller and had reached sexual maturity. However, they did not weigh more than Cobi whose body belied the fact that he was a lot heavier than one’s impression. Under his father’s direction Cobi had been working out in the family gym for the past year and was amazingly strong. Cobi played forward and thus scored a lot of goals. It was natural that some of the older players would resent that and this expressed itself through intentional fouls. Cobi had sometimes retaliated using his fists which led to severe chewing outs by the coach. Turner advised Cobi to not react immediately but wait for a chance for revenge which was always sweeter when served cold. The following year he was chosen to play on the national team of 15 and under.

His teammates were older and talked about a lot of things that were new to him. The most talked about topics were girls and sex although music and drinking were also kidded about and important subjects. Cobi was just maturing sexually and growing like a weed. As fast as his parents could buy him clothes and shoes, he outgrew them. Between the ages of 13 and 14, Cobi went from 5'3 and 115 pounds to 5'8 and 150. The following year he added another 4 inches and more than 30 pounds. Suddenly he was bigger than his teammates and he was selected to the national team for 17’s and under. At 14, he was by far the youngest but maybe still the best. Coaches from the Israeli professional leagues came to watch him as did scouts from some of the European clubs. Barcelona and Chelsea both offered him a chance to come and live in their respective cities and join their youth teams. This was the very good way to become a professional soccer player.

Cobi talked the matter over with both his father and Coach Turner. Turner was enthusiastic about the idea and envisioned Cobi becoming a star and making tons of money. Mark was less pleased with the idea and Michal was totally against it. Mark felt that living away from the family in an environment of athletes would expose his son to many things that he was still too immature for. Having been single and a professional baseball player, Mark knew just what Cobi’s life would be like. Perhaps at 20 it would be okay, but for a child just starting high school it could only be destructive. Michal was adamantly against. It was hard enough to watch Oren leave home for the army without losing her youngest. She said that in the long run education was the key to a happy and successful life and devoting one’s life to soccer before gaining at least a college degree was a total mistake. Sol had mixed feelings. Having been to all of the games in which Cobi had played, he felt that there was an inevitability that someday or sometime Cobi would be a sport’s star. On the other hand to leave the family nest at such a young age seemed a bad idea. Surprisingly it was Cobi’s maternal grandfather Natan that convinced Cobi to reject the offers. Natan didn’t even mention the offers but rather asked Cobi what he wanted to be in the Israeli Army. Cobi told him that he intended to volunteer for Sayeret Matkal, the headquarters commandos. This made Cobi realize that going to Barcelona or Chelsea would make that dream an impossibility. Cobi also relished his summers in Italy and those would be lost if he accepted the offers. While he was closer to his father than Michal, he knew that she was almost always right and had tremendous common sense and saw the long term picture. In the end, he thanked both teams but declined.

In Israel, the boys and girls hung around together from about the seventh grade onward. The group was usually about 8 to 10 kids and the relationships were non-sexual. In fact Cobi only had his first date when he was 15 and a tenth grader. He wanted to ask Batya out and he felt that she would like that. She always seemed to be next to Cobi when the group got together on Friday nights and when they were at Scouts. It had become tougher to attend Scouts as Cobi had to show up to soccer practice but he always came when he had a Saturday off and his Scout pack had an activity.

Phoning Batya was pure torture. What if she said ‘no’. After several days of picking up the phone and sometimes dialing part of her number, he finally got up the courage. He dialed her home but surprisingly she answered. So he hung up. Ten minutes later he phoned again. He was so embarrassed that he was such a coward.

‘Hello?’

‘Hi Batya, this is Cobi. How are things?’

‘Fine. School is a bit boring but I think I’ve told you that. Did you ring a few minutes ago?’ She knew he had since the phone showed his cell phone number which she had memorized.

‘No.’ Cobi couldn’t admit that he was such a scared baby.

‘How’s soccer going?’

‘Okay. I really hope they let me play with the under 21 team. Seems unlikely this year because they think I am too young but maybe next. I know we usually hang out with the chevrae on Friday nights but I thought you might like to go with me to see Cinema Paradiso which I’ve heard is so great.’

‘Sounds good. Who else will be coming?’ Boys were so slow! She had been wanting to go out with Cobi romantically for at least a year.

‘I thought just the two of us. If you want, I’ll ask whichever others you want.’

‘No, just the two of us sounds fine. Maybe afterwards we will run across some of the others.’ I hope not.

That year Cobi went out with Batya when he had time. She wanted to meet him more often but with soccer and family get-togethers, they were together infrequently. They spent a lot of time kissing and she let him touch her fully dressed breasts. That satisfied Cobi because he wasn’t really sure what a man was supposed to do. Asking Miriam or Oren was out of the question. To admit this to his friends in school or teammates at soccer was even more ridiculous and would involve a total loss of face.

That summer the whole Fein Family went to Italy except for Oren who was doing his time in Israeli Intelligence and was posted to Washington DC. Cobi loved being in Tuscany and missed Batya not at all. His interest was turned more to nurturing the vines and harvesting olives. He arose at 7 and was in the fields by 8 where he usually hung around with Sol even though his grandfather was near 70. Sol was still strong and active although he liked to catch a nap after lunch. Cobi came in from the fields for lunch which was served every day at 12:30. Then he read for a while before spending the entire afternoon playing sports. He concentrated on soccer but also learned other sports, particularly tennis and American football.

Joline and Len were good friends of his parents and often came for about a month. Len had played football for the Miami Dolphins before retiring and then opening a very upscale women’s boutique which he ran along with Joline. Leonard Wayne had been a defensive back for the Dolphins and by the time he retired had saved quite a lot, much of which happened after he met Joline. Joline was also rich from her time working with Mark Fein as his secretary and mistress. Their store was successful because Len had a great way with women and was a real charmer while Joline had an eye for fashion from her time working as a model.

While at the estate in Italy, Len loved to relax and hung around the pool with his wife in the mornings and read the newspapers and things like Sports Illustrated. Joline went to the gym every second day and dragged Len along with her even though he had never cared for working out. In the evenings, Len and Mark discussed sports and life while Michal and Joline chatted or watched movies.

Every day for more than an hour, Len taught Cobi how to play American football and also all the rules of the game. Although Len had been a defensive back, he also knew a lot about all aspects of the game and taught Cobi how to properly throw and catch a football. He really liked teaching the kid because Cobi was such a natural athlete. Cobi knew a lot about the proper way to tackle, catch and throw a football and even kick because Len and Joline had come a number of times to Montalcino. Oren had begun to learn the game but found it too violent for his taste and most summers Cobi had Len all to himself. After football, Len and Cobi usually played tennis for several hours. When Cobi was young, Len could beat him rather easily through his superior strength. Now that Cobi was 15, they were evenly matched and neither dominated.

Len and Joline’s presence presented a quandary for the young man. He fantasized a lot about Joline who was the sexiest woman that he had ever seen. On the weekends he was afraid to hang around the pool because seeing her in a bathing suit made him immediately hard and that was embarrassing. However, Len and Joline brought their three kids and the middle girl Andrea was slightly younger than Cobi but already very developed and also much more mature mentally than he. Cobi thought about a summer romance with Andrea but didn’t make a move. She was Joline’s daughter which made things somewhat complicated since the Waynes were good friends of his parents. Much worse was his fear that if he did anything with Andrea, he would be fantasizing about Joline. So he took the easy way out which was provided by Lucia.

Lucia was the daughter of one of the estate’s employees. Cobi had known her since childhood and they had always been good friends and played together a great deal. Suddenly things changed. She was now 14 and developing into a woman. He was 15 and sexually avaricious at all times. Lucia was blond with dark eyes and had the beginning of a real figure. At present she was more like the nymphs that he had seen in various Italian museums. Both Lucia and Cobi felt nervous when in the presence of the other. They still liked each other and laughed together but a disruptive element had entered their longtime childhood relationship.

It started innocently enough from his side. Cobi was out for an evening run before dinner when he met Lucia meandering along the same dirt path on the estate. She wasn’t there by accident but he was too naïve to know otherwise.

‘Buona sera, Lucia. What’s up?’

‘Not much. Tonight I don’t have to help cook and serve dinner. Why don’t you like me anymore?’

‘What are you talking about? We’ve been friends since the crib. You are like a sister to me.’

‘But I’m not your sister. Miriam is. How come you never ask me out for a walk or a movie? You don’t find me attractive now that we’re growing up?’

‘If you feel I’ve been ignoring you, I certainly beg your forgiveness. There has been no such intention.

‘You seem too taken with Andrea and I am left out.’

Cobi finally began to understand. Even though she had stated the case clearly, he just wasn’t used to feminine wiles or desires. Much later in life he would know that ‘a man chases a woman until she catches him’. Cobi didn’t even realize that now they were romantically involved and she considered him hers. Andrea was suddenly off the table and Lucia was it.

Soon they were sneaking off almost every night. Sometimes they went to a movie or sat in a café in Montalcino. But mostly they spent their time kissing and petting. She allowed him to feel her bare breasts but no further. Even better was when they went with a blanket and lay under some of the olive trees. When she was on top of him kissing and petting, she dry humped him and he soon came. He was a bit embarrassed about finishing in his pants but otherwise enthused.

The day before Joline, Len and Andrea were to leave, Cobi discovered his real self. He was in the gym alone and working out. Suddenly Andrea appeared. Cobi was doing bench presses and lying on his back. Andrea walked up to him and suddenly slid her hand along his leg and right up under his gym shorts. She began rubbing his sex which immediately became hard. Then she put her hand under his underpants and grabbed his shaft. Her hand went up and down and against his will he neither could stop her nor prevent himself from cumming. She then wiped him off and left as quietly as she had entered. During this brief episode, Lucia had not entered his thoughts at all.

CHAPTER 2

Miriam and Oren

Oren was the firstborn of Mark and Michal and came into the world less than a year after his parents had to leave America and move to Israel. He was a beautiful baby and became even handsomer as he grew up. As an adult of 6'2" with dark hair and blue eyes and very good features, almost every woman would check him out. Unfortunately he realized this quite early and was more than a little vain.

Although not physically exceptional in terms of strength, he spoke well at an early age and taught himself to read by the age of four. Oren was not a playful child and always preferred to hang around the adults rather than those of his own age. He wasn’t aggressive or disagreeable to other children but he projected an air of just thinking himself better than they. This impression was probably true since he was always the most intelligent in any group. Mark found this attitude quite repugnant.

The scars from losing a son or brother never heal. Underneath all is raw. It was only natural that Oren’s maternal grandparents would consider him the second coming and they entirely spoiled him and could never get enough. His mother’s wound meant that while she loved the two that came later, Oren was the first among equals. It wasn’t then surprising that this transmitted to the child and he adopted their view of him. In the kindergarten and later in school, he was always the quickest with the right answer regardless of the subject. Thus he was always a leader without needing to strive for it.

Once he reached school age, his mental superiority became obvious and he was always the best in every subject in spite of the fact that all the other kids were Jewish and from wealthy families with every advantage that those confers. While at home there was implied pressure to do his homework, this was never a problem because he could whip through it at astounding speed. He read a great deal and his parents fed him books to read at the level they felt was appropriate. With that, it was only natural that he would be far ahead of this peers.

At an early age Oren became aware that his father had been a very famous athlete and initially wanted to show that he was not less so. However, many other kids from his neighborhood were as good, or better, than he and in sports he would only be slightly above average. At quite an early age, his sister Miriam became better at golf than Oren. So while he still occasionally played, he stressed other sports. He tried soccer, tennis and basketball. Soccer turned out to be a bit rough for him and he didn’t relish getting knocked around. With private lessons in tennis he became pretty good at the sport but eventually it was somewhat ruined for him when his brother Cobi began to be his equal even though he was more than four years his junior. This left basketball where his height relative to other Israeli kids was an advantage and he made the high school basketball team. Still he never starred.