Zahava
Recap: Chani is now engaged to Effi, and life has been eventful between the holidays, the Moskowitz weddings, and Chani’s wedding.
It was the morning after Thanksgiving weekend, and Zahava could barely convince herself to get out of bed. She was exhausted. She was beyond exhausted.
She had every right to be tired, she thought. Too much running around, too many weddings! She and her father had flown to Arizona for Sukkos, leaving Chani behind to spend the holiday divided between her chassan’s family and Mindy’s family. Then there was all the schlepping back and forth to Brooklyn for Hennie and Lieba’s chassenahs, in October and early November, with the obligatory festivities that followed. It had been so painful to watch two younger girls, not particularly gorgeous or wealthy, stand under a chuppah and become married women. Did they really expect her to join in the dancing and explosions of joy that followed the ceremony, jumping and screaming like a manic teenager?
Then a few weeks after that, Chani and Effi got married, and that was totally the cherry on the cake. First there was her own gown that the dressmaker couldn’t seem to get right, and the pressure to look fabulously good as the only single sister left. She had to keep a smile plastered on her face the entire evening, even though she really wanted to cry because it was her younger sister who was being marched down the aisle instead of her.
Then, of course, she was expected to help organize sheva brachos for Chani and Effi: a sisters’ one in a restaurant that she and Mindy hosted, plus Shabbos sheva brachos in Brooklyn that Mrs. Rosner helped host in her home. Thank heavens the Moskowitzes offered to host one, and the Weinbergs were a big family and offered to make all the others, including, of course, an affair by the Krausses that was so elegant that even Zahava was impressed. And it was hosted in her very own house! (Well, at least that made it look like they still lived there.)
It was just so, so many parties, and so much anguish and planning, even with Mindy and Mrs. Rosner’s help and her own talents for party planning. If only her mother had been there to take over the burden with her quiet competence and cheerful nature! Zahava went about the preparations with a face that would have been more appropriate for planning a funeral. Didn’t anybody understand how hard this was for her?
Rikki was sympathetic, but she didn’t really get it, to Zahava’s disappointment. How could she? She’d been married already, and had children to show for herself even if her maternal instincts seemed congenitally absent. Rikki had no idea what it was like to watch your younger sisters go to the chuppah before you. Her feeble attempt at consolation – “Better not to marry at all than go through the kind of Gehinnom I did with my ex” – was misplaced. Zahava privately thought she’d rather have gone through a bad marriage and at least have gained the status of a once-married woman with the solace of children. Maybe she should have compromised on some of those guys who’d seemed so lackluster and unappealing.
Perhaps that was the reason they’d drifted apart somewhat once sheva brachos ended. Zahava hadn’t heard from Rikki in over a week – light-years in WhatsApp time – although she’d seen Rikki’s Insta posts featuring the newest brush-on brow gel and five new looks for eyes. Rikki had gone back to Brooklyn at the end of August, once her kids came back from sleepaway, and was still camped out in her parents’ house, but she’d hardly spoken to Zahava. Where was that girl? Could her kids really be that demanding? Wasn’t her mother there to help? It was bad enough that Chani had moved out of the house, even if she and Chani had never had much to say to each other, but she didn’t want to lose the only meaningful friendship she had at the moment.
She reached over to the night table beside her bed and grabbed her phone. “R u ghosting me?” she texted. “You disappeared, everything okay?”
Rikki, she saw, read the message right away. Now she was typing an answer. After a few minutes it appeared on her screen: “Preparing a surprise. Can’t tell you yet. Ttyl.”
Now what was that all about? Zahava was intrigued enough to sit up in bed. Maybe the day held something to look forward to after all. At least Rikki sounded upbeat.
The sun was shining, and she decided to grab a hoodie and drive to the gym to work out her frustrations, maybe churn up some endorphins as she worked off simcha calories. To her good fortune, she chanced upon an old high school classmate, Devori, who was there working out wearing a Burberry print pre-tied over her ash-blond hair and a short slinky skirt over leggings. She and Devori had once gone on a Florida trip with a couple of other friends, when they were all single but out of school. “Wow, Zahava Elman! It’s been forever!” Devori said, with an enthusiasm that lifted Zahava’s spirits. “What are you up to?”
“My family decided to summer in Toms River, and my father likes it here so much he decided we should stay!” Zahava said, only partially fibbing. “Back in Brooklyn I was doing party planning, so I’ve been putting out feelers here to keep it up.”
“So nice! I’ve been working part-time with seniors in a home, but mostly I’m busy with my family. I can hardly believe I have three kids now!”
“Do you work out here often?”
“I try to get here two or three times a week. I had a baby two years ago and I can’t seem to get rid of the extra pounds! Honestly, I can’t say I love exercising, but I hate being out of shape even more! My husband doesn’t seem to care, but I can’t stand it when my clothing feels tight.”
“Totally,” Zahava agreed. “I’d rather starve myself than have to start buying a size up in clothing.”
“Oh, puh-leeze, you look amazing,” Devori said, which made Zahava want to hug her. That and the fact that Devori made no comment on the fact that her uncovered hair indicated she still hadn’t gotten married.
Devori was in a different place, married with kids, but she was so welcoming, and they continued catching up as they worked the machines. Devori’s older two kids were in school, and her husband did well in his father’s real estate business. Zahava breathed a tiny inner sigh of relief—if Rikki had to be back in Brooklyn, maybe Devori could be available from time to time to hang out, since her job sounded sporadic. If Rikki was going to stay in Brooklyn, Zahava really needed to start thinking about making new friends in Toms River. She couldn’t always drive to the city just to connect with her old friends and go to her favored manicurist and personal trainer.
Despite having woken up grumpy, convinced her day would be dolefully empty, she managed to fill it up: the long workout, shower and makeup at home, salad and crackers for lunch, then an appointment to refresh her mani-pedi in a place conveniently located next to a couple of clothing stores that kept her occupied for an hour afterwards combing the racks. By the time she got home it was 5:30, time to throw some steaks under the broiler with baked potatoes and salad for herself and her father, who was spending the afternoon playing tennis with a friend.
She was humming along to a Shwecky song and liberally sprinkling garlic powder on a couple of steaks when her phone buzzed. Oh—Rikki, finally! She eagerly opened the message.
Then she had to grope for a chair and sit down, because she had somehow forgotten to breathe.
“Mazel tov to me!” the message sang out. “I just got engaged to Yerucham Elman! We’ll be making an engagement party Sunday evening in Lawrence, don’t be late! Details to follow!”
To be continued.