June 26, 2026 Categories: In Print / Features
Persuaded – Chapter XXIV
Chani
Recap: Defying Effi’s warning, Lieba attempts a playful jump down five steps of the boardwalk, but her shoe catches in the slats and she falls and hits her head hard against the sidewalk. She is knocked unconscious and Hatzalah brings her to the hospital. Now Chezky was pulling into Monmouth hospital, and a few minutes later all of them were pacing the waiting area of the emergency room while Lieba was taken in. Chani and the women sat in one corner, mouthing Tehillim, while Chezky and Effi sat together in another, grimly silent. Long, tense minutes ticked by, punctuated from time to time by a sigh or suppressed sob. Effi’s friend Ralph Harari eventually showed up, having received a text from him, bringing along his friend Ezra Beyda. Ralph was dark-haired and stocky, wearing khakis and a tee shirt, while Ezra was shorter and thin, with pale skin and reddish hair, dressed yeshiva-style in a white shirt and black pants. Ralph embraced Effi like a brother, and they exchanged words in low voices. “I’m so, so sorry,” Chani heard Effi tell Ralph. “This must be such a trigger to you. Weren’t you here last year for your sister, aleha shalom?” “Yeah. It’s not easy,” Ralph said. “That was a horror. But you know I’d do anything for you, Effi. “Ezra here was actually Frieda’s chattan. That was a such a terrible shock. Everybody was so happy, going about making a wedding, and then boom! ‘Hello this is the hospital, there’s been a terrible accident, looks like the other driver was intoxicated…’” “I feel terrible that I wasn’t able fly in for the shiva,” Effi said. “You called me, though. I really appreciated it. Who would’ve thought I’d find myself back in an emergency room for another girl with a head injury?” Effi shook his head. “How is your family handling the loss of your sister?” “What can I say? It’s been really rough on everyone,” Ralph said. “My mother especially; my dad’s more stoic. They don’t go out much anymore, they don’t have the heart.” He lowered his voice and steered Effi away from his friend to the other side of the room. “Beyda is a mess. His parents live in Brooklyn, but he’s been staying with my wife and me ever since Frieda died—you know we were friends before he got engaged to my sister. I think he’s kind of clinging to her memory by hanging out with us. It’s fine. He stays in our basement and doesn’t bother anyone, but he should probably think about moving on now that it’s been almost a year.” “What does he do with his time?” Effi asked. Ralph shrugged. “He goes to the Deal kollel most days. Otherwise, he sits in his room and reads. I try to make him get out a little, but he’s very happy to sit and read or listen to all these shiurim on emunah and bitachon. Maybe that’s his way of coping, but honestly, I’m not sure how healthy it is.” Chani had been surreptitiously glancing up from her Tehillim to follow their conversation. Mindy and Hennie were strolling around the lounge, wringing their hands and stopping nurses from time to time for news, always with the same response: “The doctor will speak to you when he’s finished evaluating the patient.” What was taking so long? The waiting was unbearable! Pinny and Shloimie were getting restless and whiny, and Mindy had run out of nosh to keep them busy. No one really had the patience or headspace to start making up games with them. In the end, they all decided, it would be better for Beyda and Chezky to bring them back to Ralph’s house, as Ralph had four kids, including two the same ages as them, and they could play there and have supper. Chezky would then drive right back so as not to miss any breaking news about his sister. After dropping off the boys, Chezky returned to the ER waiting room with his arms laden with boxes and bags. He reported to Mindy that the kids were well settled with Ralph’s wife Rena, happily eating pizza and discovering the Harari boys’ well-stocked playroom. Rena had sent pizza, homemade cheese samboosak, and French fries for the grownups, as well as drinks and plates and napkins. “Wow,” Hennie marveled. “She’s like her own private Bikur Cholim service!” Ralph gave a sad smile. “My sister was here in this hospital after the accident,” he explained to her. “She lingered a few days before she died of her injuries, but unfortunately my family got used to having to eat food our friends and neighbors sent us while we sat and waited hour after hour.” Chani was surprised to find she was starving. The pizza was still hot, the samboosak buttery, and she installed herself in a corner with her sister and Hennie while the men took themselves off to another corner to eat. She felt a little guilty enjoying the hot, savory food while poor Lieba was in who-knows-what-state, but starving herself wasn’t likely to change Lieba’s condition. At one point Chani ventured to say aloud that maybe they should call Mr. and Mrs. Moskowitz, but Chezky immediately shot that down. “No! No way!” he cried. Seeing Chani’s surprised look, he explained, “My parents already lost a child! They already got a phone call with the worst news they could ever get. I don’t want to give them any more bad news unless I absolutely have to.” The hours seemed to tick by for an eternity, as the afternoon light began to soften through the windows of the hospital. They paced, they spoke a little, and they prayed, sometimes with tears. Finally a balding doctor with glasses and a lab coat emerged from behind the double doors. “I’m Dr. Levinson,” he said. “Are you all family?” Chezky stood up. “Pretty much,” he said. “I’m Lieba’s brother. How is she?” The doctor nodded solemnly. “She’s, um,… stable,” he said finally, and everyone gave a sigh of relief. Lieba hadn’t managed to kill herself with her silly impulse! “Her vitals are good, and it seems she sustained no serious injury to the body,” the doctor continued. “She does have a very bad concussion, however, and she’s still unconscious. We’ll be monitoring her closely over the next 24 hours to see if there’s any swelling of the brain or internal bleeding.” Mindy jumped up. “But she’ll be okay?” she said eagerly. The doctor smiled gently. “She’ll probably be okay. She’s young and strong. But we just won’t know for sure for another day or two,” he said. Mindy breathed hard, not sure if she could rejoice yet or not. Chezky helped her sit down and himself seemed partially relieved. Hennie burst into tears. Chani looked over at Effi. He had tears of relief in his eyes that at least Lieba wasn’t dying. Their eyes met involuntarily across the room. He shook his head as if to say, “That poor, dear girl! I wish I had never taken her out!” The doctor surveyed the lot of them, the dirty paper plates and empty pizzas boxes littered across the room. “Lieba is stable. She’ll be fine tonight,” he said kindly. “You should all go home and get some rest.” They sat down to regroup. Nobody wanted to leave Lieba all alone for the night. What if she woke up and had no idea why she was in a hospital? Hennie volunteered to stay. Now that the news was somewhat better, Mindy and Chezky would call his parents to let them know. They’d surely want to drive in the next day. “Please make all apologies from me,” Effi said. “Nonsense,” Chani piped up, a little more sharply than she intended. “You have nothing to apologize for. Lieba did that little stunt against your wishes. Why should you blame yourself?” Effi looked at her with an expression full of gratitude, and her heart lurched a little to think maybe he still was able to summon a little good feeling for her. Even if he was interested in Lieba, at least he didn’t seem to hate her. “Come, guys,” Chezky said. “It’s late and we can’t leave the kids by Harari all night. Let’s pick them up and get back to Brooklyn.” He turned to Effi and clapped him on the back. “See you in shul, buddy. Besoros tovos.”To be continued.
