Shulamis
Zahava and Rikki, enjoying Toms River and the pool, spend their time exchanging horror stories of men and dating.
Brooklyn summers could be oppressively hot, so when the AC in Shulamis’s Lexus became capricious and finally petered out completely, she lost no time taking it to the shop. But how would she get back to her daughter’s house? The bus? Her macheteineste had left, but the baby was colicky, and Simmy was still overwhelmed.
Chani came to her rescue. “I can’t put off the inevitable anymore,” she said. “My family expects me to join them in Toms River, so I was planning to go down Thursday evening. I’m happy to give you a ride.” Fortunately for Chani, summers were slower at the agency, so her boss was okay with her working remotely Mondays, Tuesday and Fridays, and she would stay in Brooklyn with Mindy on Wednesday nights.
That Thursday, Shulamis and Chani packed their things into her car and drove to Toms River, where Shulamis would stop in and say hello to the Elmans before her son-in-law picked her up.
The address they arrived at was almost as large as the Elmans’ Brooklyn mansion, with a manicured front lawn and pool in the back. “Come in! Come see!” Zahava and Velvel chirped, excited as children to show off their new digs. It made them appear delighted to see Chani even if they were simply happy to have found someone to show off to (a stranger might have received much the same exuberant welcome). A grand piano lent an air of culture to the living room, the couches were upholstered in a combination of dyed leather and floral prints. The kitchen was enormous and high-tech. There was a formal dining room with a sumptuously carved table and chairs, and a den just off the kitchen with bookcases, bins of toys for children, and comfortable armchairs.
“Lakewood has all the stores we have in Brooklyn, and more!” Zahava gushed. “And there’s parking everywhere you go—it’s awesome! I never once had to circle to find a spot!”
“My friend Reuven is also living in Toms River now,” Velvel said. “His children all moved to Lakewood, so he bought a place here for himself and his wife. He’s happy as a clam! He’s been showing me all the good restaurants and cafes, and it turns out there’s a great sports club not far from here.”
“We hardly see Tatti any more,” Zahava said. “He’s always out playing golf or lunching with his buddies.”
“Makes it easier for me,” Rikki said. “I can spend more hours in the pool or working on my tan!”
Shulamis had noticed Rikki’s deep tan. She marveled at the fact that Rikki was able to take off an entire summer, and that she and Zahava seem to be doing nothing with their time besides lying by the pool, going to the gym, and doing their nails. Oh, of course, and discovering every chic boutique Lakewood had to offer. She had to admit they both looked admirably bronzed and fit; she simply wondered if they’d devoted any time whatsoever to exercising their minds. Or their neshamas for that matter—she didn’t see a siddur in sight. But perhaps she was jumping too quickly to conclusions, misjudging them.
They seemed almost giddy with delight to report that their long-lost distant cousin Yerucham Elman had suddenly resurfaced in Lakewood, staying with an old friend by the name of Wallis and his family, enjoying their pool and transacting his business remotely. Yerucham’s previous slights were forgiven ever since he had contacted Velvel and explained that he had never meant to snub them in the past; on the contrary, it was he who feared being shunned by them after he had been “entrapped,” as he put it, into his disastrous marriage.
Mr. Wallis had invited Velvel to join them at a barbecue, where he confided the circumstances of Yerucham’s first marriage. “It’s not that Yerucham had gone chasing after a wealthy girl,” he said. “His wife’s parents pursued him with such tenacity that he finally gave in. They’re Israeli, you know, extremely pushy! The kind of people who make a lot of money very fast but in the end are still riffraff.
“He was seduced by the idea that such wealthy parents wanted him, and the daughter too. But the family had no yichus, no class, so Yerucham and Rinat didn’t really get along from the start.”
Now Velvel relayed to his visitors, “Yerucham realized what a mistake he’d made very early on. She was very spoiled and demanding, and her taste was horrible—so vulgar! Not to speak ill of the dead, but you know, money doesn’t buy class.”
Shulamis and Chani listened politely, but when Chani threw her a sidewise look, Shulamis got the distinct impression that Chani still didn’t trust Yerucham’s inexplicably renewed interest in her side of the family tree.
But perhaps Yerucham, after all this time, had regretted his first choice of a wife and had decided to renew his interest in Zahava? That would be wonderful, although honestly, Shulamis wasn’t sure Zahava had what it took to be a good wife any more than Rinat had. By nature and circumstance, Zahava’s affections had turned inward. She did what was needed to keep her father fed and his household managed, but otherwise Shulamis couldn’t see what excited the girl beyond expensive handbags and designer shoes. Zahava expressed so little interest in Mindy’s boys that Shulamis was hard pressed to imagine her showering even babies of her own with love. She just wasn’t the sweet and cuddly type; if anything, she was a cactus bristling with spines. Was there anything sweet at the core, underneath the needles?
Zahava and Rikki had gone along to that barbecue at the Wallis home and enjoyed themselves. Mrs. Wallis was very pretty although very pregnant, Zahava said, and dressed stylishly. “What a nice change from some of those yeshivish Lakewood women who mamash dress like scarecrows, all in black, with wigs like straw. No one wears makeup!”
Velvel clucked. “It’s terrible! Don’t they have an ounce of feminine self-esteem?”
Shulamis felt a secret rush of relief that she had never pursued her friends’ suggestions to pursue a shidduch with Velvel. Really, the man was impossible! While she herself rarely left the house without a touch of lipstick, and tried to dress in a tasteful yet modest way, she wondered now what Velvel and Zahava privately thought about her clothes. Or Chani’s, for that matter. Chani, she had noticed, had stopped buying herself a lot of new clothing. A sign of depression, she thought.
Yet Velvel seemed quite pleased with Chani’s appearance, complimenting her on her tan. “You must be using a good sun cream,” he said.
“Not really,” Chani answered. “I have a sunscreen, but I always forget to put it on.”
“You must use one, or your skin will age too fast!” Velvel said. “I’ll give you some of my Sunz-45 SPF cream. I gave a tube to Rikki, and now she swears by it. Look at how much it’s faded her freckles and deepened her tan!”
Shulamis was appalled. Was it appropriate for Rikki to be exchanging self-care tips with Velvel?
The doorbell rang as they sat drinking tea, and to everyone’s surprise an attractive man in his thirties was shown in by Rikki. “Yerucham!” Velvel exclaimed, jumping up to welcome him. “What a nice surprise! Can we get you something to eat?”
Yerucham declined modestly, saying he had already eaten, and glanced around the table. When he noticed Chani, Shulamis saw his eyes light up. “I believe I saw you on the boardwalk in Deal!” he exclaimed.
Chani blushed prettily. So this was the person who had looked at her with such interest when she had gone with Mindy to Deal! “Yes, I was there with my sister Mindy and her family,” she said.
“What a disaster that turned out to be, with that awful accident,” Shulamis said, then immediately regretted it. Yerucham wasn’t aware of what had happened, and the next 20 minutes were consumed with an account of Lieba’s fall and subsequent hospitalization, with Yerucham contributing the appropriate gasps and expressions of concern.
Despite everything Shulamis had heard about Yerucham in the past, she could find no fault whatsoever in his manners or concerned inquiries. Could he have matured, grown more of a heart after his marriage and then the tragic loss of a wife? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he could be interested in one of his cousins! He had certainly looked at Chani with frank appreciation.
To be continued.