Chani
Recap from last week: Little Pinny dislocated his arm and needs to stay in bed, and Mindy is upset at the idea of missing Shabbos lunch with the Krausses and Effi at her in-laws’ home.
Perturbed by the sounds of Mindy and Chezky’s argument, Chani left her room and came thumping up the stairs, possessed of a sudden inspiration. Their fight had conveniently given her a perfect excuse to resolve a shalom bayis issue and avoid having to face a Shabbos lunch with Effi!
“Hi guys,” she said casually, as if she hadn’t just heard them bickering. “I was just thinking—do you want me to stay with Pinny tomorrow while you go to lunch? I really don’t mind.”
The couple stood stock-still with surprise. What a miracle of a solution! “G-d bless you, Chani!” Mindy exclaimed. “Of course, that’s perfect! Pinny adores you and he listens to you better than he does to me!”
Chezky, to his credit, looked concerned. “Are you sure?” he fretted, scratching a patch of hair under his kippah. “You’d be here all by yourself, I feel so bad! You really don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind at all,” Chani said. “I’m sure there will be other chances to be with the Krausses, and anyway, I had a long week at work. I’m just as happy to stay here and chill.”
Chezky left for work relieved, and Mindy was so grateful she put up a mini cholent just for Chani and Pinny, and brought them Sesame Street cupcakes from the bakery. Chani told her to leave Shloimie with her as well, because Shabbos lunch coincided with his usual nap time, and it was no use schlepping him along if he was just going to get tired and have meltdowns at the table.
That Shabbos morning, Mindy left the house around 11:00 to rejoin her husband at his parents’ house, and Chani sat and read Fireman Sam, Yossi and Leibel and Curious George books to the boys on repeat. Leaving Pinny in bed, she ran downstairs, trailed by Shloimie, to make Kiddush for herself and wash for challah. Then she made plates of cholent, kugel and cold cuts for the three of them that she carried upstairs on a tray. She spoon-fed the invalid and his brother by turns until she judged that they’d eaten enough or refused to eat more, and gave Pinny a brimming spoonful of Tylenol. “Now it’s nap time,” she said cheerfully. She lay Shloimie in his crib, tucked the blankets around Pinny, and hummed a lullaby until they both drifted off.
She went downstairs and finished eating alone, perusing a magazine for company and relishing the quiet. Once finished, she retired to the living room couch, reading and dozing, until Shloimie woke up, climbed out of his crib and toddled downstairs to cuddle next to her. After another hour, Pinny woke up calling for her, and it was back to Curious George and Little Bear to keep him in bed.
Chezky and Mindy came back from lunch around four o’clock in ebullient spirits. “Effi Weinberg is a great guy!” Chezky reported. “I’m going to bring him with me to my shiur tomorrow morning. Everyone really had a great time. The Krausses are so nice, and my parents were falling all over themselves telling Effi how grateful they were for getting Dudi back in touch with them. My mother was practically in tears. And my sisters were totally in awe!”
“Of course they were!” Mindy said. “When was the last time they met a handsome self-made millionaire? They were completely infatuated. It’s a good thing your mother seated them at the other end of the table, or I think they would have literally drooled all over him.”
“I thought Hennie was supposed to be set up with Chaim Haber soon,” Chani ventured.
“Yes, it’s under discussion,” Mindy said. “I mean, Chaim’s a nice guy in a chinyuk-y kind of way, but he’s nothing on the level of Effi Weinberg! But I don’t know why Effi would be interested in Hennie. She’s a good girl, but nothing spectacular. Lieba’s much prettier, but she’s way too young for Effi…”
“Hennie’s a great girl!” Chezky protested. “And she’s perfectly presentable!”
“Well, she could use a little makeup and stop dressing like a teacher,” Mindy retorted, with a toss of her dark sheitel. “Anyway, Chani, how were my princes? Did Pinny kvetch a lot? Did Shloimie nap?”
Mindy felt guilty enough about depriving Chani of a fun Shabbos lunch that she behaved like a model mother and hostess for the remainder of Shabbos, lavishing care on Pinny and encouraging Chani to get out and attend a class in the neighborhood given by the rebbetzin of their shul. On the whole, Chani reflected, things had worked out quite well for her.
The following morning, Hennie and Lieba showed up at the house after Chezky had left for shul, bearing a Sunday breakfast of fresh bagels and cream cheese. They had come to visit the little invalid and bring him a few toys and puzzles to keep him busy in bed, and process the previous day’s encounter with their new Shabbos guests. “Effi is really good looking,” Hennie told Chani, making her wonder if her dazzling new acquaintance had begun to eclipse her interest in the sincere but comparatively unglamorous Chaim Haber.
“He’s brilliant,” Lieba sighed.
Mindy made a pitcher of iced coffee and brought out lox and whitefish salad. The four women were busy eating and discussing yesterday’s lunch when they heard the sound of the front door opening. All of a sudden Chezky sailed into the kitchen, accompanied by none other than—Effi Weinberg!
“Hi guys!” Chezky said. “We stayed in shul for the Sunday morning shiur, but now Effi’s going to join me and the guys for basketball. We just came in to pick up my stuff and some bottles of water.”
Here was Effi standing there, right in front of her! Chani thought she would melt into her chair! Effi’s eyes scanned the room, smiling at Mindy, Hennie and Lieba, and then…
His eyes met hers briefly, and he gave a start and a flash of recognition. Oy—this was the apotheosis of awkward! Chani gave a polite, deeply embarrassed smile and nodded as Chezky introduced her, hoping her face wasn’t bright red. Effi gave her a startled, peremptory nod. Chani jumped up and busied herself by starting to clear the table. Her heart was in her throat.
He looked exactly the same: tall, wavy brown hair, perceptive eyes. He was in high spirits after the shiur, and the years had only burnished his looks. She wondered what he saw when he looked at her. The same old Chani? An older, discouraged Chani who was petrified she might start finding premature wrinkles and gray hairs? A Chani who would have given anything to turn back the clock and start everything all over?
How was she supposed to interpret the look he’d given her once he recognized her? Angry? Cold? How could he be otherwise? At least he hadn’t denounced her in front of the others!
But by now the men had grabbed their water bottles and Effi had followed Chezky to the living room to wait, leafing through a sefer while Chezky ran upstairs to change his clothes for basketball. “Bye, Min, see you later,” he called as the two of them swept out the door.
“Isn’t he good looking?” Lieba sighed to Chani. Chani pasted on a smile. “Yes, I guess so,” she replied.
To be continued.