Israel Book Shop presents Chapter 16 of a new online serial novel, The Black Sheep, by Esther Rapaport. Check back for a new chapter every week. Click here for previous chapters.
Copyright © Israel Bookshop Publications.
Sarah put down her bag, yawning after a long day’s work. All she wanted now was a piece of chocolate and a listening ear. She found the chocolate easily; the listening ear, though, wasn’t as readily available. To be sure, the ear was there, and ostensibly was listening, but the monotonous and unfocused responses coming from her husband proved that he wasn’t really there. His repertoire of responses was comprised more or less of, “Yes,” “What?” “Right,” “Really?” and a token, “If that’s what you want,” thrown in for good measure.
“Elazar,” she said after a few minutes of talking, “you look tired. Maybe just bentch and go to sleep?”
“I didn’t wash,” he said distractedly. “I just ate a little bit of the squash and mushroom salad left from Shabbos.”
“That’s not enough. How exactly is that going to fill you up?”
“It’s fine, I’m not hungry.”
Sarah looked at the table. “I’ll cut up some fresh vegetables for you,” she offered.
“No, no, thanks.”
“A cup of coffee?”
“No. As it is, I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep.”