Chapter 25Ruth climbed the steps toward Ezra Romano’s classroom and took a seat halfway up. As she waited for the children, her mind, not for the first time, replayed the defining events of the past two weeks, the most recent of which was Shabbat dinner with Samuel, once again, as their guest. But far from recapturing the magic of their first Shabbat together, her efforts this time around—at getting Samuel to see her in a certain light—had failed spectacularly.
The entire evening, he’d been cool and detached, his actions machinelike, humorless. Absent was his adoring gaze as Ruth said the blessing. And as Avri struggled through the Kiddush, Ruth swore she caught Samuel rolling his eyes. After dinner, when he’d snapped at Orly for the mere infraction of attempting to pull him into a game o
