Chapter 26Ruth pulled closed her black compact umbrella as the early May drizzle let up and the clouds began to lift over the north end of Bond Street. After meeting with Bonnie Putnam earlier that Tuesday morning, she’d headed straight for El Bien-Bebido, skipping her usual detour through Cavendish Square. She was regretting that decision now, realizing a leisurely spring stroll might have been just the thing to smooth the edges of her frayed nerves.
She and Samuel hadn’t spoken since Friday night’s disastrous Shabbat, unless one counted a single, halfhearted round of phone tag, started by her, between Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. Initially, Ruth had been relieved to have missed Samuel’s return call, which had come while she was picking up the children from Ezra’s. The long-term
