All I Ask: Chapter 37

“All right, Dad, I’ll do my best,” said Yonatan. “And when I find him, what should I tell him?” He stretched out on the papasan chair and crossed his ankles.

“Tell him… tell him… well, actually, hmm…” Sandy knew what he’d like to tell Shalom. He’d like to tell him to stop being a fool and a disgrace to the family. He’d like to tell him to start acting like a mensch and come to London to get his money in a respectable manner, instead of hiding from his family. And if he insisted on not coming, then he should at least open a bank account and give them the details so the money could be transferred to him.

What else would he like to say to his brother? That their mother and father, zichronam l’vrachah, would be horrified if they knew their son was camping out on the streets. That they’d die of a heart attack if they were alive to see him eating in a soup kitchen. That’s what he wanted to tell Shalom. Oh, and did he mention that Shalom was crazy and putting the whole family to shame?

“Maybe you should try reframing the message,” said Marta, who was listening in on the conversation. “Instead of, ‘What do I want to tell Shalom,’ maybe think in terms of, ‘What would Shalom want to hear? What would make him want to come and see us?’ ”