When Benny and Tzipi met Sabaand Savta Rosenkrantz at the airport they were sure the mix-up was temporary. After all their grandparents had seen Mommy only a few hours earlier. But as months passed and Mommy didn’t return it got harder and harder to pretend that everything was okay.
Mommy missed Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur Chanukah and Purim. She wasn’t there for Moshe Neiman’s bar mitzvah or Benny’s 12th birthday. Benny feared he’d never see her again. There were nights when he was so worried he couldn’t fall asleep tossing and turning sleeplessly. His schoolwork suffered the rebbi scolded and his friends whispered.
Sabaand Savta loved and cared for the children with all their hearts. Gedalya was often away learning in kollel or lecturing at the prestigiousTadmorCulinarySchool in Herzliya. Benny learned with his grandfather but it wasn’t the same as Tatty.
Savta noticed that Benny barely touched his supper. “Do you feel well yingeleh?” she asked with concern. “You usually like pancakes.”
