Ma’s still staring at me like she can’t believe she birthed such a brat, so I hurriedly explain
Just a break. All I wanted was a break, a tiny little vacation from my life, just some sun, fun, laughs, and beaches. Images of me and Goldie lounging on chaises near the pool, shopping with Ma in some of Florida’s best malls, davening Minchah as the sun sets into the sea, salmons cooking on the grill as we sip iced coffees…. That vision was what was keeping me going during the long math classes, the color war practices, the Pesach cleaning and cooking marathons.
And now we were going to be learning to crochet and taking long slow strolls on the boardwalk with Babby’s walker.
I love Babby, I really, really do, but I need this. I need this trip to be lighthearted and fun, and that, too, is being taken away from me, like everything else this year.
I’m too annoyed to even talk. I shoulder past several brothers on my way into the kitchen, grab a frying pan, and begin making matzah brei silently.
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