“I’ll be home late tomorrow,” Aryeh said casually as he reached for the chicken. “I’m bringing the car in.”

Nechama looked up from her plate. “What’s wrong with the car?” she asked, concerned.

“That noise is getting worse, so I called this morning,” Aryeh replied, spooning chicken onto his plate.

The kids were finally asleep. Chany carried the plates to the table and sat down across from Ahron.

All day, she had been looking forward to this.  No one asking for a drink. No one climbing onto her lap. No lunches to pack or pajamas to find or little voices interrupting every other sentence.

“So...

“Whoa,” Nesanel said, his voice edged with frustration as he looked around the kitchen. “The house is still a little upside down tonight.”  

Shoshie froze. I should have pushed through and gotten the kitchen cleaned before he got home.

She opened the fridge. “Let me heat up your supper.”

“I’m fin...

"Why did you tell the kids we could stay another hour? They were already exhausted.”

Avi looked at her, genuinely confused. “They were having such a good time. I thought letting them stay another hour was the right call.”

Tova shook her head, exasperated. “And since then Chaya’s been crying, Yitzy...

“Wait. This is where we’re staying?” 

Sori stared at her husband’s phone. Then she looked up at him, hoping she misunderstood.

“What do you mean?” Shmuel asked. “That’s the apartment.”

“The apartment?” Her voice rose before she could stop it. “For all ten days?”

“Yes.”

Sori swiped through the p...

“Pull over! Yossi’s throwing up!” Devorah shouted.

“I can’t pull over here,” Avi snapped, gripping the steering wheel. “We’re on the highway!”

The younger children shrieked. Sholom covered his nose, and Leah moaned that vomit had splashed onto her backpack.

Devorah reached blindly for wipes and p...

“Seriously, Dovid?” Yael’s voice cut across the room. “Why would you tell Yitzy he could come to Eichah? It’s already way past his bedtime. You never think about how your decisions affect anyone but yourself.”

Dovid was crouched beside their seven-year-old near the front door, helping him find his ...

“It was such a long day,” Gitty said to her husband, Shlomo, as she wiped the kitchen counter for the second time.

Shlomo sat at the table, opening the mail he had brought in after Maariv. He was steady, practical, and usually willing to help when Gitty asked. But after sixteen years of marriage, s...

“Ma, can we come for Shabbos?” 

Miri’s daughter’s breathless voice filled the kitchen from the speakerphone on the counter while Miri stood at the sink washing dishes.

“I’m so exhausted. I could really use a break.”

Across the room, her husband looked up and his face glowed. She smiled because sh...