She couldn’t understand her daughter’s demons — and she hated her dog

The Dog had been going crazy all day. Instead of doing whatever it usually did, it kept turning in circles next to the front door and shoving its nose at the door sweep.

Devoiry kept a wary eye on it as the afternoon turned into evening, poking her head ’round the kitchen doorway to make sure it didn’t gnaw at the living room curtains. But it was still going crazy at the front door.

Well, she was happy it wasn’t trying to get into the shepherd’s pie. She slammed the oven door closed and set the timer.

“Why’s Snowball standing at the door? Where’s Zeesy?” Menachem didn’t usually make conversation after supper, and Devoiry’s mind was already on the cinnamon buns she was planning to make.

“Zeesy? How should I know?”

“I was just wondering, because she had that job interview early this afternoon. She didn’t answer my message asking her how it went and I thought she might have come home and gone to sleep.”

“Well, I didn’t see her. I don’t know. If she didn’t answer you, she definitely didn’t answer me. And yes, I’m a bad mother and forgot about it. Okay?”

Menachem was getting that look on his face. That Devoiry-is-being-unreasonable-again look. That I’d-better-get-out-of-here look. Well, good. She scrubbed the clean plate for the third time. Let him go and make phone calls and leave her to get the dough going.

But he appeared at her side two minutes later.

“Zeesy’s still not answering. Did you speak to her before she went out? Ask her if she had plans? Because she would have come back for Snowball. And the interview was five hours ago.”

Devoiry imagined how good it would feel to whack the flour down on the counter. She imagined fine clouds puffing up, coating her and Menachem in white. How they would both cough and splutter and choke and forget about dogs and daughters who turned your kishkes inside out.

Instead, she put it down with a finesse she did not feel and turned to her husband.

“Menachem. It’s enough that I’m the one home all day with the Dog while you’re at the office. Stop expecting more from me than I can give! if you want to know where Zeesy is, you go and look for her.”

Menachem looked at her in silence for a beat or two, opened his mouth as if to speak, but then turned and went out.