Light Years Away: Chapter 57

"It’s not my style. Everything is exactly the same here — 500 young couples, all alike, thrown together in cookie-cutter buildings"
Lots of people would consider Neve Tzinobarim a nice place.
It has big parks and the standard Israeli view of rolling hills and blue skies. But despite her sincere efforts, Chaya can’t manage to see the beauty there.
The buildings are too much alike, and so are the kollel wives. Two of them, both in shabby berets, are walking to the grocery store. A third woman, pushing a double stroller, stops to chat with them.
Chaya pricks up her ears. She’s leaning on a signpost, waiting for Moishe to finish Minchah. This is no fun at all. But as long as she’s standing here, she’ll gather all the information she can about this place.
“Did you hear that Markowitz is renting out the apartment?”
“Really? He’s moving? Where to?”
“To Elad. Her kids aren’t doing well here.”
“Wait — which ones are hers? How many do they have together?”
“There are his three, from Ruti. And the two she brought with her, a boy and a girl. The youngest, Ruvy, is theirs together. I think they’ve been doing pretty well overall, but her kids are giving them some trouble.”
Chaya feels an itch in her throat, as if the gossip is about to choke her. She can’t bear this kind of talk. She can’t bear another minute in this place.
“The whole place is too generic for me,” she tells Nechami in a quick phone call. “And Moishe’s going to want to live here. I can see it in his eyes.”
Oh, no, Nechami thinks.
“He has two good friends from yeshivah here. And the rosh kollel was once his ram. He’s willing to give Moishe a very nice stipend if he’ll come here.”
“I’ve heard that some women are very happy there,” Nechami says.
“Well, I won’t be,” Chaya says. “It’s not my style. Everything is exactly the same here — 500 young couples, all alike, thrown together in cookie-cutter buildings. And it just doesn’t look finished, you know? Like there’s a dirt road, and it’s all so raw…. I don’t like anything here, Nechami.”
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