She appreciated her husband’s spirit, but couldn’t there be a balance? An unassuming desk job, with some side passion as an outlet?

“Okay, guys! If you look out the window now, you’ll see land coming into view.”

Yochi’s voice was smooth and polished, with an odd Southern inflection. Pessie smiled at the rapt expressions on her girls’ faces.

“The land you’re seeing is a special territory, originally settled by Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English explorers. And if you look really close, just along the coast, you’ll see the special landmark we’re all so excited to visit.”

The girls crowded around the window. Pessie winked at Yochi as he tipped an imaginary hat.

“And that place,” he sang, “is called Home!”

Zissi giggled and Hindy groaned.

A service trolley came clanking down the aisle, and a flight attendant approached their seats to collect their breakfast trays. As Pessie passed along the trash, her gaze swept over Yochi.

His face shone. There was a fire in his eyes, a vitality that made him look young and invincible. He was filled with the headiness of another successful tour, and he was raring to go, to do it again, to take off into the great big world.

“I don’t know how you do it, Yoch,” she told him wearily as the trolley rolled away. “You have so much energy. It’s unbelievable.”

“Enough energy to power hundreds of tax returns, huh?”

Something pinched Pessie’s heart. Did it have to be that way? She appreciated her husband’s spirit, but couldn’t there be a balance? An unassuming desk job, with some side passion as an outlet?

But when she looked at Yochi and saw the twinkle in his eyes, the pinch dissolved and she allowed herself to chuckle.