Shabbos was amazing, but why in the world is Ta taking the new manager’s side over his own son’s??

Dini sat down at the kitchen table with her coffee and rubbed her eyes. Funny how the effects of an entire relaxing Shabbos can be completely erased by Sunday morning. Chaviva had stomped off to school in a rage because every single sweater that looked normal on her was in the laundry. And Shuki, who’d really seemed to unwind over Shabbos — he’d even met some old friends and organized an impromptu oneg in the hotel lobby — had muttered, “Off to get my root canal,” as he waved goodbye this morning.

Dini took a sip and opened her laptop.

How was Shabbos??

She frowned at her mother-in-law’s WhatsApp and the winking emoji next to it. As if the whole Shabbos had been an arranged joke between them.

Her fingers hovered over her keyboard as she contemplated all the things she’d love to write back.

Shabbos was amazing, but why in the world is Ta taking the new manager’s side over his own son’s??

Or, Shabbos was great, but it would’ve been even greater had Ta treated Shuki with respect to begin with, instead of placating him with a stupid hotel stay.

Dini’s outrage burned once again as she recalled Friday’s conversation. Shuki had related, scowling, how this Eric guy had steamrolled in, demanded to see every one of his billing files going back five years, and then marked them up with comments about where he’d been sloppy and why hadn’t he followed up more forcefully with this client’s late payment, and had concluded by tallying the grand figure that Shuki had cost the company by not being more on top of things.

“It wasn’t just me,” Shuki had added, perhaps sensing what Dini was holding herself back from saying — that, after all, Shuki wasn’t the most diligent worker, and maybe this new manager was right for finally calling him out on it, even if he could have done so in a more sensitive way.