“Do you think I… I looked up her number and called her out of the blue, a total stranger, just to hurt you?”

Dini’s brain felt frozen from Bracha’s chilling gaze, and it took her several seconds until she could unstick her throat enough to respond.

“Your mother?” she repeated. “I told your mother…?” She shook her head in an effort to clear it. “Bracha, what are you talking about?”

Bracha’s face was red.  “How else could my mother know?  The only people who know about Dovid are his parents and siblings, his doctors, and you!”

“So why do you assume it was me?”

“Because it had to be!” Bracha glanced swiftly around the empty parking lot and lowered her voice. “We only told his family recently, and that’s because they said we should start looking for kidney donors.  But we swore them to secrecy for now, and, believe me, they understand very well why I wanted to keep this from my parents for as long as possible!”  Her hands clenched.  “You don’t know my mother, but they do!”

Dini blinked rapidly. This conversation was quickly moving into the absurd. “You’re right, I don’t know your mother. So why in the world would you think I told her anything? Do you think I… I looked up her number and called her out of the blue, a total stranger, just to hurt you?”

Bracha’s lips were pinched. “I’m not an idiot, Dini.”

Dini’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t think you actually called my mother. Although, if you decided that she deserved to know, and I was being selfish—”

Perhaps she caught Dini’s indignant expression, because she said, “No, that’s not your style. But I’ll tell you what I do think.” She stepped closer to Dini, her voice low and furious. “I think that you couldn’t help yourself from talking about me. About poor Bracha, and how much she’s suffering, and if only she would stop being so stubborn and accept help. Yeah, I can just picture it; all your little groupie volunteers gathered around, and you telling them about the newest chesed case — ‘But it’s a total, absolute secret! Not a word, girlies, ’kay?’”

It was a vicious mimic — but that wasn’t what made Dini suddenly gasp.

Volunteers… Sarale… That day that Dini spoke to Bracha on the phone in her office, while Sarale waited in her living room….

She flushed guiltily.

Watching her, Bracha’s eyes narrowed. “Yup. Just what I thought.” She looked at Dini. “Seems like I was an idiot.”

And she swiveled around and headed into Ayala’s building.