To the rest of the world, they were Estee and Yonah, cutest couple on the block

They say that time heals all wounds. And while maybe nobody was wounded, Yonah definitely felt something had cracked that day in the hospital. Watching Estee follow her mother out of the hospital room without discussing it with him first dug deep.

Bein hazmanim was over, and the pain had faded to a dull ache. To the rest of the world, they were Estee and Yonah, cutest couple on the block. Especially since Pinny and Ayala were no longer on the block. Or a couple.

“Did you see Pinny at yeshivah today?” It was Estee’s daily question. She wouldn’t explain to Yonah exactly why her female solidarity was broken when it came to the Pinny/Ayala situation, but he had a pretty good idea of the source. And he respected her silence on the matter.

“Yeah, he seemed okay.”

“Okay, good.” She sounded relieved. She’d told him to go shoot pool with Pinny yesterday and had also invited him to her parents for Simchas Torah lunch, an invitation he had declined, but he was grateful it had been extended.

Yonah had spoken to him over the din of the pool hall.

“When all you see are their flaws,” Pinny had said, “you know you’re in trouble.”