She knows how sensitive he is about Tovi, his first daughter, and her… issue

That morning, in the blessed quiet between eight thirty and nine, Shua delicately asks Nechami why she has so few hours of work to report recently. He’s preparing her monthly invoice for her main current employer, Gunter Architects.

“Because of the phone calls,” she says. “Every morning now, I’ve been spending time on the phone, and of course I deduct them from my work hours. If it’s not my sister Chaya about not wanting the shidduch, it’s Gedalya with his take on the situation, or it’s Dudi…”

“Nechami, it’s fine,” Shua says. “Whatever hours you work is perfectly okay. I just wanted to be sure the numbers here are correct.”

The numbers are correct. And they’re low.

I’ll put my phone on silent, she says to herself at quarter to nine, on her way downstairs to her office. Just like Shua does when he’s learning. But on the computer downstairs, furious emails from Odelia Gunter are waiting for her, and the fury is justified. She promised to have the rendering for Mosdos Beis Eliav ready last week. Forgetting all about the phone, she plunges into the file.

Which trees should she put here in front of the main entrance? She’s still undecided when her phone rings. She jumps. Why didn’t she put it on silent?

Gedalya, the phone says in plain black letters on a dim screen. All right….

“Hi, Gedalya,” she says. She can try out different trees while talking, and fix them up afterward if necessary. And she can fill in the texture on the sidewalk while she talks, too. It doesn’t take that much concentration.

“Good morning, Nechami,” Gedalya says. He sounds awkward. She wonders why and waits for him to explain.

“I wanted to ask you… that is, I need a favor… I mean, if you can…”

“Gedalya, just tell me what you need, and if I can’t do it, I’ll say so.”

“I need some documents, official forms to fill out… from the computer.”

“Happy to help,” she says. She can’t get out the words, “Can you call me in the evening, please?”

“It’s, um, about my Tovi… you know, the medical issue…”

“Would you like to come over when I’m not here in the office, and download all the forms you need?” she suggests gently. She knows how sensitive he is about Tovi, his first daughter, and her… issue.