Yochi curled his peyos. “Does wearing a T-shirt on a trip in Africa really bother you, Pessie?”

“The airport is becoming our second home,” Yochi commented as he settled into a chair next to Pessie in the airport lounge to wait for Hindy’s flight to land.

“Not ours,” Pessie corrected him. “Yours.”

“Hmm.” A cabbie walked past them, holding a sign with the name Gerald on it. Announcements echoed through the Tannoy system over the dull rumbling of suitcase wheels, chatter, and footfalls.

Yochi cracked open a bag of pretzels, but then his phone rang. “Whoops, this is important,” he said. He offered Pessie the pretzels, but she waved them away. Eating carbs out of boredom was never a good idea.

While Yochi paced the area, deep in conversation, Pessie observed the cavernous lounge. A group of sharply dressed businessmen walked purposefully past, heels clicking, laptop cases swinging from their hands. A crowd of passengers streamed in, some bleary-eyed from the flight, some disheveled, some noticeably excited. There were shrieks of delight as family welcomed arrivals.

She wondered about Hindy. Had the trip changed her at all? She was at that in-between age where she sometimes behaved all maturely, and sometimes acted babyish. What would she be like now?

Motti stirred, and Pessie gently rocked his stroller. She called her mother to check up on Zissi and Malkie.

“They’re fine,” her mother reported. “They’re helping me bake rugelach for Shabbos Nachamu. Right, kinderlach?”

Pessie flinched at the reminder of her mother’s grand Shabbos Nachamu plans. When she’d told Yochi about these plans, he’d had only one suggestion: “Come along to Greece.”

She glanced at Yochi now; his lips were pressed together, forehead creased in concentration. From the way he paced — long strides, abrupt stops, fingers roping through his peyos again and again — it seemed like something serious was going on.

Pessie pushed the stroller over to Yochi. “What’s going on?” she mouthed. “Something wrong?”

He motioned to her to wait, then deliberately turned away. Pessie watched him anxiously for another moment, then went to check the screen for flight updates.

Delay.

Twenty-five more minutes, the screen indicated. Pessie turned around to see what was happening with Yochi.

He’d hung up the phone, but he wasn’t moving. He stood rooted in his spot, a faraway look in his eyes. Pessie walked over slowly.