I space back in as Aunt Chana makes a sharp right, past an unfamiliar park. Wait, where are we going?

Aunt Chana picks us up after school, and despite myself, it’s nice to have a ride home. Of course, Raizy hops into the front seat and starts schmoozing with her mother, leaving me the silent neb in the back of the car, but who cares? It’s cold outside — seriously, England, it’s only October, what’s up with the freezing rain? — and the car is warm, dry, and I think about the evening ahead and everything I want to do tonight.

That English assignment… maybe I’ll call Tammy, she gave me her phone number sometime, I think it’s in my homework planner. Probably the only thing written in there, ha. We never confirmed anything, but I’ll call her… sometime. And then I need to figure out a way to call Ima from Aunt Chana’s house—

I space back in as Aunt Chana makes a sharp right, past an unfamiliar park. Wait, where are we going?

“Visiting hours till eight, we’re going to visit Bubby,” Aunt Chana explains cheerfully.

Seriously? She didn’t think to, like, tell me in advance? But I do want to see Bubby. So I’m happy we’re going, I guess.

I’m relieved to see that Bubby looks great, just a little tired. “Not from the broken bone,” she assures us. “From the hospital! Every time I finally fell asleep, they came round to check my blood pressure again, can you imagine?”

Aunt Chana shakes her head in exasperation.

“And now I get to thank you girls for being there,” Bubby says, patting Raizy’s arm and beaming in my direction. “I don’t know what would have happened if I’d fallen with no one in the house. You girls were my angels.”

Raizy looks as uncomfortable as I feel.