Penina doesn’t want to talk about Gabe. She’d rather not think about him at all

IN childhood, Penina spent a significant amount of time in ballet classes. She still remembers the positions, the ease with which she’d learned to move, and she still, in her silliest moments, finds herself dancing alone.

A little bit of movement is welcome when so much of her job is spent sitting still in front of a computer, staring at a screen. She feels the same about the outdoors — there’s so little time spent outside on an ordinary day that when she works from home, she likes to move to the porch.

Today, the bulk of her work is responding to messages from coworkers and clients and running through a program that hasn’t been performing as expected. It’s harder to work from home, with Daniel around and expecting her undivided attention, with the laundry and the dishes beckoning as loudly as her keyboard. But she hadn’t had a choice today, and she’ll make the best of it.

At least Rivi seems just as distracted. She’s been texting off and on all day, a stream of messages that range from baffled to panicked. I can’t believe I agreed to go on this getaway with my sisters-in-law, is the latest.

Maybe this is just what you all need to become best friends, Penina responds, light and teasing. You never know. You and Suri might discover that you both really love skiing and bond over that.

Hilarious, Rivi responds dryly. Then, as though in apology, though I guess if you could come to shivah at my house with your ex-fiancé there, I can go to the mountains with my sisters-in-law.

The things we do for the people we care about, Penina shoots back, then busies herself with work for a while. She doesn’t want to talk about Gabe. She’d rather not think about him at all, wants to put that part of her past behind her — and if Rivi didn’t keep bringing it up, she probably would have already done that.