She looked at her friend, in her kallah meidel era, and smirked to herself. She’d been there a mere few months ago

The succah was just as cozy as it was the first days, yet somehow, she couldn’t stop shivering. Her mother replaced her tepid mug of tea with a fresh one; she smiled her thanks.

Shalom was playing ball on the patio, right outside the succah wall and it was driving her insane. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk thunk thunk.

“Ma,” she said weakly. “The ball playing….”

“I’m on it.”

A minute later, she heard Shalom stomping his way inside, muttering. She felt bad, but her head was going to split.

Someone knocked on the succah door. She sat up straighter.

“Hello? Estee?”

She slumped back down. She didn’t know who it was, but it definitely wasn’t Yonah. She hadn’t seen her husband since he’d appeared last night with their suitcases.

The succah door opened and a familiar blonde head poked its way in.

“Tehila!” she gasped. “Omigosh, hiiiii.”

Her friend leaned over and gave her a careful hug. “Your mother called. She said you’d gotten dehydrated in Boston.”

Estee straightened the blanket around her shoulders and prayed she didn’t have any mascara streaks on her face.

“Yeah, it was crazy.”

She looked at her friend, in her kallah meidel era, and smirked to herself. She’d been there a mere few months ago. Picture perfect, her whole life ahead of her, a flawless road stretched out ahead of her leading to rainbows and pots of gold.