You can’t sue your family. But what if that offers your only hope?

E

liyahu Shechter knew it was normal that life was busy. He worked hard, his wife Rena worked hard, it was normal for a husband and wife to not see each other all day except for a brief exchange in the morning.

“Eliyahu, I have to take Yaelli to her appointment at two o’clock today, can you pick up Shmuel?”

“Two o’clock is tight, Mr. Greenwald wants to talk this afternoon. Can we make it three?”

“Sure, I’ll text his Morah, hatzlachah with your meeting.”

They would wave and go their separate ways. “Like ships in the night,” Rena had commented wryly just last week.

Today, Rena stopped Eliyahu on his way out. “Did you hear that noise in the boiler room? Something’s wrong.”

“I’m not sure.” Eliyahu said. “But my shower was freezing this morning.”

“Oy. If the hot water’s not working by tonight, I’m calling Abie. Or a different repairman.”

Eliyahu tried not to wince. “Okay, do what you got to do.” He closed the door behind him, hurried to his car. Another favor to ask of his brother-in-law. Or another few hundred dollars in repairs. Innocent remarks, but they stung badly. “I’m calling Abie or a different repairman.”

Not just ships in the night. They were destroyers, lobbing missiles over the side. Rena didn’t mean to hurt, but today she had struck a direct hit.

Abie Neiman was having a hectic day. With the delivery of two new maintenance trunks, the service fleet of Neiman HVAC and Plumbing was now up to 14 vehicles, and his insurance rates were through the roof. He really needed to get his agent on the phone to work out a deal before he could release the new trucks. But he could take a minute for his younger sister.

“What’s up? Everything okay? How’s Yaelli?” Abie asked.

“Yes, we’re fine, baruch Hashem. Yaelli’s in school, for now,” Rena said. “Our boiler’s making this weird ticking noise. And there’s no hot water. Can you send someone down please?”

A slight unease flickered through Abie. It wasn’t as simple as it had been 12 years ago, when Eliyahu and Rena had first bought their house, and Abie had been starting out as an HVAC technician. He had been the sole operator, grateful for any client, even a nonpaying one like his sister. It was good for business when people saw the Neiman Plumbing truck on the roads. But Abie had come a long way since then.

He’d have to send a tech, which cost him money — for the guy’s time, and for the paying client they could have been servicing. But for Rena….

“You need it today?”

“Please.” Rena said. “Me and Eliyahu can take cold showers, but the kids will not appreciate it.”

“Okay,” Abie decided. “I can send Colin.” His sister needed his help.