PARTISAN REVIEW
277
I'll tell you. Yes Mrs. Blatz. As soon as I know, believe me. No. No.
I won't tell anyone else first. No one else. You'll be the first to know.
Believe me, I'll came right to your house. That's all right. It will be
a pleasure. A pleasure. No, I don't need anything. It's very kind of
you. I won't forget. The first one. Believe me. As soon as I hear.
It's all right. Goodnight. God should take care of you too, Mrs.
Blatz. Goodnight. That's right. I won't forget. I'll remind myself.
Don't worry. That's all right. It's no trouble. That's right. You can
still get some sleep. You'll feel better. Goodnight. Take care too.
Goodnight.... Goodnight. I won't. Goodnight...."
And so on, for ten minutes When Rabbi Lux finally put down
the hook, Yehoodiss was staring at him, angrily twitching her lips.
There were a few seconds of silence. Then she blurted out, "So who
was it?"
"So who is Mrs. Blatz?" snapped Yehoodiss, compressing her
lips. Yehoodiss knew that it was Mrs. Blatz. She knew because the
Rabbi had said the name a dozen times already on the telephone.
And she knew from her friends in the Sisterhood all about Mrs.
Blatz and her troubles. Perhaps Yehoodiss even knew that Mrs. Blatz
had been to see the Rabbi. The Sisterhood at Beth Rachmoniss kept
an eye on other things besides cakes, in the oven. Yet it would in
no way have lessened her irritation. Especially, when Rabbi Lux
answered quickly.
"Business from the Schul."
"What's the matter?"
"It's private business, I can't say."
"At five o'clock in the morning, it's private? At five o'clock in
my house, on my phone - it's private business? Private? Public?
At five o'clock, it's
my
business. What's going on?"
"A poor woman, she lost her son," said Rabbi Lux, appealing
to Yehoodiss with open palms to stop the discussion.
"Her son is here?"
"Please, Yehoodiss, forget it."
But Yehoodiss would not forget it. She might have forgotten it.
If
only Rabbi Lux had opened up his heart and shared some of his
troubles.
If
only he had said to her, "Yehoodiss, the woman is
heartbroken. She's half-crazy. The son is lost and.... He is probably
dead somewhere in Korea. But in her condition now, why tell her
