Recap: The FBI agent tells Evie he located Junie. Sarit shows up and Evie knows Rikki is not happy about that.
It was amazing how Sarit was nosy about everything, even Junie. Why was she always nosing into everything? I knew it was wrong to feel like this, but I could see why Rikki found her annoying.
After supper, Rikki and I were cleaning up and stacking dishes when Sarit joined us in the kitchen. She grabbed a dishcloth and started drying some of the stacked wet plates.
“Thank you,” Rikki said.
Sarit massaged a plate. “I doubt that man could have found your dog. People steal dogs all the time.”
“Not in Utah,” Rikki said. “Why do you say people steal dogs?”
“Where I grew up, they did it all the time. Who was that man anyway?” Sarit placed the dry plate in the cabinet.
Rikki and I exchanged a quick glance.
“He’s a friendly neighbor,” Rikki said and handed her another plate. The plate slipped from Sarit’s hand and clattered to the floor.
“It’s a good thing these plates are stoneware,” Rikki said.
“Sorry,” Sarit bent down to pick it up.
I noticed something had fluttered out of her pocket. I bent down and scooped it up. It was a student ID. I glanced at the photo, which showed a girl in a full hijab with only her eyes showing and the name at the top was Shekerit.
Sarit grabbed the ID away before I could finish reading the last name.
“Is that your ID?” I asked.
“No, no, of course not. I found it on the street. I need to take it to the lost and found.”
We finished with the dishes.
Then Rabbi Berson announced, “I’m running an Ask-the-Rabbi session for anyone who’d like to join.” Sarit and the Jones family all gathered around him in the living room.
“Do you want to stay and listen, or can we go play a game in my room?” Rikki asked.
I opted for the game.
When we went upstairs to Rikki’s room and closed the door, I spilled what was on my mind. “It’s weird Sarit had someone’s student ID,” I said as I rolled the dice for the game.
“She said it was something she found on the street.” Rikki moved her piece. “I’m worried that my mother hasn’t called since that day I spoke with her. It’s been a week now.”
“Has she spoken with your father?”
“I don’t think so. I just wish she could come home already.”
“I’m sure she will,” I said, trying to sound encouraging.
…
Later that night, when I was lying in the guest bedroom by myself, I kept thinking about Junie. Was she all right? Would Herb bring her back to us tomorrow?
There was a knock on the door and then Rikki appeared. “I can’t sleep. I was thinking about the tz’dakah skatathon. Do you think I’m ready for it? I have to skate ten times around the rink without stopping.”
“I think you are ready,” I said. “Hey, you had a great teacher.”
“Yeah, thanks, Evie. You’re up, too. What are you thinking about?”
“Just worrying about my dog. I hope Junie is all right.”
“I hope so, too.”
I felt for the silver ring on my finger and realized with a start that it wasn’t there. I must have left it in the kitchen when we washed for bread. I’d go look for it in the morning.
To be continued…
Susie Garber is the author of Captured (Menucha 2025), an historical fiction novel, Please Be Patient (Menucha 2024), Flight of the Doves (Menucha Publishing 2023), Please Be Polite (Menucha Publishers 2022) , A Bridge in Time (Menucha Publishing 2021), Secrets in Disguise (Menucha Publishers 2020), Denver Dreams, a novel (Jerusalem Publications, 2009), Memorable Characters…Magnificent Stories (Scholastic, 2002), Befriend (Menucha Publishers, 2013), The Road Less Traveled (Feldheim, 2015), fiction serials and features in Binah Magazine and Binyan Magazine and “Moon Song” in Binyan (2021-2022) and Alaskan Gold ( 2023-2024).
