In gratitude, he applied himself with renewed diligence to his work, barely lifting his eyes from the screen and the columns of numbers he was calculating. At lunchtime, he opened his brown lunch bag, eating at his desk.

His phone rang several times before he begrudgingly took time to answer it.

It was Fruma Esther. “I know you are at work, so let’s not waste time.”

“And hello to you, too, Rebbitzen,” he told her, barely breathing as he considered what can of worms was now about to open.

“I spoke to Shaindele. She told me about this psychologist, this grubber yung.”

He smiled to himself. Leave it to Fruma Esther to cut to the chase. “I’m looking into it.”

“She has an appointment today. I told her not to go.”

“I also told her. Actually, Leah told her.”

“And you agreed?”

“I honestly don’t know yet. I’m still looking into it.”

“What’s to look into? You heard what the child said?”

“I heard. But Shaindele doesn’t always tell the whole truth.”

She caught her breath. “Since when?”

“Bubbee, you don’t remember?”

“That was last year, with all the tummel with getting a new stepmother. But since then?”

“She didn’t tell you?”

“Only about Grub she talked. That he wasn’t tzniusdik.”

“Did she tell you why the school sent her to him?”

She shrugged. “Problems. Zissele … what happened…”

“Not exactly.” He hesitated. But he had promised himself long ago that he would not hold back information because of shame. If it could be done, it could be talked about. The truth needed to be dealt with. “Shaindele has been seeing a boy behind our backs. Duvie Halpern.”

“Her principal’s son?”

“Yes.”

“So?”

“What?”

“So he’s Rabbi Halpern’s boy. He’s not a shaigetz, not even a baal teshuva,” she said pointedly. “What’s the harm?”

“It wasn’t a shidduch. She was sneaking around with him at night, going to the city with him and who knows what else. We only found out by accident.”

“She admitted to this?”

“To everything. And then Rav Halpern called us into his office. He was thinking of expelling her.”

“No!”

“Yes.”

“But it was his son!”

“So because of that, he agreed to keep it quiet if she’d go see a psychologist.”

“And he is the one who picked this Grub?”

“Yes. But I also checked him out with Rav Alter, who spoke to the Bobelger Rebbe himself. Grub is very respected among his Hasidim. All the girls with problems are sent to him for counseling.”

“So you think Shaindele is lying about him?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m looking into it. But in the meantime, she is not to go back.”