Rina smiled. “You’re right. He probably sent it to them. Anyway, they thought it was a very scholarly work. About three, four months after Yitzy died, Bram was invited to the Vatican to complete two different versions of the book—one for the clergy, another more simplified version for the Catholic schools. He was also promised ordination by the Pope at St. Peter’s Basilica through some hotshot seminary in Rome…in those gorgeous gardens overlooking the city. Pontifical something. He called it ‘New Men’ for short.”

“Ah, the power of power. Bram published the book.”

“To Bram’s credit, he asked me what he should do.”

“You told him to go ahead. He knew you would.”

“Probably.” Rina paused a moment. “Yes, I told him to go ahead. I didn’t want the responsibility of stifling someone’s golden opportunity. Besides, as strange as this may sound, I knew the priesthood was his calling.”

“Did you ever see him after he left for Rome?”

“Yes. Apparently, he came back right after I took the family to New York for the summer. I almost stayed there permanently. Come to think of it, I never could figure out why I returned to L.A. All the men were in New York.”

“Not all the men.”

Rina grinned. “Obviously not all the men, darling.”

Decker grinned back. “So you saw Bram after he came back from Rome.”

“I did.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Nothing to tell. By then, he was an ordained priest. I took him to a kosher restaurant in the city. Boy, did we get stares.”

“And that was that?”

Rina squinted at her husband. “Yes, Peter. That was that.”

“Sorry.” Decker held up his palms as if he were fending her off. “Sorry. Polite conversation between you two?”

“Exactly.”

“Can I ask what you talked about?”

“Mostly, he talked about Rome, about the Vatican and the churches and the sculpture and the artwork and the gardens…the Ville D’este. He just went on and on about Italy. Like a travelogue. Stilted conversation. We were uncomfortable with each other.”

Inwardly, Decker breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, you two didn’t have much in common, I guess.”

“At that point, no.” Her smile was forced. “Anything else, dear?”

“No.” Decker held back a grin. “Better quit while I’m ahead.”

“Good advice for gamblers.” She kissed his lips this time. “Even better advice for curious spouses.”

Wiping the dish, Rina thought about the Jewish concept of shalom bais, the keeping of marital peace. So important a tenet, a person was allowed to do everything in his or her power to keep home and hearth tranquil, even if it meant slight variations on the truth.

Because “that” wasn’t exactly “that.”