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Don t apologize.
It s been a trying day.
You don t have to do this now, Rina. Come down
to the station tomorrow morning, and I ll get a state-
ment from you then.
She looked up. Her cheeks were streaked. No, I m
fine.
It doesn t matter, Rina. The kid s probably out by
now anyway. Do it tomorrow.
She sat down on the sofa, and he sat next to her.
You know, living here hasn t been easy, Peter. This
isn t an appropriate place for a woman in my position.
This is a high school
THE RITUAL BATH / 149
and college of Jewish studies for boys. The women here
are the wives of the rabbis or wives of a special group
of scholars studying in the kollel. That s what my hus-
band used to do. He used to learn in the kollel. That
was his job. I worked as a teacher so he could study.
That s considered honorable. This place has no role
for a single woman.
I m not afraid of living on my own. I don t live in
the lap of luxury here, so struggling and working hard
aren t things I m afraid of. But I know as soon as I
pack my bags and step off these grounds, I m going
to get swallowed up by that woman you just met.
She started to cry.
Decker knew it wasn t just her parents. It was this
morning and the events of the past month. It was the
culmination of everything. He d seen it lots of times,
victims at the breaking point. He put his arm around
her heaving shoulders and, much to his surprise, she
snuggled in closer.
You want to know my opinion? he said. I think
any woman who can knee-drop her attacker couldn t
be swallowed up by anybody.
She laughed weakly and leaned her head against his
chest. She could hear his heartbeat; the slow, steady
rhythm had a hypnotic, calming effect on her nerves.
Bringing her arm over his chest, she embraced him.
She felt her own body being enfolded by his arms, his
fingers playing against her spine. He removed the ker-
chief from her head, loosened a few hair-
150 / Faye Kellerman
pins, and a thick black wave of hair cascaded down
her shoulders and back.
How far do you want to take this? he asked softly.
Not very.
He cupped her chin, lifted her face, and locked eyes.
Don t you find this frustrating?
Of course I find it frustrating. But sex isn t the quick
and easy solution.
You could have fooled me.
He kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair.
If I get objective about the whole situation, I have
to admit it s kind of nice. I feel like I m back in high
school. In the olden days, you used to have to beg for
everything.
He grinned and put his palms together.
Please, please, I swear I ll be gentle.
She slapped him playfully and pulled away.
Decker straightened up.
Worked about as well on you as it did on the girls
in high school.
Maybe it s time to change your technique.
She cleared her throat and tried to sound casual.
By the way, what did you think of my parents.
They seemed caring. Very protective. But, then, you
were attacked this morning& . They were much more
modern than I d have imagined. You didn t grow up
yeshiva religious, did you?
We were modern Orthodox. Which is to
THE RITUAL BATH / 151
say I grew up with a strong Jewish identity. My mother
was far less strict with the rules than my father. That
led to a lot of fights. So in keeping with Freudian psy-
chology, my oldest brother the doctor married a girl
much less religious than he, and I married a boy much
more religious than I. We all marry our parents, don t
we?
Decker reflected. His former wife, his mother, his
biological mother. Maybe it was programmed in the
genes.
On the other hand, she continued, my middle
brother I m the youngest was a lost soul. My parents
didn t know what to do with him, so he was shipped
off to Israel. The Chasidim got to him, and now he s
at a Satmar yeshiva, the most religious of the three of
us.
Two out of three ended up in a yeshiva. That s an
interesting track record.
Only my brother s Chasidish. That s the kind of
Jew they depict in The Chosen and Fiddler on the Roof,
the ones with the long black coats and the mink hats.
This yeshiva is Misnagid, a totally different philosophy
from the Chasidic yeshivas. You want to see a man
emit smoke from his nostrils, call Rav Aaron a Chasid.
Is that the ultimate ethnic put-down?
For Rav Aaron. Misnagdim and Chasidim are like
the Hatfields and the McCoys. Never the twain shall
meet. She thought. It s not that bad, but the Chasidim
think the Misnagdim lack human emotion, and the
Misnagdim
152 / Faye Kellerman
think the Chasidim are a bunch of ignoramuses.
Rav Aaron was born in a small village but went to
yeshiva in Minsk a major city in Lithuania. He s a
Litvak through and through, and Litvaks pride them-
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