The readers are surely looking forward to more chapters of
Mrs. Rochel Leah Perlman's memoirs. Well, this story was
written almost seventy years ago — for an English
class.
Mrs. Perlman wishes to excuse herself for not seeming to be
appreciative of her mother-in-law, who, for many years, had
been the caregiver for the children and housekeeper for the
Perlman home while the parents went out to work. Those were
the times when there were no jobs for Shabbos observant
people and the Perlmans had to struggle for their very
bread.
So read this true story with the proper mindset, timeset, and
the knowledge that it was written as an English
assignment.
Three Hundred Dollars
Part I
Eva pushed aside her cup and stretched her legs under the
table. She stole one more moment to just sit there, doing
nothing. A glance at the clock showed that it was almost two
in the afternoon. She moved her hand into the patch of
sunlight on the table, enjoying the bright yellow warmth.
Then, suppressing a sigh, she stood up and in one efficient
sweep, gathered the dishes and swiftly washed, dried and put
them away. She heard the simpering call from upstairs but
stayed to finish the cleaning-up. She called up the stairs
that she was coming and would bring a cup of tea in a
moment.
Eva reasoned that the warm sun must surely have made a
difference in the need for heat, so she guiltily lowered the
thermostat, hoping to save a few dollars before anyone
noticed the change in temperature. She picked up the tray
with the cup of tea and two cookies and went up to see what
she could do to make her elderly mother-in-law more
comfortable. She pulled the extra blanket from the foot of
her own bed and took it with her into Mother Bessie's
room.
"Here's an extra blanket, just in case," she said, paying no
attention to the derisive snort the old woman aimed at her.
Bessie took the cup eagerly, and hungrily bit into the dark,
fragrant cookie. "Why are you stingy for a little sugar?" she
asked. "When I made cookies, you knew what you were eating!"
Eva made no answer; thirty years of having Mother Bessie
share their home had softened the impact of her criticisms
and complaints. Eva knew that she was a fine daughter-in-law,
that her lonely mother-in-law really did not mean to hurt her
in the least, and she was satisfied that their relationship
was as good as could be.
She left the room, taking a quick glance into each of the
other three bnedrooms, and then the bathroom. Habitable,
comfortable, crowded — her home offered sleeping and
bathing space for eight adults. Just think, some people had
two or even three bathrooms in this year of 1936! A sigh
rose, but was not expressed. What was the use of wishing for
something that couldn't be right now? Just having a four-
bedroom house with a porch was riches enough. Maybe after
their debts were paid off...
Suddenly she smelled the meat loaf and quickly picked up the
empty teacup and tray and ran downstairs, not even hearing
what Bessie said. Was it thanks or was it grumbling? Eva knew
it didn't matter. Her job now was to prepare the evening
meal.
It was almost five when the phone rang, just as she had
finished setting the table. It was Harry, and she broke in on
his greeting to ask, "Did you collect the money from that
customer, Miller and Sons?"
"Every cent," he answered happily. "I'm bringing home the
whole $300. The banks are closed now so I'll wait until
tomorrow to deposit it. And then we can make the last payment
on our old debts and have some left over as well. But that's
not why I called. I have a guest with me, a stranger from out
of town. He has nowhere to eat and no place to sleep
tonight."
"One more makes no difference at the supper table. We have
plenty, thank G-d. We'll make room for him to sleep, so long
as you let him know that he won't have a room to himself."
Harry gave a bark of a laugh, said thanks, and hung up.
Feeding the hungry and sheltering the roofless were, after
all, important mitzvos. Eva welcomed the opportunity
to do them and there was always the chance that the guest
might be an interesting one, with stories to tell about the
world that they might not have heard.
At six o'clock, the family and their three boarders began to
come home, filling the front hall with their wet galoshes,
wet coats, scarves and loud voices. The students drew
appreciative breaths of the supper fragrances, and dashed to
clean up.
The two sons of the house kissed their mother just as the
door opened for Harry Stein and his guest. Eva left the warm
kitchen to say hello to her husband and to greet their guest.
Her gut reaction was that this man would not have much to
offer in the way of interesting talk to share with them. She
had seen this type before.
"There is an air about them," she thought. "They think the
world is theirs and all of us are there to serve them."
Still, she went forward with a welcoming smile, greeted him
warmly and directed her son to show Mr. Freeman where he
could wash up.
"Be sure to give him a clean towel," she called after them as
they went up the stairs. "And after supper, bring up a cot
and put it in your room for the guest." Turning to her
younger son, she said, "Tell Grandma it's her night to have
supper downstairs with us."
Mother Bessie was brought down on a seat which her grandsons
made of their interlaced hands. She settled into her chair
and looked at Mr. Freeman with bright-eyed curiosity. "How
she changes when someone new is here," thought Eva. "She'll
enjoy this meal."
Harry headed off the questions he sensed were on the tip of
his mother's tongue. "Mr. Freeman is from a small town in
Pennsylvania and is here on business. Both of us are very
tired, so let's eat first." Mother Bessie still felt she was
the lady of the house and said, "We all welcome you and hope
you enjoy this supper, even though it's only a normal weekday
meal."
Eva hardly tasted anything; she was busy planning what debts
to pay first with the $300 which they had given up on
collecting. "We had better put it in a safe place tonight,"
she thought. Where? She tried to shake off a strange feeling
of dread and turned to pass the salad bowl. "If I don't start
tasting this good food, it will be a waste," she thought. She
remembered, as she did every day of her life, what she had
once promised Hashem: "If, when I go to bed there is food in
the house for the next day, I'll never ask for more blessing
than that!"
"Mmmm," she murmured now, "this meat loaf is the best I ever
made."
By eleven, everyone was settled in bed and only quiet
whispers and creaking springs were heard. In their room, Eva
and Harry exchanged large yawns. "Where did you put the
money?" Eva asked. Harry answered, "Who is going to come into
this house and venture upstairs where we're wall-to-wall
people? I'll leave it in my pants, hung right on this hook in
the closet." Seeing how tired he was, she put off the
pleasure of discussing what to do first with the leftover
money. Sleep came to both of them with a rush and a
sweetness.
*
She heard the sharp sound, opened her eyes, saw that it was
still dark outside, and for a moment, thought that what she
has hearing was part of a dream. But the look on Harry's face
told her the news before she could even ask. "It's gone..."
And he groaned for both of them because her throat was
parched like a desert and no sound would emerge.
[Final part next week: The Rabbi Comes to the Rescue]
