Free Brooklyn Love (Crimson Romance) by Yael Levy

successfully married off her three sons, and now her daughter was talking like an opponent and acting like a know-it-all. Maybe she got those ideas from that art school she went to. Maybe they shouldn’t have allowed her to go.
    “Rachel, I’m saying that romance, excitement — it’s all nice, but it’s icing on the cake. But what makes up the cake — now that is very important.”
    Rachel thought about Daniel Gold. He certainly was the worldliest man she had ever met, and that made him exciting. So far he’d taken her to a museum, a concert, a nice restaurant, and strolling along Battery Park. It had only been a few weeks since their first date — and each date was more exciting than the last. Most of her friends only got to go to hotel lounges or airports to talk. Maybe the boy would spring for a cola. But Daniel was a man of means and taste. Rachel didn’t know much about his character, but he seemed like a nice guy. More important, everybody who heard about his qualities loved him. Even Ma, no matter what she said. After all, it wasn’t like he was a waiter — or a rabbi.
    Ma interrupted her thoughts. “The exciting guys are usually too busy being exciting to be there for their wives. Do you want an exciting guy, or someone stable like Daniel Gold — a husband to be there for you?”
    As if on cue, her question was followed by two knocks on the front door. Tall and thin like Abraham Lincoln, with a generally quiet and inexpressive manner, Abe Shine entered his home. Rachel had always thought that her father was handsome. Tonight, he looked like a dashing Italian movie star.
    She and her mother rose from the couch as he joined them in the living room, where he paused to take a deep, long breath, inhaling the special smell of the Sabbath. There was nothing as peaceful as this. “Good Shabbos, girls,” he greeted them, and they sang the traditional Sabbath songs, welcoming the angels that had walked home with him from shul.
    Jewish lore held that good and evil angels accompany every man home from synagogue on Friday nights. If the home is a peaceful one that honors the Sabbath, the good angel will bless the home to sustain its good fortune; but if a home is filled with discord or disrespect for the Sabbath, the evil angel will curse the household to continue in a negative direction. The Shines’ Sabbath ritual left no question which angel would prevail.
    Abe Shine sang “ Eishet Chayil , A Woman of Valor,” King Solomon’s ode to the capable woman. Rachel reflected on how romantic she found this particular ritual. Every Shabbos, no matter the ups and downs of a relationship, the husband praises his wife in front of anyone present, recognizing her contribution to the home and family. But her father didn’t need the Sabbath to show such appreciation. He often expressed his pride that his wife was a true balabusteh , not just in the home, but also in every way. Her advice, encouragement, and sacrifices had helped the family succeed and thrive; if it weren’t for her, he would not be in the position he was in now.
    Rachel watched her father gaze at his wife, now pleasantly plump after many years of marriage, and remembered that he had once told her that he still saw his wife as the beautiful child bride he’d married. A petite and voluptuous redhead, Debby Shine had been just seventeen at the time, but she was so bright, kind, and vivacious, he’d known through his core, from the moment they met, that she was his basherte, the only one for him.
    Debby would laugh at his romanticism and say that she’d married him simply because her parents told her to look for a husband who was tall, professional, and didn’t wear glasses — and Abe fit the bill. Still, she would admit that she had heard music around him and couldn’t figure out where the music was coming from. They were engaged after three dates and still happily married many years later. And the funny thing was, Debby Shine had confided in Rachel,