Dream House (30 page)

Whenever I think of Hank, I see him as he looked that day, and I'm reminded of a poem by E. A. Robinson. “Reuben Bright.”

Because he was a butcher and thereby
Did earn an honest living (and did right)
I would not have you think that Reuben Bright
Was any more a brute than you or I;
For when they told him that his wife must die,
He stared at them, and shook with grief and fright,
And cried like a great baby half that night,
And made the women cry to see him cry.

And after she was dead, and he had paid
The singers and the sexton and the rest,
He packed a lot of things that she had made
Most mournfully away in an old chest
Of hers, and put some chopped-up cedar boughs
In with them, and tore down the slaughter-house.

Some things you have to do yourself.

B
UBBIE
G
'S
C
HALLA

In a medium metal or glass bowl, dissolve the yeast in 1⁄2 cup water. Stir in 1 tablespoon sugar. In an aluminum bowl mix the flour, sugar, and salt. Create a well in the center and slowly pour 11⁄2 cups water into the well. Add the oil, 2 eggs, and yeast mixture. Mix wet and dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until you can no longer move the spoon.

Bubbie G kneads the dough by hand until it's smooth and elastic and doesn't stick to the sides of the bowl—about ten minutes. (You can use a mixer with a dough hook for 2–3 minutes, but don't tell.) If the dough is too sticky, knead in small amounts of flour until it's smooth.

Brush the top of the dough with oil, cover with plastic wrap and a towel, and let rise in a warm room for 1 to 11⁄2 hours, until double in size. On a floured board divide the dough into two or three parts. Separate each part into four strands and roll each strand into a thick rope.

Place strands side by side and press tops together. Working from left to right, take the outside strand (#1) and weave over the next strand (#2), then under #3, then over the last (#4). To continue, take strand #2 (now on outside), weave over the next (#3), under #4, and over the last. Proceed until braid is completed. Pinch ends together and place the challa on a baking sheet sprayed with Pam. Brush the top of the challa with beaten egg. If you desire, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.

Repeat braiding and egg glaze with the other dough. Let the loaves rise another hour. Preheat oven to 350 and bake challa for 25–35 minutes until the challa is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. Cool on wire racks. Makes two to three challot.

If you're ambitious and want a taller challa, e-mail me at
www.rochellekrich.com
for instructions on making a six-braid version.

G
LOSSARY OF
H
EBREW AND
Y
IDDISH
WORDS AND PHRASES

Az es iz nisht vi ich vill, vill ich vi es iz
If it's not as I want it, I want it as it is. Yiddish proverb.

Baruch Hashem
(ba-ruch´ ha-shem´). Thank God. Literally: Blessed be God.

beitzim
(noun, plural, b-a´-tzim). Eggs; slang for “balls,” meaning gumption. Use with caution!

Birkat hamazon
(noun, bir-kat´ ha-ma-zon´). Grace after meals.

bissele
(noun, diminutive, bis´-se-le). A small amount (of), a little.

bubbie
(noun, bub´-bee). Grandmother; also,
bubbeh, babi, babbi.

bulvan
(noun, bul-van´). An oxlike man; a boorish, coarse, rude person.

chalesh
(verb, cha´-lesh). To faint or swoon. Colloquially,
to crave. Also,
cha´-lesh-ing
,
fainting. “I'm chaleshing
for . . .”

challa
(noun, chal´-la or chal-la´). Braided loaf of bread. Plural is
challot
(chal-lot´) or
challas
(chal´-las).

Chanukah
(noun, cha´-nu-kah). Eight-day Festival of Lights in the Jewish month of Kislev, which usually falls in
December.

chutzpah
(noun, chutz´-pah). Audacity; gall.

Der emess iz a kricher
(der e´-mess iz a krich´-er). Truth is a slowpoke. Yiddish proverb.

drash
(noun). Sermon.

dreidel
(noun, dr-a´-del). A four-sided top used to play games on Chanukah.

emess
(noun, e´-mess). Truth.

Gemara
(noun, ge-ma´-ra). Collection of commentaries that, together with the Mishna, the oral law, forms the Talmud.

glezele
(noun, diminutive, gle´-ze-le). A small glass.

gut
(adjective). Good.

Gut voch
A good week. A phrase uttered after the Sabbath ends to wish someone a good week, and the title of a song. In Hebrew,
Shavuah tov.

HaMavdil
(ha-mav´-dil). Literally, “He who separates.” A song following the havdalah ceremony.

havdalah
(noun, hav-dal´-lah). Separation. The blessing that marks the end of the Sabbath and separates it from the rest of the week.

kenehoreh
(ke-ne-hor´-eh). Also,
kenayn-e-horeh
(ke-nain´-e-hor´-eh), a frequently used phrase that is an elision of
keyn ayin horeh
(k-an a´-yin ho´-reh). Let there be no evil eye.

kiddush
(noun, kid´-dush or kid-dush´). A prayer recited over wine at the beginning of a Sabbath or holiday meal. Also used to refer to refreshments served after synagogue services on the Sabbath or other Jewish holidays.

kneidel
(kn-a´-del). Matzoh ball.

knip
(noun or verb). A pinch, or to pinch.

kugel
(noun, ku´-gel). A puddinglike dish, usually made of vegetables (like potatoes or onions) or noodles.

L'cha Dodi
(l´-cha´ do-di´). Sabbath song, part of Friday night prayer service. Literally, “Come, My Beloved.”

Lech lecha
(lech le-cha´). Leave for yourself; go away. The opening verse of a portion in Genesis.

mazel
(noun, ma´-zel). Luck; often used in a phrase,
mazel tov,
wishing one good luck at a celebration or happy occasion. Alternate spelling:
mazal
(ma-zal´)
tov.

metziah
(noun, me-tzee´-ah). Bargain; literally, “a find.”

Mishna
(noun, mish´-na). Jewish oral law; together with
the Gemara, a collection of commentaries, it forms the
Talmud.

mishpacha
(noun, mish-pa´-cha or mish-pa-cha´). Family.

nahrishkeit
(noun, nah´-rish-keit). Nonsense; silliness.

Nu
(interjection). So.

pareve
(adjective, pa´-reve). Nondairy.

Shabbat
(noun, shab-bat´). Sabbath.

Shabbos
(noun, shab´-bes). Sabbath. Also,
Shabbat.

Shavuah tov
(sha-vu´-ah tov). A good week. See
Gut voch,
above.

sheyfele
(noun, diminutive, sh-a´-fele). Little lamb.

Shit arayn
(shit a-rine´). A dialectical variation of
shis a'rayn.
Pour (it) in.

shul
(noun). Synagogue.

Torah
(noun, to´-rah or to-rah´). The Bible; also, the parchment scroll itself.

VaYerah
(va-y´-rah). Opening verse of a chapter in Genesis. Literally, “And He appeared.”

voch
(noun). Week.

yarmulke
(noun, yar´-mul-ke). Skullcap; synonym for
kippah.

zeidie
(noun, z-a´-die). Grandfather; also,
zeidi, zeide, zeideh, zaydie.

zemirot
(noun, ze-mi-rot´; plural of ze´-mer). Songs usually sung during the Sabbath or holiday meals.

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

Rochelle Krich is the author of many acclaimed novels of suspense, including
Blues in the Night
(which introduced Molly Blume),
Shadows of Sin, Dead Air, Blood Money,
and
Fertile Ground.
An Anthony Award winner for her debut novel,
Where's Mommy Now?
(which was adapted as the TV movie
Perfect Alibi
), Ms. Krich lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their children.

Visit Rochelle Krich's Web site at
www.rochellekrich.com
.

B
Y
R
OCHELLE
K
RICH

Where's Mommy Now?

Till Death Do Us Part

Nowhere to Run

Speak No Evil

Fertile Ground

I
N THE
M
OLLY
B
LUME
S
ERIES

Blues in the Night

Dream House

I
N THE
J
ESSE
D
RAKE
S
ERIES

Fair Game

Angel of Death

Blood Money

Dead Air

Shadows of Sin

S
HORT
S
TORIES

“A Golden Opportunity”
Sisters in Crime 5

“Cat in the Act”
Feline and Famous

“Regrets Only”
Malice Domestic 4

“Widow's Peak”
Unholy Orders

“You Win Some . . .”
Women Before the Bench

“Bitter Waters”
Criminal Kabbalah

A Ballantine Book
Published by The Random House Publishing Group

Copyright © 2003 by Rochelle Majer Krich

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by The Random House Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto.

“Reuben Bright” reprinted with the permission of Scribner, an imprint of
Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group, from
The Collected Poems of
Edwin Arlington Robinson,
Revised Edition, by Edwin Arlington Robinson
(New York: Macmillan, 1937).

Ballantine and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

www.ballantinebooks.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from the
publisher upon request.

eISBN: 978-0-345-46983-0

v3.0