Truth or Dare by Peg Cochran Page B

of her t-shirt blending into the swirling colors until finally, she disappeared from view.
     
         Rivka slammed her book shut and stretched.  She looked at the clock—it was almost ten o’clock.  She should get ready for bed, but she was starving.  Her mother had made matzoh brie for dinner, and she’d only eaten a little bit of it even though it used to be her favorite.  Thinking about what Pamela would say if she saw such a weird dish on their table had made her lose her appetite.
         She tiptoed down the stairs as quietly as she could.  Her parents usually went to bed early.
         The light was still on in the living room which was weird.  She could hear voices, too.  It sounded like her mother and her Aunt Ruth.  She paused on the bottom step, listening.  She couldn’t remember Aunt Ruth, or anyone else for that matter, ever coming to their house so late.
         It sounded like Aunt Ruth was crying.  Rivka slid quietly down to the next step and pressed back into the shadows.  She couldn’t make out their words, but it sounded like her mother was trying to calm Aunt Ruth down.
         It wasn’t the first time.  There had always been something different about Aunt Ruth as far back as she could remember.  One time she had caught her father making that “crazy” sign with his finger when her mother wasn’t looking, so she knew he thought so, too.
         Something bad had happened to Aunt Ruth when she was younger, but no one would tell her what. Her mother said that she would understand when she was older.  Which probably meant it had to do with either sex or boys or both. 
         Rivka shifted on the step.  She wondered when they would be done talking?  She really was starving and wouldn’t be able to sleep unless she got a snack.
         She tried to imagine what Aunt Ruth could have done that had been so terrible and had made her go half crazy like this.  Personally, she thought Aunt Ruth had probably been born that way.  It was part of the reason they’d moved out of New York City to the suburbs—so her mother could be closer to her younger sister.  Her mother’s company moving out to New Jersey had been the excuse her parents had needed to put their city condo up for sale and buy a house on the other side of the river.
         Aunt Ruth’s voice got louder, and Rivka could hear a few words.  She scratched idly at a mosquito bite while she listened—something about sending a letter and not getting any answer.  Why would that make her so upset?  Her Aunt Ruth really must be crazy after all.
         “Bubeleh!  What are you doing still up?”
         Her mother came around the corner suddenly, and Rivka jumped. 
         “Uh, just about to get a snack.”  Rivka jumped to her feet.
         Her mother made that annoying tick-tick sound with her tongue.  “If you’d eaten your dinner, you wouldn’t be hungry.”  She turned toward her sister.  “Aunt Ruth is going to spend the night with us.  I’m making up the bed in the guest room.  If you look in the fridge, there’s some leftover matzoh brie you can pop in the microwave.”  She motioned toward the kitchen with her chin.
         Rivka nodded.  Aunt Ruth’s eyes were swollen, and her nose was red.   She was wringing a handkerchief with both hands.  She nodded at Rivka, her eyes downcast.
         Rivka nodded back and slipped away into the kitchen.  She put the leftover matzoh brie into the microwave, heated it, topped it with sour cream and carried it over to the table.  She could still hear her mother and Aunt Ruth’s whispered voices as they retreated up the stairs. 
         She thought about what she’d heard as she dug into the snack.  Something about an unanswered letter.  To a boyfriend maybe?  Was that why her aunt was so upset? 
         It didn’t make any sense so she decided not to think about it anymore.
     
         Rivka started up the stairs,