// 845.371.2222 "I guess you're right," David rejoined, a bit disappointed. Nothing improved over the next few days. And then, a week after David had spoken to Yitzchok, he found out that Yitzchok was engaged to a girl from Denver. David surmised that Aaron had become aware of the possible shidduch, and that this prospect of losing a fellow bachelor had caused his depression. Aaron didn't come to work that morning. David called him and asked if he felt well. "I'm quitting," Aaron gulped. "I don't believe it! What happened?" "Nothing. The job's just not up my alley." "What do you mean by that? You loved it at the beginning." "Yeah, but times have changed," Aaron briefly answered. "What does the boss say about that?" David asked. "I haven't told him yet. I'll call him during the day." "Aaron, don't call him yet,” David said quickly. “Let’s discuss this first." It took David quite a while to convince Aaron to postpone his talk with the boss. That evening Aaron came to the shiur, and David mustered all of his persuasive powers to try to convince Aaron to change his mind. But Aaron insisted that the job at the bank wasn't for him. "So what are you planning to do?" David finally asked. "You know that the unemployment rate in America is very high." "I have a number of offers which I'm checking out. Don’t worry. I'll be fine." During the ensuing year, David and Aaron met every now and then, but they didn't resume their shiur. Sometimes Aaron spent Shabbos at David's home, and from time to time they met on Sundays. But Aaron always managed to evade the question of what he was doing since leaving the bank. David was very worried. He wished he could speak to Yitzchok, who in some ways knew Aaron even better than he did. But Yitzchak wasn’t around. Shortly before his wedding, he had broken his engagement, and he had disappeared from the scene right afterwards. Most people surmised that he had left New York, hoping to make a new start. So David did his best on his own, but after a few months, he finally despaired of trying to help Aaron. Thus, when Aaron called him and asked to meet him in the shul where they had once studied, David was surprised. He hoped that Aaron wanted to resume their steady shiur. In his grimmest fantasies, he never imagined that Aaron would say that he was leaving New York. Aaron's announcement hit David like a thunderbolt. But what could he do? With a sinking feeling, David wished Aaron success. Then the two went their separate ways. (To be continued) 187
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