The Blue Cloth Across the Table
Chapter 1The Cloth in His Head
"We need a cloth for the display table," said Mr. Weiss.
The boys' history exhibit was on Thursday. Their models were ready, but the bare wooden table made them look like leftovers from a workshop.
Dovi thought of the blue cloth in his family's cupboard. It had silver leaves around the border and was long enough to reach both ends.
"I can bring one," he said.
Mr. Weiss wrote CLOTH - DOVI on his sheet.
For the rest of the afternoon, Dovi imagined the models against that blue.
He had not imagined asking the person whose cloth it was.
Chapter 2The Cupboard Door
At home, Dovi opened the cupboard.
The cloth lay on the upper shelf, folded inside a clear cover.
He did not pull it out. He called Mummy instead.
She came from the kitchen, her patterned tichel tucked above her shoulders.
"Can I take Bubby's blue cloth for the history table on Thursday?"
Mummy looked at the shelf.
"That belongs to Bubby. She left it here for the family supper. We can't lend it on her behalf."
"It's only for the afternoon."
"It's still hers."
Dovi closed the cupboard slowly.
On Mr. Weiss's sheet, his name was already beside the cloth.
Chapter 3The Answer He Didn't Want
Bubby was visiting after supper on Tuesday.
Dovi waited until she had put down her bag and asked her about the cloth.
She listened to the whole plan.
"Not that one," she said. "The silver stitching is delicate. I keep it for the family table."
Dovi looked at the hem of her green cardigan rather than at her face. Her sheitel was brushed neatly behind her ears.
"But I told them I'd bring it."
"You can tell them you promised before asking me."
He wished she would say yes simply because that would be embarrassing.
She didn't.
Mummy asked whether the exhibit needed that cloth or a cloth.
Dovi knew the answer. He still wanted the blue one.
Chapter 4Before Wednesday's Lesson
Dovi reached school early on Wednesday.
Mr. Weiss was placing name cards beside the models.
"I need to change something," Dovi said. "The cloth I promised isn't mine to lend. I asked its owner, and she said no."
Mr. Weiss took out his sheet.
"Thank you for telling me now. We need another plan."
He crossed out Dovi's name beside CLOTH.
Dovi felt that small pencil movement as though the whole class had watched it.
"Can I still help?"
"Yes. First we need to find out what the school already has."
Not a new promise. A check.
Chapter 5Three Possibilities
With Mr. Weiss, Dovi and Shlomo checked the school supplies.
There was a short white cloth, a roll of brown paper, and a green cloth with a stain near one corner.
"We could put the tallest model over the stain,"
Shlomo said.
Mr. Weiss measured the table. The green cloth fitted.
The white one did not.
They unfolded the green cloth on the empty table and checked where the stain would fall.
It was near the back edge, not beneath a model that might slide when someone touched it.
"We'll use this," Mr. Weiss said. "No need to balance anything to hide a mark."
Dovi smoothed the front edge.
It was not blue. It was also here, permitted, and long enough.
Chapter 6The Other Boys
"Where's the silver-leaf cloth?" Yossi asked after the lesson.
"I promised it before I asked Bubby. She said no.
We're using the school cloth."
"You sounded certain yesterday."
"I was certain too early."
Yossi looked at the green cloth.
"It doesn't look like a palace."
"We're showing a mill," Shlomo said. "The miller may survive."
Dovi laughed, but he still felt his face warm.
He helped arrange the labels. When Yossi asked for more space, Dovi moved his own model a little rather than making another promise about somebody else's things.
Chapter 7Thursday's Table
By Thursday afternoon, the green cloth was mostly covered with models, information cards, and a row of clay sacks beside the mill.
Dovi showed visitors how the cardboard wheel turned by hand. Mr. Weiss kept an eye on the table and the younger children nearby.
One visitor said the silver writing on Dovi's label was easy to read.
He had chosen that writing because of the blue cloth.
It worked on green too.
When the exhibit ended, the boys packed their own models. Mr. Weiss helped clear the table before the cloth was lifted.
Dovi folded the school cloth with Shlomo and returned it where they had found it.
The stain was still there. It had not stopped the exhibit.
Chapter 8Bubby's Table
At the next family supper, Bubby's blue cloth was spread across the dining table.
Dovi helped set down the plates without dragging them over the stitched leaves.
Bubby asked about the history exhibit.
"We found a green school cloth," he said. "It worked.
I told Mr. Weiss I had promised yours too soon."
"That wasn't easy."
"No."
She asked about his mill, and he explained the wheel.
The blue cloth had remained hers. The exhibit had remained his job to help with.
Both facts could be true without Bubby having to give up her answer.
When Dovi offered to bring something to the next class project, he pictured the owner's cupboard before picturing the finished table.
