Chapter 23 Summary

Izzy is not waiting in the lobby for Rachel when she arrives. She runs up the stairs to his apartment. She's afraid to knock. Finally, she taps softly, and he opens the door. He is lying on the sofa under a blanket. Izzy says he didn't sleep all night. The whites of his eyes are streaked red. He falls asleep talking to Rachel and then jerks awake. He insists they go out, saying he needs to stop at the store.

The next day, they walk to the cemetery where Grandma Eva is buried. It is hidden by a fieldstone wall with a wrought-iron Star of David above the gate. Izzy stops to admire the stonework on the wall. He points out how little mortar--he calls it "mud"- is used between the stones.

Suddenly, Rachel asks whether he built the wall. No, he...