A Day in Menopause · A Hormonal Comedy by Nurit Rozenblat
Chapter Seventeen: 21:38 — It's Not You. It's Just Not Tonight.
At 21:38 Eyal closed the book.
He had read three pages aloud to Dana, until the pain in her head had almost completely calmed down.
"And the murderer?" Dana asked.
"Still unknown."
"He's waiting for the pharmacy."
"And for the eye exam."
Eyal put the book on the nightstand.
The room was half dark.
The fan by the bed worked quietly.
It had worked all day, actually.
Two shifts.
Eyal looked at Dana.
Dana looked at the ceiling.
"Dana."
"What?"
"Do you remember what you said at noon?"
"I said a lot of things at noon. Some of them to the remote."
"You said we'd do something romantic tonight."
Dana smiled.
"I said we'd go to sleep early."
"That was the second part."
"That was the only part."
Eyal moved a little closer.
"I made tea. I gave you a massage. I was a clock."
"You were an excellent clock."
"So I thought maybe…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.
Dana looked at him.
He looked hopeful.
And that was exactly what broke her heart.
Because she loved him.
She really loved him.
But her body, at that moment, wanted nothing.
Not that kind of touch.
Not that kind of closeness.
It wanted only one thing.
Quiet.
And sleep.
"Eyal…"
"What?"
"It's not you."
He was silent.
"I know it sounds like a line from a book," she said. "But it really isn't you."
"So what is it?"
Dana took a deep breath.
"I don't know how to explain. Just… I have no desire. At all. Not a little less. None."
Eyal looked at her.
"Today, or in general?"
The question was quiet.
Not accusing.
Just honest.
"Lately," Dana said. "It comes and goes. Sometimes it's there. Sometimes my body behaves as if the subject isn't on the agenda at all."
Dana felt that her lack of desire for sex may also have stemmed, perhaps, from routine.
Changes in sexual desire are very common during the transition to menopause, said the voice.
Dana almost smiled.
"He says it's common," she said to Eyal.
"Who?"
"The voice."
"Oh. And what else does he say?"
A drop in estrogen and testosterone can affect desire. But it is almost never only hormones. Also chronic fatigue, broken sleep, mood, stress — and also dryness or discomfort during intercourse, which can make the experience less pleasant and reduce desire even further.
Dana translated aloud:
"He says it's not only hormones. It's also that I don't sleep, I'm tired all day, dry as the desert, and I spent the afternoon not killing anyone."
Eyal smiled a small smile.
"That sounds like a convincing list."
"Right?"
"But tell him something."
"What?"
Eyal thought for a moment.
"That I understand. And that I'm not going anywhere."
Dana looked at him.
"Eyal."
"What?"
"You know I love you."
"I know."
"And that I'm attracted to you."
"That I know too. Mostly."
"Today too. It's just… the body."
He nodded.
"Your body did a lot of things today without asking you. Maybe it decided this on its own too."
Dana almost laughed.
"You're getting better at phrasing."
"I have a good teacher. And an inner voice."
"You don't have an inner voice."
"I do. He mostly just says 'eat something'."
Dana laughed.
Then she turned serious.
"I don't want you to feel rejected."
"I don't feel rejected," Eyal said. "I feel… out of the loop. As if something big is happening to you and I only hear reports."
Dana thought about the day.
About the watch that told him everything in pulse.
"You're not out of the loop," she said. "You're in it. You just don't get all the updates in time. Nobody does. I don't either."
He smiled.
"So what do we do?"
A mismatch in desire between partners is common, especially in this period, the voice continued. What helps most couples is to talk about it without guilt and without pressure, to find other forms of closeness, and not to turn every evening into a test. And if dryness or discomfort are interfering — there is treatment for that, and it is worth talking about it with a doctor. If the drop in desire bothers you or the relationship — that too is a completely legitimate topic for a medical checkup.
"He says we need to talk," Dana said.
"We're talking."
"And that there's treatment for the dryness. I already have a reminder for the doctor."
"I saw. It's on the list. Between the eyes and the ears."
"The renovation list."
Eyal lay on his back and looked at the ceiling.
"So tonight?"
Dana moved closer to him and laid her head on his chest.
"Tonight we stay like this."
"Like this is good," Eyal said.
"Like this is excellent."
He hugged her.
The fan kept working.
"Eyal."
"What?"
"I'm sorry about tonight."
"Don't be sorry."
"At noon I promised romance."
"At noon you also promised to do nothing all day. You have a record."
Dana raised her head.
"Eyal!"
"What? I'm just saying your promises are going through hormonal changes today."
She put her head back down and laughed.
It was 21:57.
Dana discovered that it is possible to want nothing and still want to be close.
Eyal discovered that being in the loop doesn't mean solving — sometimes it just means staying.
And the fan?
It kept working.
Some things don't change.
End of Chapter Seventeen.
Continued in Chapter Eighteen: 22:24 — My Hand Fell Asleep. I Wish I Could.
© 2026 Nurit Rozenblat. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed without the author's prior written permission.
