Page 4 of The Dreidl Disaster

When he ended the call, he went through the process of rinsing off and then drying off the wheels before heading upstairs, swallowing down some sour cream and trying to figure out what the hell he was about to get into.

Chapter Two

Sunday

Generally speaking, asthe mayor Liv’s time was valuable. Extremely valuable, and after consulting her five planners, two electronic and three paper, on Saturday night, all of them said the same thing.

Nothing.

Which meant the agenda included coffee over the new members’ manual for the County Board of Legislators and any other errands she needed to take care of as she started to form her framework for the office she was going to take in January.

But after she’d gotten back from a run and was heading to take a shower, she heard the distinctive ringtone that belonged to her sister. “Hey, Naomi, what’s going on?”

“Where are you?”

She blinked. Naomi sounded…strange, as if something was wrong. “Just got home from a run. I’m heading into the shower and then I’m going to spend the rest of the day starting to read the legislators’ manual. Why?”

Instead of an immediate answer, there was something else. A sigh that sat somewhere between disappointed and sympathetic. “You don’t rest enough even after that committee meeting from Hades and the election,” Naomi began. “This is me reminding you that you need to be at Levitan’s Deli, in the next few hours.”

Levitan’s…

The mayoral part of her brain reminded her of the facts. Levitan’s was a kosher-style Jewish delicatessen that had opened in the center of town during her tenure, in the space once occupied by McManus’s pub under circumstances nobody talked about. It included a barbecue menu inspired by a chef from Rivertown.

Which wasn’t helpful.

Dammit.

And that’s when the lightbulb went on. Judith had called a cousins meeting to discuss wedding prep, and the phone call had come in right around the time Flaire had filled her brain, and the Monday night special committee meeting with the horrible, bad, no good Hanukkah event proposal. And Judith’s phone call, which had not been followed up by an email, had slipped her mind.

“Dammit,” she said.

“You forgot,” Naomi replied, sighing again, suddenly organizer and not sister. “Which is why I’ll call you again when you need to leave.”

“Which,” Liv returned with a grin, “is why I love you.”

“Shower now,” Naomi continued, still in organizer mode. “Don’t let yourself fall into work before I call again without showering and getting ready.”

“Right,” she said. “I’ll organize myself and then dive into the materials.”

“Good,” Naomi said. “Talk to you soon.”

“See you later,” Liv replied and she ended the call, resolved not to dive into the manual, but instead headed into the shower.

*

As Artur gotoff the highway at the Briarwood exit, he called his best friend. Abe Neumann had held that position since Artur arrived in Rivertown from Brooklyn when he was in fifth grade. Artur had been a lonely, snot-nosed kid, who got enveloped in the arms of a ridiculous group of friends and gained brothers—Abe and Leo.

“What’s up?”

“Going to Briarwood for an assignment,” Artur said. “Can I stay with you?”

Because they’d been friends for so long, Abe didn’t ask him anything other than, “When are you coming?”

“Later,” he said. “I’m doing a walk-through before I meet the mayor tomorrow.”

There was a pause. “Good. Meet me for a late lunch.”

He raised an eyebrow; meals with Abe were usually a space in front of the stove where problems were spewed like a geyser—his or Abe’s, it didn’t matter. But out?

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