Page 51 of The Dreidl Disaster

Artur gestured toward a tiny noodle shop in the shopping center with the building, and Liv nodded. “He and Isaac don’t get along. But Isaac is a singular personality who doesn’t like people, and he and Jacob have stepped on each other’s toes.”

Isaac…one of Samuel’s artist friends? Yep. Had to be. And also the guy who built that gorgeous metal menorah in Hollowville, at least that’s what she could remember. But all she could think about, aside from the udon she was about to order, was the tangled web of connections that she and Artur shared.

And Saturday.

Already there were dynamics that she needed to watch, toes she couldn’t step on. “So, what am I walking into on Saturday?”

Having ordered their udon, they moved into a private booth, sitting across from each other. Artur grabbed the chopsticks and separated the pieces of wood, “There’s going to be a good group of people, a lot of them close friends.”

Now she raised an eyebrow. “Of each other? Of you? Do I need a map? Should I bring reinforcements?”

He dropped the chopsticks immediately, his hands up, palms out, as if he was suddenly the conversation traffic cop. “It’s not going to be that kind of thing, I mean where you need reinforcements,” he clarified. “You can bring people, but I promise, the will be no pressure, personal or professional.”

She nodded. Okay. This felt better. But still, what was this event really supposed to be? “So, this isn’t pressure for me, or isn’t supposed to be. What is this for you? A family reunion?

He laughed, picking up the chopsticks again as the teapot arrived. Hot tea got poured into the tiny cups that sat next to them.

“I’m friendly with old-fashioned nudniks, or busybodies,” he replied as the steam rose from their cups. “My friends don’t want to judge you; they just want toseeyou. See what you’re like…and what you’re like with me.”

Rather, she thought, as she put her hands around the cup, seeking the warmth it provided, what shesawin him. Okay. That made sense.

“So, who are these people? I mean…don’t need names, social security numbers and all of that jazz…”

Artur snorted and put his own hands around his cup. “What classified information do you need, Mayor?”

Liv laughed. God she adored bantering with this guy. “Maybe their professional states?”

He didn’t answer immediately, but he nodded “Okay, sure. Is there any particular reason for this briefing?”

What was her reasoning? Why was she asking him these questions? Aside from wanting to know more about him and his friends, but that couldn’t be the only information she wanted.

And then it hit her. “I’m trying to figure out who I can bring with me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “It’s a debate?”

She nodded. “Different people would have different advantages.”

“Makes sense,” he said. “You wouldn’t bring someone that you didn’t think could fit in.”

“Or couldn’t enjoy themselves.”

“Right. Well,” he continued. “At this party there will be: the host of the party—the guy who created the barbecue menu for Levitan’s, and his wife who is a Meal Network host—Batya’s JourneysI think the show is.”

“I think we may have gone to the same school for a very, very brief period of time,” Liv managed. “I was little and she was older, but they talk about her in the alumni magazine.”

“It’s possible,” Artur replied. “You went to Schecter?”

Liv nodded. “For a number of years. My sister and I. Anyway, so?”

“Right. So next is the hurricane you just met, and his equally formidable wife—a museum curator. Then there’s the Hanukkah consultant and her husband Isaac.”

“The Isaac that Jacob doesn’t like?”

“That would be the one,” he said with a grin. “Then you have our friend the attorney and her girlfriend possibly of the moment, possibly more. And then my buddy Leo and his wife, who is friendly with a bunch of people in Briarwood.”

She nodded. There was an interesting group of people coming to this event, and she wondered what was going on. “Based on what you told me,” she began over slurps of her noodles, “my thought is that if I bring either of my cousins, they will be either pulled into a work thing or intimidated and not enjoy themselves.”

“Aaah. Okay. So then what or who’s your plan?”

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