Page 59 of The Dreidl Disaster

Liv wasn’t surewhat to make of the night; it was fun for sure. The food was amazing, and the people were lovely. Batya had in fact been an older student at Schechter when she was there.

“You were in Mrs. Kuflik’s class when you were there, right?”

She nodded. “I was,” she said. In first grade, of course.

Where they had the bridge ceremony between the first graders and the eighth graders.

And that’s why Batya looked familiar; she’d been the eighth grader who had spent time with her when she was in first grade. It was fun to catch up with her. “Keep me posted,” Batya said. “I want to know everything.”

“Once life slows down for both of us we need to grab coffee.”

“I’d like that,” Batya had said.

Her husband was also lovely; Liv could see the friend that had saved Artur as a fifth grader; the guy was all heart.

“Just be careful,” Abe had said. “There’s a very, very huge heart behind the hall-of-mirrors exterior.”

She nodded. “I will,” she said, taking the warning for what it was. “You don’t have to spend much time to see it.”

Sarah, the Hanukkah consultant, was excited to see her again. “You know what’ll be great?” she said as Jason came back to either spy on them or add to the conversation.

“What?”

Sarah turned to Jason and grinned widely in his direction. “Knishes in the food area during the event cycle. Maybe a knish-making demonstration…”

He looked between them, blinking as if he hadn’t expected the conversation to make that kind of turn. “What do you mean, I…”

“Oh, come on,” Sarah said. “You’re coming over here for a reason and I just wanted to make you part of the conversation.”

“So, you’re asking me about Briarwood Hanukkah business now?”

Sarah nodded, and Liv grinned. “I always want to talk Hanukkah business, especially when I have a willing listener, and a participant who hasn’t made himself available.”

Whether Liv was actually willing or whether she was just enjoying the conversation on a late October night, she wasn’t sure. But she was there, and it was obvious Jason had been thwarted by Sarah and her plans. “Very,” she said.

“So, you want a collab with the restaurants or do you want a special Hanukkah item in the vendor…whatever you’re doing in the center of Briarwood?”

Liv thought for a second and grinned. “Both,” she said, enjoying Jason’s discomfort as the payment he got for spying. “That would work perfectly; something both inside and outside of Briarwood, to tie the town and the celebration to the heritage of both the town and the holiday.”

Jason nodded. “When your plans are a bit more concrete, let me know,” he said, pointing to Artur where he stood in the distance. “But I’ll consult with my brother who’s deeper into the restaurant than I am. I have a Hanukkah party to cater, one which is going to have a few dreidls.”

So, Jason was going to cater the Hanukkah party Jacob Horowitz-Margareten was throwing for the benefit of the mentorship program. “Got it.”

“Yes. You’ll be there?”

She nodded. “Looking forward to it.”

And suddenly yet another string fell into place between her and Artur, a connection that felt good, she decided as she headed toward the drinks table.

Which was when she was stopped by a rather tall gentleman. “Hello?”

“Hi,” he said, grinning. “Isaac Lieberman. You met my wife.”

And this was the Isaac Jacob didn’t like. “Nice to meet you, too. I’m Liv. Liv Nachman.”

“Nachman…sounds familiar. Are you related to…”

There was an extended pause and Liv couldn’t figure out who or what he was going to ask her about.

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