Page 6 of The Dreidl Disaster

“Livvy…”

Naomi. Saved by her sister. “I have to go,” she said, though she really didn’t want to.

He nodded. “No worries…” he said. “Livvy.”

And there wasn’t any assumption that he knew who she was in his voice; she was anonymous, which was a gift in itself.

Which meant before she acted on her worst impulses, in a place that was there to remind her why it was a horrible idea, she smiled, turned on her heel and started to follow her sister toward where her cousins were waiting.

*

Still slightly floatingon the scent of the woman he’d bumped into, Artur headed back to the kitchen where Abe was waiting with Paul Levitan, the owner of the restaurant and Abe’s mentor for this period of his education.

“Look what the cat dragged back in here,” Abe said with a laugh as he entered the room.

“Meow,” he replied, grinning. But at the same time, he was doing his best to envelop himself in the smells of the kitchen—the meats in various stages of cooking and preparation. The scents of friends, of home.

“I am absolutely amazed,” he said.

“You should be,” Abe replied. “Paul is a certified genius.”

“Abe gives me too much credit,” Paul replied. “And himself too little.”

“Same day different speech?” Artur wondered as he ushered some of the smells closer. “Oh yes,” he said. “Joy.”

“His matzah balls don’t sink,” Abe proclaimed.

“Well yes,” Paul replied. “Baking soda does the trick every time.”

“This one,” Abe said with a tone Artur knew too well, “is trying to convince me to defile my matzah balls with seltzer.”

“He’s right,” Paul said before Artur could tie words together. “About matzah balls, but not about Briarwood.”

“Oh really?” Abe asked.

“Just make sure you don’t meander around town to places that aren’t interested in talking,” Paul replied before Artur had a chance to answer. “This isn’t Hollowville or Rivertown where snooping is accepted. This is a place that does not like outsiders looking for information, especially the kind of information you’re looking for.”

Abe raised an eyebrow, but Artur nodded.

“Which is very good timing,” Paul continued, clear in his expression that the message was heard, “not for an interrogation, but instead for eating.”

And as Paul brought out the food, Artur found himself wondering what Monday, and the official beginning of his assignment, would bring.

*

Thankfully, Naomi wasable to be convinced that Liv needed a quick refresh, which meant she had a bit more time.

In the small bathroom, Liv took a deep breath and went to work. A splash of cold water on her face followed by a quick reapplication of her makeup and she was able to leave the bathroom, back straight, smile on her face. This was a glitch; it wasn’t anything more than that.

Especially considering the walls of the former McManus’s pub were there to remind her of past mistakes; even if Levitan’s, the current inhabitant of the space between those walls, reminded her of home as much as the table of her cousins and sister did.

“Hello, everybody,” Judith, her first cousin and closest to her in age, said as Liv settled into her seat. “Glad we all could make it.”

Which was, of course, directed at her.

“I wanted to update everybody on the progress we’ve made in the last six months.”

“You mean,” interjected Judith’s younger sister Leah, “on your wedding, our love lives, or both?”

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