Page 43 of The Dreidl Disaster

“Any permutation of those,” Artur replied. “And Sarah might be a draw.”

Abe raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

Batya shook her head. “Were you not listening when he was talking about how it seems he needs a Hanukkah festival consultant, but don’t call it a festival because Briarwood is full of snobs. And we’re in Rivertown so we can say that.”

Artur wasn’t sure which line he liked better. “And this is why I adore you.”

“I thought it was the challah.”

“My brisket, her challah and my matzah ball soup. Anyway, back to business.”

“Yes?”

“Party. Pop-up. Invite her. Introduce her.”

Difficult questions answered on a Friday night. All he had to do now was wait for Liv to give him a response.

*

Liv barely madeit through Shabbat dinner before her sister dragged her outside to her parents’ back deck.

It was still a beautiful view, even with the chill setting in, and a glass of wine that her sister made her bring.

“Now,” Naomi said. “What’s going on with you? Exactly.”

“I’m debating a really bad decision.”

“Are there any good choices these days?” Naomi asked, shaking her head. “And this is you, so it can’t really be that horrible.”

“It’s worse than you think.”

“Does it involve bailing a bolted bride’s mother out of jail after she assaulted the groom’s mother and half the wedding party for daring to insinuate the bride eloped with her girlfriend? Even after she sent wedding photos to her very happy former fiancé from Las Vegas?”

Liv blinked. “That is…”

“Tell me about it,” said Naomi as she turned on the fire pit. “Never have I seen a woman in such denial. So, is it worse than that kind of nonsense?”

“No,” she admitted. “It’s not.”

Liv met her cousin’s eyes, and the inspection there. The searching for a particular problem was going to drive her nutty. “Is it something that would make you…step outside the cage you’ve put yourself in?”

“It’s not about a cage,” she said. “I mean the last time I admitted to a personal life, it got used against me in ways thatstillhave repercussions. I don’t know how to act; I can’t trust my instincts and I don’t want people close to me to get hurt.”

“People close to you, as in who? Your family who loves you? Who?”

“Naomi,” she said with a long, extended sigh. “Can you not make me inventory the people in my life who I think might get hurt by my choices and instead help me… I don’t know, try to deal with the fact that it’s okay to choose?”

“Yourself? Your right to feel something? Your right to add people into your life? What? Or rationalize why it’s better to keep people out, because if you didn’t want to let someone in, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Am I right?”

Liv didn’t answer, and Naomi nodded.

“Right. So how did this start, and yes I remember hearing about that one Shabbat where Flaire and asked if she could take the space from the rabbi’s sermon to introduce herself to the congregation, which was probably the beginning of the end for Flaire, which led to that horrible proposal, and the reason this guy is there.”

Liv told Naomi the story, ending with: “So yes. I wish I wasn’t completely affected by the way he’s taken this whole thing on his shoulders. He’s not only brandishing a sword but he’s falling on one. He shouldn’t have to.”

“You know,” Naomi said with a laugh, “if I were someone else, I’d ask you where this Liv was when Judith was talking about the importance of people’s love lives.”

“Don’t remind me,” she said. “Besides. I’m not actually making bad decisions yet, just debating this.”

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