Page 76 of The Dreidl Disaster

“Well,” Liv’s mother said, smiling at her older daughter, “then it’s a good thing he didn’t have to see Flaire before she came to Briarwood.”

He wasn’t sure Liv would agree to that. “I’m glad I met you,” he said to Liv. “But there were, and still are, a lot of people that were hurt.”

And instead of glaring at him, she smiled. “Yeah. We definitely would have met in other circumstances for sure. I wouldn’t wish the pain Briarwood residents have been dealing with on anybody.”

He squeezed her hand. And sitting there, right then, he knew he wasn’t going to let her go.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The morning afterShabbat dinner was supposed to be relaxing; Liv had very loose plans to meet Artur to inspect the vendor area in the afternoon and have dinner and maybe go for some kind of drive.

Even the chamber of commerce members were thrilled with the way everything was going; she had been lazily checking social media only to see a new email to come in to her inbox. When she clicked on it, she saw that it was an invitation to a Champagne toast celebrating the dreidl once it was installed.

Things were coming together, and it felt really good.

But all that lazy excitement went out the window when she saw there was an incoming call from Judith.

“What are your plans for the afternoon?” Judith asked innocently.

She raised an eyebrow. “To relax, have a nice day, maybe inspect the vendor area now that it’s been constructed. Why?”

“Because,” Judith said with an extended sigh, “I’ve been informed that there’s a problem with the bridesmaids dresses we picked.”

“And,” Liv wondered, “what problem is that?”

“They were retired by the designer, which means we have to pick new ones. As soon as possible. We have an appointment at the dress shop this afternoon.”

Of course she did.

The only person more efficient than she was had acted and now they had a new fitting date.

Of course, that meant she could be more specific about trying to determine who was responsible for spilling the beans to her parents. “Coincidentally enough,” Liv replied, “I have a bone to pick with you, my dear cousin, about information.”

“I see,” she said. “Well, you can get some information at the shop. And then, at brunch.”

And as she ended the call, she realized she needed to make another. “Hey,” she said as Artur picked up the phone. “Gotta cancel on you today.”

“What’s up?”

“Bridesmaid dress disaster,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ve got an appointment at a dress shop on the other side of the county.”

“Need a ride?”

She laughed. There was something about Artur and his driving these days, as if now that she’d uncorked his abilities, he wanted to drive her everywhere. “You don’t mind driving me across the county?”

“No,” he said. “Gives me more time with you.”

“And,” she said, “if you drop me off, you can go work on your other car in the city while I hang out with my cousins.”

“Do you want a ride back?”

“I think you just want a debrief.”

“That too,” he said with a laugh. “How about you send me a carrier pigeon when you’re done and we’ll figure that out.”

“I like the sound of that plan.”

Not long after she ended the call, she was on the other side of the county, sitting in Artur’s car, grinning up at him. “You know,” she said. “Long as I’m here I can try on dresses for the Hanukkah party.”

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