Page 82 of The Dreidl Disaster

For her, so that he could explain himself and not lose the woman who was becoming more important to him than breathing.

But also for the town and everybody who’d been waiting for this celebration and deserved so much more than a broken dreidl.

*

Liv didn’t watchArtur’s car as he drove away; she’d turned away, and didn’t look for the familiar blue paint job in the distance. But she didn’t move either; she stood on the corner until she was capable of moving, assured that he was gone.

Her heart started to pound against her chest, and of course, that was when the snow started to fall. Of course.

Miracle of miracles.

Not.

She couldn’t cry. Couldn’t break down. Instead, she called Judith.

Judith answered the phone quickly. “Hi, Liv.”

“Good time? Are you in the middle of something?”

“Where are you?” Judith said. “Why are you calling me now? Is everything okay?”

“No,” Liv said. “Nothing is okay. I want ice cream and some of the soofganiyot the Cupcake Stop is making for the food court at the installation and all the things I shouldn’t have. But I can’t have any of those things.”

“You need to calm down,” Judith said. “Can you come to the building?”

The building, where Asher and the Mitzvah Alliance, aka Artur’s friend Jacob, rented space in the business improvement district. Where they’d met only a few weeks before, planning the party they’d had only days before.

Which would mean walking in front of people, past spaces that were preparing for the evening’s festivities and the beginning of Hanukkah. And the legacy of hers that would fall to pieces, leaving her looking ridiculous in front of new colleagues and old friends.

She couldn’t put on a mask, couldn’t look like everything was fine. Not there.

“No,” she replied. “I don’t.”

Of course, Naomi was beeping on the other line. She was the last person Liv wanted to talk to in the mood she was in. Whether it was petty, painful, upset, Liv couldn’t face the fact that Artur seemed to trust her sister with important information when he didn’t trust her.

Which sounded awful, but that was what the situation was.

“I just…”

“Go get chocolate,” Judith said, the reason she’d called her cousin coming clearly into focus. Her cousin was smart and understood enough about her and the situation to give her advice she couldn’t rationalize herself. “Go take a breather and then call me when you’re sitting down and out of the…snow that’s falling outside my window.”

She ended the call, knowing that if she stayed on the phone any longer, she would get comfortable enough to break down. And that was the one thing she couldn’t do. She followed Judith’s advice and headed toward Stars and Icing. If a gelt latte couldn’t help her this Hanukkah, nothing could.

Because after she swallowed down the mix of caffeine and chocolate, she still had a job to do. People to impress.

A life to lead. A legacy to fix.

She’d break down later, in her bedroom with the door closed.

*

Artur called Jacobfrom the car. “The mess is on its way, and I’m coming with it.”

“I got this,” his friend said. “You just concentrate on getting here and not wrecking in this weather.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I owe you.”

“Nope. You don’t. Just get here safe.”

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