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“We’ll be outside most of the day. So dress warmly and comfortably.”
“No problem there.” He gestured to his jeans. “This is me.”
“And this is me.” Nora sat lotus-style, stocking feet tucked under her on the chair. She’d shed her big down jacket, and her clavicles and curves were all covered in layers: black thermal Henley, oversized zipped hoodie. The Chai necklace was the only familiar thing. Even her smile was different now. A bit more tentative.
It was unspoken. The pact may’ve been over, but a new test of some kind lingered.
One of trust, perhaps.
He thought of some of the things he told Nora last night, and wondered if she was thinking about them, too. What his grandfather had taught him.
About loyalty, and how to spot your rival.
He could practically hear his grandfather now.
Put the ball in play, Alexi.
“And after that?”
“We’ll light the second candle at sundown. Because no one should be alone on Hanukkah.”
ChapterTen
It was always fun to see her city through fresh eyes. But Nora had to admit, Beck made it even more so.
They started by walking up Fifth Avenue. So much to see, especially during the holiday season. First and foremost, Patience and Fortitude, the library lions, decked out in their neck wreaths. December alone was usually reason enough for locals to avoid the area around Rockefeller Center. But a week before Christmas? Trying to get anywhere near the big tree, or the skating rink, was madness. Ditto with the iconic holiday window displays, necessitating velvet ropes and security guards.
But the city had wisely instituted a pedestrian-only thoroughfare for select weekends in December, allowing them to walk eleven of the busiest blocks up the middle of the vehicle-free road.
They strolled –strolled!– up Fifth from West 48thto 57thstreet, nothing short of a miracle. Frantic shoppers and harried tourists kept to the sidewalks, mostly. Beck seemed content to view it all from afar. “It’s beautiful,” he admitted. “But even watching from the outskirts, kind of overwhelming.”
Nora agreed.
Honestly, most of December felt like that to her as an adult. Too many gatherings and not enough weekends. Too many gifts to buy and not enough money. She secretly liked it best when Hanukkah fell earlier in the calendar year. Separate and not to be confused with – or consumed by – all the other seasonal merriment.
She told him stories of coming downtown as a kid, trips with her friends and their parents, even sitting on Santa’s lap once in Macy’s. Feeling like an imposter, at just seven years old, but still not turning down that free candy cane.
There was a time, Beck confided, where he, too, secretly believed in some magic he didn’t quite understand, listening for the sound of reindeer hoofs on the rooftop. Wanting to share in the building excitement of his neighborhood friends, even though his was the only house on their block unadorned, come December.
“That’s one of the things I enjoyed about the Matzo Baller. Hanukkah was really everywhere we looked. For once, a total immersion…not an afterthought.”
Nora nodded. “Definitely Jay’s intent, I think. Legit, right?”
They had arrived at the entrance to Central Park, one of the places Beck had mentioned he’d wanted to see before flying home on Tuesday. “Speaking of legit…”
A thirty-six foot tall menorah stood in Grand Army Plaza, making Jay’s twelve-foot masterpiece at sea seem miniscule. Come sundown, Nora knew there would be crowds to rival the Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree, clamoring to watch it illuminated. But in the light of day, the impressive structure was easy to walk right up to.
“Largest in the world…crafted by an Israeli sculptor,” Beck read from the plaque nearby. Nora stealth-snapped a few photos of him, peering up at it, hands in his coat pockets. Thanks to the photos he had taken for her last night, she had his number to text him, too. “My mom will love these, thanks. She’s a sculptor, too.”
As they entered the park, the rest of the city fell away, save for a jutting skyscraper looming in the distance here and there. Beck seemed surprised to see snow covering some of the lawn. “We haven’t had much yet this year,” Nora supplied. “And traffic and pedestrians clear it pretty quick on the streets. But I love that there are parts untouched in here.”
The path they were on dipped down and curved around, white surrounding them on either side. With the blue sky doming around them, Nora remembered the snow globe observation she had had last night. The thought that New York was somehow better, and those outside of it were missing out.
Back when she thought Beck was just a bridge or tunnel removed from it.
Thinking of him now, living his life across multiple state lines in the middle of the country…that left her feeling like maybe she had been the one missing out. And that if it weren’t for Britesmith being acquired by Myers and Sons, they may have never met.
They wound through Nora’s favorite parts of the park, past Wollman Rink and the Carousel, then inside to warm up with drinks at Tavern on the Green.
