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He’d have to come up with a reason to talk to her at the oneg, that’s all there was for it. He was the rabbi, he should introduce himself to new congregants, right?
Right. That was his job.
Also his job: stepping away from the podium so that the president of the board could make the weekly announcements. David smiled at the guy in a way that he hoped was apologetic and not like he was a lascivious kid caught staring at the teacher’s ass. He took his seat behind the lectern and looked back out at the congregation. Sitting on the bimah meant he had the best seat in the house to people-watch.
Everyone was watching him, rapt. He hoped it was because he’d made a decent point or two in the sermon and not because he’d been telegraphing his inner monologue. He was fairly certain if that was the case the board president wouldn’t have allowed him to keep talking for so long. At least he hoped not.
His eye caught Dani. The little girl was sitting on the front row with Kathy next to her and Dani’s beloved stuffed tiger between them. Dani bounced on the seat and grinned at him. David felt his own lips tugging into a grin. His kid was adorable.
Somehow he was getting up again, shaking the president’s hand and going back to the podium to say the benediction. He wasn’t sure how it happened, but there was a closing song in there, too. He was pretty sure he even managed to carry the tune. Then everyone was collecting their belongings. There was the usual rush of people either to the bimah or to the exits. Dani’s little voice carried through the crowd as she wound her way between legs to get to him, excitedly telling Kathy that she was going to eatallthe rugelach at the oneg.
David was going to let her.
But first, he was going to figure out a way to introduce himself to that woman.
Three
“Oh I’m going to say hi to Rebecca, be right back,” Abigail said, placing her paper coffee cup on a low table. Shoshana resisted the urge to collapse to the floor and grab onto her leg to keep her where she was. It was a silly, childish impulse, she knew, but it was an honest one.
A part of her knew that all of her impulses tonight had been overly dramatic. She decided she would worry about that later. She wasn’t going to give herself shit for being a drama queen, she was having emotions. Drama happened when you had emotions, that was just science.
Leah was in the kitchen. No matter what she said about Abi knowing better than to ask her to cater, she was swept up in the activity almost as soon as they walked in. Something about the volunteers for this week not knowing how to make the commercial coffee machine work. Leah’s abandonment wasn’t intended to be malicious, and neither was Abi’s desire to talk to coworkers. Shoshana knew that. She still felt like they’d left her to flop around like a fish on the dock.
She knew she must look a little ridiculous, standing awkwardly in the corner because she didn’t feel comfortable enough to start a conversation with anyone. And she didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she was stuck in a state of hands-to-hips, crossed-arms, hands-to-sides, hands-to-hair, and back again.
She felt acrid perspiration start to form under her arms.
Trying to talk oneself out of social anxiety was an exercise in futility, wasn’t it? Sure, she could go up to any one of the older people, even if they didn’t remember her specifically they would remember her father. But she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Fear of being judged held her captive against the exposed brick wall.
She swallowed, annoyed with herself for not being able to snap out of it. This was exactly what she meant when she called herself a drama queen, this exact shit right here. She was being ridiculous.
She shifted from one foot to the other, wondering if it would be totally unacceptable for her to barge into the kitchen. Leah might be a little surprised she remembered where the kitchenwas, but she probably wouldn’t mind her hiding out.
That’s it, she was going to hide out with Leah. The decision made, Shoshana stepped away from the safety of the wall and turned toward the double doors that led to the kitchen. There was a long table in her way. She was so intent on her destination, she almost walked right into it. The trestle table was piled with trays of desserts, fresh fruit, and finger foods. This was definitely more elaborate than the onegs she remembered from her childhood.
Usually it was a few trays of donuts or something.
It was a welcome for the new rabbi, she remembered, and, well, it definitely said welcome.
It also screamedeat me, her mind whispered and she swallowed a very unrefined snort.
“I don’t think we’ve met,” a deliciously familiar voice said from just behind her shoulder. Shoshana almost flinched. She hadn’t been watching him that closely since they’d reconvened in this hall. At least not closely enough to notice that he had made the circuit of the room and was so close to her she could smell his cologne.
At least she hoped it was his cologne. If it was the table of desserts, she was going to do something to embarrass herself like roll around on it until that smell was embedded in her hair. She couldn’t roll around onhim, what with social conventions being what they were, so at least if it was his cologne, he was safe. For now.
She realized he was waiting for her to speak and this time she did flinch, her tongue feeling thick in her mouth. She smiled and hoped it wasn’t too much of a baring of teeth. “You’re right, we haven’t. I’m Shoshana Goldman.”
“David Freedman,” he said, offering his hand. She swallowed hard, appreciating the long fingers. He would make a hell of a piano player. She accepted his hand because she was awkward enough on her own. If he was going to throw her a lifeline in the form of a basic social convention, who was she to turn her nose up? His grip was firm, but not too strong. His palms, unlike her own, were dry.
“Yeah, I think I remember seeing that on the bulletin,” she said, then winced. That sounded so much more negative than she meant it to sound. She pulled her hand away from his, waving it between them. “That was shitty. I apologize, I’m really freaked out right now.”
His brows raised in something that could have been surprise and she had the opportunity to appreciate the delicate shape of them. They were thick, but moved with a dancer’s precision. He touched his chin, fingers scratching idly along the scruff of stubble that was beginning to darken his jaw.
“What’s got you freaked out? Can I help?”
“Nah. I mean, it’s not a big deal really, I’m just stranded until my friends come back.” She forced a laugh and hoped it didn’t sound like a bleating goat, because she always sounded like a bleating goat when she was uncomfortable. She gestured with both hands, one in the direction of the kitchen and the other in the direction Abi had taken.
“Ah,” he said, nodding his understanding, “kind of rude of them to just leave you here when you don’t know anybody, though. That doesn’t seem much like Abi, or what I know of her, anyway.”
