Not Perfect(63)

She walked slowly back to the living room, working hard to keep her breath steady. She was all ready to say something like: Sorry, I had a bit of a stomach ache, or, I had way too much coffee this morning, or possibly, but she wasn’t sure she dared, Nora, why do you have so much money just out for the taking? when she saw that Nora was asleep, her head against the back of the chair and her leg up on the ottoman. Tabitha walked closer to her. She wasn’t sure what to do. Should she wake up Nora? Should she put the game back? Should she leave a note? In the end, she did none of those things. She just walked out quietly, pulling the door closed behind her.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Tabitha couldn’t believe how much money three hundred and forty dollars felt like in her pocket. She could do anything! She could buy as much coffee as she wanted. She could buy any sandwich, any sweater. She could take herself out to lunch. But she didn’t have to take herself out to lunch, since Toby was taking her. In fact, she picked up her pace, because she realized she didn’t have that much time. He had sent a text last night asking her to meet him at Square on Square at twelve fifteen—the Chinese restaurant in her neighborhood that served her favorite wonton soup. She loved that he picked such an unassuming, cozy place for their date. She felt giddy! She had money! She had to stop herself from skipping down the street.

She veered slightly out of her way to stop at Spread Bagelry.

“A dozen everything bagels,” she said to the young man behind the counter. “And a cream cheese and some salmon, please.” She felt like she had walked into Tiffany’s to ask for the diamond bracelet in the case. She watched as he gathered her order and rang it up.

“That will be twenty-nine dollars even,” he said nonchalantly, like everyone could afford nearly thirty dollars for bagels and toppings. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small wad, then handed him the two twenties, which he took without any indication that what was happening here was nothing short of miraculous. He handed her the change, and she slipped the one-dollar bill into the tip jar.

“Thanks,” he said.

She turned and walked back to Locust, through the Square, and home. She had thirty minutes to change and meet Toby.

When she got to her apartment, her landline was ringing. She was so hyped up from the day so far that she leaned over and answered it, regretting it only after she pushed the “talk” button and said hello.

“Tabitha?” a voice said. “This is Rabbi Rosen.”

Despite her good fortune, or whatever she wanted to call it, she felt so far away from that moment when she had called the synagogue. Had she really done that? What she needed was more coffee, so she could remember what she was feeling when she made the call.

“Hi, Rabbi,” she said. She’d let him lead the conversation.

“Am I getting you at a bad time?” he asked.

“Well, I have to meet someone soon, but I have a minute.”

“Oh good,” he said. “Because I got your rather concerning message just now, saying Levi wants to postpone his bar mitzvah? Is this true?”

She took a deep breath.

“Yes, it is true,” she said. “I’m sorry I left the message that way, I guess I didn’t know how to tell you. Stuart has been away for a long time, and I think it’s taken a toll, I think it has definitely taken the wind out of Levi’s sails.”

“When will Stuart be back?” he asked in a way that made her believe Stuart would one day be back.

“Well,” she said, so tired of lying. “That’s a good question.”

“Tell you what,” he said. “Why don’t you and Levi come in, and we’ll talk? There are so many different ways to do this. We can talk through the options. He’s worked so hard already, I would hate to see him throw that away.”

“That sounds good,” she said, not sure at all that it really sounded good. “When?”

“I have time tomorrow afternoon. Can we say four thirty?”

“Sure,” she said. “See you then.”

Tabitha ran into her bedroom. She was going to change, maybe into a dress or skirt. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a maroon sweater and jeans. She liked how she looked, and they weren’t going anyplace fancy. She decided not to change, brushed her teeth and hair, and left.

She arrived at the nondescript storefront five minutes early but went in anyway. She was greeted right away.

“I’m meeting someone,” she said. “I’m not sure if we have a reservation. Maybe under Tarrabay or Toby.”

She looked around the restaurant. It was full, and she didn’t see Toby. The server nodded and was about to walk away when Toby rushed in, out of breath.

“Sorry, sorry,” he said. “I wanted to beat you here.”

“No problem,” she said, surprised by how happy she was to see him.

He turned to the server. “I called ahead,” he said. “Table for two, please.”

The server looked around the room. There were clearly no tables available downstairs. Tabitha expected him to tell them it would be a wait, but instead he grabbed two menus, with purpose, and walked past them to a staircase behind them. She never liked to sit upstairs here, because it made her feel far away from the action, but Toby didn’t seem to mind, and she didn’t want to seem difficult, so she followed the server with Toby right behind her. When they got to the top, she saw the room was entirely empty, just as she thought it would be. She didn’t want to be isolated—she wanted other people around. But Toby accepted the table the server pointed to, and got right to looking at the menu.