The Intimacy Experiment (The Roommate #2)(46)
Ethan laughed. “Lots of practice.”
“Can I ask you,” Ira started, “um, why you decided to come?”
Craig considered for a moment.
Ethan shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
“I guess I realized, going to the seminar series in the past few weeks, that I missed having a community. Feeling connected to my heritage or something. The people in our course, they’re from all over L.A. Some of ’em are way older than me, and some might even be younger. We get all these different perspectives in one room, and suddenly you realize that people are going through the same stuff you are, even though we’ve all got our own stories. I like being connected, and I thought I’d find more of that here.”
Ethan found himself grinning. Sure, Craig was only one person, and maybe he wouldn’t become a full-time member anytime soon, but his answer proved Ethan’s plan had worked. He’d created a new pathway to Beth Elohim.
“Hey, Ira, would you take a picture of us for me?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone before throwing his arm around Craig.
“Updating your Jdate profile?” Ira teased.
Ethan waved him off. “I wanna show Naomi.”
He shot her a quick text, adding Progress! as a simple caption to the image. Hope your night is going well, he typed, and then deleted it. He didn’t want her thinking he was prying into her social life. He shoved the phone back in his pocket to avoid staring at it, waiting for her reply.
When he looked up, Craig had wandered off to join his friends.
“Ethan,” Ira said, “there’s something I want to tell you.”
“Sure.” He frowned at Ira’s grave tone. “What’s wrong?”
Ira took a long sip of the ice water he held. “Listen, you didn’t hear it from me, but some of the board still have their reservations about Ms. Grant.”
“What do you mean?” Ethan hadn’t heard anything from the board since Jonathan had stopped by his office at the beginning of the month.
Across the room, Morey had pulled out a checkerboard.
“Oh, no.” Ethan moved toward him, ready to intervene. He’d made Clarence cry the week before after a particularly heated match.
Ira hung on his heels.
“Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Cohen.” Morey beamed up at him in greeting when they reached his table. With deft fingers, he arranged his pieces on the board.
“Shabbat shalom,” Ethan returned. “What have we got going on here?”
“Just a little friendly game.”
“Mo—”
Ira placed a hand on Ethan’s arm, drawing his attention. “Ethan, Ms. Grant is very . . . attention grabbing. Some of the board members have questioned whether she brings the right kind of attention to B.E.” He pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his brow.
Ethan sighed. This again? Didn’t the turnout in front of them prove that Naomi made a measurable impact on their attendance goals?
“Morey, keep it clean. I’ve got my eye on you,” he warned as he let Ira draw him away.
In a quieter corner, he turned to the older man. “Can I ask you something? In confidence?”
“’Course,” Ira said.
Even when he’d been offered the position as rabbi, Ethan had known he didn’t have unanimous support. “It’s not just Naomi that the board has concerns about, is it?”
“No,” Ira confirmed, wincing a little. “Their reservations aren’t exclusive.”
He patted Ira’s shoulder. “I appreciate the confirmation.”
“Wait just a minute.” Clarence’s voice rang across the hall.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I can see that I’m going to need to stage a board game intervention. You better grab one of those sugar cookies before they’re gone.”
Ira hurried off without further prompting.
The news of the board’s disquiet didn’t surprise Ethan. He’d figured it was only a matter of time before concerns about Naomi and the seminar bled into concerns about him and his role within the synagogue. On the one hand, he should probably focus more attention on damage control, on keeping the peace, but on the other hand, he knew that through words, he’d never convince those with concerns that this new direction benefited the congregation. They needed to see the impact of the new initiatives for themselves. Tonight was a perfect example. Still, something sank in his gut. He couldn’t shake the feeling that sooner or later, he’d have to choose between making everyone feel welcome and making certain people comfortable.
Chapter Sixteen
NAOMI HAD BEEN secretly attending services at Endmore Boulevard for a few weeks.
It was all very innocent, if incognito, at first. She’d run through her podcasts on Judaism quickly and wanted to learn more. Turning up for services or classes at Beth Elohim wasn’t an option.
Not when it was all she could do to keep from grabbing Ethan and kissing him every time they got within ten feet of each other, not to mention that she didn’t want him thinking her interest in religion had anything to do with interest in him, even if he had been the catalyst for her reeducation.
Endmore Boulevard was nice, friendly, and fancy, but not in an exclusionary way. She’d first visited because Cassidy was a member and had recommended it, but then she’d kept coming back.