Chapter Twenty-Six
D inner at Abe’s had basically been a briefing/planning meeting for the kickoff party; he had been testing out recipes and Liv ate waaaay too much. Artur’s friends were a hoot up close; she knew how lucky he was to have them. It was also fun to realize that both Ash and Samuel had spilled the beans about the relationship to her aunt and had both taken responsibility in different ways.
Naomi had done makeup for Liv, Leah, and Judith. In the dress she’d bought for the night, Liv felt like a queen.
And the party itself was gorgeous. The kids from the mentorship program mixed with members from the chamber of commerce, the temple sisterhood and the Empires; there were best-selling authors, sports agents, artists and heads of huge charity funds as well as members of the county legislature.
Liv was in her element.
And the auction was the hit of the night.
“And if you like these,” Sarah, the Hanukkah planner, who had been convinced to act as auctioneer, yelled, “you’re going to love the sculpture when it arrives this week.”
As Liv stood and watched the festivities, finding pride in how much the auction was raising for the program, a few of her new colleagues in the county legislature came up to join her.
“I cannot wait to see the sculpture,” said her new colleague who represented the district that included Hollowville. “I love seeing other communities celebrate their Jewish populations.”
“The sports team angle is fascinating too,” said the new colleague who represented a district that included Rivertown. “I love seeing local teams involve themselves in village events.”
The caucus leader said, “And I am looking forward to chatting further with you. I’m really enjoying the way you see issues.”
Liv felt like she was flying. “Thank you,” she said.
“I’m absolutely looking forward to the impact you’re going to make on county policy,” Artur had said as they headed out to the car at the end of the evening.
And, she decided, she was looking forward to seeing the impact that he was going to make on her. As it was, with Artur by her side, she’d felt stronger, more confident. If she had to put a finger on why, she’d say that because he was so uniquely himself, she felt comfortable being herself.
And she couldn’t wait to see what they would become together.
*
After he dropped Liv off, Artur paced his bedroom in Abe’s place. He needed to find a location where he could get the sculpture fixed safely and carefully. He’d been putting this off for way too long and he needed to get started.
Not to mention, he desperately needed to find a way to get a message to Liv without telling her. He had to show her he trusted her.
He picked up his phone and went through his contacts, making notes, and a game plan. There were a bunch of calls he needed to make before the sculpture arrived and Hanukkah started in Briarwood.
The next morning, he left Abe’s place, having arranged with Emily Gould-Smythe to borrow some office space in one of the buildings the Empires owned in Hollowville.
“I have to make a few calls,” he’d said. “I need a space behind closed doors to arrange for the contingencies.”
“Go ahead,” she’d told him. “You have free rein of some empty offices.”
Once he’d settled in the building, he got to work, the list he’d made in front of him. The first call he needed to make was to Jacob. “Do you mind if I crash at your place?”
His friend, the ridiculous man, laughed. “Which one?”
“Briarwood.”
“Go right ahead,” he said. “I’ve got this ridiculously massive house and way too many guest rooms for my own good. That one’s closer to the event, hmm?”
Artur nodded. “Yep. That’s the only reason I’m asking you. That and you’re the only person I know in Briarwood who might have access to the kind of space I might need.”
“Really?” Jacob said, sounding intrigued. “Talk to me.”
“Well,” Artur replied, “I might need a private space where some kind of…repair can take place.”
Jacob nodded. “Yep. I think the garage at the Briarwood house might do you some good. Repair of…?”
“A contingency plan,” he said. “Don’t want to speak it aloud because I don’t want to speak it into existence.”
“Yes. Superstitions. Okay. You’ve got access to any and all the things you’ll need. The one I’m thinking of has a separate entrance. So do with it what you will.”
“Thank you,” Artur said. “Very much appreciated. Again. And I owe you.”
“No, you don’t. Those words make no sense coming out of your mouth. I know what’s riding on this.”
Artur did too. But he wasn’t done with his calls. When he ended that call, he searched in his wallet for Sarah’s card. She answered the phone right away. “Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Artur” he said. “Listen. I need a favor.”
“Sure,” Sarah said. “You know me. Anything within reason.”
“Great,” Artur replied. “It’s probably not that big. Because what I need is to talk to Isaac and I don’t have his number.”
“That’s not big at all.” And suddenly the phone sounded like it was moving, whispers in the background.
And then…
“Hello?”
“Isaac,” he said. “This is…”
“Yes, Artur. Hello. Did you have a question for me?”
“Yes,” Artur said, really glad he remembered. “I’m wondering how you feel about working with wooden pieces.”
There was a long pause, where Artur felt he was going to be completely sunk. Except…
“I’ve actually been dabbling,” Isaac said when he came back to the phone. “But it’s not something I talk about much unless people want special wooden chuppah holders for their weddings. Why?”
“Would you be able to help reinforce a sculpture in the event that it’s refusing to hold its shape?”
Once again, a long pause and Artur thought he was going to be sunk. “Wood?”
“Yep.”
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Isaac finally said after what felt like the longest pause of the afternoon. “But sure. I’ll take a crack at it if you need me to.”
Which was the only thing he could hope for. Isaac was a brilliant sculptor, and his ‘dabbling’ was someone else’s masterpiece. “Good,” he said. “I think I’m going to. Let me get your number and I’ll call you if I need to.”
And as he ended the call, he was ready as he could be.