Chapter Fifteen #2
And as he left the coffee shop, bagels and a fresh black and white cookie in tow, Jason shook his head. Naomi was going to flip when she heard.
*
Once she got the text from Jason, Naomi could no longer justify staying in bed; she had way too many other things to do to take care of. So, she got up, showered, and headed to Jason’s kitchen in search of…
The drip coffee maker she’d bought him for some birthday ages ago. It was still in its place of honor, outfitted with a new, reusable filter. It looked awkward in the very sleek kitchen but the fact that it was there meant something to her.
And that was what she used, filling the pot with water, the filter with the ground coffee he left in a glass container just to the right of the coffee maker. When the prep was done, she pressed the button and waited.
The smells from the coffee maker were beautiful, and she found herself grabbing her phone and making notes as she waited for it to finish.
Of course, that meant she was holding her phone when the call from Liv came in.
She checked the time; it wasn’t that early for her sister. She was probably in her office at the county legislature, organizing before the official start of the day.
“Hello?”
“Can you talk?”
There was nobody more respectful of her time in the morning than her sister; then again the only time she wasn’t respectful was when there was a commitment she hadn’t followed through on.
Like the one time she’d deliberately forced her sister to face their parents with Artur alone back in December. But that was for Liv’s own good, and if nothing else, she was ridiculously thrilled at how that had turned out.
But coffee mug found in a cabinet, fresh brewed coffee poured, she nodded. “I can,” she said. “What’s going on?”
“Not much,” Liv replied. Naomi could hear the shuffle of papers, which meant her sister was in the middle of something work-related. “Things have been good; I love the caucus. We’re on hiatus at the moment, so I’ve got a few events going on, but also catching up on paperwork back here.”
The paperwork catch-up, of course. “I’m glad you’re enjoying this,” she said. “I’m so excited for you.”
“Thank you. But also, I wanted to know how wedding prep was going. And how things were going with Jason.”
She could answer the questions one by one without thinking about the fact that Liv was hiding questions within each other, tying easy-to-answer questions together with ones that required thought.
“Wedding prep on my end is fine,” she said.
“We have a photographer and a designer for the event. We’re deciding where to go next, but the two vendor-contractors we do have are signed. How’s the bachelorette party going?”
“Trying to organize a few things; but trying to organize a party when your counterpart for the other side is a rabbi in the middle of late confirmation and bar and bat mitzvah season is practically impossible.”
“Any ideas at least?”
“A few,” she said. “But I’m settling on a few ideas with Leah. If I need a tiebreaker, I’ll let you know.”
With Leah.
She tried not to get upset about the prospect, considering Leah was the maid of honor and Judith’s sister.
Which meant that most decisions about the wedding where Judith’s opinions weren’t already on record, would have to go through Leah.
Thankfully, Naomi was working on details that Judith had already made choices for.
“She shouldn’t have acted the way she did,” Liv continued. “And I told her that. You’re being more than a little sensitive about things with you and Jason, but she never should have been so explicit about it.”
“I am sensitive, and don’t think I didn’t hear you ask me about him.”
“I know,” Liv said. “I’m asking because I’m your sister and you’re spending a lot of time with him. Which means I want to know how you’re doing with him. This isn’t playtime for me, or information I’m getting to share in some group chat.”
Which was probably a bit more information than Naomi wanted to hear. But the sincerity was the important factor, and if anybody knew how to sweeten the pot when asking for information, it was her sister.
“We’re making choices, opening doors. We’ll see what happens,” she said. “But I’m not going to lie and tell you I’m not enjoying myself.”
She could see her sister’s expression, even if Liv wasn’t on a camera.
“Just be careful,” Liv said. “I know you’re being careful but remember to keep talking to him. Remember to make sure he knows where you are.”
She nodded. That was good advice, also something she could count on from her sister. And yet there was something still running around in her mind. “But what’s up with dinner? How did this whole thing come about?”
With a clear undertone of ‘what should I expect?’ thrown in there for good measure.
“I asked about your progress for a few reasons,” Liv replied. “The main one is the question of the caterer.”
“Really?” Naomi asked, knowing something was afoot. “I mean we have leads—Jason had a bunch of names he’d given me for the last catering debacle, that we were going to approach at some point, maybe today?”
“Hold that thought,” Liv said.
“Thought is held. Now I’m intrigued.”
“You should be,” Liv replied, as if she was about to drop a huge bombshell. “Part of the reason we’re having dinner is to have an official introduction, you know, you and Jason, but more…you being my sister, to Abe and Batya. The way they do that is to have dinner.”
“Okay,” Naomi replied, slightly confused at Liv’s wording, but understanding there were potential undertones that possibly meant something.
“Anyway, on top of that, is the fact that Artur thinks Abe would help cater the wedding…now that Ida’s out of the picture. And if Jason agrees to help.”
Wait. What?! There had to be some kind of catch. There was no way this was going to be so easy, especially after she’d literally just had a very similar conversation with Jason.
This was…
Scary?
Did she manifest Abe taking the catering job when she and Jason were talking? Did he?
“And the deal’s been all but finalized?” she said, doing her best to make sure she knew what she was walking into, and what would be expected of her. “All I have to do is bring the contract and he’ll sign on the dotted line?”
“Artur may be Abe’s best friend, but even he’s not that good,” Liv said, with a laugh that emphasized the fact that Naomi had, in fact, jumped the gun just a tad.
“Sorry,” Naomi said. “Didn’t mean to walk the bridge and fall off it.”
“It’s fine,” Liv continued, “but yeah. Artur’s only laid the groundwork. You actually have to ask him, you know?”
Naomi nodded, though her sister couldn’t see it. “Present the idea and the situation?”
“Yes,” Liv replied. “And while you’re doing that, make it very obvious that you’re the event organizer under your new company, living in an Ida-less world.”
“So, I take it asking for tax advice may be a good thing?”
Liv laughed. “Tax advice for a shell company or…?”
Naomi shook her head, feeling slightly offended.
Granted she hadn’t told her sister how much she’d done to organize her new company.
But it still hurt to think her sister thought she’d been approaching replacement contractors with contracts tied to a business that didn’t really exist. “No,” she said.
“Tax advice for a business with an organization, contracts, and a plan that’s prepared to take on clients and treat contractors fairly? ”
There was a long pause and Naomi figured Liv had gotten the message. “That would absolutely be the kind of action that might persuade Abe to not only do your taxes but also admit to wanting to help cater the wedding.”
“That,” Naomi said, “is the best advice. Thank you.”
“Not a problem. Bring the contracts tonight.”
“Anything else?”
There was an extended pause. “I don’t know,” Liv replied. “Artur has a long-standing invitation to bring dessert because he gets things Abe likes. Not sure what Abe would want you and Jason to bring, but if there’s anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you,” Naomi told her sister. “And I’ll bring the contract.”
And the irony of all ironies, was the text that came in immediately after she’d ended the call with her sister. It was from Max Parker-Roth.
To: Naomi Nachman (events)
From: Max Parker-Roth
Great to meet you. Looking forward to helping you design this wedding. The venue is gorgeous. Abe Neumann is my accountant. He’s hard to get a hold of but he’s worth it.
Naomi shook her head, opened her laptop and started to organize what she needed to bring to Rivertown with the contracts. She was glad she’d saved the documents that comprised her business plan to her online file.
And even more importantly, she couldn’t wait to confirm to Jason what they’d be walking into.