admit that I was sort of relieved not to see Bill yet. Iâd be lying if I didnât admit to having some major-league fantasies about me and Nina getting back together. Sure, I knew that she andBill had made out. But only because I wasnât available, right? Hereâs how I pictured it: With a single glance in my direction, Nina would crawl down the synagogue aisle, curl up in my lap, and whisper âI love youâ in Hebrew. Thatâs what I was thinking about while Steve and Rudy started to describe their new English teacher to me. Apparently he had a black belt in karate and could speak Russian.
âSeriously, dude,â Rudy was saying. âThe guy actually kicked a dictionary clean in half. Heâs awesome.â
Pretty amazing, I supposed. But before I could respond, I heard it: A girlâs voice.
Her voice.
Saying my name!
âHey, Evan!â
There she was, decked out in a bright blue dress that hugged all the body parts that required hugging.
âNina!â I gasped.
My heart went from zero to ninety in a millisecond. But then it practically exploded out of my chest. Because I saw her lips forming into a big, fat pucker. Her head was moving forwardâtoward me! I nearly fell over. This was happening more quickly than I had even anticipated! Thank God I had brushed my teeth after breakfast. There was nothing to do but go for it. I licked my lips and spread my arms wide.
But thenâ¦well, at the last second, each of us turned our head so instead of touching lips we touched cheeks. Chickened out, I guess. Aha, I thought. She doesnât want everyone to see how badly she wants me. Sheâs saving the good stuff for later. All right, then, the day was young. All I had to do was bide my time.
âCome on,â Steve said, tugging my arm. âLetâs find some seats.â
âSee you inside,â Nina said with a smile.
âYeah,â I said. âSee you!â
Who ever said New York wasnât the greatest city on earth?
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The Park Avenue Synagogue looked like a church in some Christmas special, except instead of stained-glass windows and pictures of Jesus there were stained-glass windows and gigantic Stars of David. It inspired awe, feeling like you were in the presence of the Lord and serious money. I was suddenly relieved that none of these people would be at my dinky little Methodist church basement ceremony a week later. Honestly, how would I explain my sorry new life if they came? How would people react?
Now that the doors were open, the place was filling fast, and I caught a glimpse of Nina taking a seat with a group of girl friends on the other side of thesynagogue. I waved at her, but she didnât see it. Seconds later, Bill squeezed in next to me.
âDude!â Bill said. âHowâs it hanginâ?â
Despite everything I was feeling about Nina, meeting up with him and Steve was like putting on an old pair of sneakers; they just fit somehow. We began some light banterâthe typical âhowâs school?â âhowâve you been?â sort of stuff. But all I wanted to do was cut to the chase: Was Bill going out with Nina? Before I could work up the nerve to ask, a cantor in a black robe led the congregation in a prayer. Then a second cantor sang a song, followed by a third who chanted a blessing. Then the rabbi himself got up. He was no geezer like Rabbi Weiner, but a young guy who looked like he shouldâve been wearing a football helmet instead of a yarmulke.
âToday,â he began, âwe gather to celebrate the bar mitzvah of Aaron Guevara Siegel.â
Things moved along pretty quickly after that. A few prayers later and Aaron got up to do his thing. You shouldâve heard him: He whipped off his Torah reading like he was reciting box scores out of the sports sectionâthe words just flowed. And his speech? It was a thing of beauty: It started with an allegory about some ancient
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