Just like they used to, back in Jacobsdale.
While Cantor seemed thrilled to hear from him at the ass-crack of dawn – once he got over the initial out-of-the-blue shock of it – and had asked question after question about Avi’s life, he’d been far less willing to bring Avi up to speed on his days.
Avi supposed the man had other things to do, perhaps congregation duties to attend to. It was the start of Hanukkah tonight, after all.
Nothing to do now but wait for the cavalry to come.
Avi yawned, turning Tobin’s wallet over in his hands. Other than the fifty that had been in the bill-fold, there was a lone condom, unexpired, Avi noted. A credit card (that was expired) and an auto club card – useless without a car. And a Pennsylvania driver’s license hecouldn’tuse, as they looked nothing alike.
He hadn’t known Tobin lived just a couple of states away. Hell, he hadn’t known Tobin wasn’t even the guy’s first name. Erik Henry Tobin was five years older than him…and was celebrating a birthday next week.
And Avi hadn’t known any of this.Note to self: talk to the crew more often.
He snapped the leather billfold closed and zipped it back into the pocket of his track pants. They had snaps down the legs, but he wasn’t a basketball player or a male stripper, so why did he even own them? Comfort, he supposed.Ridiculous.
Same with the shower slides on his feet. At least his socks were clean; a new pair procured per band member as one of the regularly requested items on Painted Doors’ tour rider for each venue. Dirty socks became disposable daily when fresh pairs awaited them backstage, along with their catering requests.
Still, he wassonot dressed for the weather that awaited him beyond the windows of the rest stop. He stifled another yawn and tried to remember the last time he felt so unprepared for anything.
The last time he was left to his own devices.
Ironic since he had no realdevicesto speak of. Not any of the electronic kind, at least. He missed his earbuds, missed having a private soundtrack playing to shut out all the external chatter. The people who talkedathim, not with him. Buck and the others telling him where to be and what time, what songs to sing. Which camera to look at. He smiled and he showed up, and he did his thing. Over and over since Las Vegas.
Ever since Vegas, he’d looked for Sylvie behind each camera that flashed his way. Certain she would show back up. Flash him her peace sign that all was forgiven. Forgotten.
Was he forgetting something?
Thinking of Sylvie exhausted him.
Thinking of…
Oh shit.
Her text. He had left Sylvie on ‘read.’
Somehow, suddenly, he was too tired to care.
And somehow – even with no clocks around – he realized “one to two hours” must’ve gone by since…
LiquiDoze.
Chapter Five
You’ll know him when you see him.
Her father’s parting words echoed in her head as she hit the rumble strips leading to the rest area.Slow your ride, Gellman. It wasn’t like she was in a hurry to play Six Degrees of Jewish Geography with one of her dad’s students.
“Former” could mean anyone from eight to eighty years old, for all Leah knew. As head Cantor over the years, he had overseen religious school, Hebrew tutoring, conversion classes,Mussarprograms –
A sudden flash of memory struck, causing her to brake hard.
Avi Wolfson, crashing her father’s popular TeenMussar. Swaggering in and arguing vehemently with him on one point or another. The class had taught soul traits like humility, patience, compassion…all things Avi Wolfson lacked.
She threw the Subaru into park in the middle of the empty lot and grabbed her phone.Only one way to find out.With impatient thumbs, she tapped outpainted doors tour dates erie painto her browser app and waited for the result.
Up popped the official date list, and she breathed a sigh of relief. No Pennsylvania on the itinerary anywhere. After Ohio was Buffalo, New York, and that seemed to be the last date onthe tour. She almost laughed out loud. How silly of her. Besides, her dad had called him amensch.
Kismet hadn’t been one of her planned bathroom stops, but she took advantage, hanging an immediate right into the ladies’ room before taking a look around for her passenger. The place was deserted, the fast food counters still darkened and shuttered.
