She blushed. “Eat. Before it all gets cold.”
Her little sampler tray surprisingly hit the spot – tiny triangles of spanakopita chased with bites of tofu Pad Thai, thimbles of lentil soup from the vegetarian place, and twists of spaghetti parm with fries on the side from the pizza place. “Who sweet-talked their way through the place now?” Avi teased, stealing a sip of her bubble tea.
“It never hurts to ask, as my friends in the retirement complex always say.”
Leah shrugged innocently, artfully arranging her tiny four-course meal around the pretty lilac-colored drink resting on the table. She snapped a quick photo before digging in. “They don’t get out much,” she explained. “The Beth El Bucket Listers back home. This way, they can follow along with my trip.”
“Bucket Listers? Sounds like another old people thing. Items you regret not doing while you had the chance.”
She gave him a flat look. “Lots of people have bucket lists. It’s like YOLO, or living your dash. It’s part of the zeitgeist now.”
“Living in between the lines is infinitely harder, and more rewarding, than just scratching items off the list.” He countered,pointing his tiny fork at her. “And bucket list sounds like regret to me.”
She glared at him, before pulling a leather-bound journal from her bag. “Then I need to add you, right here.” She made a show out of uncapping her pen. “R-E-G-R-E-T…”
Were they going to rehash this again, in public this time? Avi hoped not. He realized he was actually enjoying being out in public. Here, with her. Was it the whole out of context thing that allowed him to fly under the radar?
Maybe it really was the band hat.
“I called in afavor.” He tossed a fry at her. “To your father. Not a bucket list item, surely.”
Leah dipped her head quickly as she closed the book, but not before he clocked the glassy look in her eyes. Had he touched a nerve?
Does it matter?Despite her earlier outburst, Leah Gellman was locked tighter than a safe, and seemed determined to stay that way. And he needed to catch a bus and be on his way before noon. Still, he was curious.
“So what else is on this list of yours?”
“Oh, it’s not mine. Well, maybe one or two are.” She showed him a page, keeping her hand firmly on the book so he couldn’t take possession for closer inspection. A neatly numbered list, some items with sketches or addresses jotted next to them, formed the weirdest city scavenger hunt Avi had ever seen.
“Coin in Bethesda fountain for Agatha? Can’t do that one,” he informed her.
“And why the hell not?”
“Hate to break it to you, but the city turns off Central Park fountains in winter.”
“Darn. Okay, I’ll improvise. Maybe find an indoor fountain.”
“Oh, this is an easy one.” He tapped his finger. “I can find you the best bialy in town.”
“Do you live in New York now?”
“Baltimore, actually.” He thought of the Fell’s Point condo he rented, sitting empty most of the year. Convenient for practicing with his bandmates who lived nearby, but not much else. “But I’m in Manhattan more often than not, when I’m off the road.”
He tilted his head to read another line. “Skating at Rockefeller Center is taking your life in your hands this time of year.”
“Yeah, I just added that one to be polite.” She laughed. “Mrs. Rose was a skater. She knew Peggy Fleming!”
“What’s this one?” It was decorated with dreidels and wreaths and cartoon lions, the address42nd& Fifth Avescratched beside it.
“That one’s for Mrs. Blum. She can’t make the trip out to see her grandchildren. She wants me to hide a dreidel in one of the Library Lion’s wreathes, and their mother will take them to find it, with clues.”
Most girls Avi knew would be jumping at the chance to go clubbing in Soho or thrift shopping in the East Village if they were headed to Manhattan for a week.
He was quickly getting the idea that Leah Gellman wasn’t most girls.
“What are all these names and addresses?”
“I have to deliver eight Mahjong boxes to various high profile players and influencers around town,” Leah explained. “It’s part of our pitch but also a publicity campaign. They’ve agreed to post them over the eight nights of Hanukkah, so it’ll be pretty fun.”
