Chapter 25 Time to Dish

If there is one thing that can be counted on at a Jewish wedding, it's that the first dance will be the hora. Once the entire crowd moved into the reception area, the band began the signature song and Leah and Shira grabbed Gabe and pulled him to the dance floor. Jewish or not, no one at a Jewish wedding gets the steps right, but that's all the fun. Just hold hands and run around in a circle, trying not to step on anyone.

They danced in circles until the band transitioned into more contemporary music and introduced the new husband and wife for the first time. They clapped and watched the couple perform their first dance until the MC told all the couples in love to join in. Leah looked at Shira, who motioned her to go with Gabe, who happily twirled her around and led her to the dance floor.

She and Gabe were in love. It didn't matter that she was Jewish and he was not. It didn't matter what everyone thought about that. He was an amazing guy, sweet, smart, funny, ambitious, and he treated her like a queen. Why was his religion the most important thing ?

"Stay close for the bouquet toss!" One of Leah's aunts winked at her while she danced with Gabe. She smiled, but secretly felt assaulted by the comment. She couldn't have those kinds of eyes on her Gabe. She might be ready to accept Gabe and his non-Jewishness, but she knew her family wasn't. Not yet at least.

When the dance ended and the MC invited everyone to get their first course at their table, Leah navigated to table nine where Shira was already sitting with their Bubbe.

"Leah-chik!" her Bubbe announced when she approached. Leah wrapped her arms around her grandma and kissed her cheek. "How come you didn't say hi to me beforehand? And who is this handsome young man?"

"Sorry, Bubbe," she apologized, not exactly sure for what. "This is my boyfriend Gabe."

"Gabe? So nice to meet you!" Her Bubbe said holding out her hand to him. "What's your last name?"

"Russo," Gabe responded while he shook Leah's Bubbe's hand.

"Russo? That's an interesting name, where is your family from?" Leah's Bubbe asked. Leah felt her pulse quicken and she felt completely exposed.

"We're Italian," he responded politely.

"There aren't many Jews in Italy," Leah's Bubbe commented .

"No, that's true, there aren't," Gabe said.

"Must have been why they left."

Gabe nodded politely and sat down next to Leah, who breathed a sigh of relief. Had she dodged the bullet?

They were served salad, which was more like a plate of lettuce with a few tomato pieces artfully arranged around the edge of the plate and then stood up again to dance. Gabe held Leah close, but his eyes were wandering.

"Some of the groomsmen are pretty handsome, wouldn't you say?" Leah's mom said as she danced next to Leah. Savannah's eyes stayed focused on her daughter, without acknowledging the man holding onto her hand. "Maybe we can get Rebecca to introduce Shira, or you."

"Mom!" Leah exclaimed.

"What!? It's always nice to make new friends!"

Leah pulled Gabe to the other edge of the dancefloor and tried to smile at him. He looked at her, and while he was still dancing, it felt a little more forced than before. When the song ended and the MC told them that dinner was coming, they went back to their table.

"We were just talking about my dishes that I will pass on to you when I die!" Leah's Bubbe said. One of her Bubbe's favorite conversations began with "when I die." When I die, you'll get this samovar I brought over from the old country! It belonged to my parents before they were murdered by the Nazis! When I die, you'll get my wedding china that has real gold plating on it! You'll have to keep kosher, because the dishes are kosher and they don't go in the dishwasher! They are beautiful! My most prized possession!

When Leah was little, she liked to play along. Of course, I'll keep kosher! I love your wedding china! But as she got older, her responses morphed into: Bubbe, I'd rather have you alive than have your dishes! But her Bubbe would wave away those responses and tell her the importance of planning.

"Have you told your boyfriend about the dishes?" she asked while a waiter served her a plate of salmon. Leah shook her head.

"Tell me about the dishes, Leah," Gabe said.

"My wedding china," Leah's Bubbe said proudly. "I am giving them to Leah, as long as she marries a nice Jewish man and they keep a kosher household."

Gabe nodded and used his napkin to wipe his face. "You know, I think I'm going to get some air," he said as he stood up.

"Does my wedding china stress you out?" Leah's Bubbe said and then turned to her granddaughter. "Leah! Is there something you want to tell me? I knew the minute he said he is Italian!" She then turned back to Gabe and rolled up her sleeve.

"You see this!?" She said, pointing at the faded tattoo on her arm. It had been so many years that the tattoo was faded, the ink was almost blue and it was almost impossible to read the numbers on her stretched and wrinkled skin. "This is what non-Jews do to us!"

"Bubbe, Gabe didn't do that," Leah started.

"It doesn't matter who did it! What matters is that we Jews need to stick together. We need to take care of each other. We need to be a strong people! If we marry goyim , we will forget our Jewishness! Our children won't understand their heritage! Our children will be confused about their identity!"

"I don't want children anyway," Gabe said and threw his napkin on his plate. He left the table and went straight for the door.

"Leah! I am disappointed in you!" her Bubbe said. "What happened to Asher? The nice Jewish boy you were dating? What was wrong with him?"

"Nothing was wrong with him," Leah responded, her eyes at the door. She wanted to chase Gabe, but she couldn't leave her Bubbe like that.

"Don't be a fool!" her Bubbe continued. "Don't get too comfortable with him! He will take everything from you! He will want you to give up your culture and your heritage! He will stop you from passing on your traditions. This is the slow demise of the Jewish people!"

Leah nodded and then politely excused herself from the table. She tried to find Gabe, but he wasn't out in the lobby. She went to their hotel room, where she found him packing his bag.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Leaving," he said. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Because you're my boyfriend and I wanted to spend New Year's with you."

"You make me look like a fool," he responded. "You're embarrassed that I am not Jewish and everyone in your family wants to break us apart."

"I'm not embarrassed!" She defended, but she knew how she sounded.

Gabe zipped up his bag and lifted it. "Goodbye Leah," he said and pushed passed her and out the door. Leah's eyes drifted to the clock in the room. It was almost midnight, almost time for their perfect New Year's kiss.

She followed him out to the hall and chased him to the elevator. "Wait!" she cried, but he didn't. He let the elevator doors close before she could reach him.

As she stood there, she heard the shouts of people counting down in the hotel. "Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

Her phone buzzed and she hoped it was Gabe, saying he wanted to come back, but it wasn't. It was Asher.

Happy New Year! Miss you!

Miss you too , she responded because part of her did miss him. She missed how simple everything could be with him, even if there were no butterflies or passion.