A few weeks into the Christmas Festival, Hanukkah arrived. Miriam liked Hanukkah, in spite of its minor religious significance, because she liked the candles in dark windows and the joyful eating of fried food. She had so many memories of celebrating at Carrigan’s. Even when the holiday didn’t overlap with Christmas break, Cass would make them all eat latkes and tell the story of the oil. It was an antidote to the Christmas cheer that threatened to overwhelm them. Cass had collected menorahs from all over the world, saying she wanted a menorah from anywhere the diaspora had touched.

“We may go all out for Christmas for the tourists,” she’d explained, “but when it is just our home, we will light up the sky for the Maccabees.” Cass never did anything small.

The first night of this first year without her, they set out the menorahs in the windows, and every member of the family lit one. “Miri and Hannah,” Ziva said, “you must say the blessings. It’s what Cass would have wanted.”

Miriam rolled her eyes at her mom’s pretend benevolence, but she didn’t refuse. They covered their heads and entwined their fingers. “On three,” Hannah whispered, squeezing Miriam’s hand three times. “Baruch ata Adonai…”

Dinner after was chaos.

The Greens came, and Noelle gifted the twins their carved ducks, to their delight and their fathers’ horror.

“If you really loved us,” Elijah told her, “you would not have doomed us to weeks of quacking.”

Noelle didn’t look at all repentant. “I’ll come babysit and they can quack at me.”

“Mr. Matthews,” Jason laughed as he picked up one of the twins from under the table and swung them around, “do you want me to get these little monsters out from under your legs?”

“Don’t you dare!” Mr. Matthews said. “It reminds me of when Esther and Joshua were little. We don’t have enough little people running amok around here, these days.”

“Oh,” Elijah interrupted, “we would be happy to drop ours off any time. You can let them run around the back acreage until they get tired out, and we’ll come back for them.”

“Please do that!” Mrs. Matthews exclaimed, her hands at her heart. “Only one of my children has blessed me with grandchildren, and he’s in the city.”

Jason was short and stocky with the face of a model, with cheekbones that could cut someone. He had midnight dark skin, shining locs, a dimple, and he seemed made of pure charisma.

“Elijah,” Miriam whispered, “your husband is the most beautiful human I’ve ever seen in real life.”

“I know,” he whispered back.

She caught Noelle smiling at this exchange.

“What?” she asked, poking Noelle in the ribs with an elbow. “You have that smug little smirk again.”

“Nothing. Elijah and Jason are important to me, is all. I’d like you to make friends with them,” Noelle said, not quite nonchalantly.