I smiled up at her. “That would be awesome! Thanks, Mom.”

She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. I took in a few more deep, rose-scented breaths. After everything Oren had been through, I found myself appreciating my family more. I tried not to think about what it would be like to lose them, but with Oren around so much, it was hard not to.

We stopped at the The Big Scoop on the way home. It was super crowded, so we took a number. As we waited for our turn, I looked around at the people in the store.

Oh no! At the counter was a familiar face. Sasha. She was holding two ice cream cones and was very focused on licking one of them. I looked around but didn’t spot Miri, thankfully. Then I noticed an old man standing at the cash register next to Sasha. Maybe her grandfather? He looked a little familiar.

He took one of the cones from Sasha and started toward the door.

I turned away, trying to be invisible. I heard a deep, gravelly voice behind me.

“Hello, Ben, Diana.”

Of course the man was coming up to say hello to us. My parents knew everyone.

I had no choice but to turn around.

“Hi, Jerry,” Dad said.

Mom smiled. “Good to see you, Jerry. You’re looking well.”

“You know Nate, of course,” she said as my brother nodded at the man. Then Mom turned to me. “This is our youngest, Evelyn. Evie, this is Mr. Kepler.”

“Nice to meet you,” I said politely.

He took my hand in his big one but thankfully didn’t crush it. He gave it a polite shake as he smiled at me. “Lovely to meet you.”

He turned toward Sasha and put his hand on her shoulder, nudging her forward toward us, even as she kept eating her ice cream and didn’t look at me. “This is my granddaughter, Sasha.” He tilted his head at me. “You look about the same age. Maybe you girls know each other?”

I nodded. “Yes, we are in the same class.” Unfortunately.

Sasha huffed. “Zaidy,” she said. “Come on, Mom’s waiting for us in the car, and my ice cream is melting.”

Her grandfather chuckled and gave Mom and Dad a knowing look. “The princess has spoken. Good seeing you all,” he said and then smiled down at me. “Nice meeting you, Evelyn.”

“You too, sir,” I said, making a point of not looking at Sasha even though I could feel her glare on me.

And then they were gone.

“Are you two friends?” Mom asked.

“Not even a little,” I said.

She looked surprised. “Jerry’s such a nice man. He lost his wife many years ago.”

“He’s on the chevra kadisha,” Dad said.

That was why he looked so familiar. I must have seen him coming or going from the funeral home. It wasn’t a secret group, but Dad said they didn’t talk very much about what they did. It was important to be respectful and modest about their duties.