Carol of the Bellskis Read Online Free PDF Page A

dangling from his hand. From brokenhearted crying to
    driving for five hours to playing host to this. He needed another beer.
    He helped himself.
    The inhabitants of the B and B stirred. There were sounds coming from the nearby games
    room and the persistent yap of Ben Berkowitz's little dog.
    One hour to sundown.
    Seth ran his hands through his hair frantically, hoping a thought might get dislodged. He
    didn't have any, however. What did Ahava mean, they had a fight? Seth couldn't believe it. Judi
    and Carl had been together for over forty years. Their marriage seemed rock solid. They
    represented everything that was possible in a good relationship to Seth, and he loved them for
    that.
    Seth made a resolution. He would keep it together for the sake of Judi and Carl. Keep it
    together.
    “Excuse me, kid?”
    Seth turned wearily. “Yes, Mr. Berkowitz?”
    “Can I get that dog food?”
    “I'll see what we have.”

    20
    Astrid Amara

    After several minutes of searching, he found cans of something expensive-looking called
    Fancy Schmancy Chopped Liver for “kosher pets.” Seth opened the can and dumped the
    ingredients into a blue bowl and brought it upstairs.
    “That's way too much!” Ben Berkowitz complained.
    “I'm sorry,” Seth snapped. “I don't have a dog. I especially don't have your dog. I don't
    know how much he eats, okay? Look, I'm a fucking guest here. I haven't had a chance to unpack
    my bag. I'm trying to be polite and take care of seven complete strangers and figure out where
    my missing relatives are, so I'm a little stressed, and I'd appreciate a little less criticism for about
    five fucking minutes.”
    Ben froze, his smile melting off his face.
    Good job, Seth thought. Nice keeping-it-together skills.
    He shook his head and said, “I'm sorry,” just as Ben said the same thing.
    They both paused.
    Ben's heavy hand came down on Seth's shoulder. “Kid, I apologize. I get cranky when
    Doctor Mister gets cranky. I didn't mean to be an ass. Is there anything I can do?”
    Seth sighed. “I don't suppose you want to lead the candle lighting?”
    Ben smiled. His teeth were yellow, and his mouth was wide, but he looked genuinely
    pleased. “There is nothing I'd love more!”
    Seth sighed in relief, grateful the man didn't bear a grudge for Seth's outburst. He pointed
    Ben Berkowitz in the direction of the menorah.
    As sunset fell across the mountains, Seth lowered the lights in the dining room, and old
    Ben Berkowitz lit the shamash candle and then the first candle of Hanukkah.
    Ben led the recitation of the Hanukkah prayer, which was chanted in varying degrees of
    enthusiasm. Seth mumbled the way he had since he was a child, the Hebrew words all merging
    into one inextricably long collection of consonants: sherkidshanub'mitzvotavv'tzivanu . But the
    rabbi and his wife recited it soulfully, and the Neidlich sisters giggled as they raced each other to
    the finish.
    Then Ben launched into a theatrical rendition of “Hanerot Halalu,” the likes of which Seth
    and the other guests had never heard. It involved belting out the lyrics of the hymn so that his

    Carol of the Bellskis

    21

    voice filled all the corners of the lodge, and his breath wavered the candles, and his face turned
    red, and tears sprang to the corners of his eyes, and the top button on his shirt quivered and
    popped away, an early critic. Heedless, Ben emphatically thumped his mammoth gut.
    Everyone stared at Ben.
    “I'm a theater director,” Ben explained. “I believe in projecting one's voice.”
    The rest nodded politely and joined in as he immediately launched into a raucous rendition
    of “Ma'oz Tzur,” complete with a driving drumbeat created by smacking the top of Aunt Judi's
    oak dining table.
    Afterward Seth moved the menorah to the bay window of the B and B to shine the light
    outward and hoped that it would lead Carl and Judi back before dinner. Then he darted to the
    kitchen and returned with his delectable offering of