Indebted 

Lani: You said you were struggling — so what’s with the fancy hotel program?

Chaviva: For me and my family, this is the only option

Lani

“Slight technical issue,” Chaviva announced as I came into work. I was usually at work first, but it had been a stressful morning, two kids home sick, and it took time until I could make arrangements for them to stay home while I went to work. “You know the Purim gifts we ordered for donors? Well… they arrived.”

Didn’t sound like a problem to me. I shrugged off my coat and looked around. “Where — oh, that box? It’s small!”

“Right.” Chaviva walked around the desk and popped open the box. “We ordered three hundred, right? Well, for some absurd reason, we got seventy-five.”

“Seventy-five.” I echoed. Oh boy. We’d ordered the gifts weeks in advance and centered the whole poem and theme around the gift — an elaborate Havdalah set with beautiful art design. And now we had 75 magnificent gifts to distribute — and nothing for everyone else.