Avi Korman felt like he was about to cry. He looked down. Dovi would never forgive him
Avi Korman wasn’t a fool. He appreciated that Sholom Wasser asked him to speak — it was a classy thing to do — but he knew his place. He was uncomfortable enough sitting at the head of the table, next to Sholom and Shuey Portman, but he’d promised Dovi that he wouldn’t sit with the boys.
There was a time that he imagined that he would be that cool father, the one whose teenage son would be okay with him hanging around when friends were over, but it turned out that there was no such thing. Even now, Dovi, sitting at the far end of the table, kept looking up to make sure his father was still far away. Avi didn’t mind. He was enjoying the singing and it was nice to see Dovi sitting in a comfortable little circle, eating, schmoozing and singing.
The boys were urging Shuey Portman to sing something alone, and Avi detected the wariness on Rabbi Wasser’s face, as if he wasn’t sure how far to let it go.
Shuey seemed ready to sing, but Halbfinger, who was playing keyboard, didn’t know the songs Shuey mentioned, which was embarrassing for everyone. Sholom Wasser used the pause to start speaking.
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