Free Dating Kosher by Michaela Greene Page B

eight.”
    “Perfect.”
    Patio was a newer place where you could eat on the namesake patio in the open air, and beside that, there was a huge dance bar adjoining man-made beach volleyball courts (complete with sand). It was a fun place and had become the place to party and be seen. Bev liked it because she liked to watch all the action and I liked it because it was a great place to go trolling for men. And the food was okay too.
    Shoving a few saltines in my mouth to tide me over, I hung up on Bev and dialed my dad’s direct line.
    “Martin Rosenblatt.” He sounded so professional; it threw me off every time I called.
    “Hi, Dad.”
    His voice softened. “Hi Shosh, how’re you doing honey?”
    “Uh, I’m good Dad. I had a nice time with Susan shopping today.”
    “I just got off the phone with her and she said the same thing. I’m glad that you and she get along so well.”
    “She’s really nice.” I said, then hesitated, a little nervous about the real reason for the phone call. “Um, Dad. I hate to say this because…well you know I love Mom, but I really don’t think you should invite her to the wedding.”
    Silence.
    I continued, “I mean, she probably wouldn’t come, but do you really think it’s appropriate to invite your first wife to your second wedding?”
    Dad seemed to weigh his words carefully before he spoke. “I am trying to be an adult about this. I’m hoping that by inviting her, we can all get past the bad times and start to move forward.”
    I shook my head, even though Dad couldn’t see me. “I don’t think that Mom is ready to be an adult about this, Dad.”
    “I don’t think you’re giving your mother enough credit, Shoshanna.” He sounded very fatherly, almost lawyerly and it was a bit intimidating, but I had to stand firm, he had his head in the sand if he thought Mom could handle watching him get married to Susan.
    “Dad, listen to me. For starters, you didn’t send out an invite to her with the rest of the invites. She’ll know that; she’ll know that her invitation was just an afterthought. That’s pretty insulting no matter who it is.” I paused but he didn’t say anything so I went on. “Add to that the fact that your fiancé was a friend of hers who you…anyway, it’s kind of a scandal. Mom isn’t ready. I can promise you that. And even if you think she’s most of the way there, do you really want to risk a big scene on the off chance that she’s not? Is that fair to Susan? It’s her wedding too, you know.”
    Although I thrived on drama and would have loved to have seen a big scandalous scene at a grand affair, I sure wouldn’t want to see it at my own dad’s wedding. Save it for some third cousin, or better yet, an episode of Real Housewives , then it would be amusing. But not so close to home.
    “I suppose you’re probably right,” Dad finally said. “I just wanted to do right by her.”
    “Sorry Dad, but it’s too late for that.”
    Ouch. But it was true. Dad had always taught that it was better to be honest and risk hurting someone’s feelings short-term rather than sugar-coat the truth and hurt them in the long run. His own advice turned against him. Ah well, he was pretty tough.
    “I know that honey, but you know it’s hard…”
    “Yeah…” I wanted desperately to change the subject, never liking being the middle of the mom/dad divorce debate. But luckily Dad had other subjects to talk about.
    “So, Susan told me that you and Max broke up.”
    Ugh, couldn’t he talk about the weather or something equally dull?
    “Yeah, we did. But it’s for the best Dad.”
    “You don’t have to convince me , I always thought he was a putz. You can do much better. Oh, hold on.” He muttered something at his secretary before returning to the phone. “Sorry, honey, I’ve got a lot to wrap up before the weekend. I’ll see you on Sunday?”
    “Sure,” I said, used to being blown off; Dad was always very busy, it had been a fact of life growing