"Hello, Lucy!" Rachel greeted as she approached their chosen cafeteria seats. They picked a spot in the corner opposite the exit so the kids that teased them never had reason to pass by.
Rachel popped open her lunch box and pulled out a mesh bag with chocolate coins inside.
"Do you want a piece of gelt? It's for Hanukkah, which starts tonight. It's chocolate," Rachel asked her companion.
"Hanukkah? Isn't that what other people celebrate at Christmastime?" Lucy replied, confused.
"If by 'other people' you mean people who are Jewish, like me, then yes. Don't you know anything about Hanukkah?" Rachel retorted, hurt by the implication of Lucy's questions.
"No. I don't know anyone else that's Jewish, except Noah, I guess, but he's mean to me," Lucy explained honestly.
"Oh. Well, you should come to my house tonight and celebrate with us. You can light a menorah and play dreidel and eat latkes with sour cream and hear the story of Hanukkah! Please come. And here, take this. Usually you win them in dreidel, but my daddy packs them in my lunch too," Rachel said, setting a coin on top on Lucy's bagged sandwich.
"Okay, I'll ask my mom if I can come when I get home. I want to come," Lucy answered, smiling. "But I thought usually people celebrate holidays just with their families. Are you sure it's okay?"
"Yes, my daddies invite people all the time. Holidays are more fun with more people. Don't worry," Rachel assured the girl next to her.
Late that afternoon, just before sunset, Lucy knocked on Rachel's door. It swung opened a few seconds later, revealing the grinning face of an eight-year-old and a towering male body.
"Hi, Lucy. Welcome to my home. My daddies taught me to say that."
Rachel look up at the towering figure, checking for approval of her greeting, and reached out to take Lucy's hand. Lucy responded to the familiar action, fitting their palms together, and stepped into the house slowly, as if she was uncertain she was allowed. She had been in Rachel's house before for sleepovers and play-dates–in fact she had just been there for Rachel's birthday party the previous weekend–but coming for a holiday was new.
"Come on in, Lucy," Hiram encouraged. "We've just started cooking. We'll light the menorah soon, and then you two can spin the dreidel and gorge yourselves on as much chocolate as you'd like."
The house smelled like frying onions and potatoes. Rachel led Lucy into the kitchen and they both sat down at the table. Rachel grabbed a small, square, wooden top inscribed with symbols Lucy didn't recognize.
"This is the dreidel. You spin it to win gelt," Rachel explained, flicking it into a twirl. It landed on ה (hei). "If it lands on this one, you get half." She turned the dreidel, explaining the other symbols, "Nun you do nothing, gimmel you get everything, shin you have to put one more in."
"Maybe you should just tell me what to do when we play. I don't know if I can remember," Lucy replied, looking down at the table, still shy and doubtful.
"Well, I don't want you to think I'm cheating by telling you the wrong thing. You'll get the hang of it. I know you will," Rachel assured Lucy. "Look, daddy's bringing the latkes! We eat fried food to celebrate oil. You'll hear the story later. It all tastes really good, I promise."
"Thank you," Lucy murmured as Leroy set a plate and silverware down in front of her. Hiram brought over dishes full of food.
"We're going to say a blessing over the food, and then you can dig in," Hiram explained, sitting beside Lucy at the table. "You can just listen."
Lucy nodded, then closed her eyes and bowed her head as she had been taught to do when her father said grace before meals. The men's voices melded perfectly as they sang the blessing, but Rachel's voice was so beautiful Lucy couldn't help but open her eyes and glance at the other girl, shifting her eyes behind her thick, round glasses as she kept her head bowed. She cracked a small smile, feeling a little better already. She also noticed that no one in Rachel's family was closing their eyes, so she lifted her head and kept her gaze on Rachel.
When the blessing ended, each person at the table filled their plate with latkes, sour cream, fresh-baked bread, and salad. Hiram and Leroy asked Lucy questions about school, plans for the upcoming break, and her parents. She smiled and answered politely, but shifted in her seat often enough that the men let up, sensing that she would rather talk to Rachel.
As her belly filled, Lucy's discomfort waned. She ate heartily, earning an "I'm impressed" from Leroy. She talked with Rachel, who was content to put her eager explanation on hold until after the meal.
Once all the plates were tucked into the dishwasher, they all moved into the living room, each pair holding hands as they walked through the doorway and sat down on the couch. The menorah already stood on the coffee table, two unlit candles stuck in its arms.
"Rachel, why don't you tell Lucy about lighting the candles," Hiram encouraged, rubbing his daughter's back.
Rachel smiled and began, "Well, A long time ago the Jewish people revolted against people that didn't like them, other people, people that wouldn't let them be Jewish. They won and when they were celebrating and taking back their temple they only had enough oil to last one night but needed eight nights to make more oil. It was a miracle when the oil for one night actually lasted for eight nights, so that's why we celebrate by lighting one candle a night for eight nights."
"What about this one, honey?" Leroy asked, pointing to the candle in the middle.
"Oh yeah, so even though we light one candle each night for eight nights, we also light this candle, the shamash, first and use it to light all the other candles, because the Hanukkah candles can't be used for that," Rachel added.
Lucy smiled and nodded, absorbing the story. She sunk back into the couch, making herself comfortable.
"Lucy, do you know how to light a match?" Hiram inquired, offering her a matchbox.
"No."
"Do you want to learn?"
"Okay," Lucy replied, leaning forward again, eager to participate.
"Here's the match. Now I'll hold the box, and you just swipe the tip across the rough part as quick as you can, keeping your fingers down at the bottom. Then you can light the shamash," Hiram said, miming the process.
Lucy copied Hiram's actions but got no spark. She dropped the second match as soon as it caught, gasping in fear when she saw the flame. But the third match lit and Lucy maintained her grasp on it. She brought it to the white candle sticking up from the middle of the gold menorah and shook it out when the flame caught on the wick.
"Great job, Lucy," Hiram congratulated as took the charred match from the girl. "We have more blessings for the candles. The three of us will sing them while Rachel lights the first candle."
"I like the blessings. They're pretty," Lucy responded.
"Yes, they are, aren't they. Especially with Rachel singing," Leroy agreed, patting his daughter on the head affectionately.
They began the first of three blessings. Lucy looked on, hazel eyes shining in enchantment. Rachel leaned forward, removed the shamash from its resting place, used it to light the first Hanukkah candle–standing farthest to the right–then replaced it, singing all the while.
As they finished, Lucy could not decide if she should fix her gaze on Rachel or the flickering menorah so she glanced back and forth, mouth slightly agape.
"Thank you," Lucy blurted out, not meaning to say anything.
Hiram and Leroy exchanged glances and smiled, chuckling softly. Hiram looked back to Lucy and replied, "Well, thank you for coming to share Hanukkah with us. You're always welcome, Lucy. You're Rachel's best friend and that makes you a part of the family."
"Thank you," Lucy repeated, blushing and staring down at her hands, one in her lap, one intertwined with Rachel's again.
"Well, girls, how about a story?" Hiram asked, holding up a picture book.
"Daddy, we want to play dreidel," Rachel whined.
"Just one, honey. Lucy hasn't heard it before. Then you can eat chocolate."
"I want to hear a story," Lucy interjected.
"Okay, fine. Just one," Rachel pouted.
Hiram opened the book and he and Leroy took turns reading. Rachel squirmed a little, but Lucy gripped Rachel's hand tightly and leaned forward, drawn in by the new tale. Lucy's uninhibited enthusiasm was contagious; within a minute Rachel found herself absorbed by the story as well.
As soon as Hiram shut the book, Rachel jumped off the couch, pulling Lucy with her.
"Time to play dreidel!" she exclaimed.
"You two sit down. I'll bring the gelt," Leroy insisted as he and Hiram walked back into the kitchen. He returned a minute later to drop a small fortune of chocolate coins on the table and then turned away, leaving the girls alone in the living room.
Lucy and Rachel sat down on the carpet, cross-legged, at the corner of the coffee table. Rachel divided the gelt and explained each side of the dreidel again. They began their chocolate battle gleefully, whooping when they won the pot, sighing when they lost, knowing that the outcome hardly mattered; they would share the chocolate regardless of who reigned victorious.
As each unwrapped a coin to eat while they played, Lucy spoke softly, "Thanks for inviting me Rachel. I had a good Hanukkah with you. I like Hanukkah. Thanks for teaching me, too. I wish I could invite you for Christmas, but I don't think my mom would let you come. I'm sorry I called you 'other people' at lunchtime. You're not 'other people.' You're my favorite person I know."
Rachel smiled, "I know, Lucy. You're my favorite person too."