Dag heard movement and the rustling of fabric and the soft sound of patting hands and knew the women shared an embrace. Relief washed through him.
“Yes, you will come,” Esther said, her voice slightly muffled by the hug. “And bring your boy. I’ll make blintzes.”
Kylie chuckled. “We’ll see, bubbeh.”
“Now, since I’m already here, and there’s no way I’m getting back on that farkakta train tonight,” Esther said, her voice coming clearer as she pulled back from her granddaughter, “why don’t you tell me what you have planned for your birthday tomorrow?”
Shock propelled Dag forward and out of hiding. Unable to stop himself, he stared at Kylie in offended shock. “Your birthday is tomorrow? But you never mentioned this to me.”
Esther looked from Kylie to Dag and back again. “Bubeleh, you never told your boyfriend about your birthday? How is he supposed to get you a present if he doesn’t even know the date?”
Kylie looked as if she couldn’t decide who to glare at, so she settled on staring at the ceiling. “Dag doesn’t have to get me a gift. And I’ve had a lot on my mind. It just hasn’t been a priority.”
“I don’t care how important this work of yours is! You have to take the time to celebrate your life.” Esther patted her granddaughter on the cheek and stepped back. “Go put on some lipstick. I’m taking you out to dinner. Both of you.”
“That’s really not necessary. I don’t even—”
“Lipstick. Now.” Esther pressed her lips together in a stern expression and pointed to the stairs. “And maybe a dress. Or at least a blouse that doesn’t have some smart-mouthed saying on it. And a little perfume never hurt anybody!”
She had to raise her voice on the last suggestion, because Kylie had already given in and marched obediently—if with obvious reluctance—toward the stairs. Dag watched, then turned toward the woman.
“That is an impressive feat, gaining her compliance so readily,” he observed, feeling slightly dazzled. “Perhaps later you could show me how you achieved it?”
Esther turned and eyed him with speculation and a glint of humor in her dark hazel eyes. “Come with Kylie to Shavuot. If you do that, then we’ll talk.”
“Very well. I will look forward to it.” He nodded his promise.
“So will I, Dag.”
Before he could say another word, the small, elderly woman took him completely by surprise. Stretching to the top of her toes, she reached up and patted his cheek, much as she had done to Kylie. The tap packed a surprising sting coming from such a small, frail-looking human female. He found himself blinking down at her in astonishment.
“Just so you know, however,” she said with a smile. “If you hurt my little girl, I’ll make you wish your mother had died a virgin.”
And with that, Esther Kramer turned on her heel and headed for the powder room, snapping the door closed behind her.
Bemused, Dag stared after her, one hand lifting to rub his tingling cheek. Yes, he did look forward to seeing Kylie grow and develop over the next sixty years.
He looked forward to it very much, indeed.
Chapter Fifteen
Az men vil nit alt vern, zol men zikh yungerheyt oyfhengen.
If you don’t want to grow old, hang yourself when you’re young.
Dag found Esther’s short visit with them both refreshing and entertaining; Kylie found Dag fundamentally and certifiably insane. However, she also found the pair of Star Trek original series Tribble bedroom slippers he managed to locate online and give her as a belated birthday present adorable, so she was willing to overlook it. Especially given the effort he’d had to go through to call up Knox and get a crash course in online shopping, and probably a loan, because what supernatural defender of humanity carried plastic? That doubled the gift’s awww quotient, easy.
What she could not overlook was the mounting evidence that the strike the Order of Eternal Darkness had planned for the Carver conference over Passover weekend would be one of the most hellish events in modern history. Provided, of course, that the Guardians and the Wardens failed to stop it, which Kylie already knew was not an option.
Really, though, she needed to start a conversation with the others about their group identity. Calling them “the Guardians and the Wardens” was just so cumbersome. They needed a collective name for themselves. Something like “the Avengers.” Though less taken, obviously. Although Kylie would totally dig being the Black Widow. That character kicked ass!