“If Gabe’s genealogy project has revealed that he isn’t a Kohein, then I believe him”

Gabe turns the fake medal over and over in his hands, staring down at it as though it might give him some guidance. His fingers trace the MG, and he wonders what Abba would think now. He had always liked Penina, hadn’t he? He can imagine Abba, his slow, sad voice, a hand resting on Gabe’s shoulder. You finally have the chance to undo the past.

No. Abba had tried his hardest to undo his own past, had given himself a new life and a new name, and it hadn’t worked. Even after his death, the truth was coming out.

He straightens his white shirt. It’s actually Ezra’s, because he doesn’t have enough Shabbos shirts to wear a fresh one on a Sunday. Gabe is a little more wiry, and the shirt is a bit loose on him. “Think I’m ready?”

“Just about.” Ezra looks guarded, unsure about this. Gabe hates that, because he could use someone in his camp. Rivi certainly isn’t.

“If you do anything to hurt Penina, I will never forgive you,” Rivi says. She has her arms folded, her face sharp and hostile. Gabe shifts from foot to foot, antsy in the crowded guest room. Sometimes, Rivi and Ezra feel almost like surrogate parents, watching over him with equal measures of care and disapproval.

Well. Ezra doesn’t usually exude this much disapproval, and Gabe can’t help but resent Rivi a little for it. “I’m supposed to be there at seven, right?” It’s too early to leave. He pulls at the shirt, straightening it a little, and runs his thumb over the medal in his hand again.

“Gabe.” Ezra looks troubled. “I get that you’ve been doing all this research on your family history, but are you sure that you’re not a Kohein? We saw your father’s name in the yearbook, and it seemed pretty clear—”

“Well, it wasn’t,” Rivi says coolly. “There was a lot we didn’t know about our father.” That’s as much as Gabe thinks Rivi will ever give Ezra. This is so frustrating, avoiding reality with unconvincing half-truths, and Ezra still looks dubious and irritated.

“It just doesn’t seem very likely to me that you’d suddenly figure it out so definitively. Is there some piece of this that I’m missing?”

“You know everything that matters,” Rivi says tightly. “If Gabe’s genealogy project has revealed that he isn’t a Kohein, then I believe him.”