I stopped eating. “We’re doing Eretz Yisrael? Uh, why? How?”

The price of frozen strawberries was highway robbery.

I hesitated for a moment, then returned the package to the freezer. Tzirel bought fresh strawberries and peeled each one, but I had no time for that. So… improvise. I could do a pineapple-kiwi-mango smoothie, that should work.

On my way out of the grocery, I scanned my receipt. My mother wouldn’t stop teasing me — “Groceries suddenly started charging for stuff, huh?” But then she’d laugh and tell me to take some paper goods, she just did a Costco order. Seriously, food cost a fortune. And we were only two people.

Gavriel was already home for lunch when I arrived. I loved that our schedules matched, and we could have lunch together every day.

But first, his nap.

“How do you do it?” I marveled. “Hit your pillow, fall asleep, then jump out of bed nine-and-half-minutes later?”

He shrugged, laughed, and went to sleep. A minute later, my mother called.

“Hey, Shev, will you be available tonight? A new kallah is coming over.”

Grr. I had so much college work to catch up on. I really, really needed this night. “Hmmm.”

“Only if you’re up to it. If you can’t, don’t worry, I’ll manage.”

“No, no, I’ll come. I’ll figure it out.”

I’d wake up an hour early tomorrow to catch up on college work. My mother paid me per appointment, why lose out?

The paninis were just about ready when Gavriel returned to the kitchen. “And you’re not even bleary-eyed,” I said. “Ten minutes for me is a killer. If I’d sleep like that, I’d wake up a zombie.”

”Make fun,” he grumbled.

I put a bowl of salad on the table and we sat down to eat.

“The guys were talking about Av bein hazmanim today,” Gavriel started. “It’s in less than three months. If we want to do something, we need to book already.”

“Book?”

“Tickets. We’ll probably do Eretz Yisrael, right?”

I stopped eating. “We’re doing Eretz Yisrael? Uh, why? How?”

Gavriel reached for the juice. “Yeah, all shanah rishonah couples do Eretz Yisrael. Why, did you have something else in mind?”

“No, no, I didn’t have anything in mind. I mean, I didn’t know we were planning anything.”