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ina, shift over a bit. Closer to Huvy.”

Rina moved her chair, as Gabriella peered through her camera lens. “Even closer.”

Rina inched the chair over, uncomfortably wondering if Gabriella saw this as a sign of their relationship problems. Then she wondered if Gabriella was actually filming right now without telling them.

“Yes, that’s it. Okay, ladies, ready to roll?”

Huvy nodded, though she looked nervous. Rina smoothed her sheitel, and assumed her stage posture. They suddenly heard a loud whir.

Gabriella thrust her head to the side. “What was that?”

“Vacuum cleaner. Sonya’s cleaning the den.”

Gabriella’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t have a vacuum running in the background. Can you ask her to turn it off?”

“It is a week to Pesach, you know,” Rina muttered. She couldn’t believe it when Gabriella had asked them to sit for this interview now, of all times.

Gabriella pursed her lips. “I thought you’re going away for Pesach.”

“Yeah, I am.” Why did she sound so defensive? “That doesn’t mean I have nothing to do. I need to shop and pack for the whole family, plus we have a movie premiering the first night of Chol Hamoed, in case you forgot.”

Gabriella squinted at her. “We have a movie premiering?”

Huvy laughed.

Gabriella’s voice turned brisk. “No, I have not forgotten that it’s Pesach next week. But Dr. Klein, the educational psychologist I’m partnering with, has booked us for a conference soon after Pesach, so this has to get done now.”

Rina bit her lip, feeling vaguely ashamed. “I’ll tell Sonya to clean the bedrooms instead,” she murmured.

When she returned, Gabriella positioned them once more.

“Okay, we’re discussing how Huvy’s grown from the film experience. Huvy, when I say go, you start by talking about what made you try out for the film.”

Huvy threw a nervous glance at her mother, then took a deep breath. “Trying out for the film was a very weird decision for me. See, I was always on the quiet side. I didn’t really have friends, I was very shy, I didn’t have much self-confidence. I’m not the type who needs a ton of friends — but still, I felt, you know, like a neb. A loser.”

Rina’s heart went out to her, but her immediate thought was one of horror. Did Huvy really want the entire world hearing her describe herself as a loser? Was she forgetting, once again, that she was being recorded?

Quickly, she interjected, “Huvy, you’re being too hard on yourself. You’ve always been a wonderful, sweet girl, well-liked by all your classmates. I remember your birthday parties when you were younger — the entire class came, every single year. What does that say about you?”

(Excerpted from Family First, Issue 648)