A slight shiver coursed through his body. This was really happening. This time last year, who would’ve thought?

When Yochi Hersko had signed a contract with Touring Together, he hadn’t realized it would be his responsibility to get all the chef’s ingredients over to Zambia.

And doing so was proving to be nearly as challenging as flying all the guests in.

“It’s a sixteen hour flight, plus a stopover of two to three hours,” Yochi explained to Chaim Serota, owner of GoGlatt, on the phone. “The meat has to stay safe. There’s nowhere to buy kosher meat in Zambia, so we can’t take any risks.”

“Don’t worry,” Serota assured him. “I’ve got this. This isn’t my first transatlantic delivery.”

But it is mine.

Serota explained the process and the many precautions he’d take to ensure that all the meat remained at the correct temperature from the moment they left his butcher until they were safely stowed in the Zambia hotel freezer. Then they started reviewing the order, with Yochi double- and triple-checking that the menu for the entire trip was covered.

They weren’t done, but a guest beeped in and Yochi had to cut him short. “I’ll call you back in a few, this is important.”

It was.

“I just realized that my wife’s passport expired!” Fischman cried on the phone.

Oh, no. The tour’s staff had spent all morning calling guests to make sure they were all set to travel. Yochi had been in the office and personally spoken to Fischman’s wife. Hadn’t she said everything was okay?

Or maybe it was someone else he’d spoken to?

He was losing it.

Well. First thing, calm the client down. Even if he didn’t feel very calm about this.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Fischman,” Yochi said. “Everything will be all right, we’ll handle this, and get everyone on the plane. Hang on a moment.” He scrolled through his contacts. “Okay, listen. Call this number, tell them it’s an emergency and that Hersko from Touring Together sent you. They’ll explain the process to you.

“It’ll cost you some money, but you’ll have your passport on time. And if you have any problems, call me immediately. I’ll—” He paused. “Uh, actually, I’m flying out tomorrow morning, so if you can’t reach me, call the office. You have the number?”

It would be all right. Binick had told him to expect such things to come up, they always did.

And now… it was time to pack.

A slight shiver coursed through his body. This was really happening. This time last year, who would’ve thought?