“It’s like you’re running your own little show within this kehillah, is what I’m trying to say, I guess”

It was one thing and then the other, but Akiva Putterman and Reuven Stagler finally found a time that worked for both of them to go meet with Heshy Brucker.

They couldn’t do it when his parents were home, of course — that would lead to too many questions.

On Tuesday morning, Shaindy Brucker told Nechama that she and Chaim had to be menachem avel a cousin in Far Rockaway that night, so Reuven arranged the meeting.

“The president himself? Coming to me?” Heshy asked in such a pleased, respectful voice that Reuven felt bad about the whole thing. Don’t get emotional, he told himself, just do what you have to.

He had ended up having a hard day at work, and didn’t really have time to prepare himself for this conversation. He knew what he wanted, but he wasn’t sure how to explain it.

Heshy insisted that he would come to them, and they all met at Putterman’s house, which Reuven thought might be a bit less threatening than his own. He didn’t want Heshy to feel like he’d been called to the principal’s office.

Reuven wasn’t great at small talk, but Akiva Putterman was an all-star, commenting on the tulip trees that were starting to bloom and made him feel like he was in Florida. Yes, Reuven agreed, the landscaping company was excellent, but they were not cheap and at some point, the committee would have to decide whether or not to renew the contract.

Heshy jumped in here, mentioning that the landscaping people had left a huge mess on Dublin and they didn’t seem to have any plans to clean it up. He went walking there every day and it ruined the mood, imagine what it was like for people who lived there!

Akiva coughed, indicating that the small talk period was over, and he looked pointedly at Reuven.

“So it’s like this,” Reuven said just as Heshy helped himself to a generous piece of cake. “As you see, even from this little discussion, what I’m trying to do here is not easy, everything in this neighborhood is my problem. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to try to help out, I’m not as busy as I used to be and I enjoy solving problems. But I need support from the people…”

His voice trailed off and he felt a pang of frustration at having used the term “the people,” which made him sound so high and mighty.

“Yes, of course,” Heshy said soothingly, and again, Reuven had a distinct sense of being at a disadvantage with this much younger man.