“I told you that this would rock the boat. Literally, it was all anyone could talk about”

IT

was a disaster. A full-blown, mince-no-words, everyone’s-thinking-it disaster.

To start with, the clothing was the wrong shade of blue. While Mommy’s purchases had the family decked out in a smoky sort of light blue that looked like a summer day after a rainstorm, Libby had found pretty knit pieces in a light blue that looked like it belonged on an “It’s a Boy” balloon. In Target, of all places.

After giving up on the shade, she had felt vindicated about the price. She herself had a two-piece set in the exact right shade, but the kids were Target bedecked.

And they were mad about it. Very, very mad.

Akiva had raised his eyebrows at the clashing color but said nothing. Mommy had actually swayed on the spot, Daddy’s lip had curled, Meira had rolled her eyes, Menashe hadn’t noticed, Donni’s wife Shira had smiled tightly, and Dassi was not present.

Which would have been the breaking news on the Frankel feed, but instead, all anyone could focus on was how discordant the Shanah Tovah card was going to look.

She had no idea why she’d bothered trying.

And it wasn’t fair. Because she didn’t really care if the kids had clothing from Ma. She wanted them to have the nice things. But she had to be the supportive wife.

Eons ago, she’d listened to the sheva brachos speeches, the marriage tips from that game at her bridal shower, all the comments and ribbing and teasing — and she’d known that while money can’t buy happiness, it could definitely make a down payment on it.