Chapter 13
Today is my bat mitzvah! Natasha thought as soon as she woke up on Saturday morning. She sat up in bed, feeling more excited than anxious as she thought of the day ahead of her—the solemn ceremony at the temple in the morning, the fabulous party her parents had planned for that night. This is going to be the most amazing day of my life!
Natasha quickly showered and went down to the kitchen, where her parents were eating breakfast. At first, Natasha felt too nervous to eat, but realized how hungry she was after her first bite of cornflakes. After breakfast, Natasha returned to her room to put on her new outfit, a soft blue wool dress with long sleeves and embroidery at the hem. She looked at the shimmery lavender dress she would wear for the party that night and felt a shiver of excitement. I’m so glad Connor is coming tonight! I hope he asks me to dance!
There was a soft knock at the door, and Mrs. Ross entered. “Oh, Natasha,” she said proudly. “You look lovely.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Natasha replied shyly.
“Before my bat mitzvah, my mother gave me this necklace,” Mrs. Ross said, placing her hand on the silver Star of David that she always wore. It had a tiny diamond on each point. “You are my jewel, Natasha, my precious daughter. Today, you will become a woman in the eyes of our faith. This necklace belongs to you now.”
“Oh, Mom. It’s so beautiful,” Natasha breathed. “Thank you so much.”
Mrs. Ross fastened the necklace around Natasha’s neck and gave her a hug. “Are you ready, sweetheart?” she asked. “It’s time to go.”
A few minutes later, Natasha and her parents arrived at Temple Beth-El, a large brick building with tall, narrow windows and a domed roof. Rabbi Perlman met them in the foyer. “Welcome, welcome!” he exclaimed. “Natasha’s big day is finally here. Come with me—I’ll get you settled while we wait for the rest of the congregants to arrive.”
In a small anteroom outside the sanctuary (the main room of the synagogue), Mr. Ross squeezed Natasha’s hand gently. “Princess, you’re going to be great!”
“Thanks, Dad,” Natasha said, starting to feel more nervous. Relax, she told herself as she took a deep breath. You’ve been planning for this for years! It’ll be okay.
“Natasha, honey, you know exactly what to do,” Mrs. Ross whispered in her ear. “I was anxious before my bat mitzvah, too. But it will be over before you know it!”
Natasha smiled at her mother, then pictured her friends sitting together on one of the dark wooden benches in the sanctuary.
Suddenly, it was time for the service to begin. Natasha sat with her parents at the bimah, the front stage area of the sanctuary. Behind her, Rabbi Perlman led the congregation in prayer. Then he removed the Torah scrolls from the ark, the special cupboard in which they were kept.
Then Rabbi Perlman gestured for Natasha to join him at the wooden pedestal on which he had carefully placed the Torah scrolls.
This is it, Natasha thought as she took a deep breath. She began singing from the Torah in Hebrew. All of her practicing paid off—the words came naturally to her, and as Natasha grew more confident, her voice rang out clearly and sweetly through the temple.
There was silence in the sanctuary when Natasha finished. She looked at everyone seated in the sanctuary and spotted the Chef Girls smiling at her. She smiled back as she began to speak.
“My portion of the Torah relates to service. Serving others is very important in the Jewish religion, and I learned how important it is almost by accident. I love to cook, and my friends and I have a cooking business. But from the very beginning of our business, helping others has been one of the most important things we do. We’ve helped out with a charity fund-raiser for people suffering from hunger. We’ve given food to a family who just had a baby, and to a family that suffered through a fire in their apartment.” Natasha paused and looked around the sanctuary. “Food is such a basic thing for most of us. It’s easy to forget that people in our community, our neighbors, sometimes need help. In happy times and in sad times, it’s important to be there for everyone in the community.”
Before she knew it, the hard part was over—and she had enjoyed it!
The rest of the ceremony passed by quickly. Natasha beamed as her parents spoke to the congregation about how proud they were of her. Then Mr. and Mrs. Ross recited a blessing, and suddenly Natasha realized, It’s over—my bat mitzvah is over! I didn’t mess up! She had never felt so happy—or relieved—in her entire life.
“Wow,” Amanda said in awe as she and Molly entered the ballroom of the Palace Hotel later that evening. “This is the fanciest place we’ve ever been!”
“Seriously,” Molly agreed. “I hope I don’t spill anything.”
The elegant room was decorated in ivory and gold. Sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and pale purple roses graced each table. Men in tuxedos and women in formal dresses milled about, chatting and laughing. A long buffet table was crowded with dozens of dishes, and at the far end of the room, a live band was setting up next to a gleaming parquet dance floor.
“Molly! Amanda!” Peichi called as she and Shawn hurried over to the twins. “Can you believe this place? Everything is so fancy and gorgeous! It’s amazing! This is gonna be the best party ever! I can’t wait to hit the dance floor! And the buffet! That food looks delicious! Ohmigosh, did you see Omar? He looks so funny in his suit! Actually, all the guys do! It’s so weird to see them wearing something besides jeans!”
“Hey, Chef Girls!” Natasha said happily as she came up to her friends. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Natasha, congratulations!” Amanda said, giving her friend a hug. “You did great today.”
“You look great, too,” Shawn added. “Your dress is gorgeous!”
“Thanks! You all look amazing, too,” Natasha replied, beaming. “Come on, let’s find the photographer! I want a picture with my best friends!”
After dinner, the Chef Girls danced for an hour as the band played lots of fun music. The dance floor was crowded with people of all ages, everyone dancing together.
“Phew! I need to take a break,” Amanda said, panting. “And I really need a piece of that cake. It looks sooo yummy.”
“Let’s all go,” Peichi said.
But when they reached the dessert table, the band started playing a slow song. Connor and Omar walked up to the girls.
“Hey, Natasha,” Connor said shyly. “Um, would you like to dance?”
Natasha’s face lit up. “Sure!” she replied. She grinned at her friends as she followed Connor back onto the dance floor.
“Hey, Cheng,” Omar called. “I don’t have anything better to do—wanna dance?”
“With you?” Peichi asked, looking like she was about to crack a joke. Then, suddenly, she seemed to change her mind. “Um, okay.” Her friends could tell she was trying not to giggle as she and Omar started slow dancing.
“Wow, that was fast,” Amanda said lightly. “Justin will probably be over any minute to ask you to dance, Molls.”
Molly shrugged. “I don’t feel like dancing right now. I’d rather hang out with you guys.”
“I know what you mean,” Amanda said seriously. “This cake looks too good to pass up just to dance with some boy.”
“Mmm, this cake is really good!” Shawn exclaimed after her first bite. “It’s so rich.”
Molly looked thoughtful as she chewed a bite of cake. “The frosting is amazing. What’s that flavor? I can tell they blended strawberries into the frosting, but there’s something else, too.”
“I think it’s got a lot of vanilla in it,” Amanda said. “You guys! We should try to make this frosting! It would taste awesome on cupcakes. We could make them for Dish. And speaking of Dish, we need to book a lot of jobs so I can pay back Mom and Dad for the ski trip.”
“Great idea, Amanda,” Shawn said. “I bet our clients would love cupcakes with this frosting.”
“Maybe we can sneak a piece of cake home, to make sure we have the flavors right,” Amanda said thoughtfully.
Molly raised her eyebrows, and Shawn started laughing.
“What?” Amanda asked. “I’m doing this for our business, guys!”
“And for your sweet tooth, Manda,” Molly teased her sister.
Shawn grinned. Laughing with her best friends, eating the delicious cake, having a ball at the best party she’d ever been to—Shawn felt happier than she had in a long time. It may take a while for my life to feel normal again, she thought. But I know that my friends will always be there, no matter what happens.
