“Aren’t you a little old to dress up for Purim, Mittens?”
Amity doesn’t even tear her gaze away from the mirror she’s currently fixing her orange wig in. She knows without looking that Edric and Emira are dressed as Minions. They’ve been talking about their plans for months.
“Shouldn’t I be asking you the same question?” She says.
Amity can practically feel Emira rolling her eyes. “That’s different. We’re doing it for the bit. You’re completely serious.”
“Yeah,” Edric chimes in, “You’re twenty one. Why are you dressing up as a character from a children’s book?”
At this, Amity finally turns around, narrowing her eyes at her siblings. “You are dressed as characters for a movie made to entertain six year olds. Glass houses, you two. Glass houses.”
She stands up, flipping her wig behind her as she goes. “Now if you don’t mind, I have a party to get to.”
“Since when do you go to parties?” Edric scoffs, and Amity curses her white skin for betraying her blush so easily.
“Oh my god. Oh my god it’s because of a girl, isn’t it?” Emira says, excitedly tugging on Edric’s arm, “Who is she? What’s she like? Tell us everything?”
“It’s not because of a girl-” Amity starts, but it’s useless. Her siblings know her too well.
She sighs and puts her head in her hands. “Fine. It’s because of a girl.”
“Nu? Details?”
“She’s just…someone I met…in a Trader Joe’s.”
“That’s the gayest thing I’ve ever heard.”
Amity glares at Emira.
“What?” she asks, hands up, “Is it not gay to meet someone in the Trader Joe’s produce aisle?”
“It wasn’t the produce aisle. She’s a cashier.”
Edric whistles. “You hit on a cashier? Ballsy, Mittens.”
“I didn’t hit on her!” Amity insists, “She saw my Magen David and asked what I was doing for Purim, and when I said nothing, she invited me to the party. It happened so quickly! It’s not even a date or anything, but she said it was a costume party, and this is the only costume I have, so I had to go with it, and oh god what if she thinks I’m lame? She’s going to hate me, isn’t she?”
“Woah, woah, calm down. First of all, that’s definitely a date,” Emira says, holding up a hand to stop Amity from interrupting, “And second, she’s not gonna think you’re lame! Everyone’s going to be in costume. You won’t stick out. Just chill, okay?”
Amity takes a deep breath and then says “You really think it’s a date?”
“She invited you to a party! Look, was it more like ‘hey baby, my friend is throwing a party and you’d look great as my plus one’ or ‘hey, wanna be my friend and go to this party with me? As a friend?’”
“Um. Neither? Also, I think her shul is throwing the party, not her friend.”
“Semantics!” Edric says, throwing up his hands, “The point is, it’s a date, the end.”
The twins high five for some reason. Amity will never understand them, but she appreciates the help.
“Thanks you guys,” she says. Her phone vibrates in her pocket, startling her. She takes it out and gasps. “Shit, it’s my uber, I gotta run! Have fun doing…whatever it is you’re doing tonight! Bye!”
She dashes out the door and down the stairs, shooting apologies at her driver once she gets in the car. She’s so nervous about this party that she’s not even embarrassed about being in costume in an uber on what goyim think is a random Wednesday night in March.
She’s tapping her fingers against her thigh in anticipation when they pull up to the shul. It’s a large building for a shul, and Amity notes the two guards at the front door.
Of course. Can’t have a Jewish institution without some form of protection, especially on a night like tonight.
She thanks the driver as she exits the vehicle and stands in front of the building for what is probably longer than necessary, gathering her wits. Finally, after three minutes, she decides she’s ready. She passes the guards and heads in through the front.
The noise hits her first. It’s like the shul shelled out for the biggest, loudest speakers on the market with no regard for noise restriction rules. Amity grimaces. She doesn’t exactly love loud parties.
It’s also dark, like a club. Why they decided to leave the room dark at night is something she will never understand. People are running around with glowsticks, at least. And, yes, everyone is in costume. Amity breathes a sigh of relief.
Now how is she going to find Luz in all this commotion? She doesn’t even know what costume she’s wearing!
This was such a bad idea.
She’s usually not much of a drinker, but she’s so nervous that she heads to the bar anyway and gets herself something fruity. It doesn’t taste like alcohol, which makes it dangerous. She finishes it quickly and orders another one.
By the time she finishes that, she’s pleasantly fuzzy. She gazes lazily around the room until her eyes snag on a large white witch’s hat in the distance.
No.
It can’t be.
She moves through the crowd quickly, chasing after the bobbing hat above the sea of people. She follows the hat to a corner where there are (baruch hashem) fewer people, and gasps. Because she was right. The girl in front of her is dressed as Azura.
Too excited to be shy, she taps the girl on the shoulder. Azura turns around, and oh my god. Oh my god.
It’s Luz.
It’s the cashier from Trader Joe’s, the one that always makes her feel like she has a butterfly sanctuary in her stomach. It’s her, and she’s dressed as Azura, and Amity needs to lie down.
“Woah, woah, are you okay Amity?” Luz grabs Amity’s shoulder. She hadn’t even realized it, but she was tipping over to the side slightly.
“Ah, sorry, sorry,” Amity says, waving Luz off. “I think I just had a little too much to drink.”
“That’s fine, I- sorry, but are you dressed as Hecate? From The Good Witch Azura?”
Amity cannot believe it.
“Yeah,” she says excitedly, “And you’re Azura!”
“I am! Oh my gosh I’ve never ever met anyone else who likes that series! Your costume looks SO cool, where did you get the wig from? I love the dress, it looks so cute on you! What’s your favorite book in the series? Did you see the movies?”
Amity blinks at this barrage of words. Luz speaks so quickly, and Amity knows the fact that she can’t quite understand all of it is not just because she’s a bit drunk.
“Uh, thanks! I got the wig on Amazon, actually. My favorite book is the third, and I did see the movies! We don’t talk about the fourth movie though.”
Luz shakes her head so quickly her hat almost falls off.
“We don’t!” she exclaims, “It was SO BAD.”
They stand there grinning stupidly at each other until Luz says “I’m really glad I asked you to come.”
Amity is just out of it enough that the words tumble out of her mouth before she can stop them.
“So is this a date then?” she says, and then claps her hands to her mouth. Why did she say that? Why did she say that why did she say that????
“Oh,” Luz laughs awkwardly, “I. Um. I was kind of hoping it would turn into one? Like, I didn’t know if you were interested, so I phrased it kind of open ended, but I think you’re really pretty and you seem so cool and uh. Yeah. That’s. That’s a thing.”
“Oh!” Amity flushes red all the way down to her toes. “That’s…that’s cool.”
“Yeah???” Luz asks, “Are you sure you’re not just saying that because I put you on the spot? Because if you’re not interested I’d be okay with-”
“NO!” Amity says loudly. And then- “No. I…I think you’re cute and I always wanted to ask you out but you were working, so I figured it wasn’t really appropriate, but….uh…you asked first! So. That’s good.”
“Right.” Luz is smiling so widely, Amity can practically see her reflection in her teeth. She’s sure she has the same dumb grin on her face.
“So, um, you wanna get out of here?” Luz asks. “It’s kind of loud and I’d love to get to know you somewhere I can actually hear you.”
“I’d love that,” Amity says, and gestures for Luz to lead the way. She very smoothly and gracefully follows the other girl as she walks across the room.
And then she falls.
“Oh my god, Amity, are you okay?”
Amity starts to stand up, wobbling a little. Luz takes her hand and hoists her up. “Do you need any help?”
“No! I’m fine!” Amity insists, but then realizes that Luz helping her would mean Luz continuing to hold her hand.
“Actually, uh…I’m a little unsteady still, so…”
“Say no more.” Luz tightens her hold on Amity’s hand, and they walk to the door with their fingers linked.
Amity doesn’t know how she went from attending a party to holding hands with a pretty girl, but she’s not going to complain. And now they’re going on a date! A real date!
She kind of wishes she were sober for this, though.
The diner Luz has in mind is only a few blocks away, and when they get there Luz opens the door for Amity like a true gentleman.
“After you, Miss,” Luz says, flourishing her arms in a faux bow.
Amity giggles. “Thank you kind stranger,” she answers, curtsying. She walks through the door to the intense and unavoidable smell of pancakes.
“I think I need pancakes,” she says when Luz follows her into the booth.
“We can totally do that.”
The waitress arrives quickly after that, and they both order pancakes- regular for Amity and chocolate chip for Luz.
After she walks away, Luz sets her stare on Amity. “So,” she says, “Your name is Amity, right?”
“It is. And you’re Luz.”
“Aw man, that’s not fair, you saw that on my name tag!”
“Did you know,” Amity says, ignoring this, “That your name means ‘hazelnut’ in Hebrew?”
“One of my teachers in Yeshiva told me that, yes.”
“It’s cute,” Amity says, “Like you.”
Apparently she’s a lot more confident under the influence. Good to know.
Luz smiles, a pretty pink blush faint on her cheeks. “Are you always this bluntly honest, or is it just because you’re tipsy?”
“A little bit of both. It’s not like I’m normally shy, but I get nervous around girls I like, you know?”
“Girls you like, huh?”
“Yep,” Amity says “Girls I like.”
They sit there in comfortable silence, allowing the meaning of Amity’s declaration to hang above them like humidity in the air.
“I like you too,” Luz says shyly, “I know we don’t know each other very well, but you were always my favorite customer. And now I know you share my love for Azura, and you look so good in Hecate’s dress, and I just…..I don’t know. I feel like we were meant to meet.”
“That is so cheesy,” Amity says, “I totally agree.”
The waitress chooses that moment to return with their pancakes. She sets them down on the table and they thank her, after which Amity immediately begins digging in.
“Sorry,” she says after a few bites, “I want to get something in my system. I know I’m supposed to chew slowly and properly or whatever, but I just don’t feel like it right now.”
Luz laughs, taking a bite of her pancakes as well. “Who says you have to chew slowly and properly?”
“My Mom,” Amity says with an eye roll.
“Aw, she’s looking out for you!”
At this, Amity laughs so hard she nearly chokes on her pancake. After coughing for a few seconds, she recovers, wiping the tears of mirth from her eyes.
“Good one, Luz,” she says.
“Wait, did I make a joke and I missed it? I hate it when that happens!”
“No, no, it’s just…my Mom is like…evil?” Amity ventures. “My well being is the furthest thing from her mind.”
“Oh.” Luz looks concerned. “Are you okay?”
“No,” Amity says honestly, and then, to her absolute embarrassment, she begins to cry.
“I am so sorry,” she hiccups, “I don’t know why I’m crying. Can you, like, maybe ignore me for a couple minutes?”
“Oh my god, no way,” Luz says. She sets her fork down and comes around to Amity’s side of the booth. “Can I sit here?”
Amity nods through her tears, and Luz perches tentatively on the seat. “Do you want a hug?” she asks.
Normally, Amity would say no. She’s not big on physical affection, especially from strangers. But for some reason, the idea of Luz’s arms around her is comforting, so she nods.
Luz opens her arms and Amity falls into them, sobbing into Luz’s shoulder. It’s incredibly embarrassing, but Luz doesn’t say anything. She just strokes Amity’s hair until she’s all cried out.
If the other patrons of the restaurant notice a girl dressed as a witch sobbing in another witch's arms, they don’t say anything, for which Amity is eternally grateful.
Eventually, she pulls away from Luz and wipes her eyes. “Can we pretend that never happened?” Amity asks quietly.
“Sure,” Luz says, “Unless you wanna talk about it?”
Amity shakes her head. “I just have Mommy issues, that’s all. I’ll be fine. Thanks for the uh…the hug. And stuff.”
“No problem,” Luz says, “You wanna change the subject?”
“Please.”
“Okay, so this one time, my friend Gus got his head stuck in a pair of pants, and…”
Luz keeps talking for a few minutes, regaling Amity with stories of her friends and family until Amity feels better. Amity likes the sound of Luz’s voice. It’s loud, but it’s melodic, and has a nice comforting quality to it. She watches the shapes Luz’s mouth makes and tries not to get distracted by the way her lips move.
She fails.
She’s nearly sober now, but she blames the alcohol for the next thing that comes out of her mouth.
“Can I kiss you?”
Luz stops mid sentence, eyes widening.
Amity backs up almost immediately. “I did not mean to say that! I’m so sorry, we literally just met, I don’t know why I asked that, that is so inappropriate, oh my god.”
Luz looks down at her lap, so Amity can’t see the expression on her face when she says “I mean, we are on a date, so it’s not that inappropriate.”
“Wait, really?”
“Uh huh. I, uh. I wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh.”
This is Amity’s signal to make a move.
She does not make a move.
She just sits there like a statue, watching Luz, until Luz looks up at her and smiles. Amity’s breath leaves her for a second because god, that smile is beautiful. Luz seems to realize Amity isn’t going to take the initiative, so she tentatively reaches out and puts a hand on Amity’s cheek.
Neither of them lean in. They’re just staring at each other, and honestly it’s getting kind of awkward, so Amity finally decides she’s had enough.
With no warning, she swoops in and kisses Luz softly. Luz lets out a surprised giggle against her mouth, but soon she’s kissing back.
It’s not the most cinematic kiss in history, but Amity thinks it’s perfect.
They pull away, cheeks flushed, still leaning in close to each other.
“I can’t believe I cried all over you and you still kissed me,” Amity whispers.
“Maybe I’m into that,” Luz jokes, and Amity snorts.
God, is she glad she decided to go to that party.
They spend the rest of the night talking and joking with each other, until Luz glances at her watch and yelps. “It’s almost two in the morning!”
“Oh god, I have a class tomorrow morning,” Amity groans, “And I can’t miss it.”
“Regretting hanging out with me?” Luz asks with an impish smile.
Amity grins. She takes Luz’s hat, ignoring her protests, and plops it on her own head. “Never,” she says.
“I guess that means you’ll say yes if I ask you on a second date?” Luz asks hopefully, and she sounds so nervous, like Amity hadn’t just kissed her and then talked her ear off for four hours.
“I’d be okay with that,” Amity responds, trying to sound cool. But she fails, because she has a huge dopey smile on her face and she knows it.
Luz gets out of the booth and holds out a hand for Amity. “Well, Hecate,” she says dramatically, “Can I walk you home?”
Amity accepts her hand. “You’re a true gentleman, Azura.”
They leave the diner hand in hand. Amity knows she’s stone cold sober now, but Luz makes her feel like she just had three bottles of champagne.
Her entire body feels bubbly and light, like she’s floating on air.
This is, without a doubt, the best Purim she’s ever had.