[Drama] The Sins Of The Father Are To Be Laid Upon The Children

[Basil Benson]

"That's why they make it that way though?" Dani counter offers. "It's supposed to look like you're just wearing the lace I think.

Maybe wear blue or purple next time. That's what Bobbie likes. I know because he always takes those colours from the box." They offered up helpfully, as if Colette didn't already know that.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette nodded thoughtfully. "You are probably right, I should have chosen ze blue dress. I will have to remember zat for next time. Zank you Dani."

[Basil Benson]

Dani beamed at Colette, but before they could say anything further, the menfolk arrived back in, carrying (strangely enough) bean bag chairs from the cars, one of which Dani immediately took to and jumped on like it was a trampoline.

"Dibs!"

The other children who had been watching the pair of them closely began to dart about and claim seats for themselves too, getting themselves well and truly underfoot of the adults.

"Alright ya little gremlins, there's enough for everyone! Stop flitting about or we're gonna step on yez!"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette had read something about pillows, but she hadn't expected beanbag chairs. Considering how uptight and formal the family had seemed tonight, this was such a stark contrast. She half expected to see someone break out some lava lamps as well.

[Basil Benson]

In shifts, the menfolk brought it more and more furniture from the cars outside, which proved to be very low tables which some of the gentlemen set up amid children jungle-gym'ing around them.

Except Dani. They were watching everyone work hard while lounging like royalty.

In minutes, it was a sea of organizes chaos that brought everything into roughly what Colette was expecting to see from pictures she had seen online. Tables set with very specifically laid out plates and wine glasses, all surrounded by different people taking their seats about the table in the fashion they'd been assigned.

Harry and Howard were now assigned to sit on either side of Basil and Colette, but there seemed to be a very awkward sitting situation going on, a lack of 'pillows' to sit upon. Perhaps accidental... perhaps deliberate.

Sitting across the table was Dani, and what must have been Dani's parents to either side of them. 'Dad' looked a bit like Basil's other relatives, but 'Mom' didn't.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette looked to either side, noticing that she was once again the odd one out. Still, she wasn't too put out. After all, she had no muscles to cramp or bones to make her uncomfy. Still she shifted her position a bit and quietly made herself more comfortable, her hair having a little less volume as she made her own cushion to sit on, as it were. Basil might appreciate that later but for now she tried to be subtle about it. But she wasn't going to touch a single thing on any plate until she saw someone else do it first, and even then she'd be the last one just to make sure so as not to offend the others at the table more.

She was tempted to ask Dani about the significance of the pillows, playing into the child's confidence, but from what she read that was part of some sort of song and she hadn't heard it yet.

[Basil Benson]

It took Dani a moment to realize what had happened, but then they stood up and exclaimed- " You can sit with me!"

As they did so, they apparently decided skipping over the table while dragging said cushion-esqe furniture was the most appropriate route to take. A foot in the middle of the table and lifting it above their head, Dani came tumbling down onto Colette once they cleared everything.

"Danielle Annika Stolarz! Have some respect!" chided 'Dad'.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette didn't really realize what was happening until Dani was already halfway across the table, and by then the calamity had already started. She let out a whoop and did her best to catch the falling child and their cargo, not too worries about being bowled over backward. Her own safety didn't matter much, it's not like she could bruise.

"Zut! Are you well little one?" She asked in a concerned voice. "I appreciate your kindness, but you must be more cautious."

[Basil Benson]

"I'm fine!" Dani replied, seemingly not paying any attention at all to their father. They shuffled and shifted the bag between Colette and Basil until they occupied a smaller portion of it, leaving room for Colette.

"There! Now we can share!"

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette shifted that extra mass away before she started to sit up, carefully taking a seat upon the offered beanbag chair.

"Zank you Dani!" Colette kept her positive tone while trying not to be too loud, or get too close. She'd already shown she didn't know all of the rules, she didn't want to embarrass herself further. She glanced up toward the child's parents just to make sure they weren't about to flip the table over or something.

[Basil Benson]

Dani's father seemed to be looking at Basil warily. But after a moment of awkward silence, the reason for that proved not to be Colette.

"Just don't set my kid on fire Basil."

"Oh come off it Aaron! That was-

Dani how old are you?"

"Eleven..."

"That was twelve years ago! You need to get over it!"

[Colette Rosenhof]

While the bottom half of her face remained still and composed, Colette 's eyes blinked and widened almost cartoonishly at the conversation taking place, especially Basil's reaction. Oh, so this is what it was like to have relatives.

"Zis... is a story I have not heard before." She raised her hands from her lap just a bit, ready to cover Dani's ears if necessary. She may not be a mother but she still had some innate instincts.

[Basil Benson]

"You two will never get a wedding invite to any family weddings, because Basil isn't allowed at them anymore after he set mine a blaze like a Roman candle."

"I'm a grown up now! I haven't been able to slip under a platform since I was...

Well, seven I guess?"

[Colette Rosenhof]

"I do not zink I will be invited to any family event." Colette observed, having taken stock of the lasting fallout of her stunt.

"But I am not certain zat Basil can be held responsible for somezing he did as a child... Basil, were you playing wiz matches or somezing?"

[Basil Benson]

Basil hesitated to answer.

"It's his fault really. He shouldn't have let us have pyrotechnics."

"They were sparklers for after the ceremony.

"How was I supposed to know that? You gave them to me before."

"You stole them when my dad wasn't looking."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"... because he was a child and did not know any better, and was not receiving proper adult supervision?"

Colette you're not helping.

[Basil Benson]

Colette saw the immediate ramifications of her actions.

"Yea dad. Like that time you let me climb over the Seder table with a chair over my head."

Dani earned themself a stern glare across the table.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette tried not to laugh. She really shouldn't encourage this.

"But no one was injured, correct?"

[Basil Benson]

"We had to postpone the entire ceremony."

"You were heavily re-imbursed."

"I had to wait another four months to be with my husband." Said the woman presumed to be Dani's mother.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"And now you have a humorous story to share at zese family gazerings." An attempt was made, but even Colette's peppy nature was fading. Regardless of what the traditions were she needed that glass of wine in her, and didn't waste much time getting it down her throat, even if she was polite enough to go opaque for that.

[Narrator]

As the nights festivities commenced (lead by Amit), the nature of the night revealed itself. The Seder was a sort of educational ceremony, meant to engage the children of the community and teach them why the Passover (Or Pesach as they called it) was so important to their community. The bean bag chairs just seemed to help keep the kids occupied more than anything, the youngest ones treating the makeshift furniture as if they were indoor jungle gyms. As she had probably read, the children were given roles to play and Dani actually traded another child to be 'the wicked child', somewhat bullying the kid into swapping.

Dani played the role with an unusual amount of glee, given that the role was to be a dissenter. Between Harold, Howard, Basil and Dani, Colette would be very well instructed on best behaviors.

The night contained parts of stories Colette would be vaguely familiar with if she ever paid attention to her father reading the old testament to her, the most obvious being the Jewish Exodus of Egypt, which was the whole point of this entire holiday.

At the end of it all, with four deep glasses consumed, there was a blush to Basil's face that accompanied a sort of melancholy expression shared only with Colette.

Dani had settled in comfortably to their spot shared with Colette, and after fighting so hard not to, had fallen asleep while other adults busied themselves with goodbyes, their head tucked in Basil's direction.

Basil watched his relatives say goodbye to each other quietly. Aaron and his wife had not yet come to collect their child, busily saying goodnight to everyone.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Over the course of the night, Colette had come to enjoy herself more and more. "The Four Questions" had been most enlightening, and the Haggadah had focused on stories she hadn't heard, and expanded on those she was more familiar with and offered her more insight into their significance. Knowing which foods she was supposed to eat and which ones were symbolic only had certainly helped, and despite her sweet-craving palette she had rather enjoyed the gefilte fish even if it had pickled her a bit. There hadn't been a dish she hadn't sampled, but the tsimmes; that she was going to have to look up a recipe for when she and Basil were moved in properly, and give the poor boy diabetes. She'd even managed to avoid comparing the matzah to a communion wafer.

She watched as the guest began to depart, taking in the family and how they interacted with each other, and the customs of the evening. It really was unlike anything she had become accustomed to but to her it was almost like she'd visited another country, if only briefly. She didn't feel like a member of the family, that was for certain, but she also didn't feel as ignorant an outsider as she had when she first arrived. Her gaze turned to Basil and his expression that brought a similar one to her face - any number of things could be going through his head to make him feel that way, and the night wasn't over yet. Still, she tried to remain positive despite the inevitable fallout when Basil's grandmother decided to address her. She would deal with that when the time came. For now, things were... good.

"Have you ever considered going into teaching?" She asked softly, not prefixing whom she was talking to. "You are razer good wiz children, Basil."

[Basil Benson]

"If one were to ask you, I'm good at everything." He joked.

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Perhaps." Colette smiled, letting herself relax a bit. "But I am serious. I have not seen it often, but when I have seen you wiz children, you are kind and patient. Zis cannot be said of everyone."

[Basil Benson]

"Well...." Basil hesitated.

"I suppose they can be taxing, but it's not as if they know better, eh? Even when they are deliberately taxing, they only do it because they don't know the true effects of their actions."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"Ze world is a big place wiz a lot to learn about. Children have not been around long enough to learn to be patient, zey want to know more. An hour feels longer to someone who has experienced only zousands of zem zan someone who has experienced tens of zousands. People do not remember zis."

[Basil Benson]

Basil's melancholy smile remained, and he looked down at his cousin, fast asleep between them. He began to sort out their curls for them, unpinning their yarmulke gently.

"Teachers are considered moral authorities..." He trailed off in thought for a moment.

"People would shit themselves if they found out I was teaching their children."

[Colette Rosenhof]

"You are lucky zat Dani is sleeping." Colette commented on Basil's language.

"... should I try to get a cab back to ze train station?"

[Basil Benson]

"Case in point." He retorted with a smirk.

"You should find a place to stay nearby. Harold can assist you."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette nodded in agreement. As much as she'd like to spend the night here with Basil, she also knew that she shouldn't press her luck.

"Are you going to be alright?"

[Basil Benson]

Basil's hand slipped into Dani's collar and pulled at something they kept tucked away there, a scarf.

He began straightening out into a triangular shape on the low table in front of him.

"Yes. I will be alright." He said as he made Dani's scarf neat for them.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette watched Basil, reluctant to get out of the chair and part ways for the evening.

"Always cleaning up after ozers...."

[Basil Benson]

"... Dani's parents are not going to think so." He said, slipping the scarf into his interior pocket where it was not visible.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette furrowed her brow. "... what are you doing?"

[Basil Benson]

"Shhhhhh....." Basil whispered, settling entirely as Aaron returned to shuffle his own child awake.

"C'mon Danielle, it's time to go."
Dani stirred from their sleep and yawned. "Okay I'll get my coat."
"And scarf." He reminded.
"I lost it." Dani replied.
"Bloody hell, not this again. Where did you hide it this time?"
"Nowhere." They replied, obviously lying.
"Bloody hell Danielle, I don't want to go through this again."
After a moment, Dani went to pull it out of their collar.... to find it wasn't there. At first, they seemed surprised, but took the opportunity to continue the lie.

"See?... I lost it." They replied, pulled at their own collar to exaggerate.
"Well go and find it." Aaron replied, sounding annoyed.
"Come now Aaron... It's late, Dani's tired.

If we find it, we'll send it."
"She's not to go outside without it."
"No one will see. It's dark. Besides, if Dani destroyed it, we'll be here all night."
Aaron sighed at the prospect of looking for a 'lost' scarf for the next three hours. "Fine. Have Bubbe hold it if you find it.

Tell your new friend goodbye Danielle."

"...Bye Colette." Dani said, snuffling into their own coat sleeve awkwardly as they looked at her.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette silently watched the scene unfold before her, feeling like she had started reading a book from the middle. She gave up her "seat" as Dani and their family got ready to go, the young woman shifting to sit on the back of her calves instead.

"Goodnight Dani. Zank you for sharing wiz me, it was very nice to meet you." She nodded toward Aaron and his wife as well, though she didn't specify them verbally anyway.

[Basil Benson]

"Nice to meet you too." They offered back.

The trio retreated and Basil remained silent as they did, pulling out his phone to look something up casually.

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette started to put two and two together, making sure the trio were out of earshot before she spoke softly.

"Aaron's wife, she is Muslim?"

[Basil Benson]

Basil laughed. " I think Bubbe would sooner approve of me marrying you than any of us marrying Muslim ladies."

[Colette Rosenhof]

Colette tilted her head in confusion. "Zen what is ze significance of ze scarf?"