The “Kiddush”

[Explanation: “Kiddush” is a blessing over wine made on Saturday. But here, the usage is different. Here “Kiddush” means a celebration the weekend before a wedding, which is mostly for families of the couple, but if the wedding is being held out of town (or out-of-country), the “Kiddush” becomes a chance for everyone to come and wish the couple and their parents “Mazel Tov”(congratulations).]

This Shabbas (Saturday) morning, I had a Kiddush to go to. A good friend’s son is getting married abroad, and since I really can’t afford an extra trip to the British Isles, I had to “make do” with giving her my good wishes at the Kiddush.
Now sometimes a Kiddush can be a simple affair, and sometimes rather lavish. Cakes would be in abundance; a high-class affair would have salads and foods as well.
Anyway, I had no choice but to take Ricki with me, there being no one willing to babysit her at home. (In addition, she knows some of the children in the extended family of the celebrants.) I was rather concerned, however, that she might plow into the cakes with a flourish, which would be rather embarrassing for me. When Ricki has a mind to eat, she can be voracious and really make a pest of herself. So I sat her down before going, and made her promise to eat ONE piece of cake OR baked goods, and not more.
To my great pleasure, Ricki was terrific! She showed me her plate (with one baked item, some pomegranate seeds, and a strawberry), proud that she was able to keep her side of the bargain.
But I did have one rather lame “laugh” at the end of the celebration. A young girl from the family gave Ricki a piece of wrapped chocolate. She then turned to me, and said: “Be sure to tell her to take the ‘shell’ off.” (IE., she didn’t even know the word “wrapper”.) I realized that she really thought that Ricki was helpless, and replied: “Don’t worry, she can do it quite well herself.” I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry; I chose to laugh. She was trying to be nice to Ricki, and that’s the main thing. (But when she brought a second piece of chocolate, I managed to get Ricki to refuse the extra calories.)