Blooming All Over (30 page)

“Mine isn’t big enough, plus Anna and Caitlin live there.”

“I was thinking of my own place. Close to yours, so you could drop by without having to rent a van and not find a parking space, or whatever.”

“I could drop by a lot,” Susie suggested. Now that he’d taken marriage off the table, she yearned to put something back on the table. “Like, often enough to keep a toothbrush by your sink. If that was okay with you, of course,” she added, aware that when he’d withdrawn the marriage proposal he might have been negating the whole living-together idea.

“Yeah.” He nodded and gave her a lazy, bedroom-
eyed smile. “Yeah, I’d really like to have your toothbrush by my sink.”

A tap of metal against glass caught their attention. On the other side of the glass front door stood a tall, silver-blond-haired man who resembled a slightly beefier, older version of Casey. Casey opened it and the man entered. “Wow! Nice place!” He peered around. “I think you’re nuts, but when has that ever stopped you? What the heck is that? A lobster?”

“Yes.” Apparently, Casey saw no need to explain. “Dad, this is Susie Bloom. Susie, my father, Keenan Gordon.”

“Hey, Mr. Gordon.” Meeting Casey’s father seemed almost as serious as getting married. Susie felt exceedingly mature as she extended her hand.

“Susie Bloom, huh?” Casey’s father shook her hand, then tossed Casey a glance. “The ex-boss’s daughter, right?” he whispered, although she had no trouble hearing him.

“The ex-boss’s sister,” Casey corrected him. “How did the audit go?”

“Great,” his father said. “An hour and a half for the whole thing. And when it was done, they said they owed me twenty-five bucks and change. Can you believe it?
They
owed
me
.”

“That’s terrific, Dad.”

“I didn’t tell them about the circuit breakers I sold to Jimmy Benedetti,” he confided.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Mr. Gordon turned back to Susie. “So, Casey, is Susie going to help us set this place up?”

“I hope so,” Casey said, including Susie in his gaze.

“Just tell me what you want me to do,” she said, then winked at Casey. “And maybe I’ll do it.”

Bloom’s Bulletin
Written and edited by
Susie Bloom

In search of connubial bliss

Bloom’s president found happiness.

Our own Julia Bloom

And her wonderful groom

Sealed their vows with a passionate kiss.

(So when can we hope for a
bris?)

Welcome to the October 7 edition of the
Bloom’s Bulletin
. In the spring a man’s fancy turns to love, but early this autumn, the Bloom family—and the Bloom’s family—turned love into a fancy wedding. In a ceremony high above the city on the roof of the Bloom Building, Bloom’s president, Julia Bloom, exchanged vows with
Gotham
magazine columnist Ronald Joffe. The roof was transformed into a paradise of greenery, with coleus vines and multicolored roses adorning the huge tent erected on the roof. The tent proved unnecessary, thanks to the dry, balmy weather, so the walls were tied up and the night invited in. Rabbi Avram Kopelstein performed the ceremony under a traditional Jewish
chupa
, or canopy, the poles of which were held by Neil and Rick Bloom, both cousins of the bride; father of the groom, Norman Joffe; and family friend and Bloom’s accountant, Myron Finkel. Prayers were recited, Ron and Julia sipped wine from a goblet, Ron stomped on the glass to shouts of
L’chaim
and
Mazel tov
, and the writer/editor of this publication gained a brother-in-law.

“We originally considered holding the wedding in Grandma Ida’s apartment,” Julia said. “But if we’d done that, we would have had to whittle our guest list down.
We had so much room on the roof, we were able to invite everyone who works at Bloom’s. They’re all a part of our family.” This would explain the rare early closing of Bloom’s at 5:00 p.m. on the day of the wedding, as employees were sent home early to prepare for the party.

Buffet tables were heaped high with delicious edibles provided by Bloom’s catering service. Everyone loved the succulent roast beef, steamed fresh vegetables, salads and pastries. Among the biggest hits were the potato “latkettes” and the tiny marzipan fruits decorating the pastry table.

Julia’s uncle, Jay Bloom, escorted her down the aisle. The groom was attended by his brother, Ira Joffe, and Adam Bloom, the bride’s brother, served as usher. Bulletin writer/editor Susie Bloom (that would be me) was the maid of honor, and everyone remarked that salmon pink was a flattering color on her. Music was provided by harpist Jocelyn Bennett and flautist Errol Stack and by Herschel Katz and the Klezmer Cats.

The party lasted late into the night. The newlyweds are spending their honeymoon sailing in the Florida Keys, a trip arranged by cousin Neil Bloom, who runs a sailboat charter company. While Julia is enjoying the tropical breezes in Florida, Bloom’s is under the capable management of her mother, Sondra Bloom, who said of her eldest child’s wedding, “It was a lovely affair, even if it wasn’t at the Plaza.”

Speaking of which
…Bloom’s has set up a bridal registry. Sondra Bloom will be available to work with brides-and grooms-to-be on registering food items, gift baskets and must-have appliances from our kitchenwares department. Before you send out the invitations, register!

Wedding, schmedding—what’s on sale this week?
Lots of wonderful items, including some of our most popular kitchen gadgets. Check out the garlic presses, melon ballers and no-stick ice-cube trays on the second floor. Also, pickled everything: pickled tomatoes, pickled beets, pickled artichokes and just plain pickles—sours, halfs and garlic dills. Don’t get yourself in a pickle! Get a pickle into you!

Employee Profiles:

At the wedding atop the Bloom Building, many Bloom’s employees (and many
Gotham
magazine employees, too) were polled on their ideas of love, home and food. Most agreed that a wedding pretty much encompassed all three necessities. “You get married for love—if you’re smart,” Bloom’s cheese
maven
, Albert Medina, opined. “If you’re not so smart, well, you must be stupid.”

“Home is a lot better if you’ve got someone waiting for you there,” cashier Lois Schickel said. “To me, home is where you go to when you don’t want to be alone.”

“Food?” Helen Wacklin, Bloom’s director of Human Resources, mused. “I guess the best definition for that is Bloom’s.”

“Home is a place in your heart,” insisted Casey Gordon, owner of Casey’s Gourmet Breads in the East Village and also Bloom’s chief bagel supplier. “If you’re looking for home, your heart will tell you when you’ve found it.”

Wise Words from Bloom’s founder, Ida Bloom:
“You want to have a wedding in your apartment? Don’t be
meshugge
. Have it somewhere else.”