Seventh Avenue (59 page)

Rhoda entered first. She had on too much pancake
makeup
,
and
the flesh of her neck and throat had a chalk-like texture
that
made
her face unreal, as though she could peel it off. She was wearing
the mink
coat that Jay had given her years
before
,
and it hung on
her, as shapeless as a gunnysack. She might have just dashed out of
a restaurant
and grabbed someone else’s coat. Sports slunk in behind
her
wearing a tweed coat with raglan sleeves
that
were too short
for him. He stared at the carpets and when he moved his eyes, he
concentrated on the blank wall over Jay’s shoulder, then his eyes
roved
to the bedroom, as though he were doing a quick plan of the
layout.

“
Now what’s all this about?” Rhoda’s voice was loud and harsh.
She always shouted, Jay remembered, when she was frightened.

“
I think you remember Mr.
Clay
,
who handled things for me when
we drew up the settlement. And this is Mr. Brewster who deals with
the divorce actions.” Brewster nodded his head.

“
Don’t tell me it’s not legal?” Sports said.

“
It’s legal all right,” Clay said, rubbing a hand over his paunch
and making a face to indicate that he suffered from dyspepsia.

“
So you got your ambulance chasers,” Sports said. “If you give
me warning, I would’ve had a few boys over. They don’t know from
legal
stuff, but they got other things they use to win arguments.”

“
Are you threatening us?” Brewster asked politely.

“
Take it as you like, pal.”

“
Shut up, Sports,” Rhoda said. “Now what’s this crap about Neal
coming to live with you?” She flourished a document in Jay’s face.
“I’ve got this signed by the judge and I brought it along in case you
forgot.”

“
It’s meaningless,” Clay said.

She flushed and was about to shout something, when Jay pointed
to a chair, and said: “Keep calm, Rhoda. Take a
seat
,
and we’ll talk
about it.”

“
What’s to talk about?”

Clay rubbed his hands together and sat down at a table in the
center of the room and opened his briefcase. “I’ve got a copy of the
custody order.”

“
That and a dime gets you a ride on the subway,” Sports said out
of the side of his mouth.

“
Maybe you ought to hear what I have to say before you waste all
your wisecracks?” Clay said sullenly.

“
Let’s hear,” Rhoda said.

“
Well, there are two possibilities: either we notify the police that
you’re operating a gambling house; and the debt you’re attempting
to repay and the people who are forcing you to repay it are indicted
by the grand jury, or we settle the matter amicably.”

“
Now just a minute, who told you that?” Rhoda protested.

“
Neal,” Jay replied.

“
Well, he’s a liar. He always tells lies about me. I’ll tell you something for nothing, Jay. He loves you because you’ve got the money
and for no other reason.”

“
We’re digressing,” Clay said.

“
What do you mean, ‘digressing’?” Sports asked.

“
Moving from the point.”

“
He’s told you a pack of lies,” Rhoda insisted. “Is there a law
against having a few friends over for a quiet card evening?”

“
You’re a liar, Rhoda.” Jay paused. “Why’s his eye black?”

“
Simple,” Sports
retorted
. “When I walked into the bathroom, the
door hit him in the face because he was leaving at that moment.”

“
You mean to say you believe the story he cooked up?” insisted
Rhoda.

“
He has no reason to lie. Did he make up
Latkin
, or does he exist? It’s a simple matter for us to check,” Jay replied hotly. “Rhoda,
use your head. If we tell the police, and you’re arrested, you’ll lose
every right to legal custody. And I suppose you’ve got to think of
your husband as well, not that he deserves it. A shylock always has
people working for him, and they’ll put you both in the hospital, or
even worse.”

She began to cry, and the streaks of makeup on her face cracked
like soft earth in a heavy storm. In a
moment
,
her face was unrecognizable and all the men in the room, except for Jay, turned away. He
poured her a drink and gave her a handkerchief. She continued to
sob, and when she tried to force the drink down her throat, she made
a rasping gurgling sound.

“
You can’t look?” she shrieked. “
Turn around
, Sports, and see
what I look
like
!
You
bastard. It’s for you that I called my own kid a
liar.” She threw Jay’s handkerchief at him as he moved to take the
glass from her. “And you, it’s all on account of you, that I am what
I am. Dirt you’ve made
out .
. . my
sister .
. . we’re all
dead
.
. . we’re just waiting to be buried. All the time you win, why you?
What makes you a winner?”

“
What have I won, Rhoda? Two broken homes, a child that’s dangling in thin air, who can’t fall because there’s no one to catch him?
I’m trying to catch him, Rhoda. You can see that?”

She cleared her voice and swallowed the remaining whiskey.

“
I’m sorry, Jay. I had no reason to
say .
. . You’ve tried to be
fair.”

“
I’ll give you ten thousand dollars in cash so that you can get out
of this.”

“
And in return?”

“
In return I want the same custodian privileges that you had. He
can visit
you,
you can take him on vacations . . .”

“
But you have to approve, right?”

“
It’s the best thing for him, honestly. He’s been paying for our
mistakes for too many years now.”

“
Will he live with you?”

“
I think a private school’s the best thing for him. Until he’s got
a solid home to come to.”

She held out her hand, and Jay held it and shook it. Brewster
brought over a sheaf of papers and an open fountain pen.

“
You’ll have to sign all three copies.”

“
That’s the story of my life - signing things in three places. Won’t
the judge have to approve?”

“
We’ll deal with that,” Clay said.

“
I got into this hole, and I’ll have to dig my way out.”

“
I’ll help you any way I can,” Jay said.

She took the money and walked over to Sports, who opened the
door for her. She shoved the money in his face, and it fell to the
floor.

“
Here, take it and get out of my home.” He stopped to pick up
the money and paused at the
door,
his mouth twisted in a grimace,
his lips moving soundlessly
,
and then he left.

The weeks that followed were the happiest Neal had ever known.
Terry and he discussed his schoolwork, and for the first time he had
the satisfaction of knowing that someone took an interest in what he
did and what he would make of his future. The only difficulty he encountered was in getting to and from school, for he was unable to
transfer in midterm without losing half a year. Jay dropped him
at school in the mornings, but in the afternoon he was forced to
take a long subway ride across Manhattan.

On a bitingly cold crisp afternoon towards the end of February,
he was surprised to find Terry waiting for him in the lobby of the
hotel. Her eyes
bulged
,
and she seemed tired and pale.

“
Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

“
I’m not an invalid, just because . . .” she broke off in midsentence
as though distracted by some thought
that
she could not express,
and she shifted uneasily against the marble column she had been
leaning against. “Let’s go to Schrafft’s for
a hot chocolate
,” she said,
taking him by the arm. “I remember when I was a kid I used to nag
my father till he thought he’d go mad to take me there.”

They walked down Lexington
Avenue
,
and the late afternoon sun
fed out slivers of light
that
brightened up the ice-covered pavements.

“
Bracing walks, ta-da, and all that,” she
trilled
. “Hey, you’re going too fast.”

“
Sorry.” He hated to displease her, and he realized that he had
acted thoughtlessly, for it was slippery. “We could’ve had it sent up.”

“
You’re not adventurous today.”

“
I got ninety-five on my algebra exam.”

“
The only thing I can remember about algebra is that rate times
time equals distance. How’s that?”

“
Very good,” he said, smiling broadly, for he liked the way she
always implied that he was cleverer than she.

“
I’m afraid your father wouldn’t know one end of
an equation
from another, but he can add, boy, can he add.”

He pushed open the revolving door and about a hundred old ladies in strange, furry hats, and
woolly
dresses and long silk scarves,
stared at them. Neal felt himself flush as he followed Terry to a corner table.

“
What were they looking at?” he said.

“
Us. We don’t look like brother and sister, and you’re too big to
be my son, so they must have thought - Well, she’s got a lover. A
good-looking little
boyfriend
. And that gives them enough conversation for another party.”

“
Aw Terry, you’re kidding?”

She held his hand tightly in her fist and squeezed it.

“
You’re sweet, Neal.” She opened her handbag and fished out something that appeared
at first glance
to be an advertisement, and passed
it to Neal who looked at it cursorily.

“
What’s this? A school or something?”

“
A school or something? Dear boy, it’s
Carlisle .
. .
the
school.
There are a handful of them in the country: Groton, Andover, Horace Mann, Lawrenceville, and Carlisle.”

“
What’s it got to do with me?”

“
Wouldn’t you like to be able to go there?”

He picked up the menu and glanced at it for a moment, as the
waitress hovered over them.

“
I’d like a hot chocolate and a grilled-cheese sandwich,” he said.

“
Twice,” Terry said. “Well, Neal, tell me what you think? Your
term’s over in ten days and they’ve accepted you for their spring
term.”

“
They have? How?”

“
I wrote to the principal about a month ago, explained our situation, and he got in touch with your high school and they forwarded
your record.”

“
Why there? It’s
in” - he
picked up the prospectus – “Burlington,
Vermont. I’ll have to live there.”

“
But you’ll have about four and a half months for vacation and
we’ll spend the time together.”