The Two-Family House: A Novel (10 page)

Well, Abe wasn’t going to do that.
His
daughter would have every advantage his boys had. He would make sure of it.

Chapter 19

HELEN

(September 1948)

From the moment he woke up that morning, Joe hadn’t stopped complaining. The others weren’t happy about the first day of school either, but at least they’d stopped grumbling about it long enough to eat breakfast.

“Are you done?” Helen finally had asked Joe, in a tone that made it clear she wasn’t asking. Joe was about to respond, but kept his mouth shut when she began to line their lunch boxes up on the kitchen counter. Helen knew he was smart enough to realize that a nasty response would mean no cookies with his lunch. Missing breakfast was one thing, but no dessert was another, so Helen wasn’t surprised when he’d decided to cut his losses and apologize. “Sorry, Mom,” he managed.

After Helen handed the boys their lunches she gave them all a final once-over. The last gasp of rebellion came when Sam tried to convince Helen that his stomach cramps might be appendicitis. Her response was to push all of them out the door and to lock it from the inside as quickly as possible. A few minutes later, she heard Natalie babbling in her crib.

With the boys gone and only Natalie at home, everything was easy. Helen was almost ashamed to admit how much she enjoyed taking care of her. With the first baby, Helen had always been afraid she was doing something wrong. When Sam came along it was easier, but Harry had been so jealous that Helen had to sleep with one eye open just to make sure Harry didn’t push his brother out the window. And with the twins—well, there were two of them. But with Natalie, Helen could finally relax. The sheer joy Helen felt just from watching her dribble breakfast mush down her chin was sometimes so intense that it brought her to tears.

After she got Natalie dressed, Helen carried her downstairs, pulled the carriage out from its spot in the hallway and knocked on Rose’s door. Maybe Rose and Teddy would come with them to the park.

Helen was worried about Rose. She should have been walking on air after Teddy was born. She finally had a son, and Mort was satisfied at last. Helen assumed everything would be perfect. But she was beginning to realize just how shortsighted she had been.

From the start, Helen recognized the signs. She had seen other women act like this after having babies. Rose was withdrawn and she stayed in bed most of the time. The other women Helen knew who had experienced this kind of thing always got over it after a month or so, but with Rose, it seemed to be getting worse. Teddy had been a difficult infant at first, and Rose wasn’t used to colicky babies. Helen tried to help—she would stay over a few nights a week downstairs and bring Natalie with her. She spent hours burping Teddy and massaging his tiny body the way she used to when Sam had colic.

After three or four weeks, however, Abe put his foot down. “It’s enough already!” he said. “Rose will be fine—it’s
her
baby. She has to learn how to take care of him herself!” Helen was furious. For three days she refused to speak to Abe. And for three nights in a row she slept downstairs with Natalie and Teddy.

On the fourth day, George didn’t feel well after dinner. When Helen tucked him in that night, he burst into tears. Helen sat on the edge of the bed with him. “Honey, what’s wrong? Do you have a stomachache?”

George nodded. Tears were running down his face.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” she said. “I’m going to get a bowl from the kitchen for you and put it by the side of your bed in case you need to throw up.” She was about to get up but George grabbed her hand and started to cry harder.

“No! Mommy, don’t go! Don’t leave me!”

“George!” Helen was surprised. “I’m just going into the kitchen. I’m going to get a bowl for you and then I’ll come right back.”

“No, you won’t!” he sobbed. “You won’t come back! You’ll take Natalie and go downstairs and leave me up here all alone!”

“George,” Helen tried to calm him down, “I would never leave you all alone. Sometimes I try to help Aunt Rose with Teddy, but Daddy is always here if I’m gone.”

“No! I want
you
to take care of me! I’m gonna wake up at night and throw up and you won’t be here! You’re going to leave us and we won’t have any mommy at all!”

“George, I’m not going to leave you.”

“
It’s not fair!
Teddy already has a mommy. Now he has
two
and we have
none
.”

“George!”

“You love
him
more than
us
!”

“Oh George, I’m so sorry.” Helen had tears in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around him. George choked back his sobs. Then he threw up all over his bedspread.

After that, Helen stopped sleeping downstairs. She missed spending time with Teddy and she felt bad leaving Rose in the lurch. But she had to give it up.

Rose had done a little bit better after that, but during the summer she retreated again. With school out, she relied heavily on Judith and the other girls to watch Teddy and keep him occupied. She cooked dinner when Mort came home, but most afternoons the girls ended up at Helen’s house for lunch. Helen started cooking extra food and buying double her usual order of cold cuts on Mondays. She didn’t mind. But now that summer was over and school had started, Helen was hoping Rose would get back to normal.

That was why she was knocking on Rose’s door now—she wanted to start the school year off on a good note for all of them. They could take a nice walk together and keep each other company. But when Helen knocked, there was no answer. She tried again, but still no response. “Rose? Are you home?” Helen heard crying. The knob to Rose’s front door turned easily in her hand so she let herself in. Teddy wasn’t just crying—he was screaming at the top of his lungs.

Helen found him in his crib, sitting up and sobbing. His round little face was red, covered in snot and tears from crying for so long. The room smelled of urine; he had soaked through his pajamas. She put Natalie down on the rug and picked Teddy up to comfort him. “Shhh, sweetheart, shhh,” she whispered. Teddy rubbed his faced into her shoulder. His whole body was shaking but the sobs were getting softer. “Shhh.” He was wet and shivering, and she wondered how long he had been crying like that. Why hadn’t Rose heard him?”

“Rose?” she called again.

Still there was no answer. “Mommy must be sleeping, Teddy,” Helen said to him. “Did you keep her up last night?” she cooed. He was finally calming down. “Let’s change you, okay? In fact, let’s give you a nice warm bath.”

“BA!” said Natalie, looking up at her mother.

“You can have a bath too, with Teddy! Won’t that be fun?”

Helen stripped Teddy out of his wet clothes and put a fresh diaper on him. Then she put him down on the rug next to Natalie, who was busy chewing on a wooden block. She changed the crib sheets and put both of the kids in the crib for safekeeping so she could go check on Rose. That was some nap she was taking! Helen hoped she wasn’t sick.

She knocked on Rose’s bedroom door, but there was no response. When she opened it, she saw that the bed hadn’t been made. Rose was sitting in the chair by the window, staring out at the street. She was still in her nightgown.

“Rose?” Helen spoke again, louder this time. “Are you all right?” Rose didn’t move. It was as if she couldn’t hear. Helen was afraid of startling her when she touched her arm, but she needn’t have worried. Rose looked at Helen and reached for her ears, pulling something out of them. Her eyes were sleepy.

“What’s that?” Helen pointed to Rose’s hands.

“Earplugs.”

“Where on earth did you get earplugs?”

“Hmm? Oh … the company picnic.” At first Helen thought Rose was hallucinating, but then she realized Rose must have gotten them from one of the employees. Some of them used earplugs to block out the noise from the box-making machinery.

“How long have you been wearing them?”

“I told you, I got them last month at the picnic.”

“No, I mean, how long have you been wearing them
today
?”

“Oh. Not too long.” Rose turned her eyes toward the window again.

“When Natalie and I got here, Teddy was crying so loud we could hear him in the hallway.”

“He’s always that way. If I didn’t wear earplugs, I’d never get anything done during the day.”
What was she trying to get done in her bedroom staring out the window?

“He was wet, soaked through his clothes. Did you feed him yet?”

“Judith always gives him breakfast. She loves taking care of him.”

“I know she does. But it’s the first day of school, remember? Judith left early. Maybe Teddy is hungry.”

“Then I’ll feed him, all right?” Rose snapped. “Will
that
make you happy?”

Helen tried to be reassuring. “All babies cry, you know.”

“Ha! Not like him. He’s a monster.”

Helen couldn’t bear to hear Rose say that about Teddy. “Rose, he’s just a baby.”

“Well, I’m too old to take care of another baby. I can’t do it!”

“If I can do it, you can too.”

“I’m telling you I can’t. I’m not like you. How can you pretend this is all so easy? I can’t do this!” Rose’s voice was breaking.

“Listen to me.” Helen took one of Rose’s hands in both of her own. She was pleading with her. “You
have
to. I’m trying to help you, but you
have
to do better than this. Teddy needs you.”

Rose shook her head and Helen let go of her hand. “I’m going to give the kids a bath,” Helen said. “Then we’re all going to the park.
All
of us.” She was numb and sick with worry. Don’t be angry, she kept telling herself. Don’t be angry. She’s going through a difficult patch. Everything will work out.

Helen went back to the babies, who were busy chewing on blocks and babbling at each other. When she put them both in the tub together, it reminded her of when she used to bathe the twins. Getting them out was harder than getting them in, but she managed it all right. She dressed Natalie back in her romper and found fresh clothes for Teddy. Then she brought them into the kitchen to wait for Rose.

Half an hour later, after Teddy was fed, Rose appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, dressed and ready for their outing. Teddy started kicking his feet and babbling when he saw her.

“He’s excited to see you,” Helen said. She took Teddy out of his high chair and handed him to Rose, who held out her arms reluctantly. “Go to Mama,” Helen cooed, but Rose’s hands were stiff and slow in accepting him. It took several moments before Helen could let go, and it was only when she felt Rose’s grip on him tighten that she was sure he was secure. Helen exhaled slowly, picked Natalie up off the floor and followed Rose and Teddy out the door.

Chapter 20

ROSE

(November 1948)

The first few months of school went by quickly, and Rose felt better. She got rid of the earplugs and stopped taking naps during the day. Helen checked in on her every morning. Rose knew her sister-in-law only wanted to help, but she was becoming increasingly annoyed with Helen’s little visits.

Living together in the two-family house had always had its benefits. When Rose first moved in, she had been grateful every day for Helen’s companionship. Helen taught her how to cook, how to sew curtains, how to bleed the radiator when it started getting noisy. She told Rose where to buy fish and which grocer had the best produce. The two of them had been inseparable back then, more like sisters than some real sisters Rose knew. When the children came along, the cousins had each other for playmates. There was always an adult around if any child was sick or wanted help with schoolwork. And if either Rose or Helen needed something for a recipe, chances were that one of them had the ingredient the other was missing.

But there were downsides too. Rose had been humiliated the day Helen found her in the bedroom on the first day of school. Part of Rose was grateful that Helen had been there. But part of her resented the lack of privacy and boundaries that had developed between them. I should have known this would happen, Rose thought. She began to wonder if they would always live like this, together in the two-family house, never more than a few feet from each other.

Now, the clock struck 10:00 a.m. and there it was, the inevitable knock at the door.

“Rose? Are you home?” Rose had been careful about locking the door in the morning after the girls left. But ever since the first day of school, Helen started keeping the extra key to Rose’s house on the key chain she left in her pocketbook. “It’s easier,” she told Rose. “This way if I need to borrow something from the kitchen and you aren’t home to answer, I’ll be able to get whatever I need without bothering you. You still have our key, don’t you? Or do you need me to make you another one?”

“No,” Rose said. “I have it in a drawer somewhere.”

Rose preferred to open the door herself, so she rushed over to get to it in time.

When she opened it she found Helen and Natalie, both bundled up in hats and heavy coats. “It’s freezing out today,” Helen said. “I think it’s too cold to go to the park. What do you think?”

Rose shrugged. “We haven’t been out yet. But if you think it’s too cold…” She was hoping Helen would give up their daily walk and leave her and Teddy to themselves for the day.

“Well, maybe we’ll come in for a few minutes. The kids can play a little.”

“Sure.” Rose knew better than to argue. She stepped aside to let Helen and Natalie into the kitchen. Teddy was sitting on the floor, playing with a set of wooden farm animals he had inherited from Dinah. His favorite was the sheep.

Rose filled a kettle with water from the tap and put it on the stove for tea. As soon as Natalie was out of her coat and down on the floor, she crawled over to Teddy and grabbed the sheep from his tiny fist. Then she yelled, “Baa!” in Teddy’s face. When Teddy started to cry, Helen pulled the toy away from Natalie and put it back in Teddy’s hand. After that, both of them were crying.