The Year of the Great Seventh (25 page)

Even though Nate was sad, he still looked beautiful. His haunted dark eyes glittered under the semi-light of the overcast sky. My hands were now shaking from the cold. I couldn’t control my shivering.

“Let’s get out of here. You’re going to get sick.” Nate put his arm around my back to keep me warm.

“No, we can’t. I won’t move until I find the connection.”

“Sophie, don’t be stubborn. I want this as much as you do.” Nate took a deep breath. “I’m not giving up. I just think if we take our minds away from it for a while, we may think of something.”

I knew from this morning that every minute mattered. We couldn’t take a break. I wasn’t going to ever give up. I couldn’t even imagine something happening to him.

“Please, trust me on this one. I actually have an idea.” Nate let go of me and took off one of his gloves. Then he pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. “I was planning to do this while you were on your NYU tour, but since we’re in the neighborhood we can do it now.”

Nate removed a Christmas card from the envelope and showed me an address written next to the signature.

“I lost touch with her a few years ago, and this is the last address I’ve got.” Nate stood up and pulled me up by the hands.

We walked thought the park into 5
^th
Avenue.

The Christmas card had been sent from 970 5
^th
Avenue, and the building right across from the Metropolitan museum where we’d exited the park was 990. It couldn’t be too far.

Fancy apartment blocks stretched along 5
^th
Avenue. Each building had a canopy from the pavement leading to the main entrance. A blond woman wearing a long, white coat emerged from a limousine, and a fully uniformed doorman with tie, vest, long jacket, and top hat carried her shopping bags into the building.

Nate and I cruised in silence down 5
^th
Avenue. The traffic was horrific at this time in the morning. Taxis, busses, and cars rushed along 5
^th
Avenue, cutting each other off.

I was wondering whether the woman Nate was seeking was related to him. Given her 5
^th
Avenue address, I guessed it had to be part of Nate’s extended family.

In another situation, I would’ve been thrilled to meet someone from Nate’s family, but right now I wasn’t sure if this was the best moment. My mind was obviously elsewhere. I wasn’t going to confess it to Nate, but I was wishing with all my heart that the woman wasn’t home. There was a chance I might fail Nate, and I wasn’t in the mood for family gatherings.

The plan of leaving the obelisk behind to take our minds from it didn’t seem to be working. I couldn’t stop repeating the prophecy in my mind, hoping for something to click.

When we got to the entrance of 970, right on the corner of 78
^th
Street, Nate checked the envelope again.

“I guess it must be here,” he said as he pushed the main entrance door open.

This was the snobbiest lobby I’d ever seen. It was probably nicer than most of my friends’ homes. The floor was made of white marble and had a black ornament in the middle. On each side was a forged copper elevator door, and a crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room.

As soon as the doorman spotted us coming into the lobby, he quickly hurried to us. “How can I help you?”

I could feel the blood rushing to my face. The doorman was going to escort us to the door as soon as he realized we didn’t live here. I knew I didn’t belong here and probably so did everyone else.

“We are going to 7B,” Nate said, bringing the envelope out of his pocket and showing the doorman the address.

The doorman called the elevator, and the door immediately opened. He pressed the button for us and exited the elevator.

One would never imagine that the rich and famous don’t even have to press their own elevator button. They have a doorman do it for them.

“It’s the door to your right,” the doorman instructed as the elevator door closed.

I was utterly shocked. If I’d been on my own, there was no way I would’ve been allowed into this building. It was about the way Nate carried himself. His confidence showed that, indeed, he did belong to the elite.

From the elevator, we turned to the door on the left. Amazingly, the entire floor had only two apartment doors, meaning each apartment occupied half a block.

Nate knocked on the door and waited impatiently. He was hoping someone opened, and I was hoping his knock remained unanswered. No sound came from inside the apartment. Nate ran his fingers through his hair anxiously.

He had to stop. He had to really stop looking so handsome. I couldn’t take it anymore. Having to stay away from each other was much harder to handle than I expected.

Then we heard steps coming from behind the door.

“She probably doesn’t work here anymore,” Nate said worriedly.

Work? Why hadn’t he mentioned before that she didn’t actually live here? If she worked here, that opened a new range of possibilities of who that woman could be.

Without giving me time to analyze all the possibilities, the door clacked open and a petite Latino woman wearing a white apron appeared behind it.

The moment she saw Nate, her expression changed. Her eyes opened wide and she turned pale. This was the most awkward situation I’d ever witnessed. The woman looked as if she had just seen a ghost.

Nate stared at the woman, unsure.

“Nate?” the woman mumbled, confused, as tears began welling in her eyes.

How did she know Nate’s name? Was she the woman that Nate was looking for?

“Señora?” Nate said with incredulity.

After hesitating for a moment, they embraced, holding tight to one another. Tears were rolling from the woman eyes, and I didn’t understand anything. Who was she? Why were they so emotional?

“My baby!” the woman blubbered disconsolately.

Her baby? What was she talking about? Why would she call him her baby? They were obviously not blood related.

All of a sudden, the woman glanced at me over Nate’s shoulder, and after becoming aware of my presence, she moved away from him, drying her tears with her apron. “I’m sorry. I just didn’t expect it to be you.”

She stared up at Nate as if she still couldn’t believe this was happening for real.

“Who did you…? Why didn’t you…? Who ees your friend?” the woman said. Her questions tumbled over each other as if she wanted to ask them all at once.

Nate looked away as he rubbed his eyes, or as it seemed to me, dried his tears.

“I didn’t know you’d be here. This was the last address I had.”

“I can’t beliebe this. I can’t… Come in!” The woman moved away from the door and led us into what seemed the reception room of a castle.

The walls were dark red, and there were landscape photos hanging on them. Right across from the main door was an antique wooden piece of furniture resembling a closet. To the right of the room was a long, wide corridor with a white door.

“My baby ees all grown up. You’ve turned into such a handsome man.”

The woman had the sweetest accent I’ve ever heard. I loved the way she rolled her r’s. She made the English language sound so romantic.

“It’s only been four years,” Nate said apologetically.

“You’ve grown so much. You were this tall last time I saw you.” The woman raised her hand to her waist.

A hint of a smile appeared on her face as if she was picturing in her mind when Nate was a child.

“Who ees this beautiful girl?” the woman asked as she stared at Nate in admiration, just the way a mother would.

“She’s my friend, Sophie.”

“Your friend! Your friend!” The woman gave Nate a playful shove. “My little prince hasn’t changed at all. He ees still the tough man he always was. You should want to marry this beautiful girl. You’d be a lucky man if she accepted.” The woman stroked my long hair.

She kept referring to me as the beautiful girl. I was starting to really like this woman. She seemed so close to Nate that she was really confusing me. I’d never seen Nate act like this before.

“I’ve raised my little prince since he was a little baby.” The woman brought her arms to her chest as if she was nursing an imaginary baby.

How hadn’t I realized before? She’d been Nate’s nanny. Confirming another Beverly Hills cliché, Nate had been raised by a stranger.

The white door at the end of the corridor squeaked and a little blond girl with a tiara and a princess dress appeared. The moment she spotted us, she came to a halt and observed us curiously in the distance. She must’ve been around four years old.

I waved at her and then she stuck her tongue out at me.

“How are Mr. and Mrs. Werner?” Bitterness slipped through the woman’s voice when she mentioned Nate’s parents.

I suspected this woman was on my team. She didn’t seem fond of Nate’s parents.

“They’re fine. We’re still in Los Angeles.” Nate stared at the woman with tenderness.

“Who are they?” the little blond girl shouted from the end of the corridor with the authority of a dictator. “Dad doesn’t let you bring friends here!”

“Come ober,
S
carlet! I used to look after this young man when he was little.” The woman waved at the little girl.

She took a few steps and then sat on the floor in the middle of the corridor.

“I’ve missed you ebery day since the day I left. I always wondered what my little prince would be doing.”

The way her voice cracked revealed how much she’d missed Nate. Señora was so slender and tiny she seemed a little child next to Nate. Nate seemed as tall as a basketball player next to her.

“I’m so happy to see you, but you can’t just show up like this. You’re going to kill Señora of a heart attack.” The woman fanned herself with her hand graciously.

“When he was little, he was a really good boy. He was my little angel. Señora still carries a photo of my little prince in her wallet.” The woman rushed to a closet and started fidgeting inside, until she brought out a purse.

“Please, don’t show her that picture.” Nate smiled, embarrassed.

“How can I not show this beautiful lady the photo of my prince?” The woman handed me a passport photo of a boy of around seven or eight years old. The boy had brown, short-cropped hair with the same daredevil smile Nate still had.

The little blond girl stomped through the corridor until she got next to Señora. “I don’t like you!” she shouted at me as she hid behind her nanny.

What was it with little children? It was always hate at first sight.

“I really missed you. It was really tough when I have to leabe.” The woman ignored the little girl hiding behind her.

“I missed you, too, Señora.” Nate frowned, probably realizing this woman had a much tougher time letting go of him than he expected.

“I want a sandwich, now!” The little girl began pulling Señora’s apron.

What a spoiled little brat! How dare she talk to a grownup like that? If I’d done that in front of my parents at her age, I’d have been in real trouble.

Nate tried to pick up the little girl to stop her pulling Señora, but she hid behind her again.

This was the first time I’d witnessed a girl refusing Nate’s attention. This girl was going to grow up to be a heartbreaker. I could tell.

“I want a sandwich! I want a sandwich!” The little girl started to throw a fit. She knew how important this was for Señora, and she wanted to ruin it.

“I would lobe to inbite you in, but…” The woman glanced back at the little girl.

“Don’t worry. We’ll catch up when you have time off.” Nate tried to cheer up Señora.

“No, you can’t leabe so soon. I want to know what you’ve been up to. I want to know more about your beautiful girlfriend.”

“It’s best we go. We don’t want to get you in trouble,” Nate said, staring at the little girl.

“But you have to promise you’ll call me. You won’t disappear on me again.”

Señora held Nate’s arm as if she wasn’t going to let him go unless he agreed to her conditions. Tears started streaming down Señora’s face again.

Nate gave her a tight hug. “I won’t disappear again. I promise.”

The girl started crying and kicking on the floor. We all ignored her.

Señora gave me a hug, too.

“You look after your beautiful girlfriend, okay? And you stop playing tough. I know you’ve got a big heart.” Señora pulled gently on Nate’s jacket, hinting that she wasn’t making a suggestion; she was giving him an order.

Nate smirked. “Okay, I will.”

I really liked this woman. She seemed to be able to read Nate’s body language better than he did. She’d known how Nate felt about me since the moment she opened the door, and Señora wasn’t going to let him ignore that.

I grabbed my purse and pulled out a photo that Nate and I had taken at a photo booth the day of the premiere. Our heads were against each other, and Nate had the same daredevil smile as in the other photo.

“Señora, take this photo. That way you have a recent one. You can cut me out if you want.”

Señora’s eyes twinkled as she stared proudly at the photo. “I wouldn’t eber do that. Now I have a photo of my prince with his princess.”

Señora picked up the little girl from the floor and held her in her arms. “You wabe my baby and his girlfriend good-bye.”

Señora waved at us as we closed the door behind us.

“
I’m
your baby!” the little girl screamed from the other side of the door, making Nate and me break into a laugh.

This had been one emotional visit. I absolutely adored Señora. She seemed to care about Nate more than anyone I could imagine. She loved him like her own son.

Nate called the elevator as he gazed back at the apartment door with melancholy in his eyes. “She looked after me since the day I was born. After the Pete incident, Mom fired her with no further explanation. When we moved to L.A., I lost track of her.”

We got into the elevator and Nate continued. “She was so nice to me when I was a kid. She took me to her crazy family reunions in Seattle. I don’t even think all the people there were related. They were just other immigrants, but as their real relatives were far away, they acted like a big family. I didn’t actually understand anything because they always spoke Spanish.