Touchdown (25 page)

She stared at Mindy, then Avner and back at Mindy. They were smiling at each other. Two cuties, like little fawns, she thought. They'd loved each other in a previous life, but she'd gotten in the way of their union.

Of course! Mindy and Avner were soul mates. And my mission in life was to help Mindy—but not in the way I thought . . .

Goldie focused. With a thump, her sister fell on Avner.

“Oh, I am so sorry,” Mindy said, blushing, clearly embarrassed. “I don't know what I tripped over?”

Goldie noticed that Avner was blushing, too.

“Uh.” Avner stood up, and then gulped. “You know, this has all been a bit crazy. Uh, would you—would, uh, you—want to, uh, go with me, maybe, uh, to a poetry reading? And—spend the rest of your life with me?”

Mindy smiled as she held out her hand. “I thought you'd never ask.”

And then, after Goldie thought she'd learned everything, she had another Eureka moment.

Judy appeared. “Have you made your decision yet, Goldie?”

She nodded. “It wasn't hard to make. But first I have something to do.”

“Sure. You still have a bit of time.” Her mother started to turn away.

“Mama?” Goldie said.

“Yes, Goldie?”

“I love you, and I forgive you.”

“I know,” Judy said. “I'm a guardian angel, remember?” She winked.

• • •

Goldie was back in Clay's head for the last time. “Listen, there's something I have to tell you. My time is running out and I'm going to leave you soon.”

“Whew,” Clay said. “That's a relief.” He was headed toward the Amtrak station. It was time to go home. He knew who he was going to call, and it wasn't Carolyn or his parents. He didn't care as much about football or the NFL or letting people down anymore. There was only one person he cared about.

“Look,” Goldie said. “I don't know if I'll make it to heaven or rot in hell, but I want you at least to be happy.”

“That's sweet, but look, I have a train to catch and—”

“About those shoes—make sure you take them to Leigh. Tell her to put them up for sale on eBay, but to check what they are worth.”

“Are you kidding?” Clay said. “There's a market for used shoes?”

Goldie chuckled. “These aren't any used shoes. They're originals in perfect condition. And check out the signature on the sole.”

Clay stared at the signature on the bottom of the shoe and tried to make out the letters. “Is that an autograph from—”

“Yes.” Goldie slowly exhaled. “Dominique Chantreusse was trying on shoes beside me in the shop before she became so famous. I'd heard her in a club and could always spot talent. So when I bought my shoes I begged her to sign them.”

Clay's eyes widened. “But they say she never signs autographs.”

“She doesn't. I think she got scared off when I begged her to sign my shoes.”

Clay shook his head. “So these shoes are worth . . . ”

“Yes,” Goldie said. “That's what I was trying to tell you. The sale of those shoes should pay for you to study cooking in France—and open your restaurant, too.”

Clay felt tears sting his eyes. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“It's the least I could do for all of your troubles. Anyway, they're your shoes now. Can't do me much good where I'm going.”

Clay swallowed. “I . . . ”

“Look,” Goldie interrupted him. “I don't have much time left. Your football days were awesome. They were crazy! Don't get me wrong. You sure scored a lot of touchdowns. But Clay, you don't need football to do that. Not if it's killing you from the inside out. Go to cooking school and become a chef. Marry Leigh and have a gaggle of kids. Enjoy your life because you only get one shot at it. Live it to the fullest. And be happy.”

Tears glided down his cheek, but he didn't wipe them away. “I will,” he said simply.

• • •

The music played in the distance and grew stronger as Charlie approached Goldie.

“They sent me to come for you,” he said.

“Did I earn my stripes?” she asked.

“What do you think?” He held out his hand. “May I have this dance?”

“I feel like I've been waiting forever,” she said.

“Forever's not so long.”

She smiled and nodded toward the sound of the music. It was an old song, the one she'd heard many times in her dreams. “That's my favorite song,” she said.

Charlie smiled back. “Mine too.”

“Really?”

“It is now.”

Goldie blushed as Charlie came closer. She gave him her hand and they danced together straight up to the heavens.

Clay tasted the bagels and lox with a huge schmear of cream cheese. “Hmmm,” he said, and offered a bite to Leigh. “The lox isn't bad. I could get used to this.”

“It is good,” Leigh said as she tried it, “but right now nothing is agreeing with me.” She patted her swollen belly.

Clay nodded. They were at an elegant luncheon in a catering hall on New York's Long Island. Guests milled about and sat around large round tables set in white linen, and all sorts of delicacies were laid out on a huge buffet.

“I'm glad I came with you to New York this time.” Leigh smiled.

“Yes,” Clay responded, his hand in hers, “and as soon as we get back you're going to stay off your feet. Doctor's orders.”

“I will,” Leigh said. “But do you think Austin can hold down the fort while we are away?” Leigh asked. While usually phlegmatic, she suddenly seemed tense.

Clay smiled and held Leigh's hand. “Don't worry. Our restaurant can survive a two-day trip.”

“I know, just—”

“Leigh, we're doing great. Half of Atlanta is raving over your magic spaghetti sauce.”

Leigh's face lit up. “I'm just so happy, Clay, I wouldn't want anything to ruin what we have.”

He squeezed her hand. “It won't.”

He turned his head as their host tapped him on the shoulder.

“Thanks so much for coming,” Avner said as they shook hands. “It means so much to Mindy and me.”

Clay and Leigh looked at each other and laughed. “We wouldn't have missed this party for anything!” Clay said.

Avner turned to wave at Mindy as she walked toward them, pushing a baby carriage. Her father, Allen, beamed as he chatted with the guests.

Goldie and Charlie hovered beside Goldie's mother—and all of the connected souls who'd passed—as they made their way down from heaven to welcome the new baby and bless her, to wish her well on her journey through life.

Mindy picked up her new baby girl and Leigh cooed at how cute she looked, all scrunchy and sweet in a little pink onesie. “Hey, Judith-Goldie Finkelstein, meet your friends!” she said softly to her baby.

“Wow, that name's a mouthful.” Clay smiled.

Mindy shrugged. “I wanted to name the baby for my mom and then hoped if I was blessed with another daughter one day, I'd name her for Goldie. I just kept having a feeling that my sister wasn't patient enough to wait for my next baby.”

Goldie nodded to Charlie. “Isn't that the truth? What if her next kid is a boy? Ugh. A boy named Goldie? That just wouldn't work.”

Charlie smiled, and then looked at his soul mate. “You ever regret that we were never able to raise a child together?”

Goldie shrugged and cooed at the baby, who gurgled back at Goldie. “It would have been a gift, but nobody gets everything.” She turned back to Charlie. “And I have an eternity of love, with you.”

The music started to play and Goldie leaned over to kiss her new baby niece. “Don't go giving your mama any trouble,” she whispered, “because we'll know what you're up to. Grandma and Uncle Charlie and I will be keeping an eye on you, baby girl—always.

“Be strong. Believe in yourself. Believe in magic, too, but only good magic, the kind that comes down from heaven. The kind of magic that grows in your heart from love.” Goldie still didn't know if Chumie's issues over the years were her own, or caused by the shenanigans of a selfish dybbuk, but she knew one thing for sure: She wouldn't let any Chumies or dybbuks or darkness into her niece's life if she could help it. Because she knew now what she'd wished she'd known when she was alive: That a good life wasn't about ego or fun or stuff, but it was all about love and compassion and the kindnesses that grow from that. Who we love, how we love, and what we are willing to give, honor, and sacrifice for our love.

Then Goldie leaned over and kissed her sister. “Be well, sweetie. Live a good life.”

Mindy put her hand to her cheek then stroked her baby's back. “I will,” she said and whispered into her baby's neck, “I miss you, Goldie, so much. I wish you were here. Today. With me.”

“But I am here, Mindy,” Goldie said. “And whenever you need me, I'll be right there, right beside you. Always.”

“I know,” Mindy said.

“I will love you forever,” Goldie whispered to her sister, and then turned to Charlie. I'm ready to go now,” she said as she extended her palm toward him.

Charlie nodded and took her hand.

As the music played, Charlie and Goldie moved together in their dance full of love, through time and space and all of eternity.

The author of
Brooklyn Love
and
Starstruck
, Yael Levy lives in Georgia with her family where she writes Young Adult and Women's Fiction.

www.yaellevyauthor.com

 

It was a typical fall day in Brooklyn, when Abby Miller wiped the sweat off her forehead as she ran through traffic and nearly collided with a white-haired lady crossing against the light.
The perfect way to start my birthday,
she thought.

Car horns beeped at Abby as she leaped over the sidewalk curb, but she drowned out the morning traffic by remaining focused on her goal:
Get bagels for the kids!

Swerving to avoid the older woman, Abby reached the bagel shop on Nostrand Avenue just as a crowd of Brooklyn's finest emerged from the store. The police officers in their blue, button-down uniforms dunked doughnuts in their coffees as they discussed the latest Yankees scores. Firemen — taut muscles peeking out of their short-sleeved Ts — filed out of the shop holding paper bags filled with bagels while cradling cardboard four-packs of steaming hot coffee. Abby imagined what the men bought their wives or girlfriends for their birthdays. Jewelry? Perfume? Flowers? She'd left David a thousand clues that today was her birthday and wondered what her husband would surprise her with.

“What can I getcha?” The server behind the counter interrupted her thoughts. The fellow was the grandson of the original proprietor of Brooklyn's Bagels, and as she stared at the photos on the wall behind him, she noted that every generation of bakers seemed to look exactly like the one before. They were all bald and round, and she briefly wondered if the job wore off on the servers or if it was merely a coincidence that they looked like bagels.

“Two Everything Bagels with egg salad, onion and lettuce, hold the tomato — don't forget the sour pickles — and two poppy bagels with a
schmear
of cream cheese, please.” Abby smiled as the bagel man began working on her order.

Great,
she thought as she glanced at her watch.
Five more minutes. Should make it home in time. The kids will have their lunch, and David should have my birthday present ready. Maybe he bought that ring I showed him from the Home Shopping Network. That would be so romantic!

She heard the familiar tone of Barbra Streisand's
The Way We Were
and reluctantly answered her cell phone.

“What, Ma?” Abby said as she waited for her order.

“How'd you know it was me?”

“Besides Caller-ID? Nobody else would call me this early in the morning.”

“Happy Birthday, baby. The big three-oh.”

“You remembered!”

“How could I forget? I was there.”

Abby laughed. “Can't wait to see David's surprise!”

“Oh, you'll be surprised, all right.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“He probably won't remember — he's so busy at work.”

“And I'm not busy?”

“Not busy like a medical resident,” Ma said. “You got the kids off to school?”

“Soon … ” Abby glanced at her watch. “We ran out of bread for their lunches, so I ran out for bagels.”

“But their school bus is coming!”

“That's why I'm in a rush, Ma.” Abby knew she had to get Ma off the phone and thought of how to bow out without offending her. She quickly assessed that an insulted Ma was not worth the hassle and knowing their dynamics — it was easier to give in.

The bagel man finished the order and gave it to Abby as she paid. Abby flashed the man a smile, stuffed her change into her pocket and ran out of the store with her purchase.

“You didn't get yourself a bagel, did you?” Ma said as Abby adjusted her phone. “You know how those pounds add up.”

“Ma!” Abby ran across the street, nearly bumping into a young mother on the way to her bus stop with two small children.

“I don't mean to criticize you, baby, but as your mother — I worry for your health.”

Doesn't mean to criticize?
“I gained ten pounds over the year, Ma. It's not so terrible.”

“That's true, but what if ten becomes twenty? Or fifty?”

Abby continued running down the street. “Okay, Ma, I hear you.”

“Yeah, right,” Ma said. “If you don't want to take care of your health, at least think of David.”

“David?” Abby ran through a playground on Nostrand Avenue, a shortcut where she'd climb over the fence to her attached townhouse on the other side.