Behold the Dreamers(63)

“Today is my birthday, sir,” he told Clark.

“Happy birthday, then,” Clark replied without taking his eyes off his laptop, which was booting up. “I won’t ask how old you are.”

“Thank you, sir,” Jende replied, smiling. While they waited for the light to turn green at Park and Seventieth, he pondered how best to bring up the topic.

“I know this is a very busy time for you, sir,” he said, “but there is something I wanted to discuss with you.”

“Go on,” Clark said, still not lifting his eyes from the laptop.

“It is about Mrs. Edwards, sir.”

Clark continued looking at his laptop. “What about her?”

“Sir, I think she wants to know where you go to. And who you see. And all those kinds of things, sir. She wants me to tell her about what I see you doing.”

Clark looked at Jende in the rearview mirror. “Really?”

Jende nodded. “I do not know what to do, sir. That is why I am asking you.”

He wanted to turn around to see the reaction on Clark’s face—rage? disappointment? frustration?—but he couldn’t; he could only catch a glimpse of the boss’s eyes in the mirror.

“Tell her what she wants to know,” Clark said.

“I can tell her, sir? Do you want me, sir … you want me to—”

“You can answer her questions.”

“You mean I can tell her everything, sir?”

“Of course you can tell her everything. Where do you take me to that you can’t talk about? Who do you see me with?”

“That is what I told her, sir. I told her I only take you to office buildings in midtown and downtown and sometimes—”

“Never mention Chelsea.”

“I have never mentioned Chelsea, sir. I will never.”

The car was silent for a minute, the men acknowledging without words what they each knew the other knew. Jende wanted Clark to know more; he wanted to assure him of his loyalty, promise him again that his secret would always be safe. He wanted to tell Mr. Edwards that because he had given him a good job that had changed his life and that was enabling him to take care of his family, send his wife to school, send his father-in-law a cash gift every few months, replace the roof and crumbling wooden walls of his parents’ house, and save for the future, he would always protect him every way he could.

He did not say it, but Clark Edwards said “Thank you” nonetheless.

The perspiration running down Jende’s back dried off. “Thank you so much, sir, for understanding,” he said. “I was not sleeping well. Not knowing what to do. I am glad I can make both you and Mrs. Edwards happy.”

“Of course.”

“I was so afraid I would lose my job if I did not do the right thing.”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Your job is secure. You’ve been excellent. Continue doing as I ask you to do, and you won’t have to worry about anything.”

Both men were silent again as the car crawled through the midtown madness of tourist shoppers and harried commuters and street vendors and city buses and tour buses and yellow cabs and black cars and children in strollers and messengers on bikes, and too much of everything.

“Sir,” Jende said, “is Mrs. Edwards doing well?”

“Yeah, she’s fine. Why?”

“It looked to me, sir, as if—”

Clark’s phone buzzed and he picked it up. “Did you talk to Cindy?” he said to the person on the line. “Great … I think she’s putting you guys at the Mandarin Oriental, not sure why … No, it’s fine, if that’s what everyone prefers.” He listened for a while and then laughed. “Sounds like Mom,” he said. “And Dad’s visit to New York is never complete without a Central Park walk … Yeah, I’ll make sure Jende is available to pick everyone up from the airport … Me, too, I’m excited; it’s going to be great … I can’t remember the last time, either. Maybe the year Mighty and Keila were born and no one was in the mood to deal with the holiday crowd with babies? … Don’t worry about bringing anything, and tell Mom not to. Cindy and June are taking care of everything. They’ve got their menu down … I don’t think they need help; they’ve been doing it for years … Oh, okay … Go ahead then. I didn’t know you’d already suggested it to her. I’m glad everyone’s on the same page … Listen, Cec, I’ve got to go … Sounds good.

“Sorry about that,” Clark said to Jende after hanging up. “We’re very excited about being together in New York for the first time in so many years.”

“I understand the excitement, sir.”

“You were saying something about Cindy?”

“Yes, sir,” Jende replied. “I was just saying, sir, I don’t know if it is the right thing for me to say, but it looked to me like she has lost some weight, so I just wanted to make sure that she is fine. I will be glad to do whatever is needed if she is not well and … if you need me to help around the house, sir.”

“That won’t be necessary, but thank you. She’s doing very well.”

“I am glad to hear that, sir, because I was a bit worried—”

“The recession is hard on us all, but she’s doing good.”