The Two-Family House(39)
Helen was standing at the sink with her back to him. When she turned on the faucet, he could see that her hand was shaking.
“Helen? Look at me. Please.”
Helen mumbled something, but he could barely hear her over the running water.
“Helen, I can’t hear you. Turn off the water, sweetheart, and talk to me.”
When she finally did turn around, Abe barely recognized her. Her eyes were swollen, her cheeks were flushed and her lips were twisted tight in a grimace. She forced her mouth open to speak, but the only sound that emerged was a high-pitched wail. He had never seen her like this.
Abe tried to take her into his arms but she pushed him away, her back up against the sink, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were trying to get warm. “I don’t understand,” he told her, “Why are you so upset? Please, honey, tell me.”
“I can’t explain.…” She choked out the words in a tangle of sobs.
Abe softened his voice. “I promise you,” he said, “I promise you it will be all right.” He put one hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s a big change, but we’re going to have a wonderful new house for our family.” She let him take her in his arms then, and wept like her heart was breaking. His shirt was soaked through in moments.
After a few minutes Helen lifted her head. “What about Mort and Rose?” she whispered.
“Mort is telling them tonight,” he told her. “He already picked a house. But there’s nothing else for sale on that street so we’ll be a few blocks away.” He tried to make his voice sound playful. “So cheer up—at least they won’t be next door!” He thought this would make Helen smile. He wanted to hear her laugh. But the tears only fell faster and her grip on him tightened.
Chapter 29
HELEN
Helen was still shaken the next day. After she got the boys off to school, she was unable to follow her usual morning routine. The dirty breakfast dishes nauseated her. The unmade beds gave her chest pains and the globs of toothpaste on the bathroom counter left her head aching. She needed fresh air, an escape from the drudgery of the morning cleanup. So she left it all—the dishes, the beds, the bathroom—and got Natalie ready to go to the park.
Once there, Helen showed Natalie how to feed the ducks with the stale bread they brought from home. Natalie watched the birds and mimicked their gait. They had been there for half an hour when Helen spotted Rose and Teddy walking through the park gates. Teddy saw Natalie and ran over. Rose had no choice but to join Helen.
“You must have gotten out of the house early this morning.” Rose brushed a few leaves off the bench and sat down.
“I couldn’t face the breakfast dishes,” Helen admitted. It had been a long time since she and Rose had sat together in the park like this.
“That’s not like you.”
“I know. Did Mort tell you about the move?”
Rose nodded, and Helen’s eyes filled with tears. She searched for a tissue in her handbag. “I can’t believe it. I don’t want to leave the house.”
“I do.” Rose’s voice was hard.
“But it’s perfect. The kids can see each other every day. Look at them. They’re like brother and sister! Living in the same house makes it so much easier. I can see Teddy and you can see Natalie whenever we want. Why do you want to leave?”
“Do I really have to list the reasons for you? It’s too small, for one. You and your family are literally on top of us every minute of every day.”
“We’ll switch. You can take the top apartment. I’ll convince Abe, he won’t mind—” Helen was pleading with her. Desperate.
“Listen to yourself, will you? Even if we moved to the top floor it wouldn’t solve anything. It wouldn’t change the situation.”
“What situation?”
“Stop it!” The children looked over from their spot on the miniature bridge that crossed over the pond. They had gotten tired of chasing the ducks and were dropping their crumbs now from the bridge into the water. Rose lowered her voice. “Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about. This move will be the best thing for all of us. If we have more breathing room we’ll all get along better. Abe and Mort too.”
It was warm for April, but Helen pulled her sweater over her shoulders. She was shivering. “But we won’t even be on the same street. You and I won’t see the children. Days could go by without us seeing them … weeks.”
“I know.”
“I can’t stand the thought of not seeing Teddy every day. Don’t you want to see Natalie?” Helen beseeched her, but Rose was unmoved. After a few moments she took Helen’s hand, just like she used to, back before the babies were born, back when they were still like sisters. “I need to do this, Helen,” she said. “I don’t know how much longer I can continue on this way, all of us in one house. Some days I feel like I’m losing my mind. Please don’t try to stop this. Please.”
Helen nodded then—a barely perceptible movement. Still, she knew Rose had seen it because the next instant, Rose let go of her hand. She dropped it swiftly, with complete disregard, as if it were the hand of a stranger or of someone unclean.