The Two-Family House(6)

“What’s so funny?”

“You never met my grandmother; she died before I met Abe. Anyway, she was from the old country, very stubborn, very superstitious. You couldn’t put a hat on the bed, you couldn’t eat only one olive—she believed all that stuff. She used to say that if a pregnant woman wanted a girl, she should never eat the end of the bread, only the middle. And if she wanted a boy, she should only eat the end.”

“You’re pregnant?” Rose was stunned.

“Don’t you see what a horse I am? I’m busting out of my dresses! I’m due the first week of January. Five months to go. I thought for sure you knew.”

Rose had been so preoccupied with her own pregnancy that she hadn’t even noticed Helen’s. Of all the babies born to the two women—the upstairs boys and the downstairs girls—Rose and Helen had never been pregnant at the exact same time. There had been a few months of overlap here and there but nothing like this. They were both due in January. “Have you told Abe?” Rose asked.

“Just yesterday. I wanted to wait until it was safe. Boy, was he surprised! You’d think he would have guessed, but men never pay attention.”

“I guess they don’t,” Rose admitted. She filled their coffee cups again and thought how lucky she was to have Helen for her sister-in-law. When Helen was beside her she felt braver, resilient. They would go through this together. Rose felt the terrible feeling in her stomach dissipate. She reached across the table for the bread knife and cut the other end off the loaf. She took the end Helen had cut and the newly cut piece and placed them both in front of her on the table. Then she took a bite from each one.

“You too?” Helen jumped up and put her arms around her sister-in-law. She patted Rose’s stomach. “But you’re slimmer than ever! You’re not showing at all!” Together they went over their symptoms and ailments from the past few months. Rose had been exhausted and Helen had craved sweets.

Slice by slice, Helen polished off the middle of the loaf while Rose nibbled only on the ends. She wanted to believe Helen’s superstition would work. She wanted to believe she had some control. She wanted, more than anything, to believe that what lay ahead of her would be better than what had come before. But as she chewed the ends of the loaf she had baked, the dry bits of crust only stuck to her tongue and the crumbs felt like dust in her mouth.





Chapter 5





ABE


Abe couldn’t believe it when Helen told him she was pregnant. “Are you sure?” he stuttered. He had left the office early that afternoon because of the heat. Now he was home, sweating even more than he had at work.

“I’m sure.”

“Did you see the doctor?” A stream of perspiration was making its way down the side of his cheek, directly in front of his ear.

“Abe!” she scolded. “Of course I did!”

Abe sat down on the couch. He put his head down and tried to breathe.

“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you happy?”

His head was still down. “I’m happy, I’m happy,” he muttered. “It’s good.”

“Then why do you look like you’re having a heart attack?”

Slowly, he lifted his head and looked at her. “I’m just surprised, is all. It’s a big shock. It’s enough to give anybody a heart attack if you want to know the truth.”

Helen sat down next to him and took his hand. “I’m not an old woman yet. It can’t be that much of a shock. What’s the matter?”

“Mmm.” His eyes were closed and he was dabbing at his forehead with his handkerchief.

“Stop it!” Helen shook him by the arm. Then she stood up and put her hands on her hips. “Are you happy or not?”

Abe stood up too, a little shaky at first, and managed a smile. “Sweetheart, of course I’m happy. We’ll have a beautiful baby.” Helen popped a kiss on his cheek and promptly pushed him back down. “Sit. I’m going to get you a glass of water. You look green. I can’t raise five children alone, you know. I don’t want you to have a real heart attack.”

Abe closed his eyes again and tried to relax. He should have seen it coming. The way she was looking at her cousin’s baby a few months ago—like a kid drooling over a lollipop! That look in her eye, the frantic way she pulled him into bed. He should have known. And here was the result: just when they were able to enjoy themselves a little and get a couple nights of sleep, they were heading back to diapers and midnight feedings.

Abe knew his initial misgivings would fade. He’d get used to the idea and get excited about it, just like all the other times. In fact, he told himself, he might as well get excited about it soon, because Helen wasn’t going to tolerate any other kind of reaction from him.

“Drink this. I let the water run so it’s cold. Here.” She handed him the glass just as he was getting up.

“Where are you going? I thought you felt sick?”

“I’m okay. I’m going to head to the park and hit a few balls with the boys, grab them all and bring them home for dinner in an hour. How’s that?”

“Fine. But come home if you don’t feel well. And tell them not to pound on the stairs when they come home—it sounds like a pack of animals stampeding!”