The Two-Family House(86)

There was no answer at eight-thirty, so Helen tried again at nine-thirty. On her third try, a few minutes before eleven, someone finally answered.

“Aunt Helen, it’s me, Johnny.”

“Johnny? What are you doing there?”

“I took Natalie out to dinner to celebrate finishing her thesis. She’s been working so hard, I wanted to do something nice for her.”

“Well, aren’t you thoughtful. Can you put the scholar on the phone, please?”

“Sure. Here she is. Good night, Aunt Helen.”

“Good night, dear.” There was some rustling and then Natalie was on the line.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Congratulations, honey!”

“Thanks.” Helen was expecting Natalie to sound happy, elated, even. Instead, she sounded nervous.

“Johnny’s leaving in a few minutes. He just took me out to dinner to celebrate.”

“That was so nice!”

“Listen, I’m not going to talk long. I want to say goodbye to Johnny, and I’m really tired, so…”

“I won’t keep you. I just wanted to say congratulations and I’ll see you this weekend. Are you still getting the three o’clock train Friday?”

“Yes, I’ll see you then.”

“All right, sweetheart. I’ll pick you up at the station.”

“Bye.”

Helen was baffled. Why had Natalie been so anxious to get off the phone? She should have been on cloud nine after finishing all that work, but all Helen heard was worry in her voice. What was going on?





Chapter 68





NATALIE


“You shouldn’t have answered the phone.”

“C’mon, Nat. I spoke to her for two seconds. Besides, it’s not like she thinks we never see each other.”

“Maybe, but now she’s going to be wondering why you were in my room at eleven o’clock!” Natalie was pacing now, from the door to the window that looked out over Claremont Avenue. In the tiny dorm room, it wasn’t more than a few feet. Johnny took her in his arms, holding her close and tight. Her breathing slowed and she began to relax.

“What are we going to do?” she whispered.

He answered her between kisses. “We. Are. Going. To. Get. Married.”

“What will we tell them?”

Johnny kissed her again, longer this time. “We’ll tell them I love you. We’ll tell them you love me.” He was tired of talking. His lips were on her neck, her shoulders, her mouth. His hands were in her hair, at her waist. She didn’t want him to stop, she didn’t want to think about anything but him. But she couldn’t help herself.

“Johnny?”

“Mmm?”

“I told Judith about us.”

“Good.” Unfazed, he pulled his shirt over his head.

“I’m going to tell my mother on Friday.” If he had been anyone else, she would have felt ridiculous bringing up her mother at that moment. But Johnny wasn’t just anyone. He was her confidant, her sweetheart, her truest friend. He understood the gravity of her words. The expression on her face, the tone of her voice, none of it escaped him. Putting passion on hold, he held her and spoke to her as gently as the moment required. “She’s going to understand,” he told her.

“How do you know?”

He spoke with the certainty she needed to hear. “Because she loves you as much as I do and she wants you to be happy.”





Chapter 69





HELEN


Natalie’s anxiety was palpable when Helen picked her up from the train. Helen tried to appear unconcerned, but the farther she drove, the harder it became to hold her tongue. By the time she pulled into the driveway, Helen was practically bursting. She turned off the engine, but before she opened the car door, she had to speak her mind.

“Natalie, what is it? Please, tell me what’s bothering you.”

When she had been very young, Natalie had cried no more or less than other children her age. But after she turned five, Helen could count on one hand the number of times she had seen Natalie break down. The first was when Teddy died, and the second was when Natalie was eleven and broke her elbow. The third was Mimi’s wedding, when Rose yelled at her in the hallway, and the last time was six months ago at Abe’s funeral. Natalie was an exceptionally composed young woman. So when she burst into tears in the car, Helen knew something was very wrong.

“Do you want to go into the house and talk?” Helen asked, but Natalie couldn’t answer. She shook her head back and forth, sobbing. It was a side of her Helen had never seen. What could make a girl like that, so strong, so sure of herself, cry like her heart was breaking? The moment she asked herself the question, of course, was the moment Helen had her answer. Natalie’s heart was breaking. Natalie was in love.

Through choked-back tears and weepy breaths, Natalie managed to express that she had something important to tell Helen and that she wanted to get it over with before getting out of the car. Helen could barely understand her, but she stayed put and rolled down the window for some fresh air. She handed Natalie some tissues from her purse and patted her hand. After fifteen minutes passed, Natalie was still unable to speak. By that time, Helen had already figured it out. Perhaps it was the confined space of the car’s interior that helped to focus her thoughts, or, more likely, somewhere inside, Helen already knew. Either way, the clues she had overlooked for years suddenly became obvious to her.