“Tony, no … I don’t know.” She hesitated and then said, “Yes, I’d like you to show me your city.”
They walked at a steady pace, finding three of her steps kept stride to two of his. They sat on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and watched a mime working the crowd that was pouring from the closing museum.
“Lilly, what are your plans?”
“Next winter, I hope to have a job in the Caribbean. Saint Croix. I got this job offer through my friend from Thailand, the one who left five months ago. She’s a supervisor. I was going to stay in Thailand until September, but I was getting burned out on brutality and starvation. I felt so much anger toward the world, which is ignoring these people. I couldn’t face another monsoon season. I only went for a year, but they did not have a replacement for me so I stayed for another six months, then another two, but enough’s enough.
“My friend can’t hire me until September, so I was thinking of being a summer camp nurse, but that won’t start until June. Maybe I’ll get an apartment and a job in a hospital somewhere. I don’t know. EO thinks I’m too tired to make decisions. She wants me to get a job in Bronxville Hospital and a studio in Yonkers. But … I don’t know, it seems so … I’ve been there … after Thailand. I need something else.”
“I understand,” Tony said quietly, gently squeezing her shoulder.
The mime walked up to them since the rest of the crowd had dissipated. Tony gave him a little money, and they started to walk again.
“Tony, this weekend has helped. It really has,” Lilly squeaked, not looking at Tony.
“Me, too.”
They walked further in silence, but the silence united them. They left the park and walked downtown through the business district. Tony saw she was tiring and headed directly home.
“Lilly, do you still like Chinese food?”
“Sure.”
“Chinatown is only a few blocks from here. I’ll drop you home with the pack and then get us some.”
Lilly fell asleep on his sofa.
“Lil, I’m sorry I took so long. Oh.” He saw her on the sofa.
“Tony, I closed my eyes for a minute. That nap felt good. I was going to set the table.”
Lilly gathered the wine glasses from the night before and the coffee cups from earlier. She was suspicious of the cleanliness of his home but quickly dismissed the question.
Tony said, “I was hesitant about Chinese food after I left. I thought you might have eaten enough rice.”
“That’s very thoughtful, but this isn’t like anything I ate there. This is delicious.”
They gathered the dishes, and Lilly started washing. Tony went to the living room and turned on the TV, but returned to the kitchen.
“Lil, I have a pretty strange routine while preparing for the trail. I walk about five miles before work and between five and ten after work.”
“Rather arduous,” Lilly replied, thinking he was hinting for her to leave.
“The trail is arduous. You know a lot about it. Remember when we planned to do it? We got the books then.”
“I remember.”
“Come here. I have it all in the junk room.” Tony led her upstairs. “See all this.”
Lilly saw the series of maps lined up on the walls, comprising the trail.
“Tony this is great. You’re ignited by this.” Lilly located Springer Mountain and started following the trail. “You’ll be careful? The Smokies are supposed to be beautiful. That’s where the lean-tos have bear guard cages right? You’ll take lots of pictures and make a diary or journal?”
“You understand. Pops and Ma think I’m nuts. Frank humors me.”
“How about TJ?” She asked curiously.
“He says I won’t make it.”
“Why not?”
“He said I couldn’t go four months without getting laid.”
Lilly burst out laughing. “I’m sure you’ll meet some wild and willing mountain girls.”
“I’m counting on it,” he agreed.
Tony showed her his sleeping bag, stove, and cook unit and his pack. She lifted a list from the top of his pack and sat down reading it analytically.
He asked, “Do you see anything I missed?”
“Looks good. The thread will be white? In case you have to suture yourself?”
Tony dug out heavy grade white thread.
“Dental floss and an embroidery needle? Beside your teeth you might need to repair your pack.”
“I have the floss, but I’ll have to get a needle.” He accepted her input readily.
“How heavy will your pack be?”
“It will be fairly light, between thirty-five and forty pounds. Forty when filled with food, maybe a little heavier in New Hampshire and Maine since I’ll need warmer clothes.”
Tony unpacked the pack to reveal slender volumes. I’m going to bring a couple of books and paper to work on a premise for my business. I’ve been selling games on the side through this guy I knew from Stanford. They’re computer games I design. I have two left to sell, and I hope to make a small bundle on them. Then I’ll set up my own company.”
“Are you going to make small computers?”
“I can’t compete for that. There is too much exposure with that. I want to make security systems to protect information from being pilfered or tampered with.” Tony spoke slowly at first, then stood as he gathered momentum. “Lil, there are so many computer systems completely vulnerable. Security programs and systems will be a wide-open field.”
“That sounds really promising, and with your natural deal-making ability, someday I’ll see a reference to you in Newsweek and think, ‘I knew him when’. Will you start the business alone?”
“No. Remember Vincent Halibeg? From Brighton?”
“No, tell me a story.”
Tony thought for a minute. “Remember that party at Matt’s? The really wild party? Vincent was the guy at the kitchen table doing advanced calculus, trying to dispute the rings of Saturn. When Matt tried to shut him up by agreeing with him, Vincent got nuts. He went out to his car and got all these books he had stolen from the library to back up his argument.”
“Tony, he doesn’t sound too solid.” Lilly made a face.
“He was young and chemically motivated. He’s got the real computer brains.”
“An egghead with a slightly cracked shell.”
“Basically. You have a colorful way of putting it. Anyway that was Vincent Halibeg. He’s been in California working with microchips.”
“What are microchips?”
“They’re an integral part, where the information is stored. Vincent is brilliant, but he has no business acumen.”
“Enter the egghead with his shell intact,” Lilly teased. “Watch out Vincent Halib-egg. Here? Will you start here?” Lilly indicated the junk room.
“I hope in New York. Vincent wants to stay in California. That’s where the computer people are.”
“What do your parents think of this?”
“I’ve brought it up a few times, but they think it’s only a pipe dream, like this warehouse. They only saw it when it was empty and in disrepair. They have it in their minds that it’s still a dump.”
“Tony, it’s beautiful. You shouldn’t call it a warehouse anymore. It’s your home, your building. The company will be fine. They don’t know it, but they should be proud of you,”
Tony stopped pacing and sat with her. “Lilly, this may sound strange, but it’s important that you believe, even more than my parents.”
“Tony, you are an extraordinary person.” She stopped shy of telling him she loved him. Lilly jumped up. “Well it’s eight thirty. If you’re going to walk five miles before work, it must be near your bedtime.” She walked towards the door.
He caught her, “It is, so let’s go to bed.”
Lilly hesitated.
Tony kissed her face, lifting her to him. “Stay here again tonight. I’m a better bed partner than an old sofa cushion.”
&nb
sp; “You’re not as soft.”
“I thought you liked it hard.”
Lilly woke the next morning alone. She heard someone downstairs and assumed it was Tony. A middle-aged woman walked into the bedroom. Lilly pulled the blankets to herself.
The woman made a disapproving “humph” and walked out the door.
Lilly jumped out of bed and shut the door, gathered some clothing, and went into the bathroom. She showered quickly and brushed her teeth with Tony’s toothbrush, thinking it might be her last intimate encounter with him. She emerged from the bathroom to find the woman pulling the sheets off the bed. A vacuum stood beside her.
“Hello,” Lilly said softly.
“I clean Mr. della Robbia’s apartment every Monday and Friday. His dates are usually gone by the time I get here.”
“I must be an undiscriminating malingerer. I’m glad the other girls got out on time.” Lilly walked out.
The cleaning lady followed her to the living room. Lilly picked up the box and left. Tony called minutes later.
“Hello?” The cleaning woman’s voice surprised him.
“May I speak with Lilly?”
“She’s not here.”
“She left?”
“Yes.”
“Was she carrying a large box?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” Tony hung up.
He sat back at his desk. He wasn’t sure how he felt about Lilly’s reentrance into his world. He reflected on the horrible year she left. He had been shattered emotionally. He could remember Frank coming over to watch a baseball game before he moved to California.
Frank had said, “Don’t yell at me, I’m not Lilly.” It was a rare time when he almost hit his brother.
Tony thought about what his parents would say if they knew Lilly was back. He was sure her reception would be icy. He went back to work relieved she was gone.
His mind wandered again to the resignation in the top desk drawer. Sharing the same thought, Vincent Halibeg called.
“I found a deserted donut shop we could buy.”
Tony heard him out and nixed the idea. As they discussed the business end, Tony realized Vincent was indeed an egghead. He smiled as he hung up, and his mind went back to Lilly. She understood the warehouse and its attraction so close to the old neighborhood. She understood why he wanted to challenge himself with the trail. She believed a company was an attainable goal. She understood it all.
He felt the bond of friendship that had been so strong for most of their marriage. He saw how easily he could have her again. Then he thought, emotionally, he could have his best friend back.
Lilly caught the first bus she saw, hoping it would stop at Grand Central Station. It did, and she arrived at Eileen’s before noon. She left her box at the front door and walked to Bronxville Hospital to apply for a position. She was interviewed immediately, and she returned to Eileen’s, confident she could have a job.
Eileen was home and couldn’t resist teasing, “Lil, you’re back. You disappeared, consumed by passion maybe? I was going to accuse Tony of gobbling you up.”
“It’s good to know the juices still flow.” Lilly wasn’t offended; she had expected worse.
Eileen led Lilly to the kitchen. “Having a man see your scars wasn’t so bad?”
“Tony doesn’t qualify. He knows my scars. He saw them heal. He even kissed every one of them last night.”
Lilly watched Eileen frost a cake.
“Everett’s birthday.”
“Is everything ok?”
“He’s still a little miffed, but he’ll recover. I was hoping you’d come back. I have a doctor’s appointment at three. I could leave the kids with my mother, but I’d have to explain. I’m not ready to jump for joy about terminal fertility yet.”
“Sure, we’ll get along fine. This is throwing you for a loop isn’t it?”
“Lil, Jason won’t be two for months. Kara is five months. What do you think? I had a tubal, and I’m nursing. You’re supposed to be protected naturally while you’re nursing. Hell, I got pregnant with Kara while I was nursing Jason. My body is tired,” Eileen said angrily. “And Everett blames me.”
“Eileen, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what to say.”
“I’m sorry I snapped at you. Maybe Everett could get a third job, say, knocking over banks. I was supposed to go back to work June first, but with two babies and pregnant … It just depletes me too much.”
“Can I make dinner?” Lilly asked, searching for a way to lighten her friend’s load.
“That’s OK.”
“Eileen, I’d really appreciate it if you’d let me help.”
The two women smiled at each other.
Eileen asked, “Now, what’s your news? I’ve been bitching at you since you got here.”
“I think I have a job at Bronxville Hospital. They’ll call me here and let me know for sure.”
“I thought you didn’t want to work there.”
“Well, I have to work somewhere and do something. Do you have a Herald Statesman? I’m going to find an apartment tomorrow.”
“When you bounce back you always astound me.”
“Tony helped me. He understood. He … oh Eileen, I don’t think the way to get over him is to climb into his bed for a couple of days.”
“Aren’t you going to see him again?” EO was incredulous.
“I don’t think so. I think his lifestyle is a little looser, and he’s happy. I’ll always be special to him, but he doesn’t need me.”
Eileen looked at her quizzically. “I’m late, and I have to run, and I don’t have a urine specimen. There’s chicken in the fridge and potatoes under the counter. Everett will be home around four forty-five. Hopefully, I’ll be home long before then.”
Lilly checked the sleeping children. She sat in the kitchen scanning cookbooks for a recipe she could handle. She prepared the chicken and potatoes and refrigerated the dish to cook later. She then found the window-washing implements and started with the living room windows. Jason woke first. His babbling turned to howling when his mother didn’t respond. Lilly brought him to the living room. She decided that wasn’t working when Kara started crying too.
She picked out clean clothes for each and brought them to the bathroom where she ran a warm tub. They calmed and splashed. After dressing them, she returned to window washing as they played. She was on the last window when Everett arrived home.
“’Leen? ’Leen?” he called, searching the apartment and finding Lilly in the babies’ room.
“Eileen should be back soon. She’s at the doctor’s.”
“Oh hi, Lilly,” Everett said.
Lilly noticed the tulips he was carrying and wondered if she was going to be in the way of a romantic reconciliation.
“I think I have a job and a couple of prospects for an apartment. I’ll see tomorrow,” she said, assuring him she wasn’t a permanent fixture.
Everett smiled at her. “You don’t have to pay rent for the sofa by doing windows.”
“I know, but I want to do something for her.”
Eileen rushed in. “Ev? Lil? Oh hi. It smells good in here. Where are the babies?”
“Right there,” Lilly said, pointing to the children. Kara was on a blanket, and Jason was in a corner between a dresser and a wall.
“Oh, the dungeon. If they have the whole apartment to play in, Jason will still stay in those eighteen inches.” Eileen turned and saw the flowers Everett was carrying.
“Everett, they’re beautiful. Are they for me?” Her eyes filled as she scooped up Kara.
“Pregnant women are always so emotional,” Everett said to Lilly, not taking his eyes from Eileen.
Everett and Eileen walked to the kitchen, and Lilly hung back dawdling, rehanging the curtains.
As they were finishing dinner, Lilly asked Everett if he had to tend bar that night. Everett and Eileen exchanged guilty glances, and then Everett answered, “No, not until Wednesday.”
Lilly discoun
ted the exchange as something personal between them. Eileen brought out the birthday cake and presents. Everett unwrapped tee shirts and socks and a clipping from a sales circular.
Eileen said, “That’s a radio you could listen to at work. When I go back to work, I owe you that radio.”
Everett nodded. “I’ll listen to the picture for now.”
Lilly jumped up to do the dishes. “If you two want to take a walk or something, I’ll watch the kids.”
Everett said, “My parents are expecting us. If we left the grandchildren home, we wouldn’t be welcome.”
Eileen said, “We’ll leave you alone though, OK?”
“Fine,” Lilly replied.
The LaRoches prepared for their visit with madcap inefficiency. Jason unpacked the diapers and sleepers as quickly as Eileen filled the diaper bag. Going out the door, Kara burped half her dinner onto her clothing, further delaying the departure.
After they left, Lilly found a can of oven cleaner and started spraying the oven. She washed dishes while the cleaner set and then started on the oven. She worked quickly. The doorbell rang.
She opened the door to Tony, aware she was covered with oven slime.
“Hi,” Lilly mumbled. Then she explained, “Come on in. I’m cleaning the oven.”
“Oven cleaning? That’s an exciting way to spend the evening.”
“Don’t knock it. It can be spiritual if you inhale enough fumes,” she said, continuing to work on the oven, afraid to look at him.
“I guess. That stinks.”
“I met your cleaning lady. What a buzzard!”
“I’ve only spoken to her on the phone. I haven’t actually met her. It would be anti-climactic. Does she look like Hazel?”
“More like Edith Bunker.”
“See, you’re shattering my image,” Tony said in mock disappointment.
Lilly smiled at him, then quickly dropped her eyes to the oven. “I got a job today at Bronxville hospital.”
“Why?”
“Well, I have to do something.”
“But you don’t want to work there again. If you’ve decided to go to a hospital, why not Columbia Presbyterian or one of the other teaching hospitals?”
“Economy, really. Rent is so high in New York. As it is, I’m going to look at two studios here tomorrow, and after I pay security, I’ll be almost broke.”
A Yonkers Kinda Girl Page 33