by Karen Quinn
To my surprise, Buck had made good on his million-dollar bribe. He was an anti-Semite and a traitor, but an anti-Semite and traitor of his word. The day after Greg and Dee Dee signed their contract with Harvard Day, $1,000,000 was deposited into my checking account. After taxes, I’d get to keep about half. I gave $100,000 to Shalom Day, $100,000 to School of the Basics, and $100,000 to a selfless New York City cabdriver’s school for girls in Doobher Kishanpur, India. The rest of the money would be used to support the family until I could get a new career off the ground. If I was lucky, there might be some left over for Kate and Skyler’s college. The money was dirty and I probably should have given it all away. But a girl can only be so good.
“Come on, just one bite,” I overheard Maria telling Bea. “I double dog dare ya.” Maria was trying to get Bea to eat some manner of mud and pebble pie. Sassy would have her hands full with that stepdaughter of hers.
“Ivy,” Tiny said as she tapped me on the shoulder. “I want to be the first to congratulate you. You got the part.”
“WHAT! You’re kidding! I’m gonna play Marvin? This is huge!” I gave Tiny a big hug.
Tiny laughed. “You’ll need an agent. Do you want me to recommend someone?”
“I need an agent? How cool is that! Yes. Definitely. Recommend someone.”
“I’ll call you tomorrow,” Tiny said, hightailing it over to her son. “Right now I have to break up a fight.” The kids appeared to be arguing over who got to push Jack Henry next.
Patsy came over looking all contrite. “Ivy, I heard what Stu did to you and I’m sorry. He’s such a jerk. No mean thing he does surprises me, but I feel bad that he tried to hurt you after what you did for us.”
“It’s okay, Patsy. It’s not your fault.”
“I hope none of your clients saw it.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m going out of business.”
“How can you do that? You’re the best. I’ve already recommended you to lots of people.”
“Thanks, Patsy, but I want to do something that suits me better.”
“Well, at least Veronica got the benefit of your advice,” she said. “And thanks to you, I left Stu.”
“Patsy, I’m not responsible for your marriage breaking up. That was your choice.”
“Yes, but you were my inspiration. You’re such a successful single woman. You’re always so confident. I want to be like you.”
“You want to be like me? I’m honored,” I said. I really meant that.
“Anyway, I’ve never been happier since I left Stu. And things are going to be even better now that he’s gone.”
“He’s gone?” I asked. “Where did he go?”
“It happened suddenly. Yesterday they gave him a big promotion at work. He’s gonna make a lot more money, which’ll be great for my divorce settlement. Apparently, his company wants to lease oil fields north of the Arctic Circle. Steven Lord himself handpicked Stu to negotiate drilling leases from Eskimos in the region. How could he say no? It was such a good opportunity. And it must be important, because Mr. Lord sent his personal jet to fly Stu up to the assignment. He’s stationed somewhere near the North Pole.”
“Well, I’ll be,” I said, glancing at Steven, who looked so innocent flipping hamburgers and smoking that big cigar. “Steven banished Stu to Siberia.”
“No, it’s technically Alaska. Siberia’s south of where he’ll be.”
“And he’s already gone?”
“He’s history,” she said.
“Well, good for us.” I laughed. “Good for all of us.”
Michael motioned for me to come inside. He opened a box and, lo and behold, there was a cinnamon-cheese coffee cake in the shape of Skyler’s initials. “Do you think she’ll like it?” he asked.
“I’m sure she will.”
“You know, I renamed this on our menu. It’s called Oprah Cake now.”
“Good name for it,” I said. I hadn’t had any of that coffee cake since overdosing on the twenty-five thousand units we baked for Oprah’s viewers. I’d never tell Michael, but the very thought of eating any more of it made me gag. I hoped no one else felt that way.
Michael lit the candles and everyone sang “Happy Birthday.” “I can’t believe it,” Skyler announced, “just ninety-one years until I’m a hundred.” Michael was helping Skyler cut the first piece. Then he sliced cake for everyone.
“Hey, Michael, when do you think my birthday special’s gonna be on TV?” Skyler asked.
Michael looked thoughtful. I watched him, curious to see how he’d respond.
“Ivy.”
I looked behind me. Philip was in the yard. He waved me over.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I have something for Skyler,” he said, handing me a small package.
“Well, thanks,” I said, taking it and walking away.
“Wait,” he said. “I want to apologize again. I never should have written that book. I feel terrible about it.” He looked at me with those bottomless blue eyes of his. I wished he wouldn’t do that.
“Sorry, Philip. Too little, too late.”
“Ivy, I know I was wrong, but you haven’t been so perfect yourself these past few months. Can’t you give me another chance?”
“I may have been dishonest, but I always told you the truth about my lies. You. You were dishonest and then you lied about it.”
“We were both wrong,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. I suppose Philip had a point. Did I really have the right to judge him, given the way I’d conducted myself in the last year? Maybe I should forgive him. It’s not like he slept with another woman. He made one stupid mistake. He was young. Was I being too hard on him? But no, how could I trust him again? He’s no different from Dad or Cadmon. Look at him standing there. So good-looking. Such a bright future. If I don’t hook up with him, some other girl will and I’ll be alone. Rabbi Jacobson did say that to forgive is divine. “Okay,” I said reluctantly. “We can try again, but let’s take it one day at a time.”
“Whatever you say, Ivy.” He reached down and pulled my face to his, kissing me softly, endlessly.
My jaw began to ache so I pulled away. I smiled. “Mmm, it’s nice to have you back again.”
“It’s nice to be back.”
“You know what we should do?” I said. “Let’s build a fire in the backyard and burn the book you wrote. It’ll be ceremonial, to symbolize our starting over. What do you think?”
Philip looked surprised. “You think I should burn the book?”
“Yeah. You said it was a mistake and you never should have written it.”
“Right. I shouldn’t have written it, but I did. And they paid me a lot for it. The publisher and studio would be furious if I didn’t deliver the manuscript, and rightly so. I’d have to give the money back. I might even get sued.”
“Philip, that book is an invasion of my privacy, not to mention my clients’. I don’t want my life made public like that.”
“If it’s the money, I’d consider giving you twenty percent of the advance.”
I smiled sadly and shook my head. “Philip, thank you. You’ve made this easy for me. I don’t want your advance. And I don’t want you.”
“Forty percent?” he called as I walked away.
I went over to the hydrangea bush in the back of the yard to compose myself. “Stupid, stupid, stupid,” I said, slapping my hand to my forehead. “What was I thinking? Aaaaaaaah.” I sat on the ground and put my head in my hands. Silently, I reflected on what had just happened, cursing myself for being so naïve. When will I ever learn? Am I just cursed when it comes to men?
“Mommy, are you okay?” I looked up. Kate was standing there.
“I’m fine, honey. Just give me a minute.”
“Mom, Sir Elton knocked the chopped liver bowl to the ground.”
I looked over at the picnic table. The dish was in the grass and liver was all over the ground. Sir Elton was gobbling it up as fast as he
could. “Sir Elton!” I shouted. “What are you doing? You know better.” I ran over to the mess and chased the dog away. I tossed the broken pieces of the bowl in the trash. Then I used paper towels to collect the chopped liver from the grass. What a shame. Michael had worked so hard to make this and now it was ruined. Where was Michael, anyway? I looked around the yard. He was gone.
“Faith, have you seen Michael?” I asked. She and Steven were sitting at the picnic table eating their Oprah Cake.
“He left when you started kissing Philip. Are you two together again?” Faith asked.
“No, we’re not.”
“I can’t keep up with her love life,” Steven said to Faith, like I wasn’t there.
Faith turned to me. “You know,” she said, “that Michael’s a doll. I spent a lot of time talking to him today. I think he could be the real deal. Did you know that?”
“I didn’t before, but I do now.”
I ran around the front of the building to the deli. The line snaked to the next block. I didn’t care. I pushed my way through a crowd of sailors at the front door. It was Fleet Week in New York City.
“Hey, lady, who do you think you are, the Queen of England? Stand in line like the rest of us.”
“Oh, I work here. The faster you let me in, the faster you’ll eat,” I said with a smile.
I walked inside. It was like Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Michael was behind the counter serving customers.
“Michael!” I shouted. He didn’t hear, so I waved my arms up and down and shouted his name again. Either he didn’t see me or he didn’t want to see me.
I had to get his attention. Climbing on top of a table, I shouted his name. He didn’t look up. I was desperate. I took a deep breath, then gave the performance of my life.
Why do birds suddenly appear
Every time . . . you are near?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you-oo-oo . . .
Whoa, what is it about that song? In a nanosecond, everyone shut up. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Faith, Steven, and my other party guests had all muscled their way into the deli.
“Michael.” He finally looked at me. “Can I talk to you in private?”
“Oh no,” a little voice said. “Anything you have to say to him, you can say in front of me.”
I looked down at an old lady with her ancient humpbacked husband sitting at the table on which I was standing. “Mrs. Goldofsky?”
“That’s right, girlie. You’re standing in my gefilte fish,” she said.
“I’m so sorry. Forgive me. I’ll buy you another. Can we have a gefilte-fish platter over here?”
The crowd was getting restless. “Lady, would you get on with it so the rest of us can eat?”
“Fine, I can do that.” I looked at Michael and took a deep breath. “Michael, you said you were falling in love with me the other day, remember?”
Michael nodded.
“Well, I didn’t know it then, but . . . I feel the same way. I was just too stupid to see it. And I’m wondering, no, I’m asking . . . would you give me another chance?”
“Don’t do it, Michael. She’s no damn good,” the grandma voice said.
“Mrs. Goldofsky, how can you say that? You hardly know me.”
“I know this. A nice girl doesn’t stand in someone else’s gefilte fish.”
“A nice girl doesn’t cut in line,” a sailor shouted.
“A nice girl doesn’t sing ‘Close to You’ when people are trying to eat,” someone added. “What was that about?”
“Stop it, all of you,” Patsy admonished. “Ivy is a nice girl, a fine human being. The next person who insults her will have me to answer to. Am I making myself clear?” Whoa, was that mousy Patsy? You go, sister girlfriend.
I looked at Michael and prayed he would give me a second chance.
He walked around the counter and came to me. Like a knight in a dirty white apron, he offered his hand to help me down. I had to be careful not to slip with all that gefilte fish on my shoe. Michael smiled and took me in his arms. We danced in the tiny patch of real estate the crowd was willing to part with. He whispered the song he’d sung to me that night at the Knickerbocker.
It had to be you
It had to be you
I wandered around and finally found
The somebody who . . .
Schmaltzy, corny, sappy, call it what you like. But don’t forget I’m the girl who sang the Captain and Tenille to George Clooney. A sucker for a love song, that’s who I am. There had to be a hundred people in that deli, but I only saw one. Michael looked into my eyes, smiled, and stroked my hair. Then he brought his lips to mine and kissed me. It felt very sweet.
“Would somebody bring me anotha plate of gefilte-fish salad before I pass out from hunga already?” I heard Mrs. Goldofsky shout.
“Could we get the line going again?” somebody else yelled.
“Yeah, we’re starved!”
“Get a room!”
Michael and I looked at each other and silently agreed to blow this joint. We turned to leave, but Mrs. Goldofsky grabbed Michael’s arm. “If this doesn’t work out, don’t forget my granddaughta. She’s a docta.”
“Thanks, but I don’t think so, Mrs. Goldofsky,” Michael said.
With friends and family, we returned to the backyard. We’d get a room soon enough. Now, it was time to celebrate Skyler’s birthday.
Yikes, emergency! I ran over to Kate and pulled her thumb out of her mouth. “Kate, stop sucking your thumb. You know what the dentist told you.”
“Can I scratch my tush instead?” she asked.
In the background, I heard Lia shouting, “Mommy, Mae’s pwaying doctow with Iwving.” I looked up and noticed Mae, stark naked, behind the new hydrangea bush.
“Everything’s under control,” Irving announced. “I’m a doctor.”
Both Ollie and Faith ran over to Mae to help her get her clothes back on.
I looked around the yard at my daughters, my friends, their children, Michael, and my dog, who was now chasing his tail. My world was just about perfect. Michael came over and put his arm around me. He pointed to his building. “You know, someday we could turn that into one big house. What do you think?”
“Michael, I don’t know what I’d do with such a big house. As you get to know me better, you’ll see my needs are simple.”
Michael smiled. Would I ever tire of those dimples? “Come on, Ivy, let’s go get some of that Oprah Cake,” he said.
So we did.