Rusty and Henry exchanged looks. Leah looked down at the box of twenty-four valentines on her lap, one from each child in her class. Miri couldn’t imagine why she’d thought the family would want to see them.
Irene raised her eyebrows and smiled at Ben without opening her lips. She untied the red ribbon and handed it to Miri, reminding her to roll it up and save it in the ribbon box. Then she took the top off the box, and peeked into the layers of tissue paper, finally pulling out a silky white robe covered with red poppies. She held it up for the family to see. “Is this beautiful or what?”
Ben Sapphire beamed.
“What a thoughtful gift,” Irene told him. “How did you know I needed a new robe?”
“Who doesn’t need a new robe?” Ben asked.
“Try it on, Nana,” Miri said.
“Now? Over my clothes?”
“Yes,” Miri said.
“Well…if you insist.” Irene pulled on the robe, which fit perfectly. She tied it around her waist, and paraded around the room like a model at a fashion show. “Ta dah!” she sang, stopping to give Ben a peck on the cheek. “Thank you, dear friend.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Ben told her.
Again, Miri caught the looks between Rusty and Henry.
“I saw a box just like that, with the same red ribbon, in Mom’s room,” Miri said. She didn’t know why she said it. She was just filling up what felt like an awkward moment. She didn’t want any awkward moments tonight. She wanted it to be perfect for Mason, though he hadn’t yet arrived.
“No, you saw that box,” Rusty said. “I hid it in my room so Nana wouldn’t see it.”
“Or are you suggesting Rusty has a secret admirer?” Miss Rheingold asked Miri.
“No,” Miri said. “I mean, how would I know?”
Rusty laughed. “You think there could be any secrets in this house?”
“She should only be so lucky,” Irene said. “Who wouldn’t want a secret admirer?”
“How about one who’s not so secret?” Ben Sapphire asked.
“Better yet,” Irene told him.
When the doorbell rang, Miri jumped up. “I’ll get it.”
She opened the door to find Mason holding a single red rose and a box of Barricini chocolates. She would not tell him that Leah had brought boxes of candy, gifts from the mothers of her students, or that Miss Rheingold had brought a box of chocolate-covered cherries, all stashed in the pantry. He handed her the rose. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He checked to make sure the coast was clear before he kissed her.
Fred was inside his jacket. “I had no place to leave him.”
“He can stay in my room.” Mason handed the dog to Miri and she ran up the stairs with him while Mason waited.
When she came down again she led Mason into Irene’s living room. “Mason brought me a red rose for Valentine’s Day.” She made a big thing out of running water into a bud vase, trimming the stem and placing it just so.
“And these are for you.” He handed Irene the box of chocolates.
“For me?” Irene said for the second time that night. Miri could tell she was pleased.
Miri introduced him to Miss Rheingold. “This is my friend Mason. This is Mom’s friend Naomi.”
“Miss Corsini,” Rusty corrected her.
“Please, call me Naomi,” Miss Rheingold told him. She held out her hand with her bright red nails and Mason shook it. “Pleased to meet you, Mason.”
“Same here,” he said.
“So, this is the boyfriend?” Miss Rheingold asked Rusty in a whisper loud enough for everyone to hear.
Miri shot Rusty a look. What business was it of Miss Rheingold’s?
“They’re just friends,” Rusty told Miss Rheingold.
But it was clear to Miri that Rusty had told her more.
“Friends are good,” Miss Rheingold said.
“I couldn’t agree more,” Ben Sapphire said. “Friends make all the difference.”
Miri stole a quick look at Mason, who was looking at the floor.
For a minute Miri’s thoughts went to Natalie. But she didn’t want to think about Natalie tonight or where or how she might be. She was glad when Irene called them to the table, where Henry proposed a toast to Mason, calling him a “true hero.”
“I’m proud to have a hero at my table,” Irene said.
“I’m not a hero,” Mason argued. “I didn’t even stop to think. I just did it.”
“You saved the stewardess’s life,” Henry told him. “She’ll never forget you. And neither will the others.”
Mason’s leg was jiggling under the table. Miri could feel it. He didn’t want to be the center of attention.
“What do you call this?” he asked, holding up a spoonful of soup.
“It’s soup,” Miri whispered.
“Yeah, but what kind?”
“Potato leek,” Irene said. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah, a lot.”
Later, in the middle of the brisket, kasha, and peas, Mason said, “You know, I’m almost sure one of my grandfathers was half-Jewish.”
Irene put down her fork and looked over at him. The others waited.