The Two-Family House

Rose took another sip. “I’m sure it’s very pretty,” she said.

“Sol, come say hello to Howard and Connie,” Arlene called. She had noticed another couple she wanted to greet, a tall blond pair, both wearing sunglasses like her own.

“Sure, sweetheart.” Sol patted Mort on the back. “Gotta go make nice with the new neighbors,” he whispered loudly. “Get something to eat, okay?”

“Thanks,” Mort said. As soon as Sol’s back was turned, he put his glass down on another waiter’s tray. “Ugh,” he said. “I can’t drink any more of that thing.”

“Really? I think it’s good,” said Rose.

“Suit yourself. I’m going to get some food.” Mort headed over to the long buffet table set out on one side of the terrace, and Rose decided to look for a bathroom. The powder room she found was as big as her bedroom, and the wallpaper was speckled with cream and gold. The windows looked out over the side yard, where most of the children had gathered, including Judith and Teddy. Rose watched them for a few minutes after she dried her hands. The older boys had brought their mitts and Harry and Joe were teaching Teddy how to throw a ball. Sam and George were helping, and Rose’s younger girls were practicing cartwheels in the grass. They seem to be having a good time.

Helen was waiting for the bathroom as Rose exited. “How funny!” Helen said when she saw her, “I was just wondering where you were! I saw Mort making himself a plate but I couldn’t find you out there!”

“Well, here I am,” Rose said.

“Good! I’ll just be a minute in here. Wait for me, and I’ll walk back out with you.” Helen shut the powder room door. As soon as it was closed, Rose walked outside and headed straight for the path by the woods.

Alone on the path she felt like a kid playing hooky from school. She wondered if anyone had seen where she had gone and decided it didn’t matter because no one had followed her. The farther along the path she walked, the more distant the sounds and voices from the party became. She passed at least a dozen blueberry bushes, just as Sol had promised, and she was almost certain there were raspberry bushes there as well. It was cooler than on the terrace, and the trees muted the sunlight so that her eyes no longer bothered her.

After a few minutes Rose came to the pond. It wasn’t much bigger than Sol’s swimming pool, but she spotted two frogs and a lizard on the rocks by the edge. She wondered if there were really any turtles in it, but the water was too murky to tell. A patch of bluebells grew haphazardly near the water, and Rose picked some before sitting herself on a stone bench that someone had placed under one of the trees. The smell of the flowers reminded her of the perfume her mother used to wear when she was little. What a peaceful spot this is. The silence was so soothing that she almost fell asleep.

Rose lost track of how long she had been sitting there on the bench. If someone had asked, she would have sworn it had only been five minutes, ten at the most. But then she heard the shouting.

At first Rose thought the children were playing a game. The voices were getting closer and she was annoyed because her private moment was ruined. But after a few more shouts, she realized it wasn’t a game. They were yelling her name. They were looking for her.

Isn’t this always the way, she thought. Just when I finally have a few minutes to myself—

“Rose! Are you back here? Rose? Rose!” It was Abe’s voice. He sounded upset. “I’m here,” she admitted. She spoke it out loud but too softly for anyone to hear. Helen probably sent him after me because I didn’t wait for her at the bathroom. Typical.

“Rose!”

“I’m here!” she yelled.

Abe appeared on the pathway, dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. When he saw her he froze. “Thank God,” he said, gasping for air. He leaned halfway over, hands gripping his bended knees for support. He started to cough, and the words sputtered out: “We couldn’t find you when it happened. We looked everywhere for you. They couldn’t wait anymore.” He stood up straight and wiped his forehead. “They left fifteen minutes ago. I told them I’d drive you there when we found you.”

When she stood, the bluebells in her lap fell to the ground. “What are you talking about? What happened? Where are we going?”

Abe took a few steps toward her. “Rose, I don’t want to scare you. Everything’s going to be fine, but we have to go to the hospital.”

“Is it Mort? Did he—”

“Mort’s fine, Rose. He’s fine. But we have to go now.”

“Then who?”

“Come on, we have to get out of here.” Abe tried to guide her back to the house, but Rose pushed him away. She screamed at him then, shattering the serenity of the spot she had so enjoyed. “I’m not leaving until you tell me!”

“It’s Teddy,” Abe whispered. “He had an accident. It’s Teddy.”





Chapter 26





HELEN


Helen was there when it happened. She had walked over to the side yard to check on the kids and saw her boys and at least half a dozen others starting an impromptu baseball game. Teddy was sitting with the younger kids and the girls, watching the bigger boys play. But he got bored with their hand-clapping games and wandered onto the makeshift infield just as Sam was hitting the ball. It smacked Teddy in the eye, and the little boy fell over, crying, from the impact.

Helen had seen her share of playground accidents—she knew enough to know that crying was a good sign. She would have been more concerned if Teddy had been quiet. She ran over to him, scooped him up off the grass and carried him, screaming, to the terrace to find Rose and Mort.

Rose was nowhere in sight, but Mort was there, sitting at a table next to Abe. Both men stood up when they saw her with Teddy. “What the hell happened?” Mort yelled, causing Teddy to cry even harder. People were turning their heads, and everyone was staring.

“It was an accident, Mort. He got hit in the head with a baseball.”

“What the—”

Abe stopped him. “Calm down, we don’t want to make him any more upset.”

“Shh. Shh.” Helen wiped Teddy’s tears. She laid him down on the closest lounge chair and tried to pry his hands away from his eye to get a look at it. A few of the women asked if they could help, and Arlene ran over with a dish towel wrapped around some ice cubes. Helen whispered to Teddy that she wanted to put the ice near his eye. “It will make it feel better,” she promised. The little boy moved his hands a few inches but continued to wail. Helen could see the skin around the eye starting to swell and blacken. Abe politely encouraged everyone to go back to their conversations and food and to give the little boy some air. Mort just stood by, scowling.

“Where’s Rose?” Helen asked him.

“She must be in the powder room.”

“I don’t think so—I saw her there only fifteen minutes ago. She wouldn’t have gone again so soon.”

“Well, maybe she’s still there.”

“No, she was gone when I came out.” She was supposed to wait for me, but she didn’t.

“I’ll go look for her,” Abe told them.

Judith ran over then to see how Teddy was. “Is he all right?” she asked Helen.

“I think he’ll be fine, honey. But we might want to bring him to the hospital just so they can check his eye and make sure his head is okay.”

“The hospital?” Judith’s eyes grew wide and started tearing.

“It’s not as serious as it—”

Mort interrupted, his face red and angry: “You were in charge, young lady,” he said to Judith. “If you had been watching your brother properly, this never would have—”

“Mort!” Helen glared at him. “I saw the whole thing. Teddy bolted onto the field. Judith couldn’t have stopped him. This isn’t anyone’s fault. It was an accident.”

Mort paced around the lounge chair, firing questions at Helen like artillery shells. She tried her best to answer them.

“Do you think it’s serious?”

“I think he’ll be fine. Harry got hit like this when he was little too. They’re boys—it happens.”

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