“I hope you enjoy it,” she managed to say. “It was on the bestseller list for most of last year and some of this year too—it’s called Hawaii.”
“Oh?” It was obvious he hadn’t heard of it, but it had given them something to talk about, for a few minutes, at least. “If you don’t like it, I’m sure Helen can return it for you.”
“No!” he insisted. “It’s gotta be terrific if it was on the bestseller list for that long! Geez. I’ll start it first thing tomorrow.”
“Good.” She paused. “Well, I should let you get some rest.” She got up from the chair, but before she could leave, Abe reached his hand out. “Wait!”
“Are you all right? Should I call the doctor?”
“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to say thanks for coming to see me. I know you’ve got a lot to do, so thanks for taking the time.”
It occurred to Rose that this might be the last time she would ever see Abe, and that thought, coupled with the vulnerability of his condition, compelled her to take his outstretched hand. In truth, she cared very little about what happened to him once she was gone, but a tiny part of her was glad for Mort that he had a brother like Abe to keep him company. There had never been a man with as little guile and as much forgiveness in him as Abe.
“You’re welcome.” She held his hand, just for an instant, before she let it fall.
Chapter 61
HELEN
Helen couldn’t believe it when she saw Rose leaving Abe’s room. What had she said to him? Of course, Rose must have been prepared for the possibility of the two of them running into each other. But Helen was flustered.
“What are you doing here? You didn’t say anything to him, did you?”
“Of course not. Mort asked me to come before I left. I’m going on a trip in a few days.”
“A trip?”
“My aunt Faye passed away. I’m going to Florida for a while to settle everything with her estate.”
“Faye? Oh no. She was a wonderful lady.”
“She was. Anyway, I’m leaving on Wednesday.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“A few weeks.” For as long as the two women had known each other, Helen could always tell when Rose was lying. There was something about the way Rose’s upper lip curved inward that gave it away. As much as Helen wanted to know the truth, she didn’t want to provoke an argument. The last time the two of them argued, Abe had almost died. Stop asking questions, she told herself.
“Have a nice trip.” Helen forced a noncommittal smile and made herself walk past Rose and down the hallway to Abe’s room. Her hand was already on the door handle when Rose called after her.
“Helen!”
Even from several feet away she could see that Rose was crying. It took all of her strength not to go to Rose to comfort her, all of her willpower to root her feet to the spot on the floor where she stood in front of Abe’s room. She tightened her grip on the door handle and waited for Rose to say something. Silently she counted to ten, promising herself that if Rose was still silent by the time she reached ten, she would open the door and go inside. When she reached eight, Rose spoke.
“I’m sorry. For all of it.”
Helen didn’t move an inch. She didn’t look at Rose. She couldn’t trust herself. She couldn’t even breathe. Rose spoke again.
“Goodbye, Helen.”
She watched Rose turn away from her then, watched her walk back toward the elevator that would carry her down to the first floor of the building. From there, Helen knew, Rose would walk out of the cold sterility of the hospital lobby into the warmth and brightness of the May sunshine. She would go back to her house and finish packing her things. In a few days Rose would board the airplane that would take her south, far away from Mort, from Natalie and from everyone else. Rose would leave every mistake and complication of her life behind, and when she disembarked in Florida, everything would be simple and new. Why, Helen wondered, would she ever want to come back?
Chapter 62
JUDITH
Rose was leaving the next day, and Judith was running out of time. She couldn’t speak with Aunt Helen, not with Uncle Abe in the hospital, and there was no one else to ask. She was the only one who suspected. Whether that made her particularly observant or particularly foolish, she would decide after she talked to her mother. Had she finally deciphered the truth, or was the whole idea ridiculous? She wouldn’t wait for her mother to return from Florida to find out. She would ask her today.
In the meantime, Judith decided to help Dinah finish packing for her trip to Florida. Judith couldn’t figure out why Rose was taking Dinah with her, but she was happy her sister was getting some attention. From a very young age, Judith had taken her place in the family as the most studious of the three sisters. Mimi, as everyone knew, was the beauty. Only Dinah remained undefined. For a few years she had occupied the role of the adorable baby of the family, but only until Teddy came along. After that, she had faded into the background, her personality hazy and her role in the family vague.
Judith found Dinah in her room, folding clothes into neat, square piles on her bed. Dinah had the smallest of the bedrooms, with faded yellow walls and white painted furniture. Other than a carefully arranged display of old dolls on the shelves in the corner, there was no clutter to be found.
Dinah was happy to have company. “You’ve never been on a plane, have you? I’m nervous.”
“No,” Judith shook her head, “but they’re completely safe.” She wanted to say something encouraging, something about how Dinah and their mother would have a wonderful time together, but she couldn’t make herself say those words, so she opted for simple truths. “It’s going to be so sunny in Florida!”
“Not too humid?”
“Not when you’re on the beach! And the food—I bet you’ll have stone crab claws.”
“Are they good?”
“Delicious. One of the girls on my hall is from Florida and all she talks about are the stone crab claws. Plus you get to stay in Faye’s house. I bet it’s fancy as anything. Remember her apartment in New York?”
“Of course!” Dinah was finally smiling, and Judith wished she hadn’t waited so long to make that kind of effort with her sister.
*
They were sitting at the kitchen table when Rose returned from the grocery store.
“Is it all right if I borrow the car for an hour?” Dinah wanted to know. “I need to pick up a few things at the drugstore. Want to come, Judith?”
“You go without me. I’ll see you when you get back.”
“Sure.” Dinah took the keys from Rose and headed out of the kitchen with her purse. A few minutes later Judith heard the click of the front door lock. She was alone with her mother.
Rose busied herself unpacking the groceries. She sprinkled a chicken with salt and garlic powder and put the roasting pan in the center of the oven. “There’s something I need to talk to you about,” Judith told her.
“It’ll have to wait. I have too much to do before I leave tomorrow. I have laundry and phone calls to take care of, and I’m just starting dinner.” Rose slammed the oven door shut.
“Then I’ll talk while you cook.” Judith’s tone was desperate, but Rose chose not to notice. She slid a pile of chopped broccoli into a casserole dish and poured a can of cream of mushroom soup over the top, all without looking up. “Fine.”
There was no easy way to introduce the topic, no smooth transition Judith could employ. “I have to ask you a question, but I don’t know how.…”
“You don’t know how to ask me a question?”
“I don’t have … the right words.”
“Isn’t that what you’ve been studying for all these years? Words?” Rose was exasperated. “I don’t have time for this nonsense. I have to start a load of laundry.”
Judith stopped her before she could leave the kitchen. “I heard you arguing with Aunt Helen,” she blurted out. “The night of the wedding.”