Did he marry me because I come from a rich Boston family? But Eric didn’t know how much, if any, money my father had. Did he marry me because I was a Wasp? Julie’s mother had married into money, but the man was a vulgarian. Nina remembered him at their wedding, taking out thick folds of cash and deliberately selecting large bills to tip the waiters. “Get a bottle of imported champagne,” he said, making the point that Tom had skimped on the liquor.
“The schmuck doesn’t know that less is classier,” Eric had said later about the incident.
“My father’s cheap,” Nina answered.
“No, he isn’t. He isn’t new money, that’s all,” Eric answered.
He hates his own people, Nina thought, watching Eric hunch his shoulders against Sadie’s attack. “Julie’s got such fancy doctors,” Sadie said, “she already knows the baby is a girl. Can you imagine that?”
“Everybody’s got that!” Aunt Rose answered. “Nothing to do with fancy doctors. They do that with everybody now.”
“You didn’t have that!” Sadie argued to Eric.
“That’s cause my wife isn’t over thirty-five,” Eric answered, laughing cruelly. “If it hadn’t taken Julie so long to find someone to marry her, she wouldn’t have needed amnio.”
“Eric,” Nina said to stop him. She knew he didn’t mean any of that. He just wanted to fight Sadie with like weapons.
“Julie’s very beautiful,” Sadie protested, with her peculiar logic.
“Especially with that nose he bought her,” Aunt Rose answered.
“That was years ago!” Sadie said. “She was a little girl.”
“Stop,” Hy croaked. He looked agitated. One paw had lifted from its cushioned rest. The bent fingers trembled. “Sadeleh,” he said to Sadie, in a tone of command. “You talk too much about money.”
“Hy,” she complained, tossing her head. “I’m talking about medicine, not money.”
“Don’t talk about medicine either. I’m sick of both money and doctors.”
He still has his brain. Nina worried for him. To be stuck in that broken body with a clear head must be awful. “How do you like where you stay, Hy?” Nina asked him, kneeling beside his contraption. The huge wheel came into her vision, reminding her of the paddle wheel on an old steamboat ride that ran the river Charles one summer.
“I don’t like it,” Hy said quietly.
“They take good care of you,” Sadie almost yelled at him.
Nina looked into Hy’s eyes. They were so old, the white almost yellow, but in their large, peering worry, open and curious, blue and fragile, they could be Luke’s. She wanted to cry. It was unfair. “I’m sorry. We’ll visit you,” she stammered.
“Too much trouble,” Hy said. “Your baby is beautiful.”
“Let’s get started,” Miriam said.
Uncle Bill leaned into Barry. “I hope you’re going to do the short version.”
“Is this the baby’s first Passover?” Sadie asked Nina. They almost bumped heads when Nina got to her feet.
“No, we were here last year.”
“Are you raising him Jewish?” Sadie went on. “Because Israel doesn’t think he is. They say it doesn’t count if it’s just the father.”
“They’re a government,” Hy said, his voice disintegrating, the sounds crackling like bad radio reception.
“The religion too, Hy,” Sadie said. “He may even have to convert.” Sadie peered at Nina. “You plan to have him bar mitzvahed, don’t you?”
The guests were in awkward positions, half out of their chairs, partially out in the hall, en route to the dining table. So Sadie’s equally awkward question, stiffening the group in their uncommitted postures, hung in the air, causing both physical and intellectual paralysis.
“He’s two years old,” Miriam said, and laughed. “Can we worry about this some other time?”
Sadie abruptly grabbed Nina by the elbow and pulled her down (Sadie was a very tiny woman) to kiss Nina’s cheek with a loud, wet smack. “Just a question, dear. I ask a lot of questions because I want to know everything.”
“Me too!” Luke said in his piercing voice.
Everyone turned to look at him, surprised by his existence.
Luke ducked his head in Eric’s chest and hid.
“WHICH ONE?” Daddy asked.
“Here.” Luke showed him, 6A, that was Byron’s apartment. “Don’t you know?”
“Daddy’s never been here,” Mommy said. “You visit here with Pearl when you have a play date with Byron. This is our first visit.”
Luke felt good. He knew more than Mommy and Daddy about something. “I’ll show you,” he said, and took Daddy’s hand. Luke pulled him to the door. “You push the button,” he told Daddy.
Daddy looked funny. His face was sad, no smile. Daddy looked at the door. Then at the button. Daddy pushed his pants legs down. “I’ve got to get these let out,” he said.
“Ring the bell,” Mommy told him.
“Yeah!” Luke told him. The hallway’s no fun.
He heard Byron. “Yah, yah, yah, it’s Luke. I’m here, Luke! I’m here!”
The door opened. Byron came right out, almost through the door. “I got Castle Grayskull!”
“Uh-oh,” Mommy said.
Castle Grayskull! Luke ran with Byron, past legs and books. There!
“See the trap,” Byron showed him. Skeletor fell right through!
“Daddy!” Luke called.
“No,” Byron said. “Don’t.”
“Daddy, look!” Daddy’s face came down from the ceiling, right next to him.
“So this is it, huh? Fantastic.” Daddy likes toys.
“See the trap?”
“Can you believe this horrible stuff,” a deep voice said. Luke leaned against Daddy and looked up. A smiling man was above him.
“Introduce your friend, Byron,” Byron’s mommy said.
“My daddy,” Byron said. He reached for Luke’s hand. “Let’s take Castle Grayskull to my room.”
Where are we? The hallway.
“And what’s your friend’s name?” Byron’s Mommy said.
“My name is Luke,” Luke told her. She forgot?
“You’re supposed to introduce him,” Byron’s Mommy said to Byron.
“Hello, Luke, I’m Peter,” said Byron’s daddy. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Let’s go to my room,” Byron said.
“Yes, take Grayskull to your room. Brunch will be ready soon.”
“Don’t wanna eat!” Byron said. “Right, Luke? We don’t want to eat.”
“Yeah, I’m not hungry,” Luke said.
“Of course, you have to eat,” Diane said.
Byron pulled Grayskull. The weapons rack fell off. The trapdoor went crazy. It was going to break. Luke wanted Byron to stop.
“Here, I’ll help you,” Daddy said to Byron.
“I can do it!” Byron said.
“Byron, that’s not polite,” his daddy said.
“Come on, Luke, we can carry it.”
But it was made of stone, Luke thought. He got himself strong, like He-Man. Put his hands on the wall. It was plastic! Like nothing. Like air to push.
Byron pulled too hard. It came in half. He was holding half, only half, it was broken, no, no—
“It’s okay! Don’t cry!” Byron’s mommy said.
What? “It comes apart, Luke,” Daddy said, and took the two pieces of Grayskull. There were things that — Daddy pushed it together. It was fixed.
Luke wiped his sore eyes. “I thought it was broken.”
“No! No!” Byron said. “Comes apart. See?” Byron showed him, pulling.
“Don’t!” Luke begged him. “Reattach it!”
“What did you say?” Byron’s daddy said.
Luke fought to say the long sound harder: “Reattach it!”
“My goodness. That’s a good word, Luke,” Byron’s daddy said.