Chapter Thirty-Seven

THIRTY-SEVEN

OCTOBER 1987

After he patched things up with Augusta, Irving headed for the pool. It was the day before Augusta’s birthday, and he still hadn’t decided on a gift. Ever since she’d invited him to dinner, Irving had been racking his brain. Now that he was almost out of time, he decided to ask Shirley for help.

“I can’t figure out what she’d like,” he said.

Shirley was in her usual spot at the pool, reading about celebrity skin care routines, when Irving started questioning her. She lowered her People magazine a few inches and peered at Irving from over the top. “What she’d like ? Well, for one thing, she’d like for you and Nathaniel to cut the crap.”

“Excuse me?”

“Haven’t you been at each other’s throats long enough? It makes it stressful for the rest of us, you know. If you want Augusta to have a nice birthday, you can start by patching things up with Nathaniel.”

“It’s not a bad idea. But it’s not exactly a gift, is it? Isn’t there something you think she needs?”

“She’s turning eighty years old, Irving. If there was something she needed, she’d have it by now.” Shirley gave him a disappointed look. “I don’t have time for this conversation and frankly, at your age, neither do you. You’re obviously crazy about her. So why don’t you do something about it?”

Irving scratched the place on his head where his hair used to be. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Shirley went back to her magazine. “You’re a grown man,” she said. “Figure it out.”

It wasn’t easy for him, but Irving pulled out his Rallentando Springs directory and called Nathaniel Birnbaum on the phone.

“Hello?”

“Nathaniel? It’s Irving Rivkin. Do me a favor and don’t hang up.”

“Irving? This is… unexpected.”

“You don’t have to tell me. I’m as surprised as you are. Look, I’m sorry about the barbecue. I didn’t mean to push you into the cheesecake. I’m not making excuses. I know I lost my temper. But I never intended for you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly fine. Although getting the Jell-O out of my ears was a lot harder than you might think.”

“Tell me about it,” Irving said. “Vera and I are over, by the way. Whatever we were to begin with… anyway, it’s all for the best.”

Nathaniel cleared his throat. “Since we’re on the subject of romance, I’d like to make it clear that I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Augusta. She and I are friends—nothing more. I don’t want you getting the wrong idea. In fact, I’m beginning to think I’m developing real feelings for someone else entirely.”

Irving smiled. “Let me guess. Shirley, right?”

Nathaniel sounded genuinely surprised. “I thought I was being discreet. Have I done something to give myself away?”

“You’re forgetting I knew you back when you were courting Evie. You had that same dreamy look in your eyes when you were talking to Shirley the other day.”

Nathaniel began to chuckle softly. “You really think so?”

“I do.”

“Irving, can I ask you a question? You’ve hated me from the very first day I moved here. I’d love to know why.”

Now it was Irving’s turn to laugh. “Come on, Nathaniel. Don’t tell me you don’t remember.”

“Remember what?”

At the start of the phone call, Irving had been pacing the floor. But now he came to an abrupt stop. “The night that you proposed to Evie? You don’t remember what I told you at the restaurant?”

“I swear to you, Irving, I have no idea. I remember stopping at a little speakeasy before dinner, and you somehow getting us a bottle of champagne. That was the first time I tasted champagne, and I must have gone a little overboard. To this day, I rarely drink it. Anyway, everything that happened after that has always been a bit of a blur.”

Irving could not believe what he was hearing. He’d been angry about that evening for so long that the rage had become a part of him. He could feel it sometimes, just below his skin, like a stinger from a bee that would not be drawn out. The poison had become a permanent reminder of the punishing twists and turns life could take. “I told you I was going to propose to Augusta. I told you I had the ring in my pocket. And then, before I had the chance to ask her, you led Evie out onto the dance floor and got down on one knee yourself! The whole place went crazy—everyone cheered. I couldn’t ask Augusta to marry me after that. After all that planning, I knew I had to wait.”

Irving swore he could hear Nathaniel thinking, trying to reconstruct the evening. “My god, I don’t remember any of that. I have no recollection of that conversation, I swear. If I had known… well, of course you must have been livid. As I said, I had too much to drink that night. It’s no excuse, but I must have been so drunk that I didn’t register whatever you told me.”

“I never took you for such a big drinker.”

“It’s funny—Augusta said the same thing.”

“What’s the last thing you remember? About that night, I mean.”

“Honestly? That flask you gave me. I thought it was filled with whiskey, but it must have been some kind of bootleg brew. Whatever was in it, I downed the whole thing. It went straight to my head.”

“You don’t remember leading Evie out on the dance floor? Or asking her to marry you?”

Nathaniel’s voice grew wistful. “I have memories, but sometimes I think they’re only the images Evie put in my head later. She described that moment to so many people—her parents, her brother, all our friends. After a while, her descriptions got lodged in my brain. But if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure I have any real memories of my own.”

“Jesus.”

“Irving, I’m so sorry that I ruined your proposal. I had no intention of doing any such thing. You must have thought I was a terrible friend. It’s no wonder you’ve been angry with me.”

Irving sighed into the receiver. “You weren’t a terrible friend. I should have handled it better. I should have talked to you about it afterward. Hell, I should have talked to Augusta. Instead, I gave up and left the building.”

“You know, Evie always talked about that later. How you just up and left the three of us. The next day, she was awfully annoyed with you. Of course, that was nothing compared to how ticked off she was later, after we all heard about Lois.”

Irving considered telling Nathaniel the full story then, considered confessing every detail of that awful night. But there had already been too many revelations, too many surprises for a single phone call. In the wake of his abandoned anger, Irving was suddenly exhausted.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Nathaniel continued, “what did happen after that night? I mean, now that I know you were planning on proposing to Augusta, I guess I have a lot of questions.”

But Irving couldn’t open that wound just yet. “You know what, Nathaniel? I’m glad we had this talk, but let’s save that story for another day.”

“Of course,” said Nathaniel. “We’ve got plenty of time. Hey—how about we go together to the dinner? No sense in both of us driving alone.”

“That’d be great,” Irving said. “I’m sure that would make Augusta happy. Actually, I was thinking maybe I could drop off some flowers with a card from both of us tomorrow. Just so she knows you and I are on good terms.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea. And Irving, thank you for the call. I really appreciate you taking the initiative.”

“Sure thing,” said Irving. “It’s been too many years. We’re both better off letting go of all that crap from the past. We don’t want to keep making the same mistakes, right?”