Sweeter Than W(h)ine

by Nancy Goldberg Levine

  “I can come back later to do my examination, folks,” he told her parents and Jay.

  “We’ll go get something to eat,” her mom said. “They might have some hot chocolate or donuts left in the library.” Dina knew that the Village had pastries, coffee, tea, hot chocolate and juice available for visitors and patients. They called the section of the library where they served the treats “Joe’s Coffee Shop.”

  Jay and her parents were about to leave when Dina introduced Jay to Rafe.

  “So you’re the famous Jay Galloway,” Rafe said. “I’ve heard a lot about you from Dina and her parents, plus your sister and my aunt.”

  “Your aunt?”

  Rafe nodded. “Marina Farber is my aunt.”

  “Oy vey!” Jay exclaimed. “My boss is your aunt?”

  “That’s right.” Dina watched as Jay and her parents walked out of the room. She saw a secretive smile cross Rafe’s lips as if he had just said, “Gotcha!” to Jay. She’d heard her friend talk about his boss, and all of her favorite expressions like “Jay, this is a place of business, damn it!” and “Now, Jay…”

  Her parents left with Jay, and Rafe started his examination.

  “I’m very happy that you’re getting up and around,” Rafe said. Dina sat still as he examined her, checking her lungs to see if she could get rid of the oxygen yet. Then he looked at her knee, and the incision. “You keep doing things like that. You’re not ready to get off of the oxygen yet, but you’re doing better.”

  “Okay,” Dina said. “I just got tired of lying in bed, so I decided to get up.”

  “That’s good,” Rafe said. “Keep it up and soon you’ll be out of here.” He reached into the pocket of his white lab coat, and she inhaled the fresh, woodsy scent of his cologne. It smelled expensive, and triggered memories, too, but it seemed like everything did since her operation. He handed her a large envelope. “I brought you a present. I know you missed Thanksgiving, and this always says Thanksgiving in Cincinnati for me.”

  She opened the envelope, and found drawings of turkeys from a contest the local paper had every year. They had a standard “turkey” picture and people got very creative with their designs. One of her friends had submitted a design one year, and the paper had printed it. “Looking at this is a tradition for me and my parents, too.” And Rob, she thought, trying not to cry.

  “I didn’t mean to make you sad,” Rafe said.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that my husband and I and my parents always spent Thanksgiving together and this year I almost didn’t live to…”

  “But you did live,” Rafe pointed out. “And you didn’t miss the special section of the paper with the turkey contest entries because I saved it.”

  She laughed. It felt so good to do that. “You’re right. Thank you so much. What I was going to say was that every Thanksgiving, we buy the paper and read it just to see the drawings and all the black Friday sales. I don’t usually go out on black Friday, but it’s kind of fun to look.”

  “I don’t go near the stores on black Friday,” Rafe said. “I usually have to work anyway. Keep up the good work, and maybe next time I’ll here, you’ll be off the oxygen.” He said “goodbye” and strode out of the room. After he left, Dina looked at the newspaper section and marveled that he’d saved it, and brought it to her.

  A few seconds later, Jay and her parents returned. “We’re ba-aaack,” Jay said, sitting back down on one of the chairs. Dina’s father sat in the recliner, and her mom seated herself on the edge of Dina’s bed.

  “I can’t believe the doc’s aunt is my boss,” Jay said. “I guess I’ll have to watch what I say from now on.”

  “Why don’t you tell me about your bad date instead,” Dina said, longing to hear more of Jay’s story.

  “Okay,” Jay said. “I’ve been out with this girl, Honey, a couple of times, y’know? When I dropped her off, she wanted me to call her as soon as I got home. When you called me, Dina, and she had to know who you were and what you wanted. Then she started e-mailing me. You know that I don’t check my e-mail very much, but when I took her out over the weekend, she wanted to know why I never wrote to her. I had to tell her I didn’t think things were gonna work out.”

  Dina knew that Jay was a very private person. He didn’t like people who were nosy. Still, she felt a little sorry for Honey. She was out here in the middle of nowhere when she should have been home, so she could relate. New Year’s Eve was coming, and she’d still be stuck here. Dina usually got depressed on New Year’s Eve, especially now that Rob was gone. “She’s probably lonely,” Dina said. “I hope you weren’t mean to her.”

  “Me?” Jay said, with merriment in his eyes. “You know that I could never be mean to anybody.”

  Dina and her mom laughed.

  “Don’t you guys have any confidence in me at all?”

  “No,” Dina said. “But we love you anyway.”

  “Good,” Jay said. “At least she didn’t mind when I called her Honey because that’s her name.”

  Chapter Two

  The holidays passed in a blur, and finally, it was New Year’s Eve day. Dina had just found out that she probably wouldn’t have any visitors today. Her parents didn’t want to go out on New Year’s Eve even though she told them that the village had round the clock visiting hours. Jay couldn’t come to visit either. He’d been pretty busy during the holidays, and today was no exception. He also had a New Year’s Eve concert at The Point nightclub, in Clifton, tonight. Dina had bought tickets in advance, but she guessed they’d go to waste.

  “Good morning!” Dr. Farber said brightly, breezing into her room. He probably had plans for New Year’s Eve, too. He looked like the type of guy who would. He stepped away from the recliner, where Dina was seated, and looked into her eyes. “Why do you look so unhappy?”

  “My parents aren’t coming to visit. And neither is Jay…” She thought she heard the doctor make a soft sigh when she mentioned her friend’s name. What was up with that? “And I guess you have a date for tonight?”

  “Matter of fact, I don’t,” Dr. Farber said. “Are you asking me out?”

  “Sure. Fine.” Dina sent him a smile. It had been a long time since she’d flirted with anyone; she’d never actually been very good at it. He was teasing her, and trying very hard to make her laugh, so she played along. “Hope you don’t mind picking me up at my place. Here.”

  “I’ll be here before eight,” he said, his dark eyes twinkling. “People around these parts usually make New Year’s Eve an early night.”

  “Don’t forget your AARP card,” Dina said.

  “I won’t. I hope I remember to put my teeth in, though.”

  Dina laughed. So the doctor had a sense of humor after all. He just didn’t like one of her dearest friends. “And I’ll bring my walker and wheelchair. I’m getting pretty good with the walker. I can get to the bathroom by myself.” She never thought something so simple would be such a big deal, but it was. “And we can drink a toast to the next year. I’ll take a pain pill, and you can drink sparkling grape juice.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  “You don’t really have to visit, Dr. Far…”

  “If you’re going to be my date for the evening,” he said, in the mock-scolding tone he’d used when he’d called her “young lady” the other day. “you’ll have to call me Rafe.”

  “Okay, Dr…I mean…Rafe. If you’ll stop calling me ‘young lady,’ and call me Dina. My real name’s Adina, but most everyone calls me Dina. And I think I’ll call you Doc. Just so people won’t get the wrong idea, y’know?”

  His smile grew wider, and his eyes sparkled. His eyes were so expressive and such a rich shade of brown. Dina scolded herself a second later. She had no right to be thinking about the Wellstone Village doctor’s eyes, for crying out loud.

  “No, we can’t have people getting the wrong idea. I like the name Doc. It makes me think of baseball, which I do a lot these days. I miss it.”

  “Me, too,�
�� Dina said. “But it’s only a couple more months ’til spring training.”

  “We’ll celebrate that tonight, too,” he said. “I’m going to see my next patient and then I’ll see you later.”

  “Okay,” Dina said, with a laugh. “Party on!”

  ***

  “Please, Rafe,” he heard the voice of his sister-in-law, Merissa, come across his cell. She’d called during his lunch break to wish him a happy new year and to beg him to come to his niece’s unveiling next year. “Gracie’s unveiling is next month, and Adam and I want you to be there. We’re coming to Cincinnati. I know you still miss her. We all do, but…”

  “Fine,” Rafe said. “I’ll come to the unveiling. We can even have lunch afterward at my house. I just don’t know why you and Adam had to…” He stopped himself. He wasn’t getting into a confrontation with his sister-in-law, or his brother. He knew they’d left town because if they had stayed, Adam would most likely have lost his job as a reporter for daily paper. Rafe had loved his niece, Gracie, but when the teenager had died of leukemia at the age of fourteen, he hadn’t been able to understand.

  He tried to block out the unpleasantness of dealing with his Uncle Moe’s death, as well as Gracie’s, by surrounding himself with his favorite things like chestnut sauce over vanilla ice cream as well as good music and season tickets to the Reds home games. He sought out people who made him laugh, which was why he found Dina Edelman’s job as a grief counselor depressing. Yet he had a “date” with her for New Year’s Eve. She had possibilities.

  Now his sister-in-law was calling and wanting him to come to Gracie’s unveiling. Reality hit him in the face, and he couldn’t find one thing funny about her phone call.

  “Never mind. I’ll see you next month if I don’t talk to you sooner.”

  “Great!” Merissa said. “Oh, Rafe, I’m so happy you’ll be there. Gracie loved you so much. By the way, Adam and I might have some good news for you when we get to Cincinnati.”

  The only good news that would make him happy would be to find out his niece wasn’t really dead. Of course, things like that only happened on soap operas or in movies. This was real life; Gracie wasn’t coming back. “I loved her, too,” Rafe said. “I’m anxious to hear your good news. I’d better get going. I’ve got a date later and…”

  Merissa’s cheerful tone made him want to get off the phone. “You’ve got a date for New Year’s Eve? Are you serious? Did you meet her at the singles dinner thing you organized? What’s she like? I’m so glad you’re socializing again! I thought I was going to have to nominate you to be on that show where the guy meets different women, and picks one to be his wife.”

  Oh, no. Now she’d want to start a whole conversation about that. “It’s a good thing you didn’t,” Rafe said, in a stern tone. “I would have refused to go on the show. It’s not really a date. I promised a patient I’d stop by later tonight and cheer her up since she’s not having any visitors today.”

  He could hear the disappointment in her “oh.” “But, Rafe, the patients at the nursing home are all senior citizens. Don’t tell me you’re falling for an old lady.”

  “You found me out,” Rafe said. “She’s terribly old, and uses a walker to get around. I think she’s around thirty-five, pretty close to the age of your decrepit brother-in-law.”

  “Don’t be silly, Rafe. I didn’t mean…oh, what-ever. Adam and I will see you next month. Happy New Year.”

  “Happy New Year to you,” Rafe said, taking a secret satisfaction in the fact that his teasing had gotten to Merissa. “and Adam. ’Bye.”

  ***

  “Bastardo’s Taxi,” Dina said, when her phone rang. Her aunt Florence had been trying to get in touch with her, although she’d never been close with her or her cousins. Aunt Florence kept them at arms’ length because she was wealthy. Her cousins had attended the prestigious private Ida Malloy Academy. Now she’d decided she wanted to be close, so Dina answered the phone funny to throw her off the track.

  “Hey, you! It’s Jay Bastardo.”

  “Hello, Jay Bastardo,” Dina said, brightening at the sound of her friend’s voice. “Happy New Year.”

  “Happy New Year. When do you think they’ll spring you from that place, honey?”

  “I don’t know, sugar,” Dina said. She teased him for calling her “honey,” but when she looked outside, she felt depressed. It was a gray, cloudy day, but she wanted to be out there, not sitting around in a skilled nursing facility. “I wish they’d spring me tonight so I could use those tickets I bought for your concert.”

  “I wish you could be there, too,” Jay said, sounding sincere.

  “I usually don’t do much for New Year’s Eve. Either I go to my mom and dad’s or they come to see me and stay overnight. Are you doing anything special after the concert?” She meant did he have a date and hoped that if he did, he’d have better luck than he’d had lately. She wanted all her friends to be happy.

  “Nope. I thought I’d give the girls a break and go stag tonight. What about you? It must be pretty exciting there in the nursing home, y’know?”

  Dina laughed. “You always know just the right thing to say. I have sort of a date with your boss’s nephew.”

  “So next time I see you you’ll be saying stuff like ‘Jay, this cannot go on?’”

  “Now Jay, I’d never say anything like that to you,” Dina said. “And I hope I’ll see you soon. It’s pretty lonely out here in the middle of nowhere.” She was far away from her home base. Wellstone Village was way out in the boonies in the town of Cliff Field.

  “I’m really busy because of the holidays, but maybe things will calm down and I can come out for another visit before you get to go home. I have a feeling it won’t be long.”

  “I hope you’re right. “ ’Bye, Jay, and Happy New Year.”

  “Happy New Year!”

  Dina ate her supper, a salmon patty, rice pilaf, broccoli and Jell-O cake for dessert, had a pain pill and waited for Rafe. He showed up at about six, with presents. Then he took them all out of a brown paper bag – eight presents. She thought of the Chanukah song, “Oh, Chanukah!” Instead of candles, there were eight presents. One for each night…they shed a sweet light… Every gift but one was small, and they were all meticulously wrapped.

  “Did you wrap these yourself?” she asked, positive that a guy would never have such nice presentation when it came to presents.

  She didn’t miss his sheepish grin and shrug of his broad shoulders. “Guilty. I got to be good at that when I wrapped presents for my niece…” He held back, as if wanting to say more, but not knowing how. Dina didn’t miss the catch in his voice. Something had happened to his niece and he didn’t want to talk about it.

  Message understood, she thought, slipping into grief counselor mode for a moment. “They look like you had them wrapped at Macy’s or something. I feel bad because I’m not exactly able to go out and buy you anything.”

  “That’s all right,” Rafe said, back to his teasing. “Money will be fine. Or a good bottle of wine, or some expensive chocolate.”

  “I’ll get right on it as soon as I’m out of here.”

  “Don’t you want to open your gifts?” Raphael asked.

  She sat in her wheelchair at the small round table and started tearing off the paper, with its pictures of dreidels and stars of David. She put the blue and white ribbons around her neck like an ID lanyard. The first gift she opened was a small, wooden dreidel.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Just the thing.” She wished they had candy or pennies there so they could play the childhood game where each Hebrew letter stood for putting candy in the pot, taking some out, putting in half, or getting the whole jackpot. She put the dreidel down on the table next to the small menorah her friend, Krysta, had given her. Raphael’s next gift was some wrapped chocolate coins, but not just any kind. They were big, thick round orbs of dark chocolate, the kind he must have gotten at a specialized candy store.

  “Thank you,�
� she said, savoring one as she bit into it. “I probably shouldn’t be eating this…”

  “You can make an exception just this once. Doctor’s orders.”

  “I like the way you think. At least you aren’t going to make me eat one, and throw the rest away.”

  “Someone did that to you?”

  “Yes,” Dina said. He looked so sympathetic that she couldn’t help sharing her tale of woe. “My neighbors came to the hospital to visit me almost every day. If they weren’t there in person, Bev always called. She asked me if there was anything I wanted while I was there and I knew there was a place in Hanover that has the best frozen custard. This was before I found out I was borderline diabetic.” She talked as she opened the third gift, a paperback novel by Babe Carter, one of her favorite authors. “Bev and Jim showed up one day with a huge serving of custard, peanut butter chocolate chip flavor if I remember.”

  “That sounds wonderful!” Rafe said.

  Dina could almost taste the custard as she sat there, recalling every bite of the sinful dessert. “The hospital dietician had come to see me a few minutes before Bev and Jim showed up. She was talking to me about testing my blood sugar, and different things I could eat because I wasn’t eating much. Everything tasted off, but oh, I wanted that custard.”

  Her gaze met Rafe’s; he looked as if he understood exactly what she was saying.

  “Bev and Jim handed it to me, but the dietician looked upset. ‘You can take five bites,’ she told me. ‘Then you have to throw the rest away. Eating that kind of concentrated sugar isn’t good for you, Dina. I’m sorry.’” She tried to add some dramatic flourish, like Jay did when he told a story. “I wanted to cry, but I savored every single bite. If I had known then that I was Type 2 diabetic, I would’ve asked Bev and Jim to bring me sugar free strawberry custard. They sell a sugar free one, y’know.”