Charlotte skated effortlessly nearby, gliding across the ice like she was floating. Her cheeks were bright red from the cold, nearly matching her little gloves.
It was perfect.
If only Charlie had been with them.
The thought sent her off balance, inside and out. She wobbled, and once it started it was impossible to stop.
“Uh-oh.”
Simon held her tightly and brought them to a stop. But it was no use; her feet ran in place like a cartoon character until her toe caught in the ice and down she went. Simon held her up as best he could until her weight pulled him off balance he fell down next to her in a pile of arms and legs.
Simon managed to extricate himself. “Are you all right?”
Elizabeth nodded, laughing. “Are you?”
Simon joined her laughter and helped her up.
“Okay, Sonja Henie I am not.” She’d had enough. “Maybe I should just watch.”
Simon nodded and helped her off the ice.
“Stay where we can see you,” Simon called out to Charlotte who gave a little wave of acknowledgement as she circled yet again.
Glad to be on terra firma again, Elizabeth tottered over to a bench to undo her skates.
“Oy.”
Simon smiled, knelt down in front of her and began to undo her laces.
“So, what do you think?” she said.
“That you should avoid the Netherlands.”
She laughed. “Not that, although that’s true. I mean, about Charlie. What do you think happened to the bar? Why is he working the night shift at a meatpacking plant?”
Simon pulled her skate off and put it aside. “It is the Depression.”
Elizabeth sighed. “I know, but … it’s Charlie.”
Simon helped her off with her other skate and then sat down next to her.
“Not too far, Charlotte,” Elizabeth called out.
“I don’t know,” he confessed. “I suppose we’ll find out more tomorrow.”
Elizabeth nodded, lost in thought. They should have done more for him before they left eight years ago. Or followed-up sooner. Something.
Simon put his arm around her and pulled her toward his side. “We’ll figure it out, all right. Hmm?” he added leaning down just a bit to look into her eyes. “It’s what we do.”
As always, he said just the right thing. She kissed him and then rested her head on his shoulder as they watched Charlotte skate at Rockefeller Center under the glow of the Christmas lights.
Chapter Three
CHARLOTTE BOUNDED UP THE stairs inside Charlie’s building.
“Slow down,” Simon cautioned her.
Charlotte did as he asked and waited for them at the top of the stairs.
Elizabeth’s legs were sluggish as they took the last set of stairs. She was tired. She’d barely slept last night worrying about Charlie.
Ahead of her, Charlotte continued down the hall toward Charlie’s door. She’d almost reached it when one of the other doors in the hall opened and an older woman stepped out. She and Charlotte nearly collided.
“I’m sorry,” Charlotte apologized.
The woman smiled back at her, her eyes crinkling kindly. “That’s all right, dear.” She lifted the corner of the wax paper covering a plate of cookies she was carrying. “Would you like one?”
Charlotte looked back to her parents for permission.
“It’ll ruin your appetite, I’m afraid,” Simon said to Charlotte before looking at the woman to explain. “We’re about to go to lunch. Thank you for the kind offer though.”
The woman returned his smile, covering up the cookies.
“Why can she have one and we can’t?” a voice said.
The doorway to her apartment was still open and twin boys about five years old stood side-by-side, elbowing each other for a few more inches of room. They wore matching sweater vests and freckles.
“Because you’ve already had two. Each.”
“I didn’t,” one of the boys said. “It was Melvin.”
“George,” the older woman said patiently, “I saw you both eat them.”
Melvin stuck his tongue out at George, who wrinkled his nose in response. Melvin put his thumbs in his ears and made a donkey face. George gave him a raspberry.
“All right, that’s enough, boys,” the woman said and shooed the children back inside.
“Are they yours?” Simon asked.
Charlotte drifted toward the open door and peered inside.
The woman laughed. “Oh, dear me, no. I just keep an eye on them for their parents while they’re at work.”
Elizabeth saw that there were at least two more young children inside, a girl about Charlotte’s age and a younger girl playing with blocks by the Christmas tree.
“That’s very kind of you.”
She smiled. “We all have to help however we can these days, don’t we? Better together and all that.”
“Your place smells like Christmas,” Charlotte said, nodding toward the apartment.
The woman leaned down to whisper conspiratorially. “The secret is cinnamon.”
Looking up she noticed that they were heading toward Charlie’s place.
“Are you friends of Charlie’s?”
Simon nodded. “Yes.”
She smiled brightly. “I’m so glad.” She stepped a little closer and lowered her voice. “Between you and me, I’ve been worried about him. He’s just not himself these days. Doesn’t have anyone over. Not even my cookies do the trick anymore.”
“Do you know why?” Elizabeth asked. “We haven’t seen him in a long time and …”
The woman shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t. He’s private about those sorts of things. But he is a good man. Last year when the heating in my apartment broke he moved heaven and earth to get it fixed. Wouldn’t let me repay him. There aren’t enough cookies in the world to repay some kindnesses.”
Elizabeth nodded. That was the truth. They had to help him. But she knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Charlie was private. Getting him to open up would be hard enough and with Charlotte along it would be nearly impossible. They couldn’t exactly leave her alone at the hotel while they took Charlie out, but now…
Elizabeth took off her gloves. “By the way, my name is Elizabeth. This is my husband, Simon, and our daughter Charlotte.”
“I’m Marion. Marion Blomster. Nice to meet you.”
Simon glanced at his watch. “Well, we should be going.”
“About that,” Elizabeth said turning to Mrs. Blomster. “We’re taking Charlie to lunch.”
She turned back to Simon. “I have an idea.”
~~~
Snow framed the neon sign above Katz’s Delicatessen. Elizabeth thought it looked familiar as they went inside and, as they were seated at a table, she realized why. Even though neither Harry nor Sally was around the thought made her smile.
“I missed that,” Charlie said.
“What?”
“Your smile,” he said, then suddenly seemed to feel uncomfortable at his honesty.
Elizabeth reached across the tabletop and covered his hand briefly. “That goes both ways.”
His face flushed and he looked a little embarrassed so she let it go.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought about you over the years.”
His eyes were misty but he fought it. “Lotta years.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Naw.” He waved one of his big hands at her. “Nothin’ to be sorry for. You had a life to live and looks like you two done okay.”
There wasn’t any jealousy or judgment in his words, just happiness for them and a bit of pride.
Simon looked at Elizabeth with affection. “We have.” He turned back to Charlie. “And we owe you a great deal for that.”
Charlie waved off the credit. “I was just around.”
“You were more than that,” Elizabeth said.
Charlie looked as if he didn’t know how to respond t
o that and took refuge in his menu instead. “The … um … corned beef’s good.”
Elizabeth and Simon shared a look. Even without Charlotte around this wasn’t going to be easy. At least they knew she was safe with Mrs. Blomster.
“So,” Simon said, making a point of studying his menu. “The corned beef?”
“Or the knish. But if you want the best you gotta go to Yonah Schimmel. It’s not far if you’d rather go there.”
“This is fine.”
Charlie nodded and focused on his menu again.
The awkward silence that often follows when friends haven’t seen each other in many years sat with them until they ordered. Once that was done, Elizabeth got to work. Charlie didn’t seem as though he was going to volunteer much. That meant a direct approach might be in order.
“We stopped by the bar.”
Charlie looked surprised and then chagrinned. “Yeah. Well, things change, right?”
“What happened? I thought with King out of the way …”
King Kashian, the local mobster, had had Charlie’s place under his thumb. But after King was killed in an explosion, Elizabeth figured Charlie would be free.
“Yeah, me, too. But … I shoulda known. One steps out, another steps in.”
“Nature abhors a vacuum,” Simon said and then in response to Charlie’s confused look, “King’s loss was someone else’s opportunity.”
“Right.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t even think of that,” Elizabeth confessed. Charlie had gone from one master to another. “Did they force you to sell?”
Charlie laughed but there was no humor in it. “Somethin’ like that. The worst part was losing Dix. You remember Dix? It was all too much for her and she left. No hard feelings. It was the right thing for her. But …” He brushed some imaginary crumbs off the table. “Well, that was years ago now. Ancient history.”
“I’m sorry to hear about Dix, Charlie. And I’m sorry to hear about the bar. I know you loved that bar.”
Charlie’s eyes moistened at the memory of Charlie’s Blues in the Night. “Yeah. I did. I thought I might open a butcher shop over on Delancey but you know, it’s just not the right time.”
He saw what he clearly thought was pity in their eyes and quickly added, “But I do okay. You know, I’m lucky. I got a job. I can pay the rent. Times are still pretty tough out there and I ain’t no spring chicken.”
Simon nodded. Elizabeth knew he was feeling the same way she was—guilty. They had so much and owed Charlie for so much of it; there had to be something they could do.
“Don’t you worry about me,” Charlie said. “I’m good.”
It was a lie. But one she had to accept. For now.
~~~
Charlotte was bored. Immediately she could hear her father’s voice in her head; only boring people get bored; use your imagination.
Trudy and Em, the other two girls Mrs. Blomster was looking after, were taking a nap. Playing dolls had taken it all out of them. But Charlotte was wide awake. All she could think about was Charlie.
She knew adults had to do adult things sometimes but that didn’t mean that she liked it. She understood when her parents told her they needed to talk to Charlie alone and Mrs. Blomster was very nice. She’d given them lunch and snickerdoodles and now it was nap time. The girls were given the small corner bedroom and the boys the other. Trudy and Em curled up on the brass bed under a warm afghan and promptly fell asleep, but Charlotte wasn’t sleepy.
She moved over to look out of the window. It was a cold crisp day. The bright winter sun cut between the buildings. She cupped her hands and pressed them against the glass to cut down on the glare and see if there was anything worth seeing.
A man put a bag of trash into a tin garbage can and fought with a lid that didn’t want to fit. A woman took her small dog for a walk, but the cold wet pavement was too cold and wet for the little paws and so she carried him instead. A group of boys played on the corner.
There were three, no, four of them. Three of them were older than the fourth, or at least bigger. They seemed like they were just playing around but then she saw one of the bigger boys shove the smaller one. He stumbled back and one of the bigger boys grabbed him and pushed him up against the corner of the building. Hard. His cap fell off and Charlotte could see his face.
It was Henry.
“Hey!” Charlotte called out but they couldn’t hear her. Henry picked up his cap and put it back on.
Her cry, however, woke Trudy who lifted her sleepy head and rubbed her eyes. “What?”
“Go back to sleep.”
Trudy crawled out of the bed and joined Charlotte at the window. “What are you looking at?”
“Bullies,” Charlotte said as she watched the smaller boy try to fight off the other three. She hated bullies. There was a big boy in her class, Robert, who liked to pick on the smaller kids, including herself. That was, until she punched him right in the nose.
Her parents hadn’t been happy about that. She was grounded for a week, but she would have done it again. He was hurting people and that wasn’t okay.
And this wasn’t okay either. She glanced around the bedroom and saw her coat. She slipped it on.
“What are you doing?” Trudy asked.
Charlotte opened the window and poked her head outside. There was a fire escape. It was only one story down, but it sure looked far.
Trudy’s eyes went wide and she shivered at the cold.
Charlotte started to climb out but Trudy grabbed her arm. “You can’t.”
“Don’t tell on me. I’ll be back.”
Trudy looked at her in confusion.
Charlotte climbed back into the room and put some pillows under her designated blanket. “If Mrs. Blomster asks, I’m asleep, okay?”
Finally, Trudy’s eyes got bigger as she caught on, but she didn’t seem convinced this was a good idea.
“Please?” Charlotte asked.
Trudy thought about it for a moment then nodded. “Okay.”
“Thanks. I’ll be back.”
Charlotte clambered out of the window and onto the little fire escape. There was a metal ladder attached that hung just beneath the grating she stood on. She stared at it for a moment. How did she make it go down? Carefully, she put a foot on the top rung and felt it move a little. She held on to the railing and then tested it again. She put a little more weight on it and it moved a little more. Carefully, she stepped onto it and it smoothly lowered to the ground like the set of stairs to the attic at her house.
She hurried down it and jumped off the last step. As she did, the stairs rose up again.
That was going to make getting back in a little hard. But she didn’t have time to worry about that now. She turned away from the fire escape. Just as she did one of the bigger boys yanked off Henry’s cap. Henry looked surprised, then, faster than she thought anyone could, he threw a punch. It hit the bigger kid right on the chin and sent him stumbling away, dropping the hat as he did.
The other two boys didn’t like that, and neither did the main bully once he got over the shock. Henry picked up his cap, brushed it off, and put it back on. He raised his fists, ready to fight some more.
He was going to get to killed.
“Henry!” she cried out.
He and the other boys turned toward her.
She ran toward them. The oldest boy gave Henry one last shove.
“Don’t come around here anymore,” he said before they left.
Charlotte hurried over to Henry. She grabbed his arm but he shoved her away.
“I don’t need your help.”
She knew he did, one against three wasn’t fair, but she also knew people didn’t like needing other people sometimes. It was silly but people were that way sometimes.
“Who were those boys?”
Henry didn’t look too much worse for the wear.
“Nobody.”
Charlotte waited for a real answer.
Henry sighed. “Just
some kids.”
Charlotte patiently continued to wait, just watching him. It had the effect she wanted.
Henry frowned but answered her. “I was on their corner.”
“Corner?”
“Yeah, they work up by Union Square. It’s their spot but there was something I needed.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few penny candies.
“Candy? You got beat up for candy?”
He shrugged and put the candies back into his pocket. “I’ve been beat up for less.”
She just shook her head.
“Not all of us are rich like you,” he said.
She almost said she wasn’t but she knew she was. Her parents had told her how lucky they were. That they had enough money to buy the things they needed but not everyone did. Like Henry.
She felt guilty but she wasn’t sure why. She hadn’t done anything wrong.
Henry ducked his head and then looked at her. “Look, thanks for … but I gotta go.”
He started down the street. “Where are you going?”
“Home.”
Charlotte looked up at the window to Mrs. Blomster’s. She could be warm and safe and bored. Or …
“Can I come?”
Henry stopped and turned back, looking surprised. He shook his head. “You wouldn’t like it.”
“How do you know?”
He looked at her oddly.
“Is it far?” she asked.
He kept looking at her and then shook his head.
She could go just for a bit and be back before anyone knew she was missing.
“Well?” she asked.
Suddenly, he turned and started to walk away leaving Charlotte standing there watching him, her heart dropping. Then he turned and walked backwards, smiling at her as he did. “You comin’ or not?”
Charlotte grinned and hurried to catch up with him.
~~~
Lunch was pleasant enough; a few glimpses of the old Charlie shone through. Simon let Elizabeth take the lead in trying to dig out details, but it seemed clear enough to Simon what had happened. The Depression. They’d been foolish to think he’d somehow be immune to it. The whole world had been affected for almost a decade. One in four Americans were out of work and every sector strained to stay afloat. Between that and the end of Prohibition, Charlie faced an uphill battle. All things considered, he’d actually done well.
Christmas in New York Page 3
