It wasn’t always so, Emma thought, as she sat by the pool, rereading her daughter’s joyous letter. Lisa had been too fussy. No one could please her. It came to the point when Emma and her husband, Lou, decided they would have to do something. Time was running out. But before they got around to it, her brother Ted took a new lawyer into the firm and the rest is history.
You wouldn’t say it was a love match, exactly, between Lisa and Bill. They liked each other, for sure, and they were both looking. But develop, it did and very shortly after, they got married.
Emma never mentioned this to anyone, but when she was alone with her daughter on the day of the wedding, the two of them in the bride’s room, and just as the music was commencing, Lisa began to cry. Emma just sat quietly, holding her. In a few minutes Lisa recovered, fixed her face and it was done.
It so happened that everything turned out fine. Better than Emma had hoped. He was very good to her and they had three beautiful children. Now, the latest news was so exciting. They were buying a vacation home. She looked up from her letter.
“Oh, Harriet, I didn’t see you.”
She was someone Emma talked to now and then at the pool. A quiet person. From a small town in Ohio. What can you expect?
“Join me,” Emma said. “I haven’t seen you here in quite a while. You’ve been away?”
Harriet didn’t look too good. Those trips can tire you out.
“Trips can tire you; right?” Emma asked her.
“It wasn’t the trip,” Harriet said, with a heavy sigh.
Emma didn’t want to pry. Besides, she didn’t exactly welcome bad news right now, spoiling her mood of contentment and on such a beautiful day. The sun skimming over the water made tiny lights, like twinkling stars. She put the letter away. If the woman felt like she needed to tell somebody it might as well be her.
“My daughter is getting a divorce,” Harriet said.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“A necessity, like surgery.”
“What happened? If you don’t want to talk about it, it’s all right. I understand.”
“I do want to talk about it. It will make me feel better.”
Fortunately, the pool area wasn’t crowded today. And no one was sitting real close. Harriet had stuffed tissues in both pockets of her beach robe and immediately began wiping her eyes. Anyone noticing might think Harriet had a cold or an allergy.
“Sometimes he hit her. We didn’t know, naturally. We knew things weren’t that good, but my daughter said nothing. As I think back, there were some bruise marks, but she laughed them off.”
“Why did she stay with him?” Emma asked.
“The children. It was because of the children.” Harriet said, reaching for another tissue.
“Sometimes he could be so nice to her. Gifts, trips, breakfast in bed. Then he’d change back again. I guess she kept hoping things would get better in time.”
Emma recalled the early years of her Lisa’s marriage. The children came so fast. Then Lisa had health problems. But they worked it out. Marriage counselors. And the Rabbi was helpful, too. The main thing, though, was the couple. They both wanted it to succeed. Emma and her husband did what they could; taking the children for weekends so Lisa and Bill had time alone together. Eventually everything turned out lovely. Thank goodness.
“Not that it was a fast romance,” Harriet continued. “They went steady all four years while they were going to Ohio State.”
Why did the name, Ohio State, disturb her? It couldn’t be…
“What did you say her marriage name was?” Emma asked.
“Weintraub. And Stanley wrote to her almost every day when he went home summers. He came from Brooklyn.”
It felt like a blow. It can’t be true, she thought.
“Stanley Weintraub? From Brooklyn? A tall fellow? Very good looking? Red hair?”
“Yes, very good looking,” Harriet answered sadly.
“My daughter knew a Stanley Weintraub from Brooklyn. We lived there at one time. But, of course, it must be a common name.”
“His parents owned a bakery. Weintraub’s Bakery,” Harriet said.
Emma blanched. How could this be? It was him! The boyfriend. He broke Lisa’s heart.
“My daughter knew him,” Emma said, feeling controls slipping fast.
“I suppose that’s possible.”
“Possible!” Emma burst out. “It certainly was possible! I want you to know that he broke my daughter’s heart. When she got his letter, telling her he was marrying someone else, she almost died. She was ruined. Wouldn’t look at anyone for years. And it was your daughter who stole him from her!”
“I… we… she knew nothing of any other girlfriend.”
“That’s hard to believe,” Emma said, coldly.
There was a sudden, deep silence between them. She looked at Harriet, crushed and miserable. Emma’s anger began to slowly dissolve. How could she blame the woman for what happened? And didn’t it all turn out for the best?
Harriet was getting ready to leave.
“Stay, stay,” Emma said, reaching out toward her friend.
“It was foolish of me to get mad. I’m sorry. And so long ago it happened. Your daughter, she is well rid of such a person. You should be celebrating. We both should be celebrating.”
Emma moved her chair closer. Then lowering her voice, asked. “You say he would hit her?”
Florence Liberfarb writes poetry, short stories and plays. You may freely republish this story for non-commercial use provided you follow the Publisher Guidelines and provide a hyperlink (electronic media) to the Wordly Web Site. You may not alter the copyright notice or edit the content of this story. Please notify the author of your intent to republish. Commercial use of this story requires written permission and payment of a royalty.
Poolside by Florence Liberfarb
Copyright © 2005-2007 All Rights reserved
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Poems, Stories, and Plays byFlorence Liberfarb
