THERE WAS THIS time the kids came over for dinner. No special occasion. It was just something we did every now and then. Joe made rigatoni and I baked an almond cake that was always one of Larry’s favorites. She didn’t bake, herself. Not that I’m blaming her for that. There are worse crimes. As we all know.
Anyway, they came over the house five o’clock, maybe five-thirty. Larry and Joey got a beer and went in the den to watch the end of the basketball game. She and I were in the kitchen. I mean with Janice off on the road with the Ice Capades it was like Suzanne was my own daughter. We’d talk about everything. If she was wondering should she cut her hair or something, she’d call me up. Did I think blue curtains would be nice in the bathroom? She’d sooner call me than her own mother.
We were having a glass of wine. There wasn’t much fixing to do for this dinner—just pour the dressing on the salad, that was it. So we were just sitting there at my cooking island, sipping our wine and talking. And I said to her, “Have you two given any thought to starting a family?” Their anniversary was coming up and all. They had this beautiful condominium, and he was doing so well down at the restaurant. They were really on their way.
“Oh,” she said, “I don’t know about that. It’s so complicated, you know.”
Well no, actually, I didn’t know it was so complicated. It always seemed pretty simple to me. You love someone. You get married. You have a family. “What do you mean ‘complicated’?” I said.
“With my job and all,” she told me. “In my field a woman with young kids has two strikes against her. Especially when she’s just starting out.”
I asked her what she meant. “Say you’re covering a big story like, maybe, Princess Stephanie’s getting married over in Monaco,” she says. I’m trying to act like I know who this Princess Stephanie is—which I don’t. “Right,” I say. “I’m with you so far.”
“So they have to send—in addition to the on-camera talent—a hairdresser and a wardrobe person, and a camera and sound crew. A satellite. You wouldn’t believe how many people it takes to put together a major network news remote broadcast.
“And what if the reporter has a baby? Does she leave it home? Maybe, but can you imagine how expensive it gets hiring that kind of round-the-clock help? Not to mention, who do you find that you can trust?
“Or say you bring the baby along. But then he gets chicken pox or something, and he’s throwing up all over the place. Maybe he even gives his mother chicken pox, and she’s got to go on camera in front of millions of people, with these chicken pox all over her face.
“Or maybe you haven’t had the baby yet. You’re just pregnant. And there’s all these people at the wedding, the jet set, in their designer dresses and everything, and you’re big as a house. Do you remember how Jane Pauley looked when she was covering the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana? It was gross.”
“Gross,” she said. I still remember that part.
“Well I don’t know,” I said. “I always loved how it was when I was expecting. I never felt so fulfilled.”
“But that’s not even the worst,” she says to me. “The worst is after the baby’s born, when you haven’t lost the weight yet. And you’ve got all this blubber and these boobs out to there, without even the excuse of being pregnant anymore.” Then she mentioned this other woman I never heard of, Christina Ferrari. I remember her name because it was the same as the car. Christina Ferrari used to be a cover girl, she said. In addition to hostessing some TV show. Don’t ask me what.
After that I didn’t know what to say.
“Larry and I really value our freedom to pursue our other interests,” she told me. “Couples that are tied down to kids can’t just up and take off for the weekend to go skiing or something.” But I knew she couldn’t be talking for my son when she said that part. Because you just knew Larry was dying to be a father.
“Well,” I said, “there’s a time and a place for everything.” And around then was when Joey came in saying whatever happened to dinner? We didn’t talk about it anymore, and I guess I just figured, she’s young, you know. She’ll come round.
After supper, I remember, we were looking through some of our old home movies. Joe had just brought all our old Super 8s in to have them transferred to video. Janice’s ice shows, and Larry in his first jv basketball game and so forth. There was this one of me giving Larry his bottle when he couldn’t have been more than six, eight months old. And Larry puts his arm around Suzanne and says, “Someday that’s going to be us, honey.” And she looks at him and says, “Listen. If you wanted a baby-sitter you should’ve married Mary Poppins.”