Joe felt like a thief sneaking out of the house to meet Sam. He knew Anna would be upset that he was skipping school. She’d remind him how heart-broken Mama and Papa would be. She’d tell him how important it was to go to school and learn. But he’d only skip school for one day. One day to see what lay beyond Rivington and Delancey. One day to go somewhere special.
He wished he hadn’t told Anna about his new name last night. He knew she was determined to write Mama and Papa about returning to Russia and when he said, “Don’t call me Joseph anymore. Call me Joe,” she’d burst into tears.
“See how this terrible place has changed you?” she’d cried. “You speak English all the time and hardly any Yiddish. And now you want to change your name. Mama and Papa gave you the name Joseph and now you want to throw it away like an old hat. You are not the same Joseph who left home but a hoodlum who plays on the street with other hoodlums. Oh, how I hate this New York.”
“I’m not a hoodlum,” Joe had shouted back. “And I like New York!” Then he’d run to his room only to be greeted by a monstrous snore from the sleeping Mr. Plucknik.
Joe sat on his bed watching Mr. Plucknik’s enormous hairy chest rise and fall like a stormy ocean wave and for a minute, even Joe wished he was back with his parents in Russia.
But that was yesterday, Joe told himself. Today the sun warmed his face. Today there was no Mr. Pluck-nik or Anna to make him feel terrible. Today he was going to have a great adventure.
“Ready?” said Sam.
“Ready,” said Joe.
“Then let’s go!”
“But I have no money for tickets,” said Joe.
“You don’t need money. Just do as I do and move fast,” said Sam.
The boys walked past the crowds of people and pushcarts on Rivington Street to the el, the train that traveled above the street.
“Make yourself invisible,” whispered Sam. Joe followed Sam’s lead as he melted into the crush of people at the station. Soon they snuck on the train without paying.
“But why did we go downtown?” asked Joe, as they ran off the el.
“To get to the subway on Canal Street. Then from there it’s uptown to 59th street and the park. And here it is — The Subway!” Sam announced it, as if they’d reached the entrance to a new world.
And it was a new world. An under-ground world of wooden ticket booths, glistening tiles and graceful columns. But most of all it was a world where trains rumbled through dark, mysterious tunnels deep in the belly of the city.
“Remember, invisible!” whispered Sam as he led Joe into the thick of the crowd. And somehow, again, they squeezed onto the train without paying a cent.
As the train zoomed through the tunnels, Joe and Sam pressed their faces to the windows, trying to catch a glimpse of what lay on the tracks but it was too dark to see anything but shadows.
“Next stop, 59th street!” Sam sang like a conductor.
Joe’s heart raced with excitement. Uptown! Soon he’d see it. Soon he’d stroll around Uptown streets like a rich man. In America you could do that!
And Uptown was as wonderful as Joe imagined. Mansions lined wide streets. Men in dark suits and bowler hats hurried to work. Women in taffeta and velvet with large flowered hats strolled and shopped.
It was so different from Rivington Street. Here there was room to breathe. Here there was space to walk. And beyond each carved wooden door, Joseph pictured sumptuous breakfasts of fresh eggs, warm bread, hot coffee, rich cream, all being served in endless quantity.
Joe wished he could describe it to Anna, but he couldn’t, of course. He even wished he could tell Miss Williams, who always took time to compliment him on his improving English. But there was no way he could tell hereither. He already had to make up a story about missing school.
Still it was fun to be away from school. It was good to be away from the back wall at recess beside Avram. It was good not to face those boys who wouldn’t let him play.
But what was he going to do about tomorrow? Sam wanted to take him to Central Park tomorrow. “We’ll climb rocks like explorers and watch the skaters twirl on the lake. Central Park is like your woods behind the shtetl. You’ll love it,” Sam said.
Sam was right. Joe loved the woods. Until the day the Russian soldier had almost killed him, the woods had been his favorite place. He used to take a chunk of bread and sit on a log in the woods, imagining Anna’s hairy creatures hiding in the trees. He’d listen to birds and watch rabbits and squirrels scurrying around. He’d throw pebbles into the small brook and watch them dance across the water. Sometimes he’d even catch a small fish.
But from the day the soldier threatened him, Joe never went to the woods again. He only dreamed about it. And now he had a chance to explore New York woods in Central Park, all only a subway ride away.
He had to go there. At least once.
“I’ll be here on the stoop waiting in the morning,” said Sam.
Joe ran up the steps to his building. He could smell chicken soup in the hall and on the stairs. It was coming from their apartment. He hoped Aunt Sophie had made the soup with kreplach, meat and onions wrapped in dough. One thing for sure about Aunt Sophie, she could turn a little meat and onions into magic.
Hurrah! Aunt Sophie had made kreplach! “So how was school today?” asked Aunt Sophie, as she puttered in the kitchen. “How is your English? Are you listening to the teacher?”
“Everything’s fine,” said Joe. “And my English is getting better each day.”
“Good,” said Aunt Sophie. “Your parents would be happy to know you are working hard at school.” Then she yammered on about the price of chicken and beef and how much her feet hurt from so much walking to get the best prices. “If you don’t watch those butchers, they rob you blind,” she lamented.
Joe nodded. It was always about money.
“I’m totally worn out,” said Aunt Sophie. “I’m going to sleep early. Wash up, Joseph, and then get some sleep too. A growing boy like you needs rest.”
Joe went to his room. As usual, Mr. Plucknik was asleep early and, as usual, he was snoring like thunder. For a long time, Joe lay on his bed imagining Central Park. Then he heard the click of shoes on the floor. Anna was home. Suddenly, he heard glass shatter and then the sound of sobs coming from the kitchen.
Joe slipped out of bed. Anna was picking up broken shards of glass from the linoleum floor. Tears were dribbling down her cheeks and her face was red from crying. Joe leaned over to help.
“Thank you,” said Anna in a choked voice. “I don’t know how it happened. The cup just fell out of my hand. It’s been such a terrible day and now, on top of everything, I have to buy Aunt Sophie a new cup. I barely have enough money to pay our rent.”
“Maybe she’ll understand and not ask you to pay,” said Joe.
“Aunt Sophie?” Anna said sniffing. “You know how she is about money and I can’t blame her. It is so hard to have enough money to live in New York. But it’s more than that. My friend Lucy was fired today. The boss complained that she takes too long to finish her work. I tried to explain that Lucy takes care of her old grandmother and two young sisters. I tried to tell him that Lucy is a good worker but sometimes she is a little tired after helping her family. But the boss just gave me an angry stare and yelled at me to be quiet and not interfere in what I don’t know. Then he told Lucy to pack up and leave. Lucy grabbed my hand and whispered, “Thank you for trying to help,” and then she walked out.
“She’ll find another job. I heard they are always looking for workers,” said Joe.
“But all the bosses are the same in all the factories. I hate them. Today it’s Lucy. Tomorrow it could be me or someone else. They treat us like the slaves. When I helped Mama and Papa with their work, they treated me with respect. I miss them. I want to go back to Russia.”
“But Russia is full of Cossacks, Anna,” said Joe. “Remember what they did to our cousins? Remember what almost happened to me? And remember, Mama and Papa want to come to America too. ”
“It may take years for them to save enough money and meanwhile, I will be too tired and sick to care about anything. There is no hope for a future here.”
“But . . . but,” protested Joe.
“Go to sleep, Joseph,” Anna said. “It is no use to talk any more. I am too weary for words. Tomorrow it all starts again. The work. The bosses, the orders and this time I will be working without my dear friend, Lucy, by my side. You don’t know how much it helped to share a smile with her and now even that small pleasure is gone.”
Anna lifted herself wearily from the chair and stumbled into the dark room she shared with Aunt Sophie.
Back in his bed, Joe lay awake thinking.
“If I have to leave New York, I have to see Central Park before I go. I just have to.”
Then Joe fell asleep, dreaming of forests and tiny, magical creatures who lived in the heart of trees.