“Listen, baby, tonight when we get to the hotel I want you to call your dad.”
“Is he coming to Miami?”
“No, he has to stay in Chicago. Your dad is sick, Roy, he’s in the hospital. It’ll cheer him up if you call him there.”
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s got a problem with his stomach. I think he needs to have an operation.”
“I remember when I was in the hospital to have my tonsils out. You stayed in the room with me on a little bed.”
“You were such a good patient. After the surgery you opened your mouth to talk but you couldn’t. All you could do was whisper.”
“The nurse gave me ice cream.”
“Poor baby, when the doctor came in you asked him if he would do another operation and put your voice back in.”
“Is Dad scared?”
“Your dad doesn’t scare easily, honey. He’s a pretty tough guy.”
“The doctor said I was brave. I didn’t cry or anything.”
“You were great, Roy. I was the one who was frightened.”
“Can we stop at Mozo’s in Islamorada and get squid rings?”
“Sure. Oh, there’s a big sailboat, Roy. Look! She’s a real beauty.”
“It’s a ketch.”
“I never can tell the difference between a ketch and a yawl.”
“The mizzenmast is farther forward on a ketch, and the mizzen sail is larger than on a yawl. Uncle Jack taught me.”
“You know, I don’t think your dad has ever been on a boat in his life, except when he was a little boy and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean with his family from Europe to America.”
“How old was he?”
“About eight, I think.”
“Did they come on a sailboat?”
“No, baby, on a big ship with lots of people.”
“Why did they come?”
“To have a better life. After the big war, the first one, things were very bad where your dad’s family lived.”
“Were they poor?”
“I guess it was difficult to make a decent living. There were more opportunities over here. The United States was a young country and people from all over, not just Europe but Asia and Africa, too, felt they could build a new life for themselves. Everyone came to America this way, for work and religious reasons. They still do.”
“Were you already here when Dad came?”
“I wasn’t born yet. Your dad had been here for almost thirty years before we met.”
“Dad didn’t tell me he was sick.”
“He’ll pull through, Roy, don’t worry. We’ll call him as soon as we get to Miami. You’ll see, he’ll tell you he’s going to be all right.”
“I wish you and Dad were still married.”
“It’s better the way things are for your dad and me, baby. Some people just weren’t made to live with each other.”
“I won’t ever get married.”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Roy. Of course you’ll get married. You’ll have children and grandchildren and everything. You just have to find the right girl.”
“Weren’t you the right girl for Dad?”
“He thought I was. It’s not so easy to explain, honey. There were all kinds of reasons our marriage didn’t work. The best part of it was that we had you.”
“If Dad dies, I don’t want another one.”
“What do you mean, baby?”
“If you get married again, he won’t be my dad.”
“Look, Roy. Is that one a ketch or a yawl?”
“A yawl. It’s got two jibs.”
“We’ll be in Islamorada in five minutes. I’m ready for some squid rings myself.”