“She’s running late,” I say, leaning against the window frame, watching the sun go down.
“Doctors are always on standby, you know,” Jakub, says, walking into the room with plates in his hands. “I told Naomi you’d be here.”
“I appreciate your initiative, Jakub,” I smile. “But I don’t think a New York City doctor wants to spend her Friday evening with a New Jersey plumber. There are plenty of plumbers in the City for your daughter to go out with.”
“Don’t sell yourself short,” Jakub says, setting the table. “When I lived in Brooklyn, after the war, there was this plumber. He had fourteen vans and twenty men. He and his wife lived with two cats and a dog in the penthouse of a large brownstone, which he owned.”
“Well, my portfolio is rather transparent. I rent, own one van, and do everything myself.”
“My wife, Ruth, was a dentist. And I’m a shoemaker.” Jakub shrugs, looking up.
“Those were different times.” I gesture with my hand. “It was war, when you two met. People thought differently. Had different priorities.”
“And what are the priorities now?” He pauses, locking eyes.
“To be successful.” I nod. “Today people drive fast. And want to live fast.”
“You forget your greatest asset.”
“My pipe wrench?” I smile.
Jakub looks up again and doesn’t appreciate my joke. “Your character.” He points at me with a spoon. “You’re a good-hearted man. And that, you just cannot buy.”
“Trust me,” I say. “That doesn’t get you much these days.”
“Come,” Jakub says. “It’s time.”
I turn and see Jakub...
Subscribe now to keep reading
Please enter your email to log in or create a new account.