On Tuesdays, They Played Mah Jongg (14 page)

“You sweet devil. God, I love you, Sammy.”

“And, I love you, Doreen.”

They kissed.

Doreen asked Sammy to move back into their bedroom, and he agreed, suggesting they also go on a cruise. Doreen was thrilled at the idea of a cruise with her wonderful husband.

“That sea air makes me awfully horny. We could make love every night!” he told her.

Doreen said to herself, “I think I am getting seasick already.”

14

In late August, Rona and Morton threw their annual, end-of-summer cocktail party, so everyone finally got an invitation to Rona’s affair.

Their annual soiree was always the social event of the season — at least among this group of girls and many of the Sapperstein’s business associates as well. For this generation, it was a reason to wear their cocktail dresses, hostess pants, sport jackets and unfortunately for some, white shoes and white belts.

Rona would employ a few staff from Sapperstein’s Delicatessen, but that did not stop her from bringing out trays and restocking the buffet herself while picking up the occasional empty glass or serving hors d’oeuvres. Rona Kaplan Sapperstein worked in her parent’s kosher restaurant in downtown Newport News as a teenager before she moved to New York to pursue a modeling career in the 1940s. When she met Morton Sapperstein in New York, they decided to move back to Newport News and take over her parent’s delicatessen. That was when they changed the name from Kaplan’s Kosher Delicatessen to Sapperstein’s Delicatessen. Rona always had a strong work ethic, never hesitating to wait, bus, or even clean tables.

Wearing light brown slacks, a yellow, white and brown, diagonally striped blouse, and her amber necklace and matching earrings, Rona walked out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of sliced meats. Even with her orange hair, mouth full of teeth and bright pink lipstick, Rona with her tall, slim figure looked as if she stepped out of a fashion magazine. It was on occasions such as this that I could see how Rona worked as a model in her youth.

Holding a drink, Doreen followed Rona out of the kitchen. She was wearing her signature peach silk; this time it was an A-line dress with her pearl necklace and earrings. As a child of privilege, Doreen never worked a day in her life and seeing Rona carrying the tray perturbed her.

“Why are you paying the staff? Relax, entertain your guests, Rona,” Doreen implored her friend.

Ignoring Doreen’s comment, Rona asked, “Where in the hell is Arlene? William arrived an hour ago.”

William’s invitation was not a surprise since he and Morton were friends, and he was never late for a free meal. No sooner did Rona put the tray on the table did William have his fork in four slices of pastrami. Rona jumped back as if to imply he had shoved her out of the way. She looked over at Doreen and rolled her eyes and shifted them in William’s direction, and Doreen acknowledged Rona’s message with her own roll of the eyes.

Rona walked over to Doreen, who was now standing with Hannah, who was wearing black slacks and a black top with tiny red polka dots. Around her waist she had tied a long red scarf, and she was wearing her usual large red and black costume beads and matching earrings that looked a bit too much like fishing lures. Hannah always thought she was the most fashionably dressed woman in town, but she always wore large, cheap costume jewelry, which drew everyone’s attention away from her ensembles.

Hannah had arrived with Karl 45 minutes earlier, and she had been talking to Florence and some of the other guests before walking over to join Doreen and Rona. Karl had been standing by the bar talking to Morton and Sammy since he arrived.

Hannah asked the girls, “Who is bringing Arlene to the party? Is she driving herself?”

“Arlene still has not bought a car, so Alvin Diamond offered to pick her up,” Doreen informed them.

They each looked at each other with surprise. How scandalous of Arlene to show up with her divorce lawyer.

Florence, who was wearing a low-cut white cocktail dress with a light green leaf pattern that showed off her large bosom, and which had a cinched waist to accent her figure even more, walked over to Donald Green, who was standing in the sunroom. Donald was dressed rather conservatively, wearing a white suit and a leopard print dress shirt, which had only one button undone.

“So, whom are you seeing these days?” Florence asked Donald.

“A nice Jewish lawyer,” he answered.

~~~~~

Dr. Mikowsky stopped writing, took off his glasses and interrupted Michael. “Wait a minute, Michael,” he began, “I have two questions.”

“Go ahead, Doc,” Michael said.

“If you were so close to Florence, why did she not know about you and Donald, and was he dating someone else while you were …?”

“Doing him?” Michael finished the doctor’s sentence.

“Yes, that,” he said.

Michael said, “Well, a girl has to have some secrets.”

“That is true Michael, but you were very close to Florence,” the doctor reminded him.

“Dr. Mikowsky, it took me almost two months to tell you about Donald, and I would say you know more about me than anyone,” Michael told him.

“Touché,” the doctor said, “I should have seen that one coming. Continue.”

~~~~~

“So who are you seeing these days?” Florence asked Donald.

“A nice Jewish lawyer,” he answered.

“Your mother would be proud,” she said.

“She’s
kvelling
!” Donald exclaimed.

William decided to take a breather from the buffet and walked over to Sammy, Morton, and Karl, who were still standing at the bar. Sammy and Morton were enjoying a cigarette, and Karl was holding a Scotch in his hand. Even though Morton was told to quit smoking when he had his heart attack, he would still light up at social occasions. Usual pleasantries were shared among the men.

William announced, “Feld’s Department Store will be 75 years old in October.”

“Are you going to have an anniversary sale?” Karl asked while he leaned into William.

Sammy gave Karl a look of incredulity and said, “William? Mark down prices?”

Morton walked away from the men in search of Rona, spotting her talking to Hannah and Doreen. He pulled her away, whispered something in her ear, and they both looked over at the men. However, it looked as if they were paying extra attention to Karl.

That was when Arlene walked in. There is a way to make an entrance, and there is a way to make an entrance. She was standing in the foyer arm-in-arm with Alvin Diamond, and she was wearing white slacks and a white blouse, a blue and white scarf tied in an ascot and a navy blue blazer. She also wore her pearl necklace and earrings. Arlene looked like Thurston Howell III after a sex change.

She smiled and acknowledged a few people before William came running over to her and asked, “Arlene, what are you doing here with him?”

Before Arlene could answer, Alvin asked, “How are you tonight, William?”

Then Donald walked over to them and said, “William Feld?”

“Donald, you know my name,” William answered.

“Mazel Tov!” Donald said as he handed William an envelope.

“What is this?” William asked, taking the envelope.

“You are hereby served. You are being sued for divorce!” Donald said with a bit too much delight in his voice.

Arlene finally spoke when she said, “How is Mother Feld doing, dear?”

Without saying a word, William stormed out the front door, leaving the party.

~~~~~

“Did that really happen?” Dr. Mikowsky asked removing his glasses again.

“Not exactly like that, but I thought it would make for good theater,” Michael answered. “She did arrive with Alvin, and after a few words were exchanged, which no one heard except for Alvin and Donald, William did leave in a huff.”

“Why were Rona and Morton looking at Karl?” the doctor asked.

“You don’t want to ruin the suspense do you, Doc?” Michael asked.

“Continue,” he said with a smile.

~~~~~

Having done his civic duty, Donald walked over to the bar, where he met Karl for the first time, “Hi. We haven’t met yet. I am Donald Green.”

Still holding a drink in his hand, Karl looked at Donald and replied, “I’m not interested,” and walked away.

~~~~~

Dr. Mikowsky stopped writing, took off his glasses and looked up at Michael and asked, “Did that really happen?”

“Yes,” Michael replied.

“Do you want to comment on it?” the doctor asked.

“In due time,” Michael said.

“Continue,” he said as he put on his glasses again.

~~~~~

Later in the evening, most of the guests had left, and Rona, Morton, Doreen, Sammy, Florence, Arlene, Alvin, Hannah and Karl were sitting in the sunroom having one last drink and a cigarette, except for Karl, who did not smoke.

Rona and Morton appeared to be looking at Karl as if to be studying him, while everyone else was chatting away. Karl reached to place his drink on the table when he dropped the glass. Rona jumped up and immediately started cleaning it up as Hannah did the same, but Karl just laughed at them. Once the mess was taken care of, Rona was about to offer to get Karl another drink when Hannah looked right at Rona and shook her head no. The two women returned to their seats, and Arlene reached for a pastry.

“Arlene, why not take two pastries,” Karl said. “You aren’t fat enough, yet.”

Total shock engulfed the room. They could not believe what had just happened.

These people gossiped behind each other’s backs and joked in each other’s presence as well, but there was a line, and Karl had just crossed it. To point out Arlene’s weight and make a joke about it was just about the worst offense anyone in this crowd could commit.

Hannah, who was more embarrassed than anyone by the comment, stood up and announced that it might be best if she drove Karl home. He tried to stand, but he stumbled and fell back down on the couch. Morton and Sammy both stood up and assisted Karl, who insisted he would drive, but he was having enough trouble walking, so Sammy reached into his pocket and took Karl’s keys. Hannah followed the three men out to Sammy’s car.

Morton returned to the house and said that Sammy was driving Hannah home and would also take Karl to his apartment. They shook their heads, but no one said a word.

~~~~~

“Did Sammy get them home all right?” Dr. Mikowsky asked.

“Yes, he actually took Karl home first because he wanted to talk to my mother,” Michael answered.

“Were he and your mother close?” the doctor asked.

“My mother dated Sammy Weiner before he met Doreen, and Doreen dated my father, Adam Bern, before he met my mother,” Michael said. “Of course all of this happened before Doreen and Sammy’s parents arranged their marriage … or was it after? As I said before, I never quite understood the particulars of their marriage arrangement.”

Dr. Mikowsky asked, “What did he want to talk to your mother about?”

“I didn’t find out until months later,” Michael said. “Florence told me Sammy warned my mother about Karl. He told her she should quit seeing him and not even consider marrying him.”

“But I thought the girls were happy about Karl dating your mother?” the doctor asked.

“That was when they first met him, but he had a dark side, and it did not reveal itself until after they had been dating a few months,” Michael elaborated.

Dr. Mikowsky looked at his watch and realized the hour was up, but he wanted to ask one more question, “Michael, what was your impression of Karl at this point?”

“The first time I met him, I knew something was not right about him,” Michael replied, also looking at his watch. He stood up, pulled out his wallet, handed the doctor his check, said goodbye and left.

15

Arlene’s divorce case was not going well. By keeping everything in his name and transferring all liquid assets to his mother, William had managed to make it very difficult for Arlene to obtain any substantial financial settlement. On paper, there were the house, $500,000 in cash and Feld’s Department Store. The books indicated the store was operating in the red, but Alvin suspected William’s accountant of practicing shady math in order to discourage Arlene from suing for half the store. Arlene suggested they force William to sell the store and give her half the proceeds, but Alvin felt this would be difficult to achieve and draw out the divorce even longer.

Arlene was at her wit’s end. She wanted to beat herself up for allowing William to do this, but Alvin knew that Arlene was a dying breed — the naïve dutiful wife.

He did everything possible to lift her spirits, and he was surprised when she arrived at his office a week later and announced, “I am going to see
her
.”

Alvin advised her not to go alone.

The following Monday, Arlene, Doreen, Rona, Florence and Hannah piled into Doreen’s Champaign-colored Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham with the brown leather interior, matching padded vinyl roof, wide whitewall tires and spoke wheels and drove to Chesapeake Boulevard in the Wythe neighborhood in Newport News, Virginia.

They were going to pay Minna Feld a visit.

It was a wonder Doreen could see to drive with all the cigarette smoke in the car, but even she was chain smoking that day. Doreen pulled into the circular driveway, and the girls stared at the house, each with her own memories of when they first saw it.

Built in 1903, the Feld Mansion, as Rona always referred to it, was an imposing residence with its large, two-story portico and columns painted in dark red. The home’s exterior was deep brown brick. Arlene had not been to the house since she and William had separated, and she was growing more apprehensive as they exited the car.

The residual smoke poured out from the vehicle once the doors were opened.