IRA SADOFF
529
"He's ashamed of us," Evelyn whispers
to
Ross, and Ross pulls me
away from the front foyer by the back of my belt. "I'm ready," Benny
says to her. " Did you hear what happened in ZaIre? "
"No," Marion responds. "What happened?"
" I 'll tell you about it," Benny says, walking out the door, waving
to
us without looking behind him. His absence, as soon as the door is
shut, is almost like a hole in the wall. The ritual of dinner is rendered
meaningless.
Ross sits down on the couch, his hands behind his head, his legs
stretched out, lost in thought. Evelyn walks in and out of the kitchen ,
bringing in utensils and glasses. I try to make myself invisible, pick up
a copy of
The Harvard Law Review
off the cocktail table and try to read
an article about civi l liberties. But when Ross remains silent for a long
time, I try to draw him out. " Is it hard to believe he's already so grown–
up? "
Ross turns to face me, seems genuinely startled by my presence. He
puts his hand to his chin and starts to stroke it as though he had a
beard. A technique he might use on the witness stand. "Tell me,
Michael, why do you keep coming here?"
"Because Evelyn invited me to dinner."
"No, that 's not what I mean . I mean what's the attraction of it?
Evelyn seems
to
think you get something out of it. "
"Have I been interfering? The last thing I'd want to do is cause
trouble between you and Evelyn."
He laughs, and at that moment I'd like
to
knock his meditative
chin off his face . "No," he says, shaking his head, "that's not it at all.
Forget it."
"Oh no, Ross. You just don't drop a bomb like that and then say
'forget it. ' I want
to
know what you mean. I think it's something of an
accomplishment for Evelyn and me to be friends .... "
Evelyn enters from the kitchen, her hands encased in two red
potholders which says "His" and "Hers." "Dinner's ready," she says,
her timing perfect.
"Michael," Ross says, "you hardly ever speak to Evelyn. It's Benny
who brings you here: why don't you admit it?"
"What's to admit? You have a really nice son: you ought to be
proud of him. "
"That's just the point. He 's
my
son. You're the one who didn't
want kids , right?"
"What business is that of yours? That was between Evelyn and
me."
