Chapter 4

On Friday, Zoli left to go back to New York. All of us went in my father's car to see him off at the train station. My mother had baked up a lot of Hungarian pastries and some poppy seed and jelly cake for Zoli to take back to Eva, his wife. I was happy to have my own room back again.

Saturday morning, Bill came by to get me to go play some football at the park. It was the first time that he and Kate had seen each other since that Sunday dinner. Had it really only been six days before? I left him alone in the living room with Kate while I went back to my room to get different shoes and to put on some older pants. By the time I got back, Kate had this goofy grin on her face, and Bill was blushing furiously. We rode to the park on our bikes.

"What were you and Kate talking about, Bill?"

"Nothing much. I told her I was happy that she hadn't moved to Hungary. She asked me why. I told her because I liked her a lot and I'd miss seeing her if she was gone."

"Good answer. I guess that explains her grinning, and your blushing. You know that it's my father who put his foot down about you and Kate?" Bill nodded, seeming uncertain about where I was heading with this. "My father was upset mostly because of the fight that you and I had, plus he was mad about the problems that it caused between Kate and me."

"So?"

"So, if I went to him and told him that I would be responsible for Kate, he'd probably let me chaperon her to movies and things like that, even if he knew you were going to be there. I'd need you to promise me that you wouldn't do anything with Kate behind my back. Not even if she was the one who suggested it to you."

"I thought you were against Kate and I going out?"

"I was. Now that I can see that you really like her, maybe I feel a little better about it. Besides, I figured out your weakness when we were fighting, so I know I can kick your ass if the need comes up."

"Maybe if I caught leprosy and lost both of my hands, you could. Make that both of my hands and at least one of my feet."

"It must be nice to live in your world Bill. Of course, when reality shines it's light on it, all your silly beliefs have to run and seek the cover of darkness."

"What are you babbling about?"

"Your make believe world where you can beat me in a fight."

"There's an easy way to find out who's right."

"I'm not divulging my secret strategy until I really need to. It's something like Ingemar Johansson's 'Toonderbolt'. It would probably work just once, mostly because you wouldn't be looking for it."

In 1959, Johansson had stunned the boxing world by knocking out Floyd Patterson after knocking him down seven or eight times. The fight only lasted three rounds. Johansson claimed that he had seen a weakness in Patterson by watching films of his old fights. In the second fight, Patterson knocked Johansson out, beating him convincingly. Johansson referred to his sneaky right hand as his 'Thunderbolt'. I wasn't expecting Bill to buy into any of this.

"You fix things for Kate and me, Larry. I'll pretend to believe in your 'tooderbolt'." He stood up on his bike and raced to the park right after that. I pulled up to his bike about a minute later. It was laying in the grass and Bill was out on the field throwing the football around with several other guys. It was almost Thanksgiving, and the air was already turning cold. there's something about being young and healthy and running around watching your own breath as it hits the crispy cold air.

On the way back home, after the football, Bill told me that Eileen had broken up with Ken. He wondered, out loud, if I'd be interested in bringing Kate to a movie later that evening if he could bring Eileen for me. He must have been scheming on this idea ever since I talked to him on the ride over to the park three or four hours before.

"It will probably take me more time to get my father used to the idea of me taking responsibility to watch over Kate. I could probably find out this week if we could go to a matinee next Saturday. What makes you think that Eileen would go to a movie with me?"

"I don't know. I might be able to talk her into doing it, as a personal favor to me. Tonight would be perfect though, because she's already coming over and I'm supposed to keep her entertained anyway." I had no idea that Bill could be so persuasive. It felt like he was pushing me right in the direction he wanted me to go. It was less painful than a headlock though.

"My father won't be home until four. What time does the movie start?"

"Seven o'clock. It's a good one too. "Psycho". Greg Chaltin said he almost peed his pants when he saw it." I'd heard of the movie. It was an Alfred Hitchcock picture, and supposed to have this really scary scene in it. I wouldn't mind going to see it even without Eileen, I thought to myself. I always tried to have a back up plan.

"How about I talk to my dad as soon as he gets home and then give you a call? The worst that can happen is that he says no. I'm not going to try and snow him about you being there though, Bill, so don't even suggest it."

"Larry, I wasn't going to. I wouldn't like sneaking around anyway. It isn't any fun doing things that way. I'd much rather do it the right way." I remembered all of the conversations that Bill and I had over the years. Of all my friends, Bill was the one I would trust the most with my sister. I just wished that she was older and more level headed about things. I was more worried about her talking Bill into things than I was about Bill taking advantage of her.

When my father came in, a little after four, I let him get settled before I approached him with my idea. He was sitting in the kitchen when I started talking. I first explained about what I had been afraid of with Bill and Kate. Next, I told him about my observation that Bill really liked Kate, and that Bill wasn't someone who was out looking to take advantage of girls. Finally, I told him that I would act as chaperon, making sure that nothing improper occurred between them.

"Why are you telling me all of this, Larry? We just got done with it, and are hoping to put it all behind us. Now you want to start it up all over again? Why should we do that?"

"Pop, that's what I've been thinking about. Kate's mad at all of us now, because she thinks you're being too strict with her. You're being strict with her, mostly, because you're afraid that she's too young for boys. I think that too. I wouldn't want to see her get hurt, but I don't think she's going to wait until she gets to be fourteen years old either. I'd rather put her in a controlled situation where we could make sure that she's protected than have her sneaking off somewhere and rebelling against your authority. Remember how you always say you can catch more flys with honey than with vinegar?"

"This is your sister Larry, not some fly."

"Pop, do you want to spend the next year and a half trying to force Kate into doing something she doesn't want to do? I think mom was right in the first place, as long as we pay attention and watch out for Kate's welfare. If you give her a little taste of what she wants, she might settle for that. If you try to withhold everything from her, she might just make her own decisions about what she should and shouldn't be able to do."