Chapter 4

Nina Novak was the older of two sisters, brought up in a modest home in the Bronx. Her mother, Ursola, and father, Janos, were the children of refugees from the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Their parents had escaped in the chaotic aftermath and had landed as legitimate refugees, first in Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, and finally settling in the City of New York.

The Hungarian community gathered together to share their experiences at the Magyar Neighborhood House. It was there that Janos first met Ursola, discovering they both went to the same school. They began dating when Ursola turned seventeen and finally got permission from her parents.

After graduating from high school, Janos signed on as an apprentice carpenter and found work at a local millwork shop. He supplemented his income with after-hours work in the neighborhood.

By 1964, he had saved enough for a down payment on a small house, and Janos asked Ursola to marry him. With their parents' permission, their life in America was now confirmed. Both daughters were born in that little house. First Nina, named in honor of the ship that discovered America and hence, in her mother's mind, their wonderful new lives. Magda came along two years later. Ursola and Janos had their perfect life.

Nina graduated from high school and after several frustrating weeks looking for work, finally went to a temporary placement agency. They tested and interviewed her thoroughly. Within a week, they found her a temporary job as a receptionist at a small law firm.

Nina had developed into an attractive, five-foot seven-inch, dark haired beauty. She had an aura of self-confidence about her and took to the receptionist's job instantly. She handled calls deftly and was unfailingly polite, even when the party on the other end of the line was angry or distraught.

The firm was so impressed with her that they offered her a permanent job and moved the existing receptionist into another office. At nineteen years old, Nina had found a career.

She had been working at the law firm for three years when she first noticed the tall, handsome young man who frequented the same elevator at the same time each morning. She didn't know his name, but she knew she got off on the ninth floor, while he continued on to the fourteenth.

Nina was late getting to work one day, having taken a half-day for a dental appointment. As she arrived at the bank of elevators, she saw the familiar figure of a man standing by himself, also waiting for a car. She entered it immediately after him.

"Nine please," she said, as he looked back at her in question.

He pushed the button and then his own, turning toward her.

"I was wondering when we would meet," he smiled. "I'm Tony Marino." He held out his hand to her.

"Nina ... Nina Novak," she stammered, taking his hand.

"Who do you work for?"

She named the law firm and told him she was the receptionist.

He told her the name of the brokerage firm he worked for.

"Well, now that we're properly introduced, would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?"

"Uh ... uh ... yes!" she blurted.

The elevator stopped at the ninth and Nina stepped out with Tony right behind her.

"I can't very well take you out if I don't know where you live or what your phone number is," he grinned.

"No ... no ... I guess not." Scrambling, she pulled a blank business card out of her purse and quickly wrote her phone number on the face. "I live with a girl-friend in a studio apartment near Morris Park. Call me," she said as she turned and virtually ran into the safety of the office lobby.