i remember waiting to be picked up on friday nights. it was still light out, but the sun was beginning to set so the street lights had already automatically come on. i would stand at the top of our brick stairs, in front of the door, waiting for him with my tiny red suitcase. the suitcase had a picture of a little girl on it with the words, “going to grandma’s.” i was on my way to go to Nani and Eddie’s.
i waited in my flannel night gown. the long sleeves secured at my wrists with tight elastic; the neckline finished with a thin piece of lace that caused me to constantly itch and fidget. i questioned whether the four or five buttons belonged at the front, like my florence eiseman blouses, or in the back, like a dress. i still don’t really know the answer. to stay warm, i wore my white cardigan with the pearly buttons, over the nightgown and of course, my slippers.
eventually Eddie would arrive and i would jump into the car, making sure to squeeze my mother tightly around the neck before i took off. we would listen to big band music on the car ride across town and he would tell me where he had been when the music was first popular. he would sing his college fight song and i would hum along until eventually i knew all the words. we’d stop to pick up dinner on the way and instead of waiting in the car, i’d go with him because i liked the way the people in the restaurant knew him, and the way he signed the bill; with strong, purposeful, messy letters.
when we’d finally arrive at their house, the dog would already be locked up outside in the back. oliver didn’t like visitors, even me, and was never allowed in the house when anyone else was there. i’d watch him through the window, taunting him to come closer and then running away scared when he got too close. as Nani would get dinner ready, i would walk through the whole house, looking around to see if anything was new. same silver picture frames, same wooden stools, same antique colored glass bottles from when my great-grandfather had a store in tyler texas. i would spend extra time at one table in their bedroom, opening every single small halcyon days china pill box, to read the personal inscriptions.
we’d eat dinner in bed, me sitting between the two of them, who leaned against wedge pillows. it was the only time i watched the news. i didn’t know about the people and places that they were showing pictures of, but because Nani and Eddie seemed interested, i was too. chopped salad and a tall glass of milk, followed by pieces of chocolate croissant and raspberries for dessert.
eventually i would get tired and end up horizontal on their huge king sized bed, between the two wedge pillows. they’d turn the light off so i could sleep but continue to watch tv and i could feel the picture flashing behind my closed eyelids. soon they would decide to go to bed too and she’d carry me into the middle bedroom where i’d sit on her lap as she sang to me - lullabies in yiddish and songs about snow on christmas. i'd suck my fingers and grab on to her satin nightgown as she whispered, “hush little baby, don’t say a word, Nani’s going to buy you a mockingbird…”
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