The Saga, Part 20 -- A Social Butterfly

Friday morning dawned cold, but clear, and sun was a little bit stronger! It was a perfect early spring day! I practically flew to the Greek restaurant, carrying the large bag of petits fours, and met Papa at the door. He was beaming, and when we entered the restaurant, the counterman nodded at me and asked, Can you come to the restaurant Sunday night? I looked questioning him, and he answered, Were having a family party, Sunday night. We want you to come.

How wonderful! I replied, Is this a special occasion? The old man was smiling from ear to ear, and nodding.

The counterman said, My nephew is going to be baptized. Were having a big family party!

I saw through the kitchen door that everyone was standing stock still, listening. Of course, I would be delighted to join you! What can I bring? I asked, and I gave him the large bag of petits fours.

Just come, he said. All of us want you to be there! The family in the kitchen nodded to each other, smiling at me.

I will be there with bells on, I said, and, noting his confused expression, I will be happy to join you, and will look forward to it!

The old man, opened his arms wide, and said, Agape, kre!

I hugged him with all my might, safely tucked away beneath his beard, Agape, Papa! Thank you for the invitation. The counterman translated, and all of us smiled. What can I bring, Papa? I must contribute to the feast.

The counterman quickly shook his head, Just come. 6:00. We want you to be here. He rattled the bag of little cakes, We will save these for Sunday!

I was very honored and very flattered, and knew that my shopping expedition of the day would have to include a gift of some sort for the baby. I had never been to a Greek family dinner, and, in those days before the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding had no idea what could happen at a Greek family dinner. I hoped that they had baklava!

Leaving the restaurant, I stopped at the gas station and got coffee for the night crew, and drove to the well field. A lovely day, a movie on Saturday with a friend, and an invitation for Sunday! I was becoming quite the social butterfly! Someone would just have to fill in on Sunday night at the well field this was too great an opportunity to miss!

Brendan and Harry were glad to see me, grateful for the coffee and pastries. I gave them a bunch of the apples, stashed in the trunk. They left in a cheerful clatter, the well field silent after their departure. I took coffee up the hill to our guardian, who nodded at me. We never said much, but I knew he was there, and appreciated his company. It was a cold morning, so I stayed in the car with the heat on, taking my measurements every hour, as usual.

About 11 in the morning, I was just wondering where Fred and Charlie had gotten to, when Charlie came roaring up the lane. I brought you some lunch! he called.

LUNCH? How wonderful! I exclaimed, dancing to the truck for joy. Thank you, Charlie! Thank you!

Charlie handed me a big pizza box, and inside was a beautiful, steamy, white, cheesy pizza, These are really good! There is a specialty pizza shop not far from here, he said.

Charlie, youve been holding out on me youll have to tell me where you got this fine pizza! It looks delicious! I said. What kind is it?

Charlie looked a little sheepish, Well... It is a spinach pizza. Stella told me to bring you a pizza today, she said you were hungry, and I really like these.

God bless Stella! God bless you! Spinach pizza! Ive never had one. I bet it is just wonderful! I said, Thank you, Charlie, and please thank Stella, too! Share with me, CharlieI could never eat a whole pizza by myself.

Charlie and I sat in the monster car, folding the pizza slices in two, like he showed me, and it was fabulous! It had a flaky thin crust, like a pie, white sauce, a layer of spinach, and a layer of white gooey cheese, but it wasnt mozzarella cheese just some kind of extraordinary white cheese. And, it was truly wonderful! Ive never had one since that tasted quite like it, and I would give anything to know what kind of cheese they used, and what kind of sauce. As we sat together, Charlie looked at me shyly, and said, Stella really likes you.

Stella would like me to drop dead , I thought But I said, Well, Stella is a very beautiful person, Charlie, inside and out. She is easy to like, too, I said. I looked at him fondly, Stella loves you very much, Charlie.

Charlie nodded, acknowledging Stellas love. She gets kind of jealous, sometimes, he said softly.

I patted his hand, It is only because youre so handsome! Charlie blushed to his ear tips. She is afraid that everyone will see how handsome you are, and that she will lose you. She loves you with all her heart. She doesnt see that being jealous over you is hard for you. He nodded, doubtfully.

Charlie, I said softly, it is very flattering that Stella thinks youre so handsome, and loves you so much. If you can, just love her all the time and shell begin to believe it, and, someday, shell figure out that you will never leave her.

Charlie nodded. He said, softly, so that I could barely hear, I really do love her.

Of course you do, Charlie, I said. Whats not to love about Stella? I smiled at him, Thank you for the pizza, Charlie, but most especially, thank you for your company. Youre a good friend.

He grinned, shyly pleased. Is it time for another set of measurements? he asked. Fred is coming out later, and you need to do your shopping.

Yes, it is just about time. Ill take the high wells, if youll take the low wells, I said with a smile, meaning that I would walk up the hills. Im glad that Fred is coming out! Charlie looked puzzled, until I started up the hill to the monitoring wells, then he nodded and waved.

We split up and took the measurements, Charlie carefully analyzing the water samples. Finally, we met back at the pumping well. We sat in the monster car, companionably, running the engine to keep the heater on. It was really cold out there!

Finally, during the lunch hour, Fred came up the lane in a water company car. He got out and came over to us, in the monster car. I rolled my window down, and said, Get in! It is warmer in the car! I was very pleased to see him. He was cheerful, busy, and bustling just watching his energy gave me a lift!

Fred climbed in the back, scooting all my stuff over to one side. Have you been living in here? he asked with a grin.

Well, yes, I said. Ive been throwing out the trash every day, but there is still a lot from just this morning. Sometimes, I lie down in the back. And I put all my books and magazines back there to keep them out of the way.

Fred picked up the magazines I had brought from home, Smithsonian? National Geographic? Scientific American? No Popular Mechanics?

I laughed, What did you expect? Tiger Beat? The latest teeny bopper yellow journalism?

No, he said, Im just surprised, thats all. These are magazines that I like to read. I never thought a girl would read them.

I like them, too! I said. Take them if you want to read them. Ive read them all about five times, anyway. Did you ask your mother where to go shopping?

Fred considered for a moment, She said that Mineola was too far for you to come. She said youll want some place closer, and she didnt know of any place over here.

I quickly stifled my urge to scream and said, Thanks for asking, Fred. Ill find someplace, today. Have you got any ideas on where to try next?

Fred thought for a minute, and said, Why dont you just drive toward Great Neck and find a bunch of shops. Great Neck is just full of little shops.

Little shops were where I had been having no luck. What I wanted was a large grocery store and a large store like Value Village at home. Is there any area when they dont speak English? I can avoid that area, I said.

Every place speaks English, he said. Youre the one that doesnt speak English!

Ha! I thought. I said, OK, Ill find something. Let me help you with the next measurement, and you and Charlie can open the valve a little to the well, and then Ill be on my way.

Fred and I took the pumping wells, this time, while Charlie walked up the hills to the monitoring wells. As we sampled and measured, he asked, What are you doing for supper?

Scrabbling for something to eat, I suppose, I said. Im getting really tired of the Deli!

Well, Ill take you out to dinner, and then stay here with you tonight, until the night crew comes, he said.

WOW, Company! I said, I wont know what to do with myself! It will be great having you here!

Fred smiled, and said, Well, on your way! Ill see you later!

I left two bags of apples at the well house, told everyone to help themselves, climbed into the monster car and left the well field. At the bottom of the lane, I stopped and thought, Which direction? Left was the water company office and the rest of Great Neck. Right was.... I turned left, heading toward Great Neck. After about thirty minutes, hundreds of houses and industrial sorts of places, I ran across a little area of shops. Maybe ...

This time, I changed my strategy. If it was there, great, if not, I didnt ask. I kept my mouth shut, so I wouldnt betray my accent, and spoke to no one unless I had to do so. I asked no questions. I looked no one in the eye, which I could tell was bothering people, and, like everyone else, I kept myself to myself, rather than my usually cheerful self. And, I had better luck.

In one dress shop, I found a dark magenta 100% cashmere sweater on the clearance rack. It had a cowl neck, Dalman sleeves, and it cost $50, which was unheard of at home but we dont have 100% cashmere sweaters at home, not even in the exclusive dress shops. I had three weeks of life where my bills would be lower, so, I splurged. It fit, it was a pretty color, and it was the softest thing I had ever felt. Worth it! I thought. A nice, new outfit for the movies, relatively unwrinkled.

I found a baby store, which was a miracle! An Absolute Miracle! I bought a fine little silver egg on a stand, with a delicate fairy perched on topthe tooth fairy. What a wonderful gift! So, I bought three, one to give on Sunday at the Greek festival, and two to take home for my friends, who were all having babies. Many years later, my own son would have one, a lovely keepsake gift from a friend.

There was a candy store with homemade chocolates! Candy! At last! Very expensive, but I bought a small box for Papa, a small box for Danny and Sally, a small box for Fred and his mother, and a medium sized box for my parents. They chocolates were beautifully decorated, and looked like a tasty treat! I stopped at a butchers shop, but there were no cooked hams, or cooked lunch meat to slice, so I left without saying anything, and my whole day was a lot more pleasant. Just one of the natives ... I thought, walking down the streetbut of course, everyone else walked fast, and, even though I was walking fast for me, a native would have called it lollygagging, I thought. Ill just mosey up this way, and smiled to myself. A lady walking by gave me a strange look, and I thought, No smiling! Remember the rules!

Still no little grocers, no school supplies, no fruit stand, and no hardware store, but I found a new bread store. I went in, and bought some small rolls, just in case. Once I got them out to the car, I noticed that the light and fluffy little rolls were as heavy and as hard as cue balls on a pool table. I hoped that Fred or Charlie had a hammer-- it was going to take one to break them up into bite sized pieces. How do people eat these things? And what would they think of the gooey Wonder Bread at home? I wondered.

Back at the well field, Fred was gone, but Charlie was faithfully measuring and sampling. He asked, Where did you get those apples?

I said, Near Patricks Pub. They sure dont look like the Kentucky apples, do they?

Charlie made a face, and said, simply, Oh, those arent Kentucky apples...

Whats wrong? I asked. Are they sour?

Charlie chuckled and said, Here, try one.

I bit into one of the apples, and it was the worst, most sour apple Ive ever eaten. AWFUL! My mouth puckered-- it was like eating an unripe persimmon! Oh, no! I said, These are no good at all! What did I buy?

Charlie shook his head, I dont know, but they are pretty bad...

Maybe they are cooking apples, or disguised, unripe persimmons, I said. They need sugar! They need throwing out! They are awful! Charlie and I laughed and left them in the bagmaybe someone would eat them... Oh, well... the fruits of my labor! I said, Im not a very good shopper, I guess. At home, the yellow apples are always the sweetest!

Charlie and I laughed and talked through the afternoon, taking measurements and samples, comfortable friends. I told him of my shopping fiasco, and of my friends at home. I told him that I was getting homesick, hungry for someone outside of the water company to just smile at me. We laughed about my language difficulties, and how very much like a fish out of water, I felt. It was good to have someone to talk with, and good to have another warm, live human being out there. He seemed to understand the silence of the woods completely. I think that even Charlie was beginning to understand why I valued the silent guardian up on the hill. Even if we said nothing to each other, he was there.

Fred came as it was becoming dark, and I asked Charlie, Can we bring you something to eat?

No, Charlie said with a smile, Stella is saving dinner for me.

Fred drove us back to Great Neck, to a lovely sea food restaurant. Sea food! Of course, there was ocean, all around us! Why had I not thought of that? Fresh sea food! All we got at home, except at the finest of restaurants, where a few lobsters swam around in a tank, was frozen seafood!

At Freds suggestion, I ordered the scallops in butter. As we waited for our food, Fred said that Danny had suggested the restaurant. Wasnt that sweet of him! I said, He is so very kind to me!

Then, it occurred to me. Had Danny asked Fred to take me to dinner? To the movies on Saturday night? I looked at Fred in dismay. Fred didnt have to be nice to me, just because Danny wanted him to I was able to survive on my own. I felt like I was an imposition. I was suddenly worried, Fred probably had a girlfriend, his mother, responsibilities at home... Was he being coerced? Why would he want to spend time with me, a stranger, when he had a whole life out there?

Whats wrong? Fred asked.

Fred, did Danny ask you to take me to dinner tonight? Or to the movies tomorrow? I asked, deeply troubled. I dont want to interfere with your life. You dont have to entertain me I live by myself, Im used to being alone. I dont want you to feel like you have to... Im very glad to be here with you, but I dont want you to feel that you have to, uh, be nice to me just because Danny asked you. I could feel my face becoming pinker by the minute. Please, Fred, if you dont want to be here, I understand. Its Friday night, Im sure you had other plans...

Fred said gently, I had no other plans. I wanted to take you to dinner. Danny told me that it would be all right. I would like to go to the movies tomorrow night.

I smiled, uncertainly, I dont want to be an imposition to you, Fred.

Youre not an imposition, he said, firmly. I am, Dee-leye-ted to be here, he said, gently mocking my accent.

Well, if youre sure you dont mind, Im awfully glad! I smiled, relieved.

What do you mean, you live alone? Fred asked. What did you mean when you said that you dont fit in anywhere?

I live by myself in my house, Fred, I told him, hesitantly.

You dont have a roommate? he asked.

No, Fred, I live by myself. I told him. My house is my house and there isnt anyone that I really could live with. Ive been on my own for a while.

He thought about that for a minute. It was unusual, even in my home town, to be a female of my age and own your own home, but in Great Neck, it was practically unheard of. I had gathered as much from my conversation with Dennis and the other fellows. Of course, everything was so much more expensive in Great Neck, no one had a choice. Everyone had roommates and everyone struggled to meet the rent, as I had struggled to make my house payment.

What do you mean, you dont fit in? he asked. Here, youre the Queen Bee no one knows what to make of you. But at home, you must fit in.

Not exactly, I told him. Im divorced, Fred. I got the house in the divorce. My ex-husband got his brand-new truck, all the cattle, all the farm equipment, the savings account, and I got the house. He blinked. Im sorry, Fred, I should have said something before but I guess I thought that you knew.

He slowly shook his head. Well, I said, it was awful, Fred. I dont really fit in at home, either, but I guess my friends are used to me being different. Im sorry, Fred, I dont know if it is a big deal or not, here, but at home, it is a big deal to be divorced. No one approves of divorce at home, so it was really hard to go against my parents wishes. But, I did what I had to do to survive.

Tell me about it, he suggested softly, his eyes kind. I told him how it was to marry into a very prominent family, and how, when my husband became abusive, I was all alone. I told him of the illegal activities I thought my ex-husband was doing. (And yep, I was right, too.) I told him of my parents disappointment and dismay, when I got divorced. I told him of the death of my wonderful grandparents, who had loved me-- no matter what. I told him how the people in church would not speak to me, or sit next to me, and how few friends I had left. I told him how my job made everyone think there was something wrong with me, and how I had struggled to make my house payments when I was a school teacher. Finally, I told him of my friends. Good friends from college and high school, and how much I loved them for their loyalty.

Im fine, Fred, I said, Thats that. Im making a little more money now, so it isnt such a hardship. But, nobody at home thinks Im anything special, they think I am oddand at home, odd is not good. There is nothing I can do about it, and I think that the people at my church are finally beginning to realize that things arent what they heard, or what they were led to believe. Maybe someday, Ill fit in again, but not for a long while, I dont think. I sat back in my seat, and smiled at him. My friends call me, Hollywood. Sort of, what is she going to think up to do next? I think it is funny, too, most of the time because I refuse to live the way everyone else says I should. Sometimes, though, I get awfully tired of being by myself.

Fred looked me in the eyes, and said, Let me tell you what the people here think of you.

OK, I said doubtfully. Maybe it would be best not to know.

Everyone here, all the guys, want to come out to the well field to see you, Fred said, chuckling. Brendan and Harry have told everyone how you bring them coffee and something to eat, every morning. They know that the police look after you, and the Chief drives by himself, to make sure you are all right. They know that you have made friends with a friend and that he stands up the hill, watching and that you take him coffee and lunch. You are there, hour after hour, every day, and you never quit, good weather or bad. You are very polite to everyone, very friendly to everyone, and they are all amazed. They know that a Greek family has taken you in as their ownand that you dont even speak Greek, but that you are trying to learn. That Danny and Sally have sort of adopted you, and that even Stella likes you. Stella doesnt like anyone that may interfere with Charlie. See? To us, you may be different, but we like different.

I blushed a deep red-- I could feel my face getting hotter by the minute, Thank you, Fred, I said. Im just doing my job. I like everyone herethey are all so good to me. Can we not tell them you told me this? I dont want them to think Ive got the big head.

Come on, Hollywood, he said, eat. I dont want you to get the big head, but I do want you to eat something before you blow away!

No chance of blowing away! I laughed. Ive lost a little weight, but Ill never be able to blow away!

Fred grinned, patted my hand, and said, Eat, its good for you!

I ate my supper, enjoying every bite of the wonderful sea food, comfortable with my friend. I was looking forward to the movies, I was looking forward to the Greek family party, and I had one week left before I went home. I was on the down side of the test, it wasnt quite as critical to get the measurements ever hour, and I had a good friend to talk with. Who could ask for more?

Thanks for coming by!