21. Dallas #2
“Your father is not just a man ,” Greta said patiently.
“And while I appreciate your strong opinions, you should know that relationships are a little more complicated than you realize at this point in your life, and not everything can always be exactly fair. What I hope is that you’ll find a partner someday, if that’s what you want, and the two of you will figure out what works for you, and that might mean you both have to compromise at times, but you do it because you love each other. ”
Emmi suddenly hugged her. “I love you, Mami ,” she said. “I just want you to be happy. You’re the best mom in the world.”
Hot and then cold. Needy and independent. Emmi was tough to navigate these days, and as Greta hugged her daughter back, it occurred to her for the first time that maybe it was for the best they weren’t spending the entire summer together. And that idea made her want to cry.
They left the museum and got back in the Prius to go meet Otto for lunch. Greta turned the air-conditioning on high and then headed in the direction of UT Southwestern.
“I’m sorry we’re leaving you alone tomorrow night,” Greta said as she pulled out onto the street. “Your father can’t turn down an invitation to the Judsons’ house.”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve got plans anyway. Hey, what’s that?” she said, pointing out the window.
“The Meyerson Symphony,” Greta said. “Wait, what plans?”
“I got invited to a party,” Emmi said casually.
“Whose party?”
“That girl I met when I was out running,” Emmi said. “The one who told me about Jack Holt.” She huffed out a breath. “It makes me sick to think that guy’s living in our apartment. And that we’re actually driving around in his car. It’s so creepy.”
Greta was not sure why she felt a need to defend a boy she’d never met, but something, and maybe it was her fondness for Irene and Rex, led her to speak up. “Let’s hold off on judging him so harshly,” she said, “since we don’t really know what happened.”
Emmi shrugged. “Cynthia wasn’t making the story up,” she said. “I could tell.”
“I know,” Greta said, “but a story can have a lot of different versions, depending on who’s telling it. I think it’s best to have all the facts and make our own decisions, don’t you? You’re a budding lawyer after all.”
And as she made this careful speech, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to let go of the Vermeer question until she got a few facts herself.
No one in the establishment would ever take seriously the idea that Vermeer’s twenty-two-year-old daughter was capable of painting something so masterful, unless Greta somehow forced them to.
Why wasn’t it possible that a young woman could hone her craft and outperform her father?
The whole topic made Greta deeply uncomfortable, especially since she’d just taken Emmi to see an exhibit that demonstrated the importance of acknowledging women in the male-dominated canon.
Greta’s phone rang and she handed it to Emmi to answer when she saw Bettina’s name on the screen.
“Hey, there,” Greta said. “I’m in the car—”
“Did you know Mom’s taking a trip to New York?” Bettina said.
“No, she never—”
“She was going on and on about American peanut butter, and how much she misses Broadway theater, you know,” Bettina said, “one of her pro-America rants. And then she just called to say she’s flying to JFK.”
“But I invited her to come to Dallas,” Greta said.
“That may be,” said Bettina, “but she’s going to New York instead, and she’s bringing Tobias with her.”
Greta gripped the steering wheel. “She’s what?”
“I know,” Bettina said. “And I admit it’s getting weird now.”
“Please, Bettina, can’t you do something?” Greta said. “Why don’t you call Tobias and ask him directly what’s going on?”
“Tobias tried to call me actually,” Bettina said, “but I didn’t pick up. You know I slept with him in college, right?”
Greta did not know, nor was she surprised. “Emmi’s in the car, just so you know.”
“Oooh, hi, sweetie,” Bettina said, sounding very delighted and not the least embarrassed.
“Hi, Tante Bettina,” said Emmi. “Who did you sleep with in college?”
“Right,” said Bettina. “I had a short-lived thing with this guy Tobias, and he thought it meant something, and he wrote this super embarrassing poem… I really don’t want to reignite anything. How do you like Dallas, Em?”
“It’s cool,” said Emmi. “There’re two dogs at the house where we’re staying, almost as cute as Til.”
Bettina laughed. “I’m glad you said almost .”
“Have you gone to see Mom’s new place?” Greta said. “I think you should talk to her face-to-face.”
“She keeps putting me off,” Bettina said, “saying she’s too busy.”
“She says you ’re too busy.” Bettina, Greta thought, could not be counted on for anything. “You didn’t even check on our apartment, did you?”
“I went there,” Bettina said defensively. “But how could I demand an inspection of the premises? You have nothing to worry about anyway. Lucy’s not a partier like she used to be. She’s all grown up.”
Greta was relieved to hear it. “What’s she like?”
“She’s still cute and has that southern twang. And Adam! Why didn’t you tell me you’ve got such a good-looking neighbor? What a nice guy.”
“Is he the man who moved in downstairs?” said Emmi.
“Yes, and he’s married,” Greta said flatly. “And I didn’t think he was your type anyway.”
“He’s getting divorced,” said Bettina, “and he’s definitely not my type. He might be Lucy’s though. They’re spending a lot of time together.”
Greta put on her blinker and got in the right lane. “They’ve gotten close, huh?” she said, imagining Adam and Lucy sitting on his balcony, laughing and drinking wine. “You don’t think they’re, you know…?”
“Fucking?” Bettina said bluntly.
“ Bitte , Bettina—”
“I’m still here,” said Emmi.
“Shit, sorry,” said Bettina. “But yeah, probably? Lucy’s very at home in his apartment.”
Greta was appalled. She couldn’t stand the idea of Lucy and Adam together. “I don’t want to know all these unsavory things about that family,” she said.
“You’re right,” said Bettina. “It’s none of our business. We don’t know what kind of arrangement Lucy and her husband have. They’re spending six months apart? I certainly couldn’t go six months without having sex.”
Emmi was laughing.
“I met Lucy’s son, Jack,” Bettina said.
And at that, Emmi stopped laughing.
“And I’ll just say he looks an awful lot like Lucy’s hot Viking I told you about. And he’s eighteen years old, so you do the math.”
“None of our business, though,” said Greta, “right?”
“Touché,” said Bettina.
“Was he a jerk?” Emmi said.
“Was who a jerk?” said Bettina.
“Jack,” said Emmi.
“Oh, no, he was super polite. A real gentleman. I’ve got to go. Bis sp?ter , you two. Have fun.” And she hung up.
“A gentleman ?” said Emmi. “I seriously doubt that. More like a master bullshitter.”
Greta was tired of talking about and hearing about the Holts.
She stopped at a red light by the campus.
“At least your grandmother will take you out for a nice dinner in New York,” said Greta.
The light changed, and she turned to go to the spot where Otto said to meet him.
And there he was, waiting outside one of the university hospital buildings, waving.
He took them on a grand tour around the impressive, sprawling campus.
Greta was proud of Otto, and as they walked toward the Faculty Club, she could see how proud he was of himself.
As he told them about this building and pointed out that facility, Greta thought how lucky she was that she and Otto had respect for each other and were faithful.
They had history. They had love. They had Emmi.
It would be greedy to expect more than that.
The next morning, while Emmi slept in, Lillian called.
“You’ll never guess where I am,” Lillian said.
“New York City,” said Greta, putting her coffee down on the kitchen island and closing the Vermeer book. She’d spent hours poring over every colorplate and cross-checking Binstock’s claims with other sources. “Bettina already told me. What prompted this trip?”
“Tobias,” she said. “He made me realize I’ve been homesick. A couple of weeks in New York is exactly what I need.”
“You could have come to see me,” Greta said. “You still can—”
“Tobias already got us tickets to everything in town. You know, your father never liked New York. But Tobias was so excited to come.”
Her relationship—was it a crush?—on this much, much younger man was making Greta uncomfortable. “Where are you staying?” she said.
“The Pierre,” Lillian said, “right across from Central Park. It’s got old New York glamour. You know Elizabeth Taylor stayed here. I wish you could see it. We have the most beautiful view.”
“The same view?” Greta said, sitting up taller. Surely they weren’t— “I mean, from the same—”
“We’d love to have dinner with Emmi when she gets here,” her mother said. The casual use of “we” was alarming.
“I tell you,” Lillian went on, “I’ve never met anyone quite like Tobias. He never tires. He has more energy than anyone I’ve ever met.”
Cocaine , thought Greta. Ritalin and Red Bull?
“And he’s a born traveler. You’d think he knows New York better than I do, the finest restaurants…”
“Mom, this is really awkward, but I have to ask: Are you…?” And she waited, hoping her mother would catch her meaning, and hoping at the same time that she wouldn’t.
“Oh, goodness, no,” her mother said, and laughed. “Can you even imagine such a thing?”
Greta exhaled loudly with relief. “ Gott sei Dank , phew,” she said. “I was worried—”
“ I could never afford this hotel or first-class plane tickets. No, no, Tobias upgraded me with his miles, and he’s paying for the hotel. He has a friend who got him some kind of deal.”
Her mother hadn’t caught her meaning after all. Greta was relieved Lillian wasn’t footing the bill for this extravagant trip for two, but she was all the more mystified about this relationship.
“But… why?”
“Tobias has friends in high places. Everyone seems to love him.”
“No, but why is he…”
“Spending time with me? I suppose he likes my company,” she said. “Is that so hard to believe?”
It wasn’t. Her mother was, in fact, very good company. But Greta couldn’t shake the feeling that Tobias was up to no good and would somehow break her mother’s heart.
“It’s just that he’s so young,” Greta said.
“But he’s an old soul,” Lillian said. “Must run. We have dinner reservations.” And she hung up abruptly as usual.
Greta checked the time. Normally, she would let Emmi sleep, but today she decided to wake her up.
They both had parties to go to that night, and Greta had booked appointments for them to get their nails and hair done.
Their time together was running out, and Greta wanted to make the most of every minute.