This time she smiled an uncomfortable smile and began breathing deeply. She put her hands on my arms. She kissed my cheek, the same way I had kissed her. She tried getting some words out. She said, “Honey…we…Danny…” she looked out and said, “I think the rain is stopping, we can go now.”
We walked the two blocks in the fine drizzle, near to where we were parked, and across the street from the apartments. I said, “Mom come with me, I want to show you something.”
We walked into the building that had a banner saying ‘Now selling – only a few left,’ and mom’s mouth opened when the doorman tipped his hat and said, “Good day sir… ma’am,” without asking where we were going. He’s seen me enough times to know me.
Mom said, “What’s going on?”
“Be patient, just come with me…ma’am.” I led her into the elevator and we rode up to the thirtieth floor. I took out the keys and opened the door. She walked in and was astonished at the big open space and the view across town.
“This is amazing,” she said, It’s so big, and spotless.” Mom’s thing for ‘Clean’ didn’t only apply to houses; she never liked it if I skipped shaving for even one day.
“Danny what is this, why do you have the keys to this place?”
I said, “I’ll explain it all in a minute, but first I have to show you one more thing.”
I took her down the hall and opened the second door. “Oh my God,” she said. “This is even more beautiful than the other one, Danny…?”
I said, “Okay, so this is the one you would pick right?” I handed her keys and said, “It’s for you Gracie-girl.” By the time I finished the story about where the money had come from, she was crying and laughing at the same time in shocked disbelief.
She said, “This is beyond anything I could have dreamed…and you did all this…yourself…for me…”
“No mom, I hardly did it by myself…and I did it for us.” I put my arms around her and I pressed my lips to hers. Her mouth opened a little and after a moment she pulled back and looked at me.
She didn’t ask what I was doing. She didn’t even look surprised. She just said, “No Danny…no.” She put her cheek on my chest and held me. It wasn’t a time for words, so I just wrapped her in my arms.
We moved into the Apartment and furnished it complete with piano. Within nine months we sold the house in Staten Island and the other apartment for almost double what we paid. The investments were doing well, but we weren’t. The kiss didn’t go away. Its taste was between us when we talked, and its touch was between us when we looked at each other. The one time we did talk about it, we went around in circles. Mom said it was something that couldn’t be, and I kept asking why not.
Whenever things weren’t right between us, mom asked me to play for her. More often than not it was Mozart. Some people think it’s calming for children and it helps them learn. I don’t know about that, but mom was always in a better mood and usually wanted to be close as I played. She’d often sit on the bench and put her arms around my waist and her face on my shoulder blades. It wasn’t easy to play that way, but I didn’t mind. And when one of her breasts pressed against me, I minded even less.