Control Read Free

and smiled. “ The kid understands everything. ” He played with Edith ’ s hair gently. “ My old man— ”
    “ —you mean Grandpa?— ”
    “ —same guy. Okay. He owned some buildings in Brooklyn. Not schlock, but not major league. I was the one convinced him to expand into Manhattan. Give it a shot. ”
    “ And who your age has done better? Thirty-seven years old, just barely. ”
    Sol looked at his wife. “ But I ’ m still not major league, baby. Can I call you ‘ baby ’ again? ”
    Myrtle nodded.
    “ They sit around there, those guys, and if my name is mentioned, the most they might say is, ‘ Mazursky? Good man. Word means something. Got a wife going through what looks like preliminary menopause, got a daughter gonna be a great painter; nice solid club fighter. But not a champion. ’ “
    “ What ’ s so terrible about that? ” Myrtle said.
    “ Nothing. Who said ‘ terrible ’ ? Except for one thing: all I want to be in my heart is the most important real estate man in town. ” He was rocking Edith now. “ Honey, I want there to be a Mazursky Towers on Fifth Avenue that shines like gold. I want a Mazursky Plaza. I see Mazursky Fountains spouting all over the city. None of this comes easy, y ’ understand. ” He looked at his wife now. “ I ’ m gonna have to start busting my chops. ”
    “ Start? Jesus, Sol, what do you think you ’ ve been doing? ”
    “ I ’ m going into business with this Chicago guy. And I ’ m opening an office in L.A. The core ’ s gonna stay right here, naturally, but I want to keep ‘ em guessing, all those guys at all the clubs. All kind of a game, y ’ understand? ”
    Edith wasn ’ t sure she did but she nodded anyway.
    “ Well, if you want to excel in games, tell me how you do that ”
    “ You beat. ”
    “ Right, honey, but how? I ’ ll tell you. You try with everything. What do you try with? ”
    “ Everything? ”
    “ Right again. Tonight ’ s the night the business starts expanding, baby. Daddy ’ s gonna be traveling a lot and working a lot and no matter where he is, he ’ ll call you. ”
    Myrtle began now to sharply shake her head.
    Sol looked at his daughter. “ I ’ m going to tell you the family motto now, Edith— my daddy told me and I ’ m telling you. I ’ ll say it and then we ’ ll say it together. Okay? ”
    Edith waited.
    “ ‘ When you ’ re not practicing, remember, someone somewhere is practicing, and when you meet him he will win. ’ Okay? Both together? ”
    “ When you ’ re not practicing— ”
    “ —practicing— ”
    “ —remember someone somewhere is practicing— ”
    “ —is practicing— ”
    “ Good. Now say the last alone for Daddy. ”
    “ And when you meet him he will win, ” Edith said. It was easy to remember. And she loved her father ’ s kiss. She just wished her mother ’ s head would stop shaking …
     
    The last of the ninth came and went for Sol not much more than a year later, and though he tried like hell to force it into extra innings, it was no go, and on the way back in the limo, Edith, in the jump seat, was the only one with the least sense of control
    Control.
    She had no notion then of the importance that word ’ s meaning would come to have for her, but as she sat in the jump seat staring at the driver ’ s neck, she could hear she was the only one in the vicinity who was silent—both her mother and Sol ’ s dad had totally lost it
    Lost control.
    Myrtle holed up in the duplex those next months, keening, usually in black. Kith, in her standard Brearley uniform—navy blue jumper and pleated skirt—went straight on back to school. The school authorities kept close tabs on her at first, traumas being no fun for anybody, especially ten-year-olds whose fathers die, but Edith gave them no cause for worry. Oh, her grades slipped slightly—she was no longer first in her class but closer to tenth—but that was still an excellent achievement.
    For Edith it was a lot more