CHAPTER 115, A BISEL KUGEL
Tuesday, April 15, 1930
Pier 54, New York City
Bates scanned the crowd on the pier and tried to remain calm. Before leaving Downton, the family had received instructions from Levinson: Wait on the pier, and my cousin will meet you. Manhattan traffic is unpredictable, so you'll have to be patient.
Timmy was busy tossing his hat up in the air and catching it. Bates thought his son had been very brave when it came time to say goodbye to his new friends.
"French Eddie's going to Canada. That must be a million miles from here."
"Not quite. Don't forget, Leo will be right here in New York. You'll get to see him."
"How far do the Hansons live from the hotel?"
"Dr Hanson said it's close enough to walk."
Bates liked Sid Hanson. The man had taken his family on holiday in Tourist Third so they would have more money to spend abroad. Bates thought an American doctor would have had unlimited funds, but Hanson could not bring himself to turn away patients who had lost their wherewithal in October's crash. The doctor, in turn, had been forced to tighten his own belt.
"But not too tight," Hanson had joked, patting his ample belly.
Bates searched his pocket for Hanson's card and replayed the doctor's parting words in his head. I've written our home number and address on the back and the school's too. Call if you need help making sense of the city. Call for any reason, Bates. And be sure to visit the school. It's just the ticket.
At least we have someone to call if this cousin doesn't show, thought Bates.
"What do you suppose our accommodations will be at the hotel?" Anna wondered aloud as she took hold of her husband's arm.
"No use wondering. We'll know soon enough," replied Bates. "I wouldn't expect much, macushla. Gift horse and all."
Anna laughed, and her laughter lifted Bates's spirits as it always did.
Timmy pulled at Anna's skirt and pointed to a building in the distance. "Is that a skyscraper, Mu ... Mom?"
"I don't know, sweetheart. Perhaps we'll pass it on the way to the hotel."
"We'll ask if we can pass by the Woolworth Building," Bates decided. "It's the tallest building in the world, Timmy."
"It was the tallest, John," interrupted Thomas. "There are taller buildings rising this very minute, Timmy."
Thomas was carrying Milly on his shoulders. She had been perched there ever since the ship entered the harbor so she could have a good view of the Green Lady, as Milly called the Statue of Liberty. He'll pay for that tonight, thought Bates. That's all right. I'll give him a shoulder rub and he'll be as good as new.
"You must be Bates and Barrow!"
Bates turned to be greeted by a short, grey-haired woman who was so round she looked as though a slight breeze would roll her right into the water. Surely this isn't Levinson's cousin! Bates had expected a businessman. Hotel Bartholomew was printed across the woman's cap. At least it's the right hotel.
The woman peered at them from under the cap's visor. "Two, tall, dark-haired men. The one with the cane is Bates," she recited. The woman extended her hand. "Bates." She pumped his hand once and released it as though one pump conveyed all its meaning and more would have been pointless. "Barrow." She shook Thomas's hand in the same manner and turned to Anna. "A quiet, blonde woman with intelligent eyes. Mrs Bates." Again, she offered her hand for a succinct handshake. The woman took a step back and addressed Timmy. "You're Timothy."
"Yes, ma'am, but my American name is Timmy."
"America Gonif. Come here, boy."
Timmy glanced at Bates, who nodded. He approached the woman, who clasped his shoulder. "I don't like bad boys. Are you a bad boy?
"No ma'am."
"Good. Now show me those English manners I've heard about and introduce me to your sister."
"Yes, ma'am, but I don't know your name."
"Haven't I said?" The woman turned to the adults.
"No, you haven't," answered Thomas, and Bates could see that his little brother was amused by this woman.
"I'm sure I said it," disputed the woman. Then she tapped her temple, "Maybe I only said it in here." Timmy and Milly giggled and the woman flashed them a puckish smile. "I'm Mrs Gold. Harold Levinson is my second cousin once removed, tossed around a bit, and fed a bisel kugel."
Bates was confused by Mrs Gold's sense of humor. Perhaps he needed a bit more sleep.
"Go, Timmy," urged Mrs Gold, "make the introduction."
"Mrs Gold, this is my sister, Emilia."
"Milly!" objected Milly.
"Her American name is Milly," explained Timmy.
"She's a regular yankee doodle," declared Mrs Gold, "as my dear departed used to say. Keep going."
"Milly, this is Mrs Gold. Mr Levinson was her second cousin, but ... he was removed 'cause he ate a bisel kugel!"
Thomas and Anna laughed, but Bates was left scratching his head.
Mrs Gold offered to shake hands with Milly, who was still sitting on Thomas's shoulders. "What's a bisel kugel?" demanded Milly.
Mrs Gold held up her thumb and forefinger with only a tiny space between them. "This is a bisel."
"A little bit!" Timmy exclaimed gleefully.
"That's right. So, you've never had kugel?"
Milly shook her head sadly.
"It's a sweet noodle pudding. We'll go to the delicatessen this weekend and try some."
"Can I, Daddy?"
"I think so."
Mrs Gold checked the watch pinned to her jacket. "So, nu? What would you like to see before it gets dark?"
"Can we see a skyscraper?" begged Timmy.
"Skyscraper it is. And then dinner."
Thomas set Milly on the ground. "That's kind of you, Mrs Gold, but we're watching our pennies. We should eat at the hotel."
"Harold said I'm to give you a taste of New York. It's his treat, and he's the boss. Chinatown, I think."
Anna took Milly's hand. "Is it safe?"
"I know a place where we won't be Shanghaied."
Bates wished he were more confident that Mrs Gold was making a joke.
Thomas held back. "We still have to retrieve our trunks."
"Your trunks are already on their way," assured Mrs Gold as she herded the family to the hotel car. "That's why I was late."
If having the traffic on the wrong side of the road weren't disconcerting enough, Mrs Gold drove like a maniac, zipping in and out of traffic and cursing other drivers in a foreign language. At least, it sounded like cursing.
"Please, Mrs Gold, the children," chided Bates.
"Do you understand Yiddish?"
"No, but ..."
"Do the kinder understand Yiddish?"
"No, Mrs Gold."
"Then where's the harm? Besides, this is New York. They're going to hear far worse soon enough."
"I suppose ..."
Mrs Gold drove them first to the Woolworth Building and then to 40 Wall Street. "They say that when this building is finished, it'll be the new tallest, but I'm not so sure." She drove the newcomers to the Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges and told them about the Hudson River Bridge that was under construction. "That'll be the longest suspension bridge in the world when it's done. So, Timmy, which is better, skyscrapers or bridges?"
"Both! A skyscraper is a bridge standing up."
"And a bridge is a sideways skyscraper," agreed Mrs Gold.
"Pop, I want to build skyscrapers when I grow up."
"If that's what you want, then do it, son."
Mrs Gold announced that it was time to eat and drove the family to The Oriental at 4 Pell Street where they crossed an immaculate white tiled entrance, climbed stairs, and sat at a carved teakwood table. The walls were decorated with silk-embroidered panels, intricate rice-paper paintings, and lanterns. The children were delighted. Bates was relieved to see that the items on the menu included translations.
Thomas suggested that Mrs Gold order for them, and she did so with no concern for her cousin's pocketbook. The children stared wide-eyed as she rattled off a stream of nonsensical words to the waiter without referring to the menu, but when she ordered Bat Bow Foo Yong, they fell into a fit of giggles. Bates checked the menu to assure himself that Bat Bow Foo Yong did not contain actual bats.
While they waited for their food, Bates glanced about. The customers were all sorts. Some were very well dressed, and some less so. A Chinese man approached the table. "Good evening, Mrs Gold. You're in happy company tonight."
"I am, Mr Li-Bue." Mrs Gold made introductions all around. "Mr Li-Bue is the owner of this establishment."
Thomas seemed impressed. "Mrs Gold says your place has been a success for many years now. You must be a clever man."
"I'm a lucky man. Are you relatives of Mrs Gold?"
"No," answered Mrs Gold, "these are my cousin's partners in a new venture."
"Ah, then you must be the clever ones. Mr Levinson takes on only the shrewdest partners so he can take it easy."
"He's right, you know," confirmed Mrs Gold.
When the food arrived, Mrs Gold prepared a plate for each of the children. "Life is short. You must try a little of everything."
Bates was not sure he wanted his children to heed that particular advice, but he kept silent on the subject and enjoyed the spread before him. Who knew what awaited them at the hotel.
