For the second time that day, Frank found difficulty in drawing a normal breath. He was aware of the urban renewal project slated for Justine’s neighborhood, and he wanted to believe it would take at least another three, maybe even four years for it to begin.
“Which one have you selected?”
“The Amsterdam Houses. They are on the southeast corner off Sixty-third and West End Avenue. Kenny can take the number one train on Sixty-Sixth Street directly to One Hundred Third and Broadway, then walk three blocks to his school.”
Frank’s anxiety eased when he realized Justine would continue to live on the Upper West Side. Although he was realistic enough to know he would never recapture the easygoing relationship they’d had before he crossed the line from friendship to something more than she wanted, he hoped they would always remain friends.
“When do you anticipate moving?”
“Not until next spring when my lease is up here. Kenny will have completed most of the eighth grade before we move.”
“What about the ninth?” Frank questioned.
“He’ll probably stay and complete the ninth before going to high school. He’s been talking about going to George Washington High School in Washington Heights, then from there to City College.”
“It looks as though your son doesn’t want to leave Manhattan,” Frank teased.
“Look who’s talking, Frank. You still live and probably work in the same neighborhood where you were born and raised. Meanwhile, this Bronx girl lived in Mount Vernon for a while before moving to the Big Apple.”
“I did leave home when I went to college in New Jersey.”
“Princeton?”
Frank laughed. “Surely you jest. My grades and SAT scores weren’t high enough for me to get into an Ivy League college. I went to Rutgers as a business major.”
She smiled. “So, my good friend is a college grad.”
“Are you saying I’ve been promoted from mere friend to good friend?” he teased.
Justine’s expression grew serious. “You will always be a good friend, because you are my only friend, Francis D’Allesandro.”
“It’s the same with me, Mrs. Russell, because you hold the distinction of being the only woman with whom I’ve had a friendship.”
“I suppose that makes us special,” she said in a quiet voice.
Frank nodded. “Very special.”
She smiled again. “I don’t know what Kenny pulled you away from, but would you like to stay and share dinner with us?”
Frank felt as if he’d been given a reprieve. It was the first time since that disastrous Saturday, after when he’d cookedfor Justine, that he would share a meal with her. “There’s nothing I would like better.”
Moving off the bed, he walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. It had taken him a while to understand that, while he’d lived his life adhering to a certain set of rules, it had been the same with Justine, and he had to respect hers.
It didn’t matter what he wanted, and if he’d hoped to continue to accept what little of what Justine was willing to share with him, then he was okay with it. She had the responsibility of raising a child, and had hoped to educate him and herself, while his only responsibility was to himself and the viability of his family’s businesses.
Frank sat on the sofa in the living room and picked upEbonymagazine off the coffee table. There were also copies of theAmsterdam Newsand theDaily Newson the table. There was no doubt Justine was an avid reader. She’d joked about being twice as old as most night school students once she attended college, and she would probably be in her early forties by the time she graduated. He knew if their relationship had been different, then he would’ve supported her financially while she attended day classes to achieve her dream of becoming a teacher.
Even if he’d broached the subject hypothetically, Frank knew she would’ve rejected it. However, he knew it would be different with Kenny. He’d wait; wait until the boy graduated high school to repay his mother for her friendship.
PART THREE
LOSS OF INNOCENCE
CHAPTER20
Justine Russell felt as if she’d scaled Mount Everest when she saw her son walk across the stage to accept his high school diploma. Kenny had exceeded her expectations as a son and student when graduating in the top ten percent in his class. Tall, standing several inches above six-foot, and broad-shouldered, he cut a handsome figure in his cap and gown. It had taken some effort for Justine to get his cap to fit over his Afro while she complained that he’d let his hair grow too long.
Their move into public housing was a smooth transition from where they’d lived so close to Central Park. Kenny continued to attend the same junior high school, where he maintained his friendship with Ray before the Torres family finally moved into their house in the Bronx. The move for Ray was perfect, because he passed the entrance exam to attend the Bronx High School of Science, while Frankie had enrolled in the LaSalle Academy, a private all-boys’ Roman Catholic College prep school in the East Village.
