“Well, no,” Joe said. “I was thinking about doing real-estate law.”
“But—” Mrs. Stark’s hand had flown to her bosom, and her eyes had flown to her husband.
“Where?” That was Mr. Stark, and the word hung over the table, waiting to fall.
“In Palo Alto,” Joe said. “Or possibly Redwood City.” He took another bite of chicken. “Great dinner, Mom.”
36
JOE LAYS DOWN THE LAW
“Butwhy?”Mrs. Stark asked for approximately the third time. It was half an hour later, and Joe, his father, and Sophie were eating a very tall and extremely rich cheesecake, along with Rabbi Goldstein and his wife, while Mrs. Stark and I were decidedlynoteating it. When I was nervous or unhappy, my appetite vanished, especially for something as filling and dense as cheesecake. Joe was made of sterner stuff, for this was his second piece. I hoped that Mr. Stark’s own cheesecake consumption meant that he was less unhappy than his wife, but it could simply mean that he liked cheesecake.
Joe said, “The answer’s simple, Mom. Real-estate law is interesting—boy, can tempers run high when it comes to property!—and I’ll have a better shot at running my own shop in the future. Marguerite’s an entrepreneurial sort of person—pretty intensely so, in fact—and I guess it’s rubbed off.”
“What you really mean, I think,” his father said, “is that you want to work with her.” He said it neutrally, though.
“Yes,” Joe said, “I do. With her, and on my own, too. Of course, I’ll have to watch for conflicts of interest—can’t represent the other side if she’s involved—but there’s plenty ofwork down there. That’s because there’s so much room for growth. Compare the open land in the South Bay to the City. No contest. And once the interstate highway system is built, I’ll bet we see even more of a population explosion. I read an article that predicted population growth in California from 1940 to 1950 could hit fifty percent. Of course, we won’t know for sure until we see census data, but don’t I want to get in on that? Don’twewant to, Marguerite and I? Look at Barbara and David, getting that house with four bedrooms.”
“One of them is his study,” his mother said.
“I know that, Mom,” Joe said. “I’m just pointing out that people want houses. Two bedrooms if that’s what they can afford, and more if they can swing it. Right now, it’s a lot of new construction. Pretty soon, though, those returning GIs are going to be having their third kid, and then they’ll be selling that two-bedroom place to somebody else and moving up. The Korea situation’s heating up, too. If we get involved over there, that’ll be more guys on the GI Bill, and the housing rush will start right back up again.”
“There’s not going to be a war in Korea,” Mr. Stark said. “We withdrew our last remaining troops months ago.”
“You sure, Dad?” Joe asked. “I guess I read the tea leaves differently. We’ve still got a draft, don’t we? Do you really think the U.S. is going to stand by and let the Communists take over?”
“It’s not our fight,” his father said. “How do you win a civil war? You don’t, not really.”
“I might agree with you,” Joe said, “but I don’t think Truman does. Stopping the Soviets ranks pretty high on his list. In Korea, in Germany … wherever.”
“This isn’t the point,” Mrs. Stark said. “Rabbi, explain to Joe, please.”
“What would you like me to explain?” Rabbi Goldstein asked.
“That family matters!” she said. “Here’s Jacob, waiting since Joe wasbornfor him to join the firm. Has he deserved this? He, who is such a good father? To be met with this … this ingratitude?”
Joe wasstilleating cheesecake. So was Sophie. Sometimes it seemed that my husband had some substance in his veins besides the hot blood that filled mine. He didn’t even say what I would have, something about how grateful he was to his parents. I suppose he felt it would fall on deaf ears at the moment.
“Of course,” the rabbi said, “Joe isn’t moving across the country. And heisplanning to join the Bar.”
“I sure am,” Joe said. “Catch me not using this degree after all the work it’s taken to earn it. I’m an hour and a half away, Mom.”
“And we hardly see you,” his mother said.
“Less than if we lived in San Francisco, yes,” Joe said. “It’s lucky Barbara and David and the baby are here, I guess.”
“But you’re ourson,”Mrs. Stark said.
“Oh, great,” Sophie said. “What are Barbara and I, chopped liver?”
“You know I didn’t meanthat,”Mrs. Stark said.
“About children,” Rabbi Goldstein said in a contemplative sort of voice.
“Oh, boy, here we go,” Sophie said.
“Having your parents nearby could be useful there, Joe,” the rabbi said. “Grandparents are a gift from God, I’ve heard more than one young mother say. Would one solution be for you to practice real-estate law, but to do it here?”
