Chapter 6
They'd read to me after supper.
Before supper, every other day, one of them boxed with me. They would put on the mitts and let me hammer away with one of them, my father or one of my uncles, calling out the punches.
'Left jab, jab, right cross, left jab. Jab. Jab. Left hook to the head . . . left hook to the body . . . right uppercut . . . hammer punch off the uppercut . . . right back fist.'
The workout was exhausting, but it got me in shape pretty quick.
'Too many bullies in the world,' Patrick used to say. 'It's good to know what you're doing.'
I liked the boxing. I was an energetic kid and they were all careful not to hurt me. And I liked the feeling that I might win a fight if I had one.
'This has got nothing to do with pushing people around,' my father used to say. 'This is all about a sound mind in a strong body. It's about being as complete as you can be, you know?'
I sort of knew.
Chapter 7
'And were you able to make use of your sex education?' Susan said.
'Nowhere near as soon as I wanted to,' I said.
'But you had girlfriends,' Susan said.
'I guess,' I said. 'Once I asked my father why he never got married again. a??Your mother was the one,' he told me. a??I met her early and lost her early. But I was with her for a while. I never met anyone else who was the one.' '
'But he dated a lot,' Susan said.
'Sure,' I said. 'He liked women. He just never loved another one.'
'So while you're growing up out west someplace and Susan Silverman nee Hirsch is growing up in Swampscott, Massachusetts, you're waiting to meet her?'
'Something like that.'
'That's crazy,' Susan said.
'I know,' I said.
'But you believe it still,' Susan said.
'Can't not,' I said.
'Given my first marriage,' Susan said, 'I'd have been better off to wait for you.'
Some pigeons came by to see if we were feeding anyone. We weren't and they waddled off. They should have checked with the squirrel.
'Your uncles feel deeply about her?'
'My mother? Yeah. In a different way they loved her as much as my father had.'
'And you were her legacy.'
'Yep.'
'But you had girlfriends, before me,' Susan said.
'Hell,' I said. 'I had to keep looking. I didn't even know your name.'
