“Investing or apologizing?”
Isaac let out a short laugh. “The first one. Or maybe both.”
“How much did you lose?”
“About five hundred. Plus everything my father had.”
Joseph turned his head to get a better look at his son-in-law. Was he hearing him correctly? “Does that include the money you took from Adler’s?”
It was Isaac’s turn to look surprised.
“Mrs. Simons figured it out,” said Joseph, “the new Northfield accounts.”
Isaac made no denials, didn’t even bother searching for an excuse.
How could a man who had so much always manage to believe he had so little? It was as if, looking at Isaac, Joseph could see straight through to the end of Fannie’s life. She might live a half century beyond her sister but she was always going to be burdened by a husband who was dissatisfied with his own existence, with hers as well. If Joseph did nothing, Fannie would drown, too, just much more slowly.
He did some quick calculations. Isaac had been repaying the loan for almost five years, which meant that more than a thousand dollars had accumulated in the account Joseph had established at the Boardwalk National Bank. In all the years Isaac had been making the payments, Joseph had never once considered forgiving his son-in-law’s debt. He thought of the money in the account as Fannie’s and imagined returning it to her eventually in the form of an inheritance or something more tangible that he could watch her enjoy. He had contemplated using it to help the couple buy a house or send Gussie to college. The trick, he had always known, would be to find the thing that Isaac’s greed couldn’t spoil, the thing he couldn’t beg, barter, or steal out from under Fannie’s nose. The thing that would most directly improve his daughter’s life. What if that thing was ridding her of Isaac?
“There’s a thousand dollars in the account at the Boardwalk National Bank,” Joseph said.
Isaac shot a glance at Joseph. “You’d let me have that?”
“With some stipulations.”
Isaac didn’t say anything, just sat up straighter in his chair. Joseph knew he had his attention. Was he really going to propose this?
“Leave town.”
“You want us to move?”
“Just you,” said Joseph. Then he held his breath.
It was possible that Isaac would let out a loud laugh and relay this offer to Fannie the first chance he got. Tonight? Tomorrow? After the baby’s safe arrival? In any of those scenarios, Joseph was sure to lose his remaining daughter. And Gussie, too. What would Fannie think of him if she learned he had tried, unsuccessfully, to buy off her husband? Other parents might be accused of meddling but this was something else altogether.
“For good?”
Joseph didn’t hear the question, so worried was he that he had just made the largest mistake of his life. “Hmm?”
“You want me gone for good?”
Maybe it was best not to answer that question so directly. “Isaac, when I look at you, I see a man who wants a different kind of life.”
“What man doesn’t wake up some days wanting a different life?”
“Me.”
“Even now?” Isaac asked, waving his hands around at the hospital’s surrounds. “After this summer? There aren’t things you’d change?”
“Of course there are,” said Joseph. “But even on the day I buried Florence, I was glad for every one of the days that had preceded it.”
“And you think I’m built so differently?”
“I think there are men who are not well suited for family life.” Joseph didn’t want to insult Isaac, if anything he wanted to flatter him. So, he added, “Particularly men who have seen something of the world, who have a keen interest in business.”
“Fannie might disagree with you.”
“She might,” said Joseph. “Which is why I’m hoping this conversation can remain between us.”
Isaac looked at him again. Both of them knew Joseph had just handed Isaac a sizable bargaining chip.
“Where would I go?”
“I don’t know. Back to Florida maybe?”
“I may not be cut out for real estate.”
“I’ll give you a good reference,” said Joseph. “Do something else.”
“A grand won’t last long if I can’t find work.”
Joseph began to feel hopeful. Isaac hadn’t spit in his face, hadn’t stormed off to find Fannie. If he was doing any amount of math, it meant he was considering the offer. “I could throw in some more.”
“How much?”
What a son of a bitch. Isaac was going to take the offer, Joseph realized. Maybe not in its current form, maybe not tonight. But eventually they would strike on the right number and he would go. Fannie, Hyram, Gussie, this new baby. Isaac would shake them all off like brambles stuck to the leg of his trousers after a long walk in the woods. Was this the right thing for Joseph to do? It didn’t feel good but neither had watching his elder daughter disappear into an unhappy marriage.
“A few thousand.” Now Joseph was dipping into his own savings, into money he might have used for Inez and Paul. He had wanted to tell Anna that she could count on him for more help but Esther’s words rang in his ears. What about Fannie? Is she entitled to a safety net?
“How would this work?” Isaac said.
“I’ll give you a lump sum to get you started. Withdraw it from the bank and hand it to you.” Joseph had to think fast. How was he going to ensure Isaac didn’t walk back into Fannie’s life five years from now? “Then I’ll send you monthly payments for the rest of my life.”
“And if you should die?”
“I’ll outline the agreement in my will. Make sure you’re taken care of.”
Isaac rubbed his eyes and looked at Joseph. “When do you envision all of this happening?”
Joseph looked at his watch. “The bank doesn’t open for another five hours or so. Go home, sleep on it, and if it’s what you want to do, meet me there at ten.”
“The baby?”
“Wait if you want. But I think it will make it harder.”
“Make what harder?” Esther asked, and both men jumped.
“We didn’t hear you,” said Joseph as he pulled
