Rhapsody by Mitchell James Kaplan

Author:Mitchell James Kaplan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gallery Books
Published: 2021-03-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

NOVEMBER 1926

Having just returned from another three-month trip, Jimmy asked Kay to join him for a stroll in Central Park. “Top of the morning, Mister and Misses Warburg.” A police officer tipped his hat.

“Good morning, Officer McGinty.” Jimmy slowed his pace to match Kay’s. “The oddest thing happened while I was away,” he told her.

“Your pants stayed buttoned up?” asked Kay.

He turned to her, raising his eyebrows. “Why, yes, precisely.”

“Hah!” said Kay. “You’ve become celibate?”

“Celibate? Heavens, no. Monogamous, possibly.” Two nannies passed, pushing black prams. “What if we were to take this over from the beginning,” asked Jimmy. “To just pick up the needle and drop it back down at the start of the record. Wouldn’t that be grand?”

She shook her head. “We can’t, though. We were so naïve. We had to be, or we never would have tried. And naïveté, that’s not something you can get back.”

They passed an amateur artist who was painting the trees and the lake. “I didn’t sign up for a lukewarm marriage,” said Jimmy. “I want to fix this.”

“Suddenly? Now?”

“It’s obvious, Kay. You’ve taken the dive. You and Gershwin.”

She laughed. “Aren’t you the one that said marriage isn’t about ownership, but sharing?”

“Sharing, certainly. Not giving everything away. Not giving away your heart.”

“I can’t perform without feeling,” said Kay. “That isn’t music. That’s just notes.”

“I appreciate that,” said Jimmy. “It’s why I was drawn to you in the first place.” He took her hand. “Speaking of sharing, maybe we should resume sharing a bedroom.”

“I’ve grown used to sleeping alone. You know how much I move in bed,” said Kay.

“You’ve grown used to sleeping with Gershwin.”

She freed her hand. “What do you want from me, Jimmy?”

“A pinch of reassurance, perhaps?” he tried. “Just tell me everything will be fine and dandy.”

“You want little white lies?”

“They wouldn’t cost you a thing, would they,” said Jimmy.

A cycle-skater zipped past wearing boots bolted to narrow ten-inch wheels, flinging himself forward with ski poles. “Everything will be fine and dandy,” said Kay with a smile.

Children were running, shouting, sliding, and swinging in the playground. Jimmy watched them, contemplative and sullen. “Let’s catch a musical tonight,” he suggested. “How about The Girl Friend? Word is it’s a delight.”

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