barbells, when a knock sounded on the door.
“Joey, it’s me,” said a familiar voice. “Are you decent?”
“I’m decent, Aunt Liza,” he said, recognizing her voice. He made a sour face, but then tried to look pleasant as she entered
the room.
Under most circumstances he didn’t mind his aunt’s coming to the house for a visit; his mother and father were the only people
she knew with whom she could speak Hungarian. But he was sure that her wanting to see him while he was exercising meant something
uncomfortable was about to come up.
He was doing sit-ups when she entered.
“Hello, Joey,” she greeted him.
“Hello, Aunt Liza.”
He kept exercising as if she weren’t there.
“Joey, can I talk to you a minute?”
He stopped. “Sure. You want to sit down?”
“Thank you.” She sat down on his chair.
“Didn’t you work today?” he asked.
“Yes. But I quit early. I had a dentist appointment.”
“You’ve been there already?”
“Yes. Joey, should I talk to you in English instead of Hungarian?”
“I don’t care. But I can understand English better. What are you going to talk to me about? That swim I’m going to do?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Aunt Liza,” he said impatiently. “I’m going to do it, no matter what you say. I’ve
got
to do it, don’t you understand? I’ve got to swim that lake, Aunt Liza.”
“If you do, you will make me very unhappy, Joey. I will worry for you every minute. And your mother will worry for you. And
your father, too.”
“They both know I’m going through with it, Aunt Liza,” he said. “And they aren’t worried, not anywhere as much as you seem
to think. I’m not going to swim the Atlantic Ocean, Aunt Liza. It’s just going to be Oshawna Lake, and I’m going to have a
boat alongside of me every minute of the time. There’s nothing to be worried about. Nothing.”
“You don’t know how my Janos died, do you?”
“I know he drowned,” said Joey.
“Yes, he drowned. And he was a good swimmer, did you know that? He was a very
fine
swimmer, Janos was.”
“Dad told me,” said Joey.
“He drowned in four feet of water,” said his aunt. “Did he tell you that, too?”
“I don’t think so.”
“When — when he was pulled out of thewater —” Her voice broke, and she reached into her purse for a handkerchief and touched it to the tears that came to her eyes.
“Aunt Liza, you don’t have to tell me anymore about Janos,” said Joey. “I know how you feel about him.”
“I — I don’t want you to risk your life, too,” she stammered, and blew her nose. “You want your mother and father to go through
the pains and heartaches I and your uncle went through? They will never get over it. Never.”
“If I don’t swim that lake, Aunt Liza, then I’ll feel that —” He paused, not knowing how to continue. Why say more to her?
No matter what he said, she would still insist he was crazy to attempt swimming Oshawna Lake.
“I can’t understand why,” she went on, looking at him as if suddenly she had
seen
a new and different side of him. “Why do you think you have to swim that lake? My God! Yolanda said it is twenty-one miles
long. Twenty-one miles! Did you know that there were many swimmers who tried to swim across the English Channel and could
not? And the English Channel is almost the same distance.”
“But you can’t compare the English Channel with Oshawna Lake,” Joey said.
“Why not?”
“The English Channel is controlled by tides and winds. It moves a lot faster than Oshawna Lake because it flows into the North
Sea. And it’s a lot colder. It hardly gets above sixty degrees even during the hottest months of the year. Oshawna gets up
into the seventies, and sometimes eighties. It’s been recorded at eighty-one. It has an outlet, too, but the water flows so
slowly you’d hardly notice it. You just can’t compare the two, Aunt Liza.”
She stared at him. “You have read a lot about
“Joey, it’s me,” said a familiar voice. “Are you decent?”
“I’m decent, Aunt Liza,” he said, recognizing her voice. He made a sour face, but then tried to look pleasant as she entered
the room.
Under most circumstances he didn’t mind his aunt’s coming to the house for a visit; his mother and father were the only people
she knew with whom she could speak Hungarian. But he was sure that her wanting to see him while he was exercising meant something
uncomfortable was about to come up.
He was doing sit-ups when she entered.
“Hello, Joey,” she greeted him.
“Hello, Aunt Liza.”
He kept exercising as if she weren’t there.
“Joey, can I talk to you a minute?”
He stopped. “Sure. You want to sit down?”
“Thank you.” She sat down on his chair.
“Didn’t you work today?” he asked.
“Yes. But I quit early. I had a dentist appointment.”
“You’ve been there already?”
“Yes. Joey, should I talk to you in English instead of Hungarian?”
“I don’t care. But I can understand English better. What are you going to talk to me about? That swim I’m going to do?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, Aunt Liza,” he said impatiently. “I’m going to do it, no matter what you say. I’ve
got
to do it, don’t you understand? I’ve got to swim that lake, Aunt Liza.”
“If you do, you will make me very unhappy, Joey. I will worry for you every minute. And your mother will worry for you. And
your father, too.”
“They both know I’m going through with it, Aunt Liza,” he said. “And they aren’t worried, not anywhere as much as you seem
to think. I’m not going to swim the Atlantic Ocean, Aunt Liza. It’s just going to be Oshawna Lake, and I’m going to have a
boat alongside of me every minute of the time. There’s nothing to be worried about. Nothing.”
“You don’t know how my Janos died, do you?”
“I know he drowned,” said Joey.
“Yes, he drowned. And he was a good swimmer, did you know that? He was a very
fine
swimmer, Janos was.”
“Dad told me,” said Joey.
“He drowned in four feet of water,” said his aunt. “Did he tell you that, too?”
“I don’t think so.”
“When — when he was pulled out of thewater —” Her voice broke, and she reached into her purse for a handkerchief and touched it to the tears that came to her eyes.
“Aunt Liza, you don’t have to tell me anymore about Janos,” said Joey. “I know how you feel about him.”
“I — I don’t want you to risk your life, too,” she stammered, and blew her nose. “You want your mother and father to go through
the pains and heartaches I and your uncle went through? They will never get over it. Never.”
“If I don’t swim that lake, Aunt Liza, then I’ll feel that —” He paused, not knowing how to continue. Why say more to her?
No matter what he said, she would still insist he was crazy to attempt swimming Oshawna Lake.
“I can’t understand why,” she went on, looking at him as if suddenly she had
seen
a new and different side of him. “Why do you think you have to swim that lake? My God! Yolanda said it is twenty-one miles
long. Twenty-one miles! Did you know that there were many swimmers who tried to swim across the English Channel and could
not? And the English Channel is almost the same distance.”
“But you can’t compare the English Channel with Oshawna Lake,” Joey said.
“Why not?”
“The English Channel is controlled by tides and winds. It moves a lot faster than Oshawna Lake because it flows into the North
Sea. And it’s a lot colder. It hardly gets above sixty degrees even during the hottest months of the year. Oshawna gets up
into the seventies, and sometimes eighties. It’s been recorded at eighty-one. It has an outlet, too, but the water flows so
slowly you’d hardly notice it. You just can’t compare the two, Aunt Liza.”
She stared at him. “You have read a lot about
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