“It couldn’t have gone better,” he said, and explained why he would still be opening Elena 2 on time.
“What a remarkable friend you have in Lawrence,” said Anna. “So where’s the Warhol?”
“The real one, or the copy?”
“The copy to start with.”
“Back in the Jefferson room.”
“And the original?”
“Lawrence thinks it’s probably in the south of France. Which is another reason Evelyn won’t be coming back to Boston in a hurry.”
“Don’t count on it,” said Anna. “The man you’ve described would never allow his sister to go to jail.”
“You know that, and I know that, but can Evelyn risk it? Anyway, what did you get up to while I was away?”
“I had lunch at Lombardi’s.”
“Traitor.”
“And although your mother cooks a far superior pizza, their menus are in a different class,” she said as their food was served.
“I’ve never noticed.”
“Don’t forget, the customer sees the menu long before they see their food. As design was part of my degree course, I thought I could come up with something a little more enticing for Elena’s.” She took half a dozen sheets of paper out of her carrier bag and placed them on the table.
Alex studied the different designs for some time before he said, “Wow, I see what you mean.”
“They’re only preliminary sketches,” said Anna. “I’ll have a more polished version by the time we go to Virginia.”
“I can’t wait,” said Alex, as the waiter whisked their empty plates away.
“But you’ll have to,” said Anna, checking her watch. “Must dash. Mr. Rosenthal will raise his cultured eyebrow if I’m a minute late.”
While Anna returned to the gallery, Alex took the subway to Brighton Beach and dropped in to Elena’s to let his mother know Paolo would be joining them on Monday.
“And Anna?” said Elena.
“She’s fine,” said Alex, who quickly left for his other world, before she could remind him he only had three days left to beat his father’s record.
He was sitting in the front row of the lecture theater at Columbia only moments before Professor Donovan made his entrance.
“This evening, we will consider the significance of the Marshall Plan,” said Donovan, “and the role President Truman played in assisting the Europeans to get back on their feet after the Second World War. The financial instability facing Europe in 1945 was such that…”
By the time Alex got home just after ten, he was exhausted. He found his mother in the kitchen chatting to Dimitri, who’d just arrived back from Leningrad.
Alex collapsed into the nearest chair.
“Dimitri tells me that your uncle Kolya has just been made convener of the dockers’ union,” said Elena. “Isn’t that wonderful news?”
Alex didn’t comment. He was sound asleep and quietly snoring.
30
ALEX
Boston