Fahrenheit 1600 (Victor Kozol) (13 page)

Chapter 26

The Sunday Dinner

It was a gray, overcast fall Sunday the
prearranged dinner that Vic has agreed to have with Karen’s parents was to take
place. He was a little apprehensive about the meeting, but the promise of a
roast beef dinner with homemade apple pie took away most of Vic’s reservations.

It has been a long time since he has eaten home
cooking, and he was not going to back out now. Karen picked him up at 11:00 and
drove him over the short distance to Wyoming. The small town of less than five
thousand people is much like Duryea but has an area of newer homes up on the
hill overlooking the old town. This is where the Schmidts, Mike and Mary, live
and also is where Karen was raised. The two story brick home with white trim
was neat and well-maintained.

“Welcome to our home, Victor,” Mike said as he
opened the door and ushered Vic and Karen in. Mary came out from the kitchen
with her apron and cutting knife in hand to get her first glimpse of her
daughter’s new beau.

“I am pleased to meet you Victor, please feel at
home here while I get the meal ready for serving.”

“Thanks Mr. & Mrs. Schmidt, the pleasure is all
mine to be here.”

“Karen, take Victor into the living room and let him
relax for a few minutes while I finish up in here.”

“Sure mom.”

With that Karen led Vic across the hall into the
living room, where, sitting partially obscured from his view behind a
protruding bookcase is an older woman. She is Mary’s great aunt. Victor stares
at Sophie who returns the gaze with equal shock and stands from her chair with
amazing agility for a person her age, a spry, wiry athleticism Victor had only
ever before witnessed in one other elderly woman.

“He-he-hello, Mrs. Lunitis” stammers Vic.

“Hello Mr. Kozol.” Sophie responded with a strong,
even tone.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

“You know my great Aunt Sophie?” Karen asked amazed.

“We two go way back together in Wilkes-Barre, don’t
we Victor?” Sophie said with what Victor can only interpret as an evil leer.
“Victor was one of my second floor tenants.”

“Well, isn’t it a small world!” Karen smiled,
clapping her hands together in delight.

Too damned small,
Victor thought,
I’ve got
to keep the old bat from talking too much.

“Yes, the best gosh-darned landlady I ever had, too.
Okay, she’s the only landlady I’ve ever had, but your Aunt Sophie, she’s ...”

Victor wondered how long he can keep up the effusive
babbling and opts for a diversionary tactic.

“Well, I guess I better go wash my hands before we
start in on this wonderful supper I’ve been promised.”

Sophie didn’t reply, but the cat-that-caught-the-canary
smile remained.

Sophie will say no more, but the coolness between
her and Vic is evident to Karen. Vic knew his dinner was ruined, for Sophie may
not destroy him over the dinner table, but when he and Karen leave, it’s ‘damn the
torpedoes’. How to come out of this in one piece is going to be a new Houdini
act for Vic. For the present, Vic just sits quietly in the living room talking
pleasantries with Mike and Karen.

The dinner was very good, and after some more get
acquainted talk Karen and Vic took their leave. Sophie was in the kitchen
helping Mary clean up and do the dishes.

“So, you were Vic’s landlady back in his college
days?”

“Ver do I begin, Victor seems like such a nice
Polish boy, but behind that smiling face is a devil. He had the most wild and
damaging parties in my building.”

Sophie related to Mary how the co-ed fell off the
fire escape late one evening and finally how she evicted Vic after her kitchen
ceiling fell in from the flood he caused. She spares nothing and even
embellishes a few details with a dramatic flourish.

“Victor’s father did pay for all the damage, but the
mess was terrible,” Sophie recounted. She finishes, with “Victor flunked out of
Wilkes.”

“Well Sophie,” Mary said, “he was young and wild
once, we can only hope that now he runs a business and is older and more
settled.”

“I don’t know how he is now, but a few years ago, I
would not want him around our family.”

“He doesn’t seem to have any stopping point built in
and he never seems to regret anything that goes wrong. I don’t know Mary, it’s
not my decision, but maybe Karen can find another man. If I were you and Mike,
I would have Victor investigated to see how settled he really is.”

Mary doesn’t want to tell her aunt that she already
did some preliminary checking on Vic but couldn’t find anything out of order.