25. I GOT OUT OF THE CAB in front of the house and paid the driver. Then I picked up the heavy bundle and went upstairs. Just as I let myself in with my key, the phone in the foyer began to ring. Before I could answer it, Mrs. Herman came pattering out of the bedroom and saw me. “Oh, it’s Mr. Bogen!” She stood there, undecided, hesitating between me and the ringing telephone, “Who’s there?” mother cried from the bedroom. “Hershie?” “Yeah, Ma,” I called. “It’s me.” I turned to Mrs. Herman. “You answer the phone please, Mrs. Herman. I’ll go in to see my mother. Okay?” She nodded quickly. “Sure, Mr. Bogen.” She walked to the phone and I went into the bedroom. “Hello, Ma.” I held up the heavy bundle. “Guess what I brought you?” She twisted her lips disapprovingly. “Bring yourself a little more often, Hershie. The bundles you could leave downtown with the—” I bent down and kissed her. “How’s the leg, Ma?” She shrugged. “The leg is like a leg.
