New Country And A New Life

We arrived at my apartment, and I wanted to carry Hanna across the threshold. Instead, we passed a homeless person on the stoop and walked in. I would have to pack my life. Bozo greeted me in the foyer with a characteristic hop, skip and jump. Robin had done a good job of keeping her alive while I was gone.

“Can I take her? Do you like kitties?” I asked.

“Penelope, anything that makes you happy. I like animals, and you’re kitty is precious,” she said as Bozo looked at her and then ran away.

“She’ll get to know you,” I said. “She’s a bit shy at first.”

“Nice apartment, Penelope,” she said as I fed Bozo.

We both looked at the bed longingly, but there was work to be done. I showed her the photo of two women making love in my bedroom. “Jill gave me this,” I told her.

“Let’s not take it then. She hurt you deeply. I don’t want any reminders of the past,” she said.

“I love it, though,” I said. “You’re not jealous are you?”

“Of course not, if you want to take it then take it,” she said in that sing songy conciliatory manner that my father used to do with my mother. When your lover reminded you of your parents and friends, the bond strengthened.

“And how about this? My world series baseball autographed by all the 1986 Mets,” I said proudly.

“Who are the Mets?” Hanna asked.

“They are a baseball team that I have rooted for since 1962,” I said already missing the American sports culture before I settled down in Amsterdam. I was getting increasingly sentimental about my possessions. I had not felt like this in years. We had the time to go through my things and for me to tell the story behind each item.

   I took her to my walk-in closet.

 “Check out my books. I had an international collection but donated four boxes to the New York Public Library when I left New York,” I said.

“Warhol, Woolf,.a Lichtenstein book, a Lou Reed biography…you are the true artist,” she said impressed by my collection.

“You are the artiste,” I replied.

“We are both artists,” she answered. “Take the books. I know they are dear to you.”

“Thanks, Hanna.”

“There is room in my study for your computer. Ship it. You must have a lot of articles on your hard drive.”