Page 142 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Courtship

obey the law of regeneration. It was Fannie’s hair that overcame my
shyness.
I was teaching her reading, and she was tired, having worked ten
hours in an office; or maybe she was tired from my teaching her
those dry words. She became drowsy, folded her arms over the book,
and laid her head down. I felt disappointed and waited a few minutes.
She had such beautiful hair, nicely arranged, combed to one side, and
so close to my eyes that I was tempted to touch it. That was the
moment it struck me. An electric current went through my heart and
my hand was moving gently over her hair. She stood up with such
dreamy eyes that I suddenly bent towards her, put my arm around
her shoulder and kissed her forehead. Then I murmured those
famous and universal words. I could not hear myself saying them,
and probably she did not hear them distinctly, but it was as dramatic
as it is performed on the screen, and the effect was the same. It
bound two hearts together for over forty years. I could not speak
from excitement, or fear she might slap me. She was more composed
than I was, which she always was; she had presence of mind all the
years of her life. She smiled and stepped back a little, and I could
hardly find the door to go to my room.
Although she was young, she was a perfect lady, very well-
mannered. I was a gentleman and respectable; her parents respected
me, especially her mother, a nice, simple Jewish woman. My courting
of that young girl was not romantic, as you read in books, as I was
not educated in the rules of etiquette of a city boy, nor did I mix with
women—or even men. So I did not bring flowers or boxes of candy,
and she had to tutor me on how to act when we went out a couple of
times during our courting. Not on personal behavior, but simple
civility, like walking on the left side of the lady or waiting for her to
sit down first. All these trifling manners were strange to me. It was
certainly marvelous of her, acting like a mother directing her young
boy to use his hankie, walk slowly, and help his little sister when
crossing the street.
She taught me to lift my hat when meeting her in front of the
Equitable office building after working hours and walking home with
her. It was quite a distance from Lewis Street where she lived, but she
knew how hard I worked and how little I could save, and being
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