A sudden flicker of light on the ceiling caused Tessie O'Shea to look up. Someone was pulling in the driveway. She went quickly to the window and looked out through the patterns in the lace curtains, then shook her head . . . Ollie! . . . Ollie in his red convertible. Well, it had to be faced.
She quickly pulled her hair back and tied it. She got out the vacuum, plugged it in, and turned it on. Then he rang -- ding, ding, di-ding, ding, DING DING! Ollie all right, the salesman's ring. A bottle of wine and a box of candy ring. Well, he was in for a surprise.
"Tess, my dear, Ollie's here -- you ready for a day of fun and frolic? My God, woman, what are you up to, cleaning? Nobody cleans on a Sunday."
"Nice of you to call, Ollie."
"Well, yeah, I was gonna do that, but I figured why waste time on the phone. We've only got a day 'til Monday. One day to live a lifetime in, love." He put the presents on the coffee table and extended his arms. "Come into these lovin' arms, my dear -- here where the fat lies a-bubblin'."
"Hands off, Ollie."
"What's the matter old girl? Have I caught my Tessie at a bad time?"
"First of all I'm not your Tessie, and if you think you can drop by once every two months without even having the decency to call, you can just turn yourself around again. Get that junk off my end table; I'm cleaning in here." She ran the vacuum into his highly polished shoes, and he shuffled backwards awkwardly.
"You know how long I waited for this day, Tessie?"
"No! How could I? And look at you! You've still got your hat on. Come walking in here after two months . . . think you own the place and don't have the decency to take your hat off!" Ollie took his hat off and, as though it was a switch, Tessie shut off the vacuum cleaner. They looked each other up and down, tentatively, as if for the first time. "Y'see Ollie, it ain't like you and me is man and wife. God almighty knows what'cha up to when you're on the road."
"I couldn't wait to see you, Tessie."
"I know; I couldn't wait either. So what! Neither of us waited, that's the sad part about it. It ain't enough, Ollie. Just plain not good enough, what we do. Look at us! I'm thirty-seven years old -- you must be, what, forty-five?"
"I'm a young forty-three, Tess."
"Forty-three years old and still a pharmaceuticals sales rep, a girl in every town all the way from Yonkers to Buffalo. Got it all worked out right. Sellin' prescription drugs on the side yet, huh, Ollie?"
"What's gotten into you, Tessie?"
"My last damn birthday, that's what! Came on a Wednesday. You were God knows where; the guys down at the Highway Department were busy, and I got stinkin' drunk all by myself right here in this ratty condo. What were you doing on that Wednesday, Ollie -- huh? Tell me what you were doing?"
Ollie hung his head. He didn't dare answer because he wasn't exactly sure which Wednesday Tessie's birthday was.
"What it comes down to, Ollie, is -- well, I went on retreat right after my birthday, that's what."
"Retreat? You mean like a nun?"
"No, not like a nun. It's a retreat house. You meditate and contemplate and read the Bible. There was a director there, Father Andrew. He'd come in my room every afternoon and talk over where I'm goin' with my life."
"Kinda like re-hab, sounds like."
"I dunno, I never been to re-hab. But it done me a world of good, I tell you. I quit my job at the Highway Department; that was one of the problems. I was the only woman in an office of twenty-seven men. I'm workin' for the Gazette now -- "Goldie's Homemakers Page."
"Y'mind if I sit down, Tessie?"
Tessie untied her hair and unplugged the vacuum cleaner. "Go ahead and sit, Ollie. Comes as a surprise, huh?"
"Somehow I can't see you in a retreat, or a newspaper either, for that matter. What do you know about homemakin' anyways?"
"Goldie Pfeiffer writes the page. I help her. We're in three newspapers; Goldie thinks we could syndicate soon."
The sight of Ollie sitting on the sofa with his candy and wine in one hand and his hat in the other was more than Tessie could bear.
"Can I get'cha somethin' Ollie?"
"Wanna open the champagne?"
"No, liquor's out -- that's another one of the problems. Tell'ya what though, I'll make you a nice cup a' tea."
Ollie looked up at her helplessly. "Yeah, I'll have a tea."
"I got jasmine, orange, lemon, and sassafras."
"I thought you had tea."
"It is tea -- herbal tea. Don't look like that; it's very good for you."
"Skip the tea, Tessie . . . er . . . this retreat business . . . does it mean like . . . well, you and me used to . . . you know."
"Exactly!"
"I didn't get a room, Tess."
"Tell you what, Ollie. I'll get dressed, and we'll take a walk in the park. It's a beautiful afternoon. You can get a room at the Bigelow. No problem in this town; nobody comes here. Then we can have a long talk."
Ollie sat there, still holding the candy and the wine. Normally he would have followed Tessie into the bedroom and fooled around while she dressed, but he didn't dare today . . . Well, maybe she'd loosen up later – no, she wouldn't. . . . Maybe I can talk her out of it – no, I can't. This never happened before. Musta been that Father Andrew. Imagine Tessie talkin' to a Priest! When was the last time I saw a Priest? When Mom died, right? I tell ya, there's no standin' up against the church once they get their claws in ya. I didn't get to tell her the news either. My last trip as a drummer -- I wanted it to be special. Well, she's a class woman, right? Y'can't just drop in like she was a . . . no! . . . course not. Is it worth it? Well, sure it is, you know how you feel about Tessie -- she's more than special, right . . . but . . . but . . . it's nice the way it was too -- comin' and goin' -- no strings. Why spoil a good thing?
"Ready, Ollie?"
Ollie had almost dozed off on the sofa. He caressed the arm of it and remembered the afternoon he and Tessie had gone out to get this particular sofa -- when was it, five or six years ago? Had some great times on it, too. Scoring while the football games were on and watchin' the weather report on Monday mornin' before he had to leave.
He rose from the sofa and put the candy and the wine back on the end table. "O.K. if I leave these here, Tessie? Gee, y'look great, old girl -- it's O.K. for me to say that, ain't it?"
They stepped out into a fine spring day. A high blue sky with a flock of shepherd's sheep clouds crowded their way across the western sky.
"We can take my car, Tessie."
"Forget it. It's too nice a day to ride. It's a walkin' kind of day, Ollie. Walkin' and talkin'. Y'can come back and get'cha car after y'get a room."
Even Ollie had to agree it was a great day for walking. They wandered into the Highland Zoo just as the seals had roused themselves from their after-lunch siesta. With raucous barks and much flipper slapping, they had drawn a crowd of children.
"Look at them," Ollie remarked. "They don't ask for much, do they? A little love, a chance to show off, and someone to watch over them?"
"Come over here on this bench, Ollie. Sit down. Do you realize what you just said?"
Ollie sat down and took off his hat. He looked up at Tessie plaintively. "Jeez, Tessie -- now what'd I do?"
"You just described yourself to a "T," that's what! That's what I been tellin' you. You got the brains and about as much responsibility as one of them seals over there. Well, maybe that's O.K. with you, but I'm not like that anymore -- I've changed, Ollie. I don't what I am exactly, but I'm somebody. I'm not your fancy lady anymore, Ollie, and nobody else's neither."
"Aw, Tessie, I never thought you was a fancy lady. I never said that neither. You were the high spot; you were the reason I stopped off in this crummy town."
"Then off to Syracuse and Binghamton! 'See'ya Tess -- you were great, Tess old girl.' There came a time, Ollie, when I hated to see you at the door."
Tessie O'Shea glanced quickly at Ollie. Poor Ollie, she thought. Would he ever be anything more than a traveling man? We've had such good times together. Maybe I was too pushy. Look at him, poor soul. He ain't the best lover -- not by half he ain't, but he's the guy I wished it was every time. I never told that to Father Andrew. Never told it to Ollie neither -- but I told it to God, and I told it to myself a thousand times. . . . Oh, Ollie, Ollie! We ain't gettin' any younger; it's time.
They sat quietly, side by side on the bench by the seals, leaving a little space -- not touching, each somewhat fearful of the other. Ollie loved Tessie but the lure of being free and easy on the road had been (up until now, at least) compelling. He thought about the news he had kept to himself -- a steady job at the home office in Yonkers. It was tempting, but the call of the road, even the excitement of seeing Tessie every month or so had kept him from considering it. The idea of Tessie full time -- Tessie as a wife! Someone to care for, to come home to every night! He turned to look at her sitting beside him. Look at her, he thought. Sittin' straight and proud! Is she the woman you'd build a house around? Raise kids with? KIDS!! -- c'mon, be sensible, Ollie, what kinda father would I be?
"Y'know, Tess," he began, "this was gonna be the last swing."
"What are you tryin' to say, Ollie?"
"Anderson says I should come in from the road. That's what we call it, 'the road,' like we was entertainers or something. Anderson's the head sales rep in Yonkers. They're lookin' for youth, Tessie."
"You're a young 43, you said."
"There's no such thing as a young 43 on the road. I gotta lotta miles on me, Tess. I stood a million rounds a' drinks, payin' off whoever I owed and never a thought for tomorrow. You're right, Tess, you're right; I am like them seals over there. But this was gonna be the last swing. On the way back I was gonna stop here."
He paused and moved a little closer to Tessie and fished a paper from his inside pocket. He opened it carefully and gave it to Tessie.
"What's this, Ollie?" she asked.
"My birth certificate. You got one? Y'need a birth certificate to get married."
She made a mental calculation. "Says here you're 46."
"Well, I'm a young 46. What difference does it make anyways? The thing is when Anderson gave me the news, the first thing I thought about was you. Bein' on the road meant I could stop off and see you. I couldn't stop seein' you, Tessie." He took a deep breath. "It's hard for a man in his middle forties t'say he loves somebody -- 'specially a road man. But to put it plain and blunt like I always have with you, Tess, I love you enough to wanna marry you. I'm awful set in my ways, and I got some habits I don't know if I can break or not, but I'll work damn hard to make you love me."
It was a left-handed proposal, but it was good enough for Tessie O'Shea. Ollie was not the catch she would have settled for when she was younger, but as she grew older, she began to see her own faults and was wise enough to know that marriages are not held together by perfection. There are pluses and minuses -- just so long as the imperfections work together.
"You sayin' you want to marry me, Ollie?"
" I dunno. I never asked nobody before, but I guess I am, Tess. What do you say?"
"Well, if you're sure ......" she turned her face away, "I been around the block a few times myself, Ollie. On top of that I been so long alone, I'm a little set in my ways. Maybe we both have a lot to learn. Be a good idea if we start right off."
"Whaddya mean, Tess?"
"I mean -- no sense in you gettin' a room. There's a lot we gotta talk over. Let's stop off at the Chinese take-out. I know you like Chinese food."