Fourth Lake, Chapter 3

Chapter 2 was posted at the end of February.

With Judy riding shotgun, Phil backed their green Fiat 124 Sport Coupe out of the driveway of their four bedroom, split-level house in Little Neck and headed for the Long Island Expressway.  Once there, they would go west to the Whitestone Bridge, which would bring them to the Bronx.  Eventually, they would take the New York State Thruway north past Albany and head into the Adirondack Mountains.  It was a beautiful summer day.  The Sunday traffic getting out of the city was light.

When Judy leaned forward to turn the car radio onto a pop music station, Phil turned toward her.  They exchanged smiles.  Judy remembered the first time they looked at each other.  It was fifteen years before, the summer of 1959.  They were having lunch at Gallagher’s Steak House on the west side of Manhattan, but at separate tables.  After recognizing Phil from the basketball game, she started staring at him.

“I’m sorry.  You don’t know me, but I finally remember where I know you.  You played basketball at Penn, right?  Isn’t your name Phil something?”

“Yes, Phil Black.  Did you see me play?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Phil.  My name is Judy White.  I was a cheerleader at NYU and it must have been about three years ago at your court.  I was so impressed by how well you played that night.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too, Judy.  Do you remember who won the game?  I don’t.”

“No!  The only thing I remember was the cute guy wearing number 10 for the home team.  By the way, let me introduce you to...”

Judy and Phil exchanged business cards.  Judy worked for a public relations firm on Madison Avenue, not far from Phil’s office.  She graduated from college the year before and had been with her firm for about six months when they met.  On the other hand, Phil graduated from Penn’s Wharton School in 1956 and started working for his CPA firm almost immediately.  He passed all of the requirements to be a CPA within two years.

About two weeks later, after patiently waiting in vain for Phil to call her, Judy called him.

“Hello, Phil.  It’s Judy White.  We met at Gallagher’s a couple of weeks ago.  How are you?”

“Yeah!  Hi, Judy.  I’m fine.  Been a little busy.  How about you?”

“Good!  I’m learning the ropes over here.  Fascinating work, public relations.”

“I’m sure it is.”

“Say, Phil, I was wondering if we could have lunch some time, as our offices are so close.  We could discuss your glory days playing basketball or something.”

“No!  I can’t have lunch with you.”

“Oh.”

“No, you don’t understand.  Lunch is always with clients.  But, if you’d like, we could have dinner.  How about this Saturday night?”

“That would be great, Phil.  Let me give you my home address.”

Judy lived with her parents in a modest house in Bayside, Queens.  When Phil arrived in his beat-up Chevy, Judy met him at the door dressed very differently than when he had seen her at the restaurant or when she had seen him at the basketball game.  She was all dolled up, with her long hair flowing off her shoulders.  She had applied an alluring shade of eye shadow, red lipstick, and what smelled like Chanel No. 5.  Judy had on a brightly-colored dress cut so that Phil could notice the very tops of her shapely breasts and the bottoms of her curvaceous legs.  She was beautiful.

Phil took her to his favorite Chinese restaurant, Say Eng Look, on East Broadway in Chinatown.  They shared moo sho pork and chicken with broccoli.  She loved it.  They were the only non-Chinese in the restaurant.

“So, Phil, what made you want to be a CPA?”

“To tell you the truth, I’m a greedy bastard.  Seriously, you can make a very good living at it.  Besides, I wasn’t good enough to play pro ball.  The only problem is the hours.  I have to work a lot.  But, I don’t really mind ‘cause it gives me what I want out of life.  Right now, I’m saving for a brand new Cadillac.  And eventually, I want to buy my own place.”

Phil seemed like a great guy to Judy.  First, he was gorgeous.  He was tall and well-built.  Secondly, he was ambitious, hard-working, and had a good profession.  She was very attracted to him and definitely wanted to pursue a relationship.

Judy was used to going after the things she wanted in life.  At 10, she talked her parents into paying for gymnastics lessons.  Later, at Bayside High School, she aspired to be the Senior Class President.  The faculty advisor told her that girls usually became either the Vice-President or the Secretary.  Judy would hear none of that.  She worked her tail off and was elected as the first female to win the honor in twenty years.  Her father wanted her to attend Queens College and live at home.  Judy wanted to go away to school.  They argued about what a proper young girl should do.  As a compromise, she attended New York University and lived in a dorm on campus.  Her mother wanted her to study to be a teacher, but Judy majored in English Literature and took a lot of business courses.  After graduation, and much to the chagrin of her parents, she bummed around Europe with a girlfriend for six months before settling down.

Judy had never been reticent.  Growing up right behind an older brother had made her competitive and aggressive.  Her role model had been Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind.  When she saw the movie, Judy found a woman she could relate to.  It encouraged her to read the book, which encouraged her to become an avid reader and to study literature in college.  Now she had Phil in her sights.  Judy didn’t see herself as a career woman, but as a housewife and a mother, married to a successful man.

After dinner, Judy and Phil walked around Chinatown, taking in the many sights, sounds, and aromas that are unique to that part of Manhattan.  When they arrived back at her home late that Saturday night, he walked her to the front door.  Without any hesitation, Judy threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth. 

“Thanks for a wonderful evening, Phil.  Please call me again.  Good night.”

Being a young CPA working for a large firm was almost a seven day a week job.  You were on call all the time.  You could work every day of the week, even Saturdays, Sundays, or holidays.  It was difficult to have a personal life outside the office.  However, about every couple of weeks, Phil found time to call Judy for a date, usually on a Saturday night. 

Judy was not exactly sitting by the phone waiting for Phil to call her.  As an attractive young woman, she had plenty of admirers who called up for dates.  And she went out with more than one of them and enjoyed herself when she did.  However, Phil was her first choice as a potential mate.  But, she wasn’t taking any chances in case Phil didn’t pan out.  When she and Phil did go out, she let him know how she felt about him.

Phil had now been with his firm for about five years and was working himself up the firm’s ladder of success which eventually led to a partnership.  He realized, for that to happen, he needed more than to just work hard and bring money into the firm.  He needed to make a good impression on the existing partners, both professionally and personally.  Annually, near Christmas, the firm held a party at a country club on Long Island, where all the firm’s employees were invited.  They were expected to bring their spouses or dates in the case of single employees.

It was late December 1961.  JFK was in the White House and the Green Bay Packers were NFL champions for the first time in 17 years.  Phil in a tuxedo and Judy in a pale yellow evening gown were walking through the receiving line at the festive party, greeting all the partners and their wives.  After many handshakes and introductions, they finally reached the partner Phil worked for the most, Malcolm Fitzhugh, Jr.  Everyone had been drinking cocktails and thus everyone was in a good mood. 

“Good evening, Malcolm.  I’d like to introduce my date, Miss Judy White.”

“I’m very pleased to meet you, Mr. Fitzhugh.  It’s a wonderful party.”

“Pleased to meet you, too, Judy.  Call me Malcolm.  You have wonderful taste, Phil.  Judy’s the most beautiful girl here tonight.”

“Thank you very much, Malcolm,” said Judy.

“You know, Phil, if I were single and twenty years younger, I would ask Judy for her phone number.  Maybe I’ll ask her anyway.”

“You’re making me blush, Malcolm,” she responded.

“You have it made, Phil.  You’re one of the brightest young men we have at the firm.  Everyone says so.  And we all like you, too.  That’s important if you want to make partner, Judy.  We don’t make SOBs partners, even if they make us a lot of money.  And now, you show up with virtually your final requirement for partnership, a beautiful girl on your arm.  You better grab her, Phil, before she slips through your fingers.”

“I’ll do my best, Malcolm.  See you later.”

Judy and Phil joined the other couples on the dance floor. 

“What was that all about, Phil?”

“What do you mean?”

“What he said about your final requirement for partnership?”

“Well, there’s kind of an unwritten rule that candidates for partnership have to be married.”

“That’s interesting.  Do you want to be a partner?”

“You know I do.  I’ve told you many times.”

“Do you really think they would hold it against you being single?”

“I’ve been with them almost six years.  Nobody who wasn’t married has made partner.  But, I’ve got a few years to go before I’m eligible.”

“Do you have anybody in mind to be Mrs. Phil Black?”

“Well, this isn’t exactly like a proposal, but I think you’d make a very good candidate.  You’re bright, attractive and you just made a great impression on my boss.”

“Gee, maybe I should try to be the next Mrs. Malcolm Fitzhugh, Jr.?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that perhaps while you’re biding your time checking out all the good candidates who could be your wife, I might be checking out all the good candidates who are worthy enough to be my husband.  By the time your eligibility rolls around, I may be taken.  You’re not the only man I date, you know.”

By the summer of 1962, Judy and Phil were married and they moved into an apartment on the upper east side of Manhattan.  In 1963, Kylie was born, just four days before JFK was assassinated.  Less than two years later, they had Megan.  In 1966, Phil made partner.  The following year, the Black family moved to their house in Little Neck.

To be continued next month...