Florence Adler Swims Forever

Esther is looking forward to moving back to the house on Atlantic Avenue so that she can avoid reminders of Florence’s death. As she is packing, she sees Florence’s old Ambassadors Club suit. She wonders what to do with the clothes but resolves that Anna will not get any of them. Joseph appears in the doorway and starts to talk about Florence’s love of swimming, which Esther doesn’t want to think about. To her disappointment, Joseph starts to help her fold clothes, though he repeatedly bungles the folding.

She thinks about whether she enjoyed any part of Florence swimming and whether she would tell the mothers of the daughters who swam with Florence to keep their daughters out of the water. Joseph quietly says that he is also allowed to miss Florence, and Esther retorts that he at least has Anna. He is confused, so she cites the affidavit he wrote for Anna’s parents, in which he told the consulate that Anna was like a daughter to him. She accuses him of putting the evil eye on Florence. He apologizes for not telling Esther about Inez, and she admits that she feels foolish: She wonders how much of their love was real when they met. He tells her that the first time he took her hand, he immediately wrote to Inez to break off the engagement. He explains that he was afraid of telling Esther the truth and that he is ashamed that he didn’t break off the engagement with Inez sooner. He feels he should have brought her and Inez to the US long ago, but he was afraid of hurting Esther. He also admits that he established a bank account in Inez’s name with the money from Florence’s Channel swim and that the beneficiary is Anna. Esther is deeply upset and feels old. She suggests that he stay in the apartment while she moves back to the house by herself.

Anna, returning home from the race, interrupts to tell them about the moment of silence for Florence. Esther sees Joseph is worried and decides not to push him for the moment. She asks him what they should do.

Fannie starts having contractions at 2:00 am, and the nurses call Dr. Rosenthal. Fannie wants to send word to Florence in France but decides to wait until she is holding a healthy baby in her hands. Dr. Rosenthal arrives and surmises that Fannie might not be going into labor yet, especially because the baby isn’t due for another two weeks. Fannie is disappointed to have to stay longer in the hospital bed but relieved that the baby will have the best chance.

Dorothy stays with Fannie, and the two start to talk about marriage and Florence. Joseph’s arrival interrupts them. Fannie is elated, knowing he has not been in a hospital in 20 years. She wonders where Esther is and then realizes that Esther is looking for Isaac. She and Joseph talk, and Joseph admits that he thinks they were wrong not to bury Hyram at Egg Harbor. Fannie begins to cry and recounts all the ways he and Esther fought against her desire for the burial. She remembers that she apologized to her son for not taking better care of him. Fannie has a contraction, and Joseph asks if he should get the nurse. Fannie asks him to wait and thanks him for what he said about Hyram. Joseph apologizes for being so preoccupied with Florence that he hasn’t spent much time thinking about Fannie. He suggests that she could have a career like Mrs. Simons. She says that she doesn’t know anything about business, and Joseph reassures her that she will learn.

Joseph excuses himself from Fannie’s room when Dr. Rosenthal returns. Esther arrives at the hospital after failing to find Isaac and leaving a note on his door. Joseph tells her that Mrs. Simons thinks Isaac might be stealing money from the company. Dr. Rosenthal tells Esther and Joseph that he wants to wait a few hours to move Fannie into delivery, and Joseph says he will wait for Isaac downstairs. Esther remains angry with him, and he realizes how much she has had to endure sitting with Fannie for months while keeping Florence’s death a secret.

Isaac arrives downstairs and asks what is happening. Joseph asks where Isaac has been and if he’s drunk. Isaac tries to push through to see Fannie, but Joseph grabs him and tells him to sit down. Isaac nearly punches Joseph, who simply repeats himself quietly and explains the plan for Fannie’s delivery. Joseph doesn’t smell alcohol on Isaac, but he learns that Isaac lost $500 along with all his father’s money. Joseph asks him if that includes the money Isaac took from the Adlers’ business, explaining that Mrs. Simons figured out what Isaac was doing. Joseph realizes that if he does nothing, Isaac will drag Fannie down with him. He decides to tell Isaac about the $1,000 in the account Isaac had been paying into to repay his loan. In exchange, Joseph asks him to leave town. Isaac considers the offer and negotiates; Joseph is disgusted, he offers Isaac a lump sum along with monthly payments for the rest of his life. Before Isaac can accept, Esther walks in and asks what they are talking about. Joseph can see Esther’s contempt for Isaac. Joseph is afraid that Esther is going to ruin the potential deal, but Isaac agrees to come to the apartment at 10 o’clock the next morning to make a decision about whether to leave and take the money or to stay.

As Isaac packs everything he owns into one suitcase, he finds a photograph in which Gussie is a blur, Fannie looks miserable, and he looks distant. He tries to remember whether he was happy and decides to take the photograph. There is one document he can picture—an envelope with tattered corners and Fannie’s handwriting across the front—but he can’t find it, so he decides to check the office.

A few minutes after 10:00 am, Isaac is at Joseph’s door asking about Gussie. Gussie is excited to see him, and they go for a walk. Joseph wants to supervise, but Isaac tells him to send Anna to watch them instead. They don’t wait for her, and she only catches up with them at the boardwalk. He buys Gussie and himself frozen custard and reprimands Gussie for offering one to Anna; he then offers Anna a cone to satisfy Gussie. Anna refuses. He sits down with Gussie and explains to her that he is going to Florida for a long time. He tells her he thinks she will be a very good big sister. Gussie is quiet and lets the custard melt onto the ground.

When they return to the apartment, Joseph shows Isaac the papers outlining the terms of their agreement. The only addition to the agreement is that if Fannie ever wants a divorce, Isaac must grant it to her. Joseph calls Anna to sign as a witness. Isaac hesitates but then pushes “every pure and decent thought he’d ever had from his head” and signs (238). Joseph and Isaac then head to the bank for Joseph to give Isaac his lump sum. In return, Isaac gives him a letter from “Florence”; Isaac forged it so Fannie won’t think that Florence died angry with her. Joseph says he will consider giving Fannie the letter and then walks Isaac to the train.

Stuart is in the elevator rehearsing how to tell his father that he will work for him and that he needs $5,000 for Anna. Since Saturday, when he saw her at the race, he has been thinking about Anna’s marriage talk. He can imagine a perfect life with her, and though he questions her motivations, some part of him doesn’t care what they are. He realizes that she probably both wants him and wants something from him, and this makes him sure of his own course.

Stuart speaks with his father, who agrees to give him $5,000 in exchange for Stuart working his way through every position at the hotel until he takes over his father’s role. Once he receives the check, he heads to the Boardwalk National Bank and runs into Anna, who can’t find Gussie. Anna says that she thought Gussie might be looking for Stuart, but he says he hasn’t seen her. They look everywhere and can’t find her. When Stuart learns Isaac is leaving, he realizes that Gussie could be at the train station looking for him.

They run to the train station, where Stuart finds Gussie after a frantic search. Gussie is surprised to see him and begins to cry. He calls Anna over, and Gussie is embarrassed that Anna is so excited to see her. Gussie says she didn’t have enough money for a train ticket and that she thinks nobody needs her. Stuart says that he, Anna, and the secret society need her and that there will be no more secrets from her, except one.

Anna, Gussie, and Stuart arrive at the hospital that evening. Esther is relieved to see Gussie, saying that Dorothy told her that Anna had called the ward looking for Gussie. Anna waves this off as confusion and asks about Fannie. Esther tells them that Fannie is in the delivery room; they will be able to see her the next morning after she rests. Esther asks Anna to take Gussie home just as Dr. Rosenthal arrives and announces that Esther has a healthy, beautiful granddaughter named Ruby. Everyone cries. Anna knows that the name will be a reminder that the child’s life began with a lie; Jews typically name their children after the dead, so Florence would have been the baby’s name under other circumstances.

Everyone, except Fannie and the baby, walks out of the hospital in the morning. Esther is relieved that her plan worked and that the baby arrived safely. Anna is grateful for the baby’s birth, though she recognizes this doesn’t change anything for Anna herself. She wishes that Stuart would give her one last swim lesson before she leaves for college.

Stuart asks Anna, Esther, and Joseph if he can speak with Anna privately. He then explains that he established a trust in her parents’ name with the $5,000 from his father. He tells her that he doesn’t want her to marry anyone, including him, for a visa; he wants to discuss marriage separately. They kiss, and afterward Anna laughs and says that Gussie will be upset. Stuart tells her that he already received Gussie’s blessing.

Anna wakes up the next morning to Esther brewing coffee. She tells Esther that Stuart asked her to marry him and that she agreed. She also tells her that Stuart is joining the family business and that she will not go to college, though it will disappoint her parents. Esther looks like she might cry, but Anna tells her that she knows Florence did not want Stuart. Anna thinks about when Florence kissed her and tells Esther that Florence wanted “to swim forever” (256). Esther cries quietly, and Anna asks her if she will tell Fannie everything today. Esther says she will, and Anna tells her she will feel better with no more secrets. Esther wonders whether she will just feel like Florence is really gone. The two hold hands in silence and imagine Florence on a beach in Cape Gris-Nez, waiting to swim the English Channel.