Heft

Arthur holds the completed letter but decides he’s too cowardly to send it. He explains the events that prompted him to write this confession.

Three days earlier, the phone rang—a rare occurrence that startled him. The caller was Charlene Turner, a former student with whom Arthur has maintained an 18-year correspondence that evolved from their brief in-person relationship. He has not heard from her in nearly a year. During the call, Arthur tells numerous lies: He claims to have visited family in England, seen friends in Manhattan, taken up photography, and updates her on his brother William’s fictional retirement. When Charlene asks if he still teaches, Arthur admits that he’s stopped teaching, but, hearing her disappointment, he lies and tells her that he tutors. Charlene sounds strange and possibly drunk, speaking slowly. She tells Arthur she is sending him a letter and hangs up before he can ask about its contents.

After the call, Arthur retrieves all of Charlene’s past letters—a slim volume of perhaps 40 pages—and reads them in one sitting, allowing himself to remember their relationship with affection and passion. The next morning, he writes the confessional letter from Chapter 1, knowing he would never send it because he is too afraid.

Arthur recalls meeting Charlene Turner two decades earlier. She was a shy, young student in his night class at a progressive university’s extension program, commuting from Yonkers, where she worked as a dental receptionist. She dressed in awkward, brightly colored clothing, rarely spoke in class, and visited Arthur during office hours, despite the eye-rolling of his officemate, Hans Hueber.

Charlene lacked academic aptitude, interpreting literature emotionally rather than critically. Arthur found himself captivated by her earnestness and treated her differently from other students. He worries this means he failed her as a teacher. After the semester ended, he received his first handwritten letter from her, addressing him as Arthur rather than Professor Opp. Overjoyed, he continued their correspondence.

Arthur told his best friend and neighbor, Marty Stein, about the letters. Marty, who had helped Arthur get his job and whom he had convinced to move into the adjacent brownstone, was critical of the relationship. That winter, Charlene suggested they meet. Arthur chose a café near Gramercy Park. During their meetings that spring, they connected over shared loneliness. Charlene confessed she could no longer afford tuition. Arthur took her on various outings, including to the Christopher Street pier to feed ducks—an image of her that became fixed in his mind.

In May, Charlene wrote that family trouble prevented her from seeing him, though she continued writing letters. Arthur reveals their friendship had serious consequences for his career: Colleagues saw them together, and the dean confronted him, revealing Charlene was still technically enrolled in the extension program despite not attending classes. The matter was sent to the ethics board for a hearing. Marty confirmed that damaging rumors were circulating, claiming Arthur began the relationship while Charlene was his student. Unable to grade his finals and too humiliated to attend the hearing, Arthur never returned to the university, ending his career. He never told Charlene what happened.

Arthur receives the letter that Charlene promised. Inside the used blue envelope is only a photograph of a teenage boy in a baseball uniform holding a bat. On the back, an inscription identifies the boy as her son, Kel.

Shocked that Charlene has had a son for years without telling him, Arthur speculates about her motives—perhaps spite, or a command to stop writing. He considers calling her but is too shy and bewildered. Upset, he spends the rest of the day eating heavily and wandering his house.

On Saturday, Arthur worries about Charlene’s motives while eating excessively. He reflects on his weight, using his front window as a mirror at night to monitor his size.

The phone rings—it is Charlene, sounding cheerful. Relieved, Arthur realizes she is not angry. Charlene explains the story she withheld: Shortly after they last met, she married a man named Keller, had their son Kel, and later divorced, never mentioning any of it in her letters. She asks Arthur if he can help Kel, who struggles with college applications and is preoccupied with baseball. She proposes visiting Arthur’s house with her son.

Arthur panics, sweating, and tells her he needs to check his schedule. Before hanging up, Charlene says she has told Kel all about him. Arthur weighs the pros and cons of their visit, considering his lies, appearance, and the state of his house. He decides he must first confess some truth to Charlene and, second, prepare his house. He calls a cleaning service called Home-Maid and is told that a cleaner named Yolanda will arrive the next day.

Arthur writes a new, truthful letter to Charlene. He agrees to meet Kel and help with college applications. He confesses that he has gained significant weight since they last saw each other and has been untruthful in his letters about his social life and travels. He admits Marty Stein died in 1997, he is estranged from his family, has no friends, and rarely goes out or has visitors. He explains he lied perhaps to have something interesting to write about, as their correspondence has been very dear to him. He asks for forgiveness, noting that she, too, has had secrets, and invites them to visit anytime. He places the letter in his mailbox and raises the flag.

Arthur prepares for the cleaner’s visit by selecting his best shirt and positioning himself on the couch with a book. When the doorbell rings at noon, he opens the door to find Yolanda, a very young woman in an ill-fitting blue uniform.

As Yolanda enters, Arthur sees his house through her eyes: piles of papers, takeout containers, plastic bags, stiffened towels wrapped around the banister, and years of accumulated clutter. In the kitchen, a mouse runs from a cabinet, causing Yolanda to shriek and declare she cannot work with mice. Overwhelmed with panic and shame, Arthur asks her to come back another time. She agrees but reminds him he must still pay for the visit.

After she leaves, Arthur feels the house’s emptiness acutely. To console himself, he prepares an enormous feast of cookies, candy, bagels, cream cheese, tomatoes, hamburgers, potato salad, creamed spinach, and cake. While eating and listening to Debussy played by Michelangeli on the radio, he feels a moment of happiness in his solitude. Later, the phone rings, but the caller is silent except for breathing and background noise before hanging up, leaving Arthur with unbearable loneliness.

Arthur waits for Charlene’s reply to his confessional letter, spending his time watching television, reading, and examining the photograph of Kel.

He studies the image closely: Kel is fair-haired, wearing a green and gold uniform with the partial letters G-I-A- visible. He holds a bat with perfect form, looking determined and athletic. Arthur analyzes him, seeing a dreamer who fears things but possesses both bravery and cowardice. He imagines Kel as popular, thunderous on the baseball field, a compass for his friends, and someone who never searches for a seat at lunch. Arthur contrasts this image with his memory of Charlene—shy, brightly dressed, young—and notes he was in love with her.

He resolves to be prepared for their visit and plans meals he thinks a teenage boy would enjoy: potato salad, hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak. He will also have particular things on hand that Charlene liked.

Arthur attempts to clean his house himself but quickly becomes exhausted after pulling books from the shelves. He observes the new family that moved into the brownstone next door, where his late friend Marty once lived. When one of the young sons waves at him, Arthur hides, feeling like a frightening Boo Radley figure. Later, the boy’s father knocks on Arthur’s door, but Arthur is too afraid to answer.

Feeling ashamed, Arthur decides to call Home-Maid again and specifically requests Yolanda. When she arrives, she begins cleaning while Arthur hides in his bedroom. She searches the upper floors for the vacuum—floors Arthur has not seen in years—and eventually finds it in the basement. As she works, the house begins to feel and smell different, as if touched by someone else.

At four o’clock, Yolanda finishes and waits for her ride. They watch Cash Cab together in companionable silence, with Yolanda shouting out answers. A horn sounds outside. Arthur watches from the window as Yolanda climbs onto a powder-blue Vespa, clinging to an unseen driver as they speed away.

Nearly two weeks after mailing his letter, Arthur wakes feeling self-pitying because Charlene has not responded. He decides to be proactive, worrying that Charlene might be in trouble based on her strange voice during their phone call. He suspects drug or alcohol use and wonders if her call was a cry for help.

Arthur dials Charlene’s memorized number. After seven rings, she answers. When Arthur identifies himself, Charlene claims it is the wrong number and hangs up. Arthur is certain it was her and that she is drunk or on drugs, which makes him heartsick.

A short time later, Yolanda arrives for work. Arthur is short with her, distracted by his troubling thoughts. While Yolanda vacuums the living room, Arthur accidentally brushes against her while trying to reach the bathroom. He apologizes profusely, though she does not respond.

Arthur watches from his window as Yolanda arrives on the Vespa. This time, he sees the driver: a young, muscular, tattooed man with a Marine-style haircut. They kiss goodbye, and Arthur dislikes the look on the man’s face.

While Yolanda cleans upstairs, Arthur watches Dr. Phil. Yolanda’s phone rings from inside her purse. Arthur retrieves it and sees a missed call from Junior Baby Love. He hastily returns the phone but forgets to close it. When Yolanda comes downstairs and sees the open phone, she looks at him suspiciously.

To distract her, Arthur offers lunch. She requests a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and milk. In the kitchen, Arthur prepares her food while secretly eating peanut butter, ice cream, fudge, and potato chips. He brings her the sandwich, and they watch a soap opera together. Yolanda explains the plot.

Yolanda notices the photograph of Kel and asks who he is. Arthur lies, claiming Kel is his 17-year-old nephew. Yolanda says he is too young for her, revealing she is 19. On her way out, Yolanda asks to borrow an old romance novel she found upstairs. Realizing it must have been his mother’s, Arthur tells her to keep it.

Over the next two weeks, Arthur scripts what he will say the next time he calls Charlene. He tries once after a week and again the following week. Both times, no one picks up, the ringing stops, and he leaves no message, left only with his rehearsed words and worry.

After a month of regular visits, Arthur and Yolanda have become friends. Arthur teaches her things and values her lack of embarrassment around him. One day, Yolanda finds his old photo albums from the third floor and tries to show them to him. Unable to bear looking at them, Arthur excuses himself. Yolanda, reading his discomfort, quietly returns them upstairs.

On a Sunday—unusual because Yolanda does not normally work Sundays—she calls and asks to come. When she arrives using the key Arthur gave her the previous week, she is upset and ignores him, going straight upstairs and banging around loudly. Arthur worries he has offended her and attempts to climb the stairs to speak with her, managing only seven steps before becoming exhausted and dizzy.

Aggressive knocking erupts at the front door. Yolanda appears at the upstairs railing. Through the glass door, Arthur sees her boyfriend, Junior Baby Love—a young man with tattoos and a bandanna. When Yolanda signals that she does not want to see him, Arthur tells Junior she is not there. Junior sees Yolanda behind Arthur and begins shouting at her. Arthur physically blocks the doorway to prevent him from entering, then shuts the door. Junior pounds harder before finally leaving on his Vespa.

Arthur finds Yolanda crying at the top of the stairs. He coaxes her down and prepares a tray with milk, Pop’ems mini donuts, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yolanda confides that she is almost five months pregnant with Junior’s child. She explains she broke up with him because he lacks steady employment and is involved with another girl. They watch television, and Arthur tells her the story of Deirdre of the Sorrows to comfort her.

After Yolanda leaves, Arthur fantasizes about adopting her and her child, allowing them to live with him. He reflects on his unfulfilled desire for children, thinking of the young working-class fathers he sees on reality television shows about childbirth. Feeling restless and claustrophobic, he opens his front doors for fresh air.

Without giving himself time to reconsider, Arthur dials Charlene’s number. This time, an answering machine picks up. He hears Kel’s voice for the first time on the outgoing message. After the beep, Arthur hangs up, not knowing what to say.