by Linda Ellen
Vic chuckled with her, his eyes never leaving her face – and her eyes, which were sparkling with pinpoints of hazel light. He was thinking that if he hadn’t been smitten before, he sure would be now. There was something so…alluring about her that drew him in like a powerful magnet. Alluring…yet refreshingly innocent and down-to-earth. She wasn’t one of those Dumb Doras like he’d dated before. Louise had brains and common sense, and he felt like he could talk to her about anything and she’d understand. The kind that makes life worth livin’, his friend and boss, Doc Latham had mentioned as Vic had confided a bit about her earlier in the day. She sure is…Vic mused, mentally shaking himself as he realized she had made another comment and was staring at him expectantly for his response.
“Isn’t that funny?” Louise repeated, suspecting that Vic had let his attention wander – but not realizing to where. She thought maybe he was getting bored with her ‘Sonny’ stories. “To think that my brother helped catch a fish in the lobby of the Brown! I can’t imagine four feet of water there…and fish swimming in it!” she added, giving a tiny shiver of revulsion. “Ew, I’d hate to be the one to have to clean that up.”
“Yeah,” Vic agreed, having motored by the Brown on many occasions and witnessed the deep water. Matter of fact, he’d seen boys and men with fishing poles in the water. And to think – one of them had been her brother, but he’d had no clue.
“So where’d he sleep?” Vic asked, as much interested in the story as he was just in hearing her voice tell it.
“He said the manager didn’t want to give them a room, but a rich hotel customer felt sorry for ‘em and told the manager to give ‘em one and to put it on his bill. The manager let the boys work off their meals by takin’ things up and down the stairs for the customers, since the power was off and the elevators weren’t running. He didn’t say why he didn’t bathe all that time, though – and he sure stunk,” she added, wrinkling up her nose at the memory.
Vic laughed amusedly, thinking how cute she was. They spent the next two hours just talking about anything that popped in their minds. Vic had no idea that Louise was painfully nervous the entire time, hoping she wouldn’t say something that sounded stupid. She had no idea that Vic was hanging on every word she said and thinking he’d never had a better, more enjoyable time with a girl than he was having with her.
Several times, Vic had glanced down at her things beside her in the booth, noticing some papers. He wondered what they were. Finally, the suspense was killing him. “Hey…what is that?”
She glanced down, having forgotten she’d taken the script with her. “Oh that…it’s the script for a play I’m in at the Neighborhood House. I play the lead,” she added proudly, wondering if he’d like to go to the performance – but also wondering if she would even be able to sing and remember her lines if she knew he was in the audience.
“A play?” he murmured, impressed. “What’s it called? What’s it about?”
She took a quick sip of her malt and turned to pick up the script. “It’s a musical called, ‘Song of the Old South’, and I play Annabelle. We’ve been working on it for a long time, before the flood happened. Our director, Mrs. Herndon, found costumes for us, like dresses with hoop skirts and suits and top hats for the boys. It’s…it’s a love story,” she added, meeting his eyes shyly.
“Love story, huh?” he mused, putting two and two together. She was playing the lead. “You gotta sing to one of the boys?” he asked, trying not to show he was actually feeling jealous of this unnamed fellow.
“Yes, especially in our big finish, when we sing, ‘Song of Songs’ together…” she paused, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.
“Yeah? Lemme hear ya,” Vic urged, leaning to see her face, which she had lowered. “Sing a coupla’ lines for me,” he asked softly.
“Oh, I dunno,” she stalled, wishing she hadn’t brought it up. “I can’t do it in here, with the music blarin’ on the jukebox…”
Then glancing at the milk shake-shaped clock on the wall, she nearly choked on the last bit of her malt.
“Oh my gosh…I’ve gotta get home,” she blustered. It was nine forty five. She began to hastily gather her coat, purse, and the infamous script as she scooted out of the booth.
Startled, Vic scrambled to slide out of his side. “Hey wait! Lemme walk you home…”
“Oh…you don’t have to…” she stopped as he interrupted, “It’s all right. I want to.”
Acquiescing, as she didn’t actually relish walking the distance alone after dark, she nodded, and they set out for her house. They walked briskly, both from the cold and the lateness of the hour. The weather was freezing, the damp air making their breath come out in cloudy puffs, and precluding much small talk.
Finally, feeling chilled to the bone, they arrived at her house. He reached to take her elbow and escort her up the steps, but she stopped him. Glancing around nervously, she gushed, “I…I had a really nice time. Thank you.”
Confused, his brows furrowed. “You’re welcome…don’t ya want me to take ya in?”
“No! I…I mean, um…I’ve gotta…go upstairs first,” she explained after wracking her brain for a reason. It was embarrassing, but it was a reason. He understood and nodded, accepting her excuse.
“Okay, well…” he began, then paused, stepping closer. “I had a good time, too. So…when can I see ya again?” he asked, his voice low. The streetlight nearby cast his face in half shadow, but the half she could see contained a glimmering brown eye that was focused on her in a way that made her toes tingle. Dazedly, she was barely aware that he had brought his hand up to softly graze her jaw line with the backs of his fingers. She knew she should go in. Anybody could come in or out of that door at any minute. But, she couldn’t seem to break the spell he had quickly cast.
“Um…I…I’m not sure,” she stammered, unable to form a clear thought. He was so close, he seemed to block out the very air and she suddenly didn’t even feel cold anymore. In fact, she was downright…perspiring! The delightful hint of aftershave emanating from his cheeks and neck made her feel lightheaded…
“Sweet Mary Lou…” he whispered, leaning impossibly closer. “I wanna kiss ya…” he added, giving her a second or two to pull back. When she didn’t, he bent his head further and touched his lips to hers. Oh, it was magical…she would have sworn she heard the soft shimmer of cymbals as he pressed just a bit firmer before changing direction and backing off, releasing her mouth. She’d never been kissed like that before. Sure, she’d been kissed, by a few boys at school…but Vic…she sighed with effervescent joy as he backed up an inch, smiling down into her face. Her eyes were closed and she seemed suspended just as he’d left her.
Then her eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at him. He thought she was the most beautiful girl that ever drew breath. It hadn’t even been a passionate kiss, yet it had moved him more than any necking session in which he’d ever participated. He knew she had no idea the power she already wielded over his head. He was in deep with no way out. Somehow he knew his life had changed direction the moment she had opened the door that rainy Friday night. He just wondered where the road would take them…and how bumpy that journey would be.
Oh, if he only had known, what would he have done differently?
PART II
THAT ENCHANTING SPRING AND SUMMER
‡
CHAPTER 13
Dating and Juggling Secrets
“That was good you two, now let’s go over the next part. I need all of you in this crowd scene to really look busy. Engage one another in idle chatter, just don’t get too loud,” Mrs. Herndon admonished as she motioned for the young people to come out from the wings.
Louise and Herman Schlasberg, her ‘leading man’, retired to the side to wait for their next scene.
“You did good, Louise,” Herman complimented, smoothing back a lock of his black hair as his dark eyes gave her an admiring look. He was several years older than her, and up until that point had grudging
ly thought of her as a mere necessity. Now, however, something about her seemed different, and the difference had caught his eye.
Louise, on the other hand, simply glanced up at him and smiled politely with a murmured, “Thanks. You were, too.”
At that moment, Fleet came sidling up to her friend, tugging on her arm to put some space between them and the young man. He glanced over at them oddly.
“Whadya lookin’ at, you twit?” Fleet sneered over her shoulder at him as she gave him a shove. “Keep your eyes in your head.”
“Quit callin’ me that, you b…” he sputtered, raking the taller girl a derisive leer.
“Fleet, what?” Louise gasped, dragging her friend further away. “Why do you hate Herman so much?”
“Aww, I just can’t stomach know-it-alls, that’s all. He’s so full of himself,” Fleet grumbled, her eyes shooting a few more daggers at the young man. Turning her back to him, she continued, “I can’t wait a minute longer. C’mon, spill it, you’re killin’ me, here!”
Louise chuckled as she realized her friend’s meaning, but she couldn’t resist teasing her for a moment or two.
“Spill what, Fleet?”
“Oooooo,” Fleet hissed, tugging her friend further away. “I ain’t seen you in days and I’m dyin’ to know how your date with your dreamboat went.”
Louise grinned then, dropping her ruse. “Oh Fleet…I had the best time. He’s so sweet. We talked and talked and talked…it was like we couldn’t run out of things to say,” she gushed.
“Yeah…yeah…” Fleet encouraged as Louise paused to savor the memories. “Well…where did he take you?”
“Luckert’s over on Fourth,” Louise sighed with a silly grin.
“Big spender,” Fleet teased, chuckling when her friend shot her an offended look in instant defense of ‘her man’.
“No, it was perfect. We sat in a booth in the back and gazed into each other’s eyes,” she crooned dramatically. “Just like they do in the movies.”
“Did he kiss you?” Fleet probed, feeling both happy and jealous of her friend’s obvious euphoria.
Louise shut her eyes, her lips moving into a dreamy smile as she pulled in a deep breath and let it out with a sigh. “Oh, yeah.”
Fleet chuckled and looked around, softly smacking her friend on the arm. “You goof!” she whispered. “Be careful, or old Mrs. Klapheke’ll be giving you one of her lectures on the propa deportment of the well bred young ladae,” she joked, mimicking the Boston accent of the center’s director.
Louise pressed her fingers to her mouth, giggling in joyous conspiracy.
“Okay…so when ya gonna see him again?” Fleet probed.
“This Friday…we’re meeting at Luckert’s again.” They paused a moment while Mrs. Herndon called out some general instructions for the cast.
“He…he wants to come and see the play,” Louise admitted, glancing at Fleet to see her reaction.
Fleet nodded and glanced back, wondering about the look in her friend’s eye.
“Yeah…so?”
“So…just the thought of him being out there in the audience makes me feel all jittery inside. What if I forget my lines, or fall flat on my face, or something?”
Her friend reached over and took her hand for a moment. “That won’t happen. You’ll do fine. Just convince yourself that it’s just another of these endless rehearsals,” she added with a wink.
Both girls giggled softly, then straightened up as their cue neared. Watching the action – several of the cast in a plantation house parlor scene complete with antique furniture and pillars and a bay ‘window’ – each one smiled encouragingly as their friend Eleanor shuffled along with several other ‘background’ actors. Sitting down on a duvet, Eleanor, thinking quickly, reached out and caught an adolescent cast member before he slipped off the edge onto the floor. Even with the save, however, the cast burst out in snickers.
“Amateurs,” Herman sneered softly.
*
Vic stood up straight, placing his hands at his lower back and stretching out the kinks caused by hours of bending and working to replace the warped floor boards in the Grant’s home.
With every new day, Louisville got a little warmer, and cleaner, as the days and weeks rolled on. Hundreds of workers from out of state, including WPA workers, volunteers, and even guys from the CCC’s and the Kentucky National Guard, descended upon the city in droves to help reverse the flood’s destruction. Neighbor helped neighbor, friend helped friend, and little by little, the determined inhabitants regained a little more of their city, making headway toward normalcy.
Vic spent his days laboring right alongside the volunteers, and his nights bunking with them in lieu of going to the apartment and facing the frosty reception of his sister-in-law. First, he helped his friends, the Grants, with their labors and at that moment, he and Earl were working to finish up the floors in the living room.
“Shew! I’ll be glad when this part of the job is done,” he good-naturedly fussed, wiping sweat from his brow.
Earl stood up and wiped moisture from his own brow. “Me, too.”
“Your dad go back to work yesterday?” Vic asked, though it was obvious since he wasn’t there working on the house.
“Yeah, the factory finally got all the water out and got the machines runnin’ again. Mom and sis are back at Grandma’s,” he added.
Vic nodded, and then eyed his friend with a half grin. “One good thing’s come ‘a this flood.”
“Oh Yeah? What’s that?” Earl asked as he reached for another board.
Vic stooped down again to help him hold the board while they nailed it in place. “Your Mom always used to complain about the floors squeakin’. Now you can be quiet as a mouse when you sneak in at 3 AM.”
Earl chuckled in agreement. “Guess ya got a point there.”
After a few minutes of working together in companionable silence, Earl cast a glance at his friend. “So…how’d your date with that little dish go the other night?”
Vic sat back on his heels, a slow smile taking over his face. “Great.”
“Yeah?” Earl chuckled and leaned close with a wry, “How great?”
Vic met his eyes. “That ain’t how it is.”
“How what is?” Earl asked in mock innocence as he flopped down on his bottom for a break.
“She ain’t like those Dumb Doras we’ve double-dated with before. She ain’t some girl you take out just to see if you can get’n her pants.”
“Ahh,” Earl nodded with a knowing wink. “Couldn’t get ta first base, huh?”
“Don’t be talkin’ about her like that,” Vic immediately reacted, the need to protect Louise’s reputation, even if it was just with his friend, suddenly rising up fiercely within him. “She’s a nice girl.”
Earl held his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, okay, Chief. Take it easy. Don’t get your feathers ruffled. I didn’t mean no harm.” He met Vic’s eyes for a moment, watching him visibly relax until he smirked at his own reaction.
“Sorry man. I know ya didn’t.”
Earl shook his head at his friend. “Man, you got it bad, don’t ya? I ain’t ever seen you like this before.”
“I ain’t ever felt like this before,” Vic admitted quietly. Then becoming self-conscious, he tried to make light of it before his friend started to relentlessly tease him. “Ahh, come on,” he announced with good cheer. “We’ve only got a few more to do here and the living room’ll be done.” Leaning to take a playful swipe at his friend, he added, “If you’ll get up off your lazy a…” but stopped as a shadow fell across from the doorway. The two looked over, wide grins immediately transforming their faces.
“Hey stranger!” they exclaimed simultaneously.
“Hey. Long time no see. Don’t let me interrupt your work,” Alec teased with a wink.
“Where you guys’ been?” Vic asked, climbing to his feet and stepping over tools and sawed pieces of wood to get to their friend. “Yeah, man,” Earl added,
right behind him.
The three long-time friends exchanged quick man-hugs, joyfully slapping one another’s backs.
“Aw, they put us up in a church way up in Prospect,” Alec answered, hitching a thumb in the general direction. “Along with lots of other people,” he added with a grimace. “But at least we had three squares and heat. Not much else, though.”
“You just get back?”
“Yeah…we went by the house yesterday. Or I should say…what’s left of the house,” he added quietly.
Vic pressed his lips together and nodded, still feeling bad that he hadn’t been able to do anything to help the relentless destruction. “I’m sorry man…are your mom and your sisters okay?”
Alec shrugged, trying to act nonchalant. “Yeah, good as can be, I guess.” He turned his head to look out the door in the direction of his family’s house, picturing his mother and sisters crying and wailing when they had seen the carnage the river had caused. Not much was left intact inside, though the building remained standing. Windows had been broken out and their belongings strewn hither and yon, some even hanging out the windows. A lifetime of memories…gone. All they had left was what they had managed to take with them when they evacuated. It was especially hard on his widowed mother, who had just barely recovered from his father’s untimely death a year before.
Earl and Vic glanced at one another, unaccustomed to seeing their normally boisterous friend so subdued, not that they could blame him. Earl cleared his throat. “Um…so what’s the plan, Stan?”
Feeling emotion rising, his eyes blurring a little with dewy moisture, Alec ground his teeth together and drew in a quick breath through his nostrils. “Well, the preacher at that church helped us find a furnished apartment to rent, and I guess we’ll just start over from square one.” Then turning back and seeing the downcast look on his friends’ faces, he affected a quick pout and cleared his throat. With his characteristic bluster, he quipped, “Ahh, it could be worse. I could be havin’ ta do manual labor like you two goons.”
