by Alexa Kang
“All right, kids. Time to go,” he said to Henry and Ruby as he and Carmina turned to leave. His arm never left her. Tessa got off her seat and followed behind.
How good it must be to be in love like that.
Oh well, she told herself. At least she got to dance with him.
Chapter 17
The lunch rush at the Bistro Montmartre would begin in less than fifteen minutes. Tessa quickly gathered her apron, notepad, and pen. She needed to be ready before her first customers arrived.
When she took this job, she had done it on a whim to earn money for her, Ruby, and Henry to go play. But now, the job had become an experience in and of itself. With a staff full of neurotic characters, the restaurant never had a dull moment. The prep time before the lunch rush reminded her of her father’s troupe getting ready to open a show. Actually, one of the waitresses, Betsy, was an aspiring actress.
“Tessa, hurry up.” Ruby came looking for her. “Louis is serving today’s lunch special.” Louis was their head chef. Only thirty years old, the local restaurant reviewers had written several glowing articles about the Montmartre after he became its head chef.
“Quiche Lorraine.” Louis gave a slice to each of the wait staff. “How does it taste?”
“Wonderful!” Betsy grabbed the first piece and ate a mouthful. “I haven’t had lunch yet.”
“Watch it there.” Walter, the restaurant manager, strutted in. “No theater will hire a fat actress.”
“Walter, this is why your wife left you. You never have anything good to say to people.” She pouted and left the kitchen with her quiche. Walter ignored her and came closer to the counter to get his slice.
“Ugh,” Ruby whispered and made a face. “I’m outta here.” She took her plate and left. Ruby didn’t like being near Walter. He wore heavy cologne and she hated it.
“Tessa,” Louis said, “do you like it?” Generous to a fault, he always offered full servings of his creations to the restaurant staff under the guise of “taste testing.”
Tessa took a bite. “Delicious.” Louis gave her a thumbs-up and returned to the stove.
A whiff of bergamot swept past her, wiping away the savory aroma of the freshly baked quiches. “Hi, Walter. How are you?”
“Terrible. I’m having the worst day of my life. I found out my ex-wife is running around with some idiot working at a bank. That wench. She’s a gold digger. She sucks everyone dry.”
“But you’re divorced.” Tessa handed him his plate. “Why do you care?”
He ignored her question. “She sucked me dry. You know how much I have to pay in alimony each month? That woman sees money and off she goes like a bee lured by honey. She’s terrible. I curse the day I ever met her.” He was talking very loudly now and gesticulating wildly with his hands while holding his plate. His quiche fell to the ground. Tessa tightened her lips to stop herself from laughing.
“What’s a man to do? That sonofabitch from the bank’s just using her. I warned her but she wouldn’t listen.”
She cleaned his quiche off the floor. “I have to start my shift,” she said and darted out of the kitchen. She had worked here for only a month, but she must have heard him talk about his divorce woes a thousand times already.
Out in the restaurant’s dining room, she found William seated in her section reading the menu.
“Uncle William!” She hurried over to him. He had never come here for lunch before.
“Hi, Tessa. I thought I’d pay a visit to my favorite waitress in town.” He closed the menu. “What’s cooking?”
“Quiche Lorraine. It’s today’s lunch special. It’s very good.”
“All right. I’ll have that and a French Onion soup.”
“Coming right up.” Excited, she jotted them down on her notepad. “You’ll love the quiche. I had some earlier. It’s fantastic. I’ll sneak you a free dessert too. Our pastry chef makes a wonderful chocolate mousse…Wait a minute, did you come here to check up on me?”
“Me? Never!” He opened his hands with an exaggerated look of denial. “I came because I’m hungry. Why? You don’t think I trust you?”
She eyed him with suspicion, then rushed off to place his order. Of course he had come to check up on her, but she was thrilled he came anyway.
By the end of her four-hour shift, the restaurant had emptied and Tessa sat down with Ruby to count their tips. Uncle William gave her the biggest tip of all. A full dollar!
While they sipped on iced tea and rested their sore feet, Walter came out of his office and handed each of the staff an envelope.
“Payday!” She clapped her hands lightly.
“Henry’s going to be so happy,” Ruby said.
She opened her envelope. Sixteen dollars. Adding the money she had made from gratuities, she had more than enough for three baseball tickets.
All those hours she had worked on her feet were well worth it.
# # #
Tessa had no idea a baseball game was such a big event. More and more fans filled the train at each station. The passengers’ excitement simmered, ready to be unleashed as they approached the final stop.
Last summer, Uncle William had wanted to take her to a game, but she turned him down as she knew nothing about it. In any case, she was homesick and resented everything that had to do with Chicago or America. Even now, she could barely muster an ounce of interest in the sport itself. The reason she came was to treat her friends.
They got off the train and followed the crowd. Hordes of people swarmed the ballpark entrance under the large green marquee displaying the words “Wrigley Field Home of the Cubs.” Inside, lines of people waited to buy hot dogs and peanuts. Amidst the exuberant atmosphere, she soon found herself enjoying the event as much as everyone else. With the gorgeous sun shining on the ivy lining the outfield wall, she felt like she was at a summer picnic.
The way Henry explained it, they had to root for the Cubs, their “home team.” Today, the Cubs were playing against the Braves. That much she knew even before coming to the game, although heaven only knew who the Braves were and where they came from.
To say Henry was excited was an understatement. He wouldn’t stop telling her the “stats” about every player on the roster.
“See that guy over there? That’s Billy Herman. He hit over 300 four years in a row.” He switched his attention abruptly away and pointed to the left fielder. “Look at him. That guy’s playing too deep.”
Everything he told her went in one ear and out the other. She hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. The only time she could see something was happening was when a player hit the ball with the bat and started running.
She liked the music. Occasionally, the organist would begin playing and the loudspeaker would broadcast fun and joyful tunes. During the seventh inning, he even played a whole song. Everyone knew the lyrics. Everyone except her, of course.
“We’re the first baseball park in the whole country to have live organ music,” Henry said, his eyes full of pride.
“I’ll get us Crackerjacks and sodas.” Ruby got up from her seat. After she left, Henry suddenly stopped talking. He stared out to home plate with a faraway look in his eyes.
“What’s wrong?” she asked him.
He shook his head. “I was just thinking, this is only the second time I’ve been to a baseball game. The last time I went to one was five years ago.”
“Why haven’t you gone to one again in so long? You certainly love it.”
“My father took Jack and me to my first game on my tenth birthday. He promised we’d go to more, but he died a few months after that.” He took a baseball trading card out of his pocket. “I bought a pack of gum that day. This card came with it.” The card showed a photo of a player named Dizzy Dean. “See the guy at bat now? That’s him. He played for the Cardinals back then. I was going to trade this card for one of Larry French. Then my father died and I decided to keep it. How funny. Dean pitches for the Cubs now.”
The crowd erupted
in cheers. Dizzy Dean had hit the ball and made it to first base.
“When Jack got his first job, he said he’d take me to a game again. I know he wanted to, but he made very little money when he first started working. He makes more now, but he works two jobs and has so little time.”
“You all have it pretty rough, don’t you?”
“It’s not too bad. Jack has it the toughest. He puts a lot of pressure on himself to make sure Mom and I are comfortable. He takes too many extra shifts at the factory. Mom tells him he doesn’t have to work so hard. She said we could do without the extra cash. He says it’s okay because he’s young, but a lot of times when he comes home, he’s very tired.”
“I had no idea,” she said. When Jack was with them, he always appeared so easy-going, like he didn’t have a care in the world. “I never knew he was this serious.”
“He doesn’t want us to worry about him. He wants us to think everything he does is for fun and games. Like fixing up that junky car. He played it off like he wanted to figure out how the machines and engines worked, but what he really wanted was to have a car to drive us all around. He worked on it for months, and he scraped together every penny to buy spare parts. We would never be able to afford a car if he didn’t do that. And the fireman thing? He risks his life. He could get hurt or killed if he’s not careful. But he does it to bring looted gifts back for us.”
And he’s only eighteen. No one she knew at this age had so many burdens.
“After all he’s done for Mom and me, it’s enough. I don’t need him to take me to a baseball game.”
Ruby joined them again and Henry’s attention quickly turned to the snacks she brought back. But what he said remained on Tessa’s mind for a long time.
# # #
For Tessa, the one negative thing about the jitterbug was that it had turned her into a frequent shopper. Normally, shopping bored her, but looking for dresses to wear dancing was a matter of utmost importance. Besides, it was such a treat for Ruby.
The first time they went to Marshall Fields together, Ruby was ecstatic. “I’d never dared to come in here before,” she said as they wandered around the racks of clothing on display. “Everything’s so expensive.” She checked the price tag on every piece she looked at. When they passed by a mannequin in a pretty white blouse with a Peter Pan collar and a powder-blue skirt, her eyes would not leave that outfit.
“Want to try it on?” Tessa asked.
Ruby touched the fabric of the blouse and shook her head.
“Come on. We’re here to splurge.” She picked out the same blouse and skirt as displayed on the mannequin from the stack on sale and handed them to her. “At least try it on and see how you look in it.”
Ruby tucked her neck and giggled. “Okay.” She looked lovingly at the outfit. “What about you? Do you see anything you like?”
Tessa took a scarlet red dress off another rack. She knew she wanted this the minute she saw it. Its sweetheart neckline was a bit too low, but it was the only dress that matched the color of the polka-dot hair ribbon Jack gave her. “Let’s try these on.” She took Ruby’s arm and led her to the fitting room.
Before the mirror, Ruby stood hypnotized.
“You look so pretty,” Tessa said to her.
“I’ve never worn something this beautiful.” She picked up the skirt. “Look at the fabric. It’s so soft, and the seams are so even.”
“We’ll get this outfit for you then.” Tessa pulled the red dress up her own shoulders and zipped the back. “The boys will drool all over you when they see you in it.”
“They will not, but thanks anyway for saying that. And thanks for everything.”
“No need to thank me. It’s why I’m working this summer, remember?” She twirled around. The skirt of the red dress flared open high above her waist.
“Tessa!” Ruby said. “This skirt won’t cover you when you swing or do your aerial moves.”
Tessa raised an eyebrow with a flirtatious smile.
“You knew!” Ruby gasped and put her hand to her mouth. They both laughed.
She twirled again and watched herself in the mirror. The skirt flying high was exactly what she intended. Why not? She had seen how boys looked at her when she danced. Sometimes, she even let her skirt swing higher just to see their reactions.
If only Jack would look. When they danced together, she couldn’t help but check to see if he noticed how high her skirt flew. But he was always so immersed in dancing and they moved so fast, she could never tell for sure.
Did he not know she wore nice dresses just for dancing with him? She didn’t even like shopping. She only dressed up so people could see he had the prettiest dance partner.
Would he notice if she wore this dress?
Chapter 18
Originally, Tessa had wanted to treat Henry and Ruby to a trip to Riverview Park, but Jack decided he would come too and insisted on buying everyone’s tickets.
And he brought Carmina along.
Henry didn’t care who came. He hopped in line as soon as they came upon the flying scooter. It gave them tons of fun for sure, but the big attraction was the Bobs, the eighty-seven-foot tall roller coaster famous for its steeply banked turns, abrupt drops, and wicked angles. Tessa had never screamed so loud as when the Bobs’ cart dropped from its highest rail.
After the Bobs, they went for the Shoot the Chutes. When the coaster dropped from altitude and landed, water splashed all over their bodies, soaking them wet.
Recovering from the thriller rides, they followed the trail to the Aladdin Castle. Live bands played throughout the park, spreading music in the air everywhere. Aladdin’s giant face greeted them at the castle entrance like a magician promising to show them a world of wonders. And he didn’t disappoint. The castle was packed with surprises. They scooted past the collapsing stairways, figured their way out of a maze, and arrived at the hall of the twisted mirrors. Their distorted reflections looked so hysterical, Tessa laughed with Ruby until her stomach hurt.
She was easily having the time of her life until they came to what was next, the Tunnel of Love.
“Sorry guys. We’re going into this one without you,” Jack said. “Unless either of you wants to go in with Henry.”
“No!” she and Ruby both screamed at the same time. Ignoring them, Jack pulled Carmina away to the line and left them all behind.
“I don’t want to go there with you either. I’m getting me some popcorn.” Henry made a face and went to the concession stand while they waited for him by the spinning teacups.
“Ruby.” Tessa leaned over the rails and watched Jack and Carmina hold hands as they waited for their turn at the Tunnel of Love. “Have you ever been in love?”
Ruby chuckled. “I had my first boyfriend when I was thirteen. It was puppy love. We never did anything, not even kissed. We only sat with each other during lunch period.”
“Where is he now?”
“I don’t know. After junior high, we went off to different high schools and we lost touch. He used to live near me but I think his family moved.”
The teacups’ rotation cycle began. The accompanying music blared and the cups spun around and around. In her mind, Tessa could see herself spinning to the beats.
“What about now?” she asked. “Is there anyone you like now?”
“There is this boy in school. His name’s Evan. He’s one year ahead of us but last year, we were both on the homecoming committee.” She stopped and put her fingers over her lips.
“Tell me!”
“There’s nothing to tell. He already has a girlfriend.” Ruby shrugged. The teacups slowed and the riders’ screams softened into laughs and moans.
“Oh.” She felt bad she asked. The music stopped and the cups came to a halt. “It’s maddening when the guy you like already has a girlfriend, isn’t it?”
“Yes. It’s terrible.” Ruby agreed.
The next batch of riders jumped into the teacups’ seats.
“What about you
?” Ruby asked. “Do you have your eye on anyone?”
“No.” Her heart flipped. “No, there isn’t. There isn’t anyone,” she said as she looked over at Jack. In a little boat, he and Carmina disappeared into the Tunnel of Love into the dark.
After the Tunnel of Love, Jack and Carmina wanted to slow down. “Let’s go to the Ferris wheel,” he said.
“The Ferris wheel?” Henry groaned.
“The carousel then.”
“Boring!” Henry rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said to Ruby and Tessa, “they just want to find places to make out. Let’s go look for rides that won’t put us to sleep.”
Jack threw his hands in the air and Tessa gave him an apologetic look. She wanted to stop Henry, but he and Ruby had already walked away and she had no choice but to follow them.
Having separated from Jack and Carmina, the three of them wandered around. They rode the Boomerang and watched a freak show starring a muscular man with tattoos over his entire body. They then came to the bumper cars and Henry wanted to go for a ride, but the cars only seated two people.
“You two go ahead,” Ruby said. “I don’t like bumper cars. It’s so uncomfortable being hit and bumped over and over.”
With no waiting line, Henry and Tessa ran to the entrance gate.
“I’m going to drive,” he said.
“No. I want to drive.”
Conceding to her, he said, “All right. We’ll go twice and take turns. I’ll even let you go first ‘cause you’re a girl.”
She pursed her lips and threw popcorn at him.
In the bumper car, Tessa drove around and around in laps and circles. She was doing her best to avoid the other riders when suddenly, another car rammed into them from behind. Unconcerned at first, she steered left out of its way, but the car crashed into them again, this time even harder. Both she and Henry looked back. In the other bumper car were two boys about their own age. The scrawny one with curly hair stuck his tongue out at them. The bigger, stockier one with the buzz cut bared his teeth at them with mean, threatening eyes.
