Shaken to the Core

by Jae

  Kate had to think of the noodles with escaped sardines. The corners of her mouth curled up into a smile.

  William smiled too. “Did I say something humorous?”

  You wouldn’t know humor if it walked up to you and introduced itself, dear William. She also doubted that he’d appreciate the Italian sense of humor, so she shook her head.

  He took another bite and looked around the courtyard while chewing. “Have you ever stayed here?”

  “At the hotel, you mean? No.” And why would she? Her family had a perfectly good home in San Francisco, so she didn’t need a hotel suite. “Did you?”

  “Oh, yes. Each suite comes with a private bathroom and an electric call button to summon someone from the hotel’s staff. It’s really amazing.” He gave her a long look. “It would be a wonderful place for a honeymoon.”

  A piece of fish nearly lodged in Kate’s windpipe. Coughing and wheezing, she reached for her goblet of water and took a big sip.

  He watched her closely. “Is the thought of getting married really such a surprise to you? I know I’m not the best at expressing my feelings, but surely you had an idea about my intentions toward you by now?”

  Kate had feared that he’d speak of marital intentions sooner or later. So far, he hadn’t mentioned it on any of their weekend strolls, making her hope he would wait until he inherited his father’s architecture firm in a year or two. “Mr. Jenkins…”

  “Please, won’t you finally call me William?”

  “William…” She dabbed at her lips with her napkin while she searched for the right words. “You’re very pleasant company and a brilliant conversationalist.” All right, that was a bold lie, but she couldn’t very well tell him that she found him as boring as a piece of dry bread. “You’re a handsome man and a successful architect. Any woman would be happy to have you, but believe me, you’d be happier if you married someone else. Someone less…unconventional.”

  He pushed back his plate. “Unconventional? In what sense?”

  “Well, for one thing, I want a career.”

  “A career?” he repeated and started to look as if his food hadn’t agreed with him.

  She nodded. “I want to be a photographer.”

  “Oh, I have nothing against you taking a couple of photographs every now and then.”

  “That’s just it. I don’t want to take a couple of photographs every now and then; I want to be a professional newspaper photographer.”

  “But…but who would supervise the servants and take care of our children?”

  The thought of having children with him made her lose her appetite. She folded her napkin and put it on the table. “I’m not sure I want any.”

  They stared at each other across the flickering candles on the table.

  “Why didn’t you say so sooner?” he finally asked.

  Kate lowered her head. “I’m sorry. I should have spoken up sooner, but I just didn’t know how to explain…” It had simply been easier to go along with her mother’s wishes and hope that William would realize they weren’t well suited. She peeked up at him. “I’m truly sorry.”

  William glared at her, gulped down his wine, and signaled the waiter for the bill.

  CHAPTER 9

  Grace Church

  Nob Hill

  San Francisco, California

  April 15, 1906

  For once, Kate was glad that the Easter Sunday service seemed to go on and on forever. At least her mother couldn’t question her about last night’s dinner with William Jenkins while she listened to the reverend’s sermon.

  As the congregation poured out of Grace Church and paraded up Nob Hill in their elegant finery, the other ladies’ fur coats and broad-brimmed hats decorated with ostrich feathers or Easter orchids made for a nice distraction as well.

  But when they returned home and stepped into the entrance hall, Kate’s luck finally ran out.

  “So…” Her mother pulled off her kid gloves—literally and figuratively. “How did you enjoy dinner at the Palm Garden?”

  “Oh, the bass was delicious,” Kate said, hoping against hope that her mother would leave it at that.

  “And?” her mother drawled.

  “And William’s filet de boeuf looked quite good too.” Kate busied herself taking off her hat and coat.

  When she tried to escape to the stairs, her mother blocked her way. “You know full well that’s not what I meant. What did you discuss during dinner?”

  “Architecture, mostly.” She hoped her mother wouldn’t ask for details, because she couldn’t remember a thing. Strange that she could still remember every word Giuliana had told her about the Italian part of the city.

  “He didn’t drop hints about…well, you know…an engagement?”

  Kate fidgeted under her mother’s penetrating gaze. “Um…”

  “Leave the girl alone, Millicent,” her father called from the morning room. “When the time is right, I’m sure William will come to me to talk about his intentions.”

  Thank you, Father. Kate breathed more freely. She knew there would be more questions when William stopped calling on her, but for now, she didn’t want to deal with them. She fled to the morning room, where her father had settled down with the newspaper.

  “Good thing Mr. Caruso is here, performing with the Metropolitan Opera, and not in his hometown,” he said.

  It took Kate a moment to figure out that he was talking about the famous tenor, who was in town to sing the role of Don José in Carmen. Every person of any social standing in the city had tickets for Tuesday, including Kate and her parents. “Why’s that?” she asked, only mildly interested.

  “Haven’t you heard?” Her father shook the newspaper. “Mount Vesuvius erupted a few days ago, only five miles from Mr. Caruso’s hometown. They say it’s a second Pompeii. Over a hundred people killed, entire villages destroyed, and others abandoned. A church collapsed from the weight of the ashes, burying people beneath.”

  “How terrible!” her mother exclaimed.

  Indeed. Kate’s vivid imagination showed her bleeding people trapped beneath the church’s ruins. She squeezed her eyes shut. Her practical side supplied another thought. If she were living in Italy, close to the volcano, she’d have something exciting to photograph. No way a newspaper editor could turn her away if she brought him pictures of such a disaster.

  Heavens, what are you thinking? That’s horribly selfish! Think of the poor people. Another horrible thought occurred to her. Italy…Wait a minute! That’s where Giuliana is from. Was the volcano anywhere near where Giuliana’s family lived? She couldn’t ask her father. It would make her parents wonder why she was so worried about people she didn’t even know. Their maid’s family didn’t matter to them. But after having to bury her brother, Giuliana didn’t deserve to lose anyone else.

  “Oh, I nearly forgot,” she said, wondering when she’d become such a good liar. “The Bakers invited me for an Easter luncheon.”

  “They did?” Her mother frowned. “Philippa didn’t say anything about it when I saw her in church earlier.”

  Maybe she wasn’t such a good liar after all. “Um, it wasn’t Philippa who invited me. It was Rose.”

  Her mother adored the Bakers’ youngest daughter, and it certainly didn’t hurt that she had two older, not yet married brothers who would make fine husbands if William Jenkins didn’t declare his intentions anytime soon.

  “Then you’d better get ready,” her mother said. “You don’t want to show up late and make them think you don’t appreciate the invitation.”

  Kate didn’t have to be told twice. She rushed from the room as fast as her elegant dress and the petticoats allowed.

  * * *

  The scent of freshly baked bread filled Giuliana’s small room. It couldn’t compare to the sweet bread her mother always made for Easter or her nonna’s delicious ricotta pie, but at least she had the bowl of lemon soup the Galatis had brought over.

  The first spoonful brought a rush of memorie
s from home, including one of her father dipping celery in holy water to bless his children on Easter.

  Rapid footsteps on the landing and a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts.

  Giuliana got up from the table and opened the door just an inch to peek through.

  What she saw on the other side made her wrench the door open fully. “Kate!” She couldn’t help beaming at her. “Why are you here?”

  Had Kate come to bring her a dyed egg or to keep her company for a little while so she wouldn’t have to spend Easter Sunday all alone? But Kate’s serious expression indicated otherwise.

  “May I come in?”

  Giuliana realized that she was blocking the doorway and quickly stepped aside. “Yes. Please.”

  Kate eyed the table with the soup bowl and then turned toward Giuliana, who waited anxiously. “Do you remember when I said I don’t know much about Sicily?”

  “Yes.” She wasn’t sure what she had expected Kate to say, but this wasn’t it. What was going on?

  “I honestly can’t remember, but…is Mount Vesuvius on Sicily?” Kate looked as if she was holding her breath while she waited for the answer.

  This was getting stranger by the second. “No. It is near Naples, I think. Why?”

  Kate sank onto one of the two chairs. “Oh, thank the Lord! I thought…” She placed her face in her hands, and Giuliana could hear her breathe in and out several times before she looked up again. “I thought your family might have been killed.”

  “What?” On shaky legs, Giuliana plopped down onto the chair next to Kate. “Why do you think that?”

  “My father read in the newspaper that Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing hundreds, and I couldn’t remember if it’s on Sicily or not, so I came here straight away.”

  So that anxious expression on Kate’s face had been for her…for her family? She reached out and touched Kate’s arm for a moment. “Thank you. I heard about this happening. It was horrible, but my family does not live near it.”

  “I’m glad,” Kate said, a bit hoarsely.

  “Me too.”

  They looked at each other, and then Kate turned her head away.

  “Well, now that it seems I scared you for nothing, I’d better go,” she said but made no move to get up.

  Giuliana wasn’t in a hurry for her to leave either. Despite the noisy tenants to her left and right, her room was too quiet without Turi. “You came the long way from Nob Hill. You can stay a while, no? We could…” She looked around her small room, but there was nothing there to entertain Kate—no books, no magazines, no gramophone.

  Kate followed her gaze. She looked as at a loss as Giuliana felt, but then her face lit up. “Why don’t we go see a vaudeville show? If we hurry, we can still make the matinee at the Orpheum.”

  “The Orpheum?” Giuliana had been to a vaudeville show once, but not to the famous theater. “Can we still buy cards?”

  “You mean tickets?”

  Giuliana nodded and made a mental note of the correct word.

  “Well, normally, they have to be ordered days in advance…unless you have a private box.” Kate smiled sheepishly, as if she was almost embarrassed by her privileged life.

  Not for the first time, Giuliana marveled at how much money and influence the Winthrops had. “You do not want to go with Mr. Jenkins?” The image of the couple strolling to the automobile, Kate holding on to his arm, had followed Giuliana home last night.

  Kate grimaced. “No, thanks.” In a murmur, as if speaking to herself, she added, “Even if I wanted, I doubt he’d be inclined to go to the vaudeville with me after yesterday.”

  “Why? What happened?” Giuliana was uncomfortably aware of how inappropriate it was for a maid to inquire about her lady’s private affairs, but she couldn’t help herself.

  A sigh escaped Kate. “I’ll tell you on the way to the Orpheum, or we’ll be late.”

  When they left the boardinghouse, the Winthrops’ automobile was waiting at the curb.

  “Do you want to do the honors?” Kate asked.

  Giuliana’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at her. “You mean…drive the automobile?”

  Kate laughed. “No. Although I could certainly teach you, if you wanted. But we’d better leave that for another day. For now, I meant starting the engine.”

  For several moments, Giuliana stood there in a daze. She, Giuliana Russo, daughter of a poor fisherman, might learn how to drive an automobile. No one back home would believe it. Many people there didn’t even know what an automobile was.

  “Giuliana?”

  “Oh.” She kicked herself into motion and went to the front of the motorcar.

  “Just give it a few turns, but then let go quickly or you’ll hurt yourself.” Kate no longer looked so sure she wanted Giuliana to try.

  Eager to prove herself, Giuliana gripped the metal handle and gave it three rapid turns.

  The engine sputtered to life.

  Beaming, proud of her accomplishment, Giuliana climbed up onto the leather seat next to Kate.

  “Well done!” After a quick glance over her shoulder, Kate drove them toward Market Street.

  Giuliana waited for her to start talking about Mr. Jenkins, but Kate remained silent and seemed entirely focused on navigating the motorcar along busy Sixth Street. Clearly, she wasn’t eager to talk about it. Maybe it would be better to just let it go. But that was easier said than done. Giuliana’s burning curiosity wouldn’t let her forget about it. “So,” she said loudly, to be heard over the engine sounds, “what happened with Mr. Jenkins?”

  Kate gripped the steering wheel more tightly, her knuckles blanching.

  Oh Madonna. No! Giuliana tightened her fists in the folds of her skirt. “Was he…? Did he…?”

  Kate glanced over at her. “What?”

  “Did he not act like a gentleman last night?” Giuliana finally got out.

  “Oh, no. He was the perfect gentleman.” They took a right turn and bounced along the cobblestones of Market Street before turning left. “It was me who didn’t act like a lady.”

  Giuliana nearly tumbled from the automobile. “You…you mean…?” She couldn’t say it; she wasn’t even sure what Kate meant. “Did you…kiss him?”

  Kate barked out a laugh. “Nothing like that. I just told him I didn’t want to become the mother of his children.”

  “Oh.” Giuliana suddenly felt so light as if she could fly. The extent of her relief surprised her, but she told herself it was just because she didn’t want Kate to marry and move out of her parents’ home, leaving her alone with the strict Mrs. Winthrop. “So you do not want to marry him?”

  “Lord, no.”

  “Do you not like him?”

  “Not that way. I’m not even sure he liked me for myself or for my father’s shipping business.”

  How astonishing. Giuliana had never considered the possibility that money could create problems instead of solving them. “He is a fool,” she said without thinking.

  Before Kate could answer, they reached the Orpheum theater. People were already crowding into the palace-like building.

  They found a safe spot to leave the automobile and hastened across the street.

  Piano music drifted out of the Orpheum as they waited in line. Everyone was in their Easter finery, showing off elegant fur coats, pearls, and tails. Giuliana ran her hands down her modest dress. “I am not dressed right. People look at me,” she whispered to Kate.

  Kate looked around and winced.

  For a moment, Giuliana thought Kate would duck her head in shame to be seen with her, but then Kate squared her shoulders and glared at the people around them until they looked away.

  “Ignore them,” Kate whispered to her. “They’re idiots who don’t know any better. You look just fine.” She took an orchid from her silk hat and gently stuck it on Giuliana’s old straw hat. “There.”

  They looked at each other and started giggling like two little girls.

  Finally, they reached the front of
the line. Kate exchanged a few words with the man behind the counter in the theater’s box office, and then a uniformed usher took them to their seats.

  Giuliana looked around with her mouth gaping open. They were sitting on a little balcony, high above the rest of the audience, with a clear view of the stage, where a pianist was playing an upbeat tune while everyone took their seats. The one time Giuliana had seen a vaudeville show hadn’t been anything like this. The theater had been much smaller, and she’d had to crane her neck to see anything over the heads of the people in the rows ahead.

  This show also lasted for much longer. Giuliana had only a distant awareness of time as she watched jugglers, a man with a trained dog that jumped through hoops, and a singer who could sing as well as Enrico Caruso, whose recordings blared from every window in the city.

  When the curtain closed for the intermission, she awoke as if from a dream. Her hands hurt from clapping so much, and she could hardly wait for the acts that would come on after the break.

  * * *

  Kate watched Giuliana with a smile. Admittedly, today’s show was quite entertaining, but what she enjoyed even more was seeing Giuliana’s reaction to each new act. Through her, it was as if Kate got to experience the wonder of vaudeville for the first time again.

  “That was wonderful!” Giuliana clapped her hands together. “Did you see what that dog did? I never saw anything like this!” She continued to comment on each act, not waiting for Kate’s reply. Her eyes were shining, and she gestured with her hands the way Kate had seen her do when she’d talked to the man from Sicily.

  Going to the Orpheum had definitely been a good idea!

  Soon, the intermission was over, and the curtain opened to a comedy act.

  The audience roared with laughter as the two people on the stage bantered back and forth.

  Kate kept watching Giuliana out of the corner of her eye. She laughed along with her as a ventriloquist came on.

  Then, as the next-to-last act that always was reserved for the program’s star, a popular theater actress performed a half-hour playlet.