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What was it like in the Great Depression? Start out in 1929 and find out. |
| [Introduction]
OK... so this is just going to be about The Great Depression. Starting out in 1929, until you get out of it. ;) Just create your own characer and... begin! Papa had just finished working long and hard in the fields. My brother, on the other hand, was determined. He always used his strength to the fullest. His idea of a useful day was to work, work harder, and work until you just can’t do it anymore. The evening scorched my hair with miserable heat, and mosquitoes buzzed in my ears as I wiped a dribble of sweat off my forehead. It was a typical day in the household—I was making dinner with my three sisters, although I couldn’t help but wish I was out there with my brother, working along his side and talking to him. Not because I enjoyed the work, but I enjoyed his company. My mother was in the only other room in our house—the bedroom—tending to my littlest brother, Daniel. Daniel was not like many other toddlers his age. He was much more mature and acted better behaved than my youngest sister, Rachel, who was eight. He had only recently been in a devastating accident that cost him his left leg. Mama and Papa don’t like to talk of it much. All they say is that we are lucky to still have him alive. The doctor gave Daniel a wooden leg, and told Mama that she needs to help him practice walking on it once a night for four weeks, or until he gets the hang of it. When Papa entered the kitchen, he smiled at us girls and looked outside of the window. “I’m worried about your brother,” he told us. “Mama is helping him,” Marie said, automatically assuming he meant Daniel. Ever since the accident, the only thing on her mind was Daniel. I, however, knew he wasn’t referring to Daniel. “Do you mean Tobias, Papa?” I asked. Papa nodded. “That boy seems to think he can conquer the world in one day,” he sighed. “I don’t know how to break it to him, but the more he works in the fields, the more he wastes his life. That boy’s got something we all don’t got. And that’s intellect. He’s got the chance to learn at them schools. Tobias could be a doctor for Christ’s sake; a lawyer. But all he’s damn worried about is working in those fields. I don’t want him to turn out how my papa turned me into. That boy deserves a good time, too.” “That’s not fair, Papa,” Rachel grunted. “All I do is work. Give me a fun time.” Rachel was not only naïve, but she was selfish, too. Charlotte, my thirteen year old sister, gave Rachel a slight pat on the head, rolling her eyes at her behavior. Perhaps making the best of it to be optimistic. Out of the entire family, Charlotte was the most optimistic. “Dinner is almost ready,” I said. “I will go out for Tobias and let him know. Do you want me to say anything to him, Papa?” Before Papa could answer, Mama and Daniel came in from the bedroom. “I want to go with you, Anna,” he said. Papa shook his head, but Mama nodded. “All the more practice,” she told him and Papa gave in. Daniel and I set out to the fields to fetch Tobias. “Dinner smells good, Anna,” he told me as we were on our way. So like Daniel, he was always giving compliments. I hated how he was forced to walk with a wooden leg. |
| "I don't want to move," Alex said, slowly, putting his last T-shirt into his small, jam-packed suitcase. "Did you see how tiny that apartment was?" I looked over at my twin with sympathy. "I don't think we have a choice," I murmured. "Mom and Dad don't have enough money to afford this house anymore." "But how's that apartment going to be enough for you, me, Susie, Eleanor, David, and Mom and Dad?" he grumbled. "I mean, I already offered to get a job and quit the baseball team at school. And you have a job, sewing at Miss Lucy's." "Yeah, but Mom and Dad aren't going to take our money," I sighed. "Don't you know how many times I've offered to help pay for this house? They keep saying it's my money, and I need it for college." Alex stopped what he was doing at the moment and took a seat on the floor, which was a nice, comforting shade of blue carpet. There wasn’t any carpet like this at the new apartment. "Lexie," he said, seriously. "Are you really planning on going to college?" As soon as he'd asked me that, I walked slowly to his side, and made myself comfortable on the floor. "When I was littler, I wasn't going to go," I explained. "I mean, I thought I could be exactly like Mom. Get married at eighteen, right after I finished high school." I sighed. Looking into my twin brother's big, brown eyes—the same eyes we both shared, in fact—I continued on. "But look. We're already in the eleventh grade. Chances of me getting married are slim to none. Besides, times are changing. More and more women are going to college now." I also wanted to add that I was really becoming interested in sewing, which was basically all my job consisted of at Miss Lucy's. At night sometimes, I liked to imagine what it would be like to own my own shop—I'd have to take a lot of business courses, maybe a few sewing classes here and there in college. I felt though, that if I said anything to Alex about it, he would think it was a stupid idea. Sure, he was my twin. Sometimes he could be fun and friendly and supportive. But at other times, he could be pretending to be, or trying to be, well, funny. It was my secret dream. No one, not even my parents, not even Miss Lucy, knew it existed. Alex looked at me regretfully. "The money could really be used around the house," he said. "But I guess it's too late now." "It's not my fault," I squirmed in. "I know it's not," Alex sighed. "It's just that... well; I'm going to miss this place." |
| I put down the heavy box of ornaments, the box to be going to some dealer who will give us a buck each, and swiped the sweat that is pouring down my forehead. I hear giggles. It’s none other than Sally Mae and June Sarah passing my house; my once friends. “Is there a problem?” I ask as kindly as I can, all the while having my hands on my hips. They stop and look at me. “There’s no problem at all, Maddy,” Sally says in her faux English accent. “We just found something to laugh at is all.” “And what might that be?” I counter. June laughs. “It’s funny that the Garbage Family is moving into the dumps!” It took all the strength I have to not punch her right then. “My last name is Garbagio, Idiot,” I respond quickly. “It’s only a matter of time until you live next to us.” “Our family has money, Maddy. Our Father wasn’t stupid and put it all into stocks,” Sally retorted. That was the last straw. She can call me names, but as soon as my family is involved, there’s going to be a fight. I take the two quick steps between Sally and me before staring at her. “You’re shouldn’t have said that,” I say in a rough whisper. I don’t give her time to respond before my fist has hit her eye. An instant later, Sally is on the ground. “You’re always so uncivil!” June screams as she holds her sister. I want to tell her that they are the one’s who started it, but I can’t. My mother spoke. “Madeline Ruth, get in this car this instant!” she yells to me. I roll my eyes and make my way to the car, making sure to drag the heavy box behind me. I put the box in the trunk, as my father told me to, and I plopped myself in the back seat next to my little brother Alex. “Wow Maddy, you really hit her hard,” Alex says with a big smile on his face. I smile back. “Oh I know it,” I say as I shake my hand around to try to relieve the pain. My mother pushes her freshly dyed and curled blonde hair away from her face as she glares at me from the front seat. “I don’t understand you, Madeline,” she says in a serious tone. “Are you trying to embarrass me? Are you trying to be an outcast and are you going to act like this when you have children? You need start acting like a young lady and less like a…a boy!” “Those girls had it comin’,” I say in defense of my actions. “They said something bad about Daddy and I won’t have that. I might not even have kids. I want to be independent and have a life of my own before I have a baby. Hell, I don’t even care if I get married!” “Richard! Do you hear what you’re Daughter said! She certainly didn’t get that mouth from me,” My mother screeches to my father who’s driving. “Watch you language, Maddy,” My father says deeply. “I’m sorry Daddy,” I say sincerely. “I’m just a bit wound-up from those girls. I won’t say another word.” My mother sighs and shakes her head before looking through the window. The car sat silent for a few good minutes. I see a smirk creep onto my father’s mustached lips. “I hope you made her bleed Maddy,” he says with a smile in his eyes. “Richard!” My mother squeals with a glare at him. We all begin to laugh. Maybe living in an apartment in Chicago won’t be so bad if we can all laugh. Well, everyone laughed, except for my mother. |
| It was ten a.m. when I started my walk to Miss Lucy's the next day. It wasn't as far of a walk as one might think. It only took about fifteen minutes from where we'd lived. And on the bright side, the new apartment was even closer to Miss Lucy's shop than our soon-to-be old house. Alex was following me. He assured me that he was only doing it to provide for me his company—after all, I never get a chance to talk to anyone now that I've got this job, he'd said. But personally, my version of it was that he just couldn't bear seeing (or helping, I might add) Mom and Dad move into the new apartment on Bunker Street. "You could have stayed and saw that Susie was tended to," I pointed out. "Eleanor can do that," he muttered. "She's old enough." "What about David? He's probably driving Mom and Dad insane," I suggested. "No," Alex murmured. "I'd rather walk with you to Miss Lucy's." "I didn't know you were so interested in Miss Lucy's," I put in. "After all, it's just sewing. And you don't even really care about clothes. You like to dirty them up half the time." "What's wrong with that?" he asked. "I'll tell you what's wrong with that," I groaned. "Once they get dirty, you have to clean them, and cleaning them costs money." Alex rolled his eyes at me. "I'm only joking, Lexie." He nudged my shoulder with a playful look dancing in his eyes. "Besides, if things start getting that desperate, we can always go and find a lake somewhere to throw our clothes in to be washed." I wanted to yell at him, tell him that it wasn’t funny, but it was the way he said it that brought the exact opposite to my expression. A smile sprung to my lips. He giggled when he saw how pleased I was about his comment. I pushed the idea of that actually happening away and tried to think of something I could change the subject to. "Don't you have baseball practice today?" I asked him. "Tomorrow," he said. "I'm hoping Coach will put me in as pitcher at least once this season. That's where the real fun is, always action everywhere. But by the looks of it, I think I'm staying at second base all year. Again." "Why do you say that? Didn't you tell him that you wanted a shot at pitcher?" "I've been telling him that for years," he explained. "Remember that one time he actually did put me in as pitcher when I was twelve? I screwed the whole thing up when I kept throwing out all those walks. He just doesn't trust me anymore, I guess." "He's got to give you another chance," I said. "I know he does," Alex agreed. "He'd better. I think I'll make an extra effort to ask him about it tomorrow. Yeah, I think I will." The two of us walked in a silence for a while before I decided to say anything else. We were almost to Miss Lucy's shop. A lot of things were encircling my mind, and I only said it for the sake of conversation. "I don't know," I sighed. "About everything. I can't believe what this country has come to." A few seconds later, I got a response from my twin brother. "I don't know, either," Alex concurred. And that was all that needed to be said. Finally, when we got to Miss Lucy's shop, or what was more commonly referred to as "Miss Lucy's Clothing and Attire Shop" to the public, Alex gave a remorseful look in my direction. I knew he didn't want to go back to our family—back to the essence of reality—not when we were in the process of moving, anyway. I'd almost expected he was going to ask to stay with me. "You'll be home late?" he asked me. "Six o'clock, same as every weekend," I stated. He dribbled his feet around on the soil beneath us. "I guess... well, I'll see you later, Lexie." "Goodbye, Alex." I made my way to Miss Lucy's door, and I could hear the moans from his voice all too well as Alex headed to our new home. |
I flopped down my two suitcases that I had in the small area that’s called the kitchen in our new apartment. I had to sell the rest of my stuff for money to help pay for the first six months at this dump that we call our home. Dirt is plastered onto the floor. I swear something moved in the corner by the small kitchen table. “This place is dirty,” Alex says with his tongue hanging out of his mouth in a disgusted look. My father laughs and places his hand on his shoulder. “Alex, why don’t you and Maddy go put your stuff in your new room.” I get it. The parents need to be alone for a while. I can tell by the look on my mother’s face that she’s not too thrilled about our new living arrangement. I take Alex by the hand and manage to carry my two suitcases in one arm. “C’mon, Alex. I’ll help you unpack.” We walk down the short hallway and into the small room we share. The room is no larger than my parent’s walk in closet. I guess I should say old walk in closet. On each wall is one bed and a dresser. On the right side, though, there is a small table next to the window. The left side holds some shelves. I let my brother take the left side; he has more stuff anyway. My mother sold most of my stuff when I was at school one day. She said it was for the good of the family. She didn’t sell a thing of my brother’s. My parent’s voices ring clear through the apartment. They’re fighting. Alex doesn’t notice; he’s too busy playing with his building blocks on the floor. I notice though. “Was this the best you could get, Richard?!” My mother yells. “It’s really not that bad, Clarice,” my father responds calmly. “Not that bad! Have you seen the floors? It will take me all day to clean this place up!” “We got a good deal on this place. Alex’s school is a block away and Maddy’s is two.” Apparently I had a job. My mother sighed. She only sighed when she new she wasn’t going to win. The sigh is usually followed by a rude defeat and a glass of wine. “Okay, Richard. I just need you and the children out of the house until late tomorrow.” I see you in bed, Clarice,” my father says before walking to his room and closing the creaky door. I waited for the pop. The pop of the wine bottle that would signal my mother in a pensive state. I heard the twist of a cap instead. I guess the liquor of choice in this place was whiskey. |
| Miss Lucy was a woman in her mid-thirties, a little round in the middle, and a spinster with one adopted child. She lived with her sister, Abigail, who had a husband and two very young children of her own. At this moment, she was at the register, just as I came in. “We have two new orders,” she told me, quickly, “of the black, plain dress with the ruffles on the sleeves; one in size five, the other in size eight.” “All right,” I said, taking off my light jacket and heading to the back room to hang it up. Maude and Chelsea were already there, working diligently on green and white pieces of fabric. “Who ordered them?” I asked loudly, so Miss Lucy could hear. “Can you remember?” “The Bumnerson girls,” Miss Lucy replied solemnly. “Their father just passed—a suicide, yesterday morning.” “Oh no,” I mumbled under my breath. “Their family lost most of their money in the stock market crash,” Miss Lucy continued. By this time, I’d returned from the backroom with my dark red apron tied around my waist. As I walked nearer to Miss Lucy, I was in the process of fixing my hair back into a tight bun. It took Miss Lucy a few more seconds to respond. “Lexie, I want you to forget about what you were working on yesterday. Maude’s already back there finishing it for you. I’d like you to start on those black dresses. I know you’ll do a good job. I have the detailed measurements for you, right here.” She opened a drawer that was below the register and handed me a sheet of notebook paper with numbers and a few scrap drawings scribbled about. “Oh, and while you’re at it, think of a low enough price for me,” she directed. “Those girls looked so sad and hopeless when they came in here. I just had to tell them I’d be willing to cut the price a bit.” I was a little surprised that Miss Lucy was giving me such freedom—yet excited and enthused at the same time—after all, I’d only been working there for five months, but I eagerly went with it. “I’ll do it,” I said. “Good,” Miss Lucy acknowledged. “Now get to work.” I obeyed, still grasping the paper in both of my hands, heading for the second time to the backroom. Instantly, I heard the shop door open and Miss Lucy greet the new guest with a big, warm, welcoming hello. |
I buttoned up Alex’s flannel coat before covering his small hat with his brown hat. Alex always hated that brown hat but it was just starting to come into spring so it was still a bit cold. All I had to wear was my short spring coat and some scarves. My mother sold my jacket for gas for the car. She kept her mink though. So Alex made a small fit about his many layers he had to wear but I just grabbed his hand and went outside. We didn’t need to be there while mother gulped down two large glasses of whiskey. It was a short walk to Thomas Jefferson elementary; Alex’s new school. I took him up to the door of his new kindergarten class but Alex refused to walk in. I went onto my knees, despite the wrinkles I would make on my dress, and went to eye level with him. “What’s wrong, Alex? You don’t want to go to class?” Alex only shook his head at me. “Why not?” Alex gave me his sad puppy dog eyes. “I’m scared, Maddy. What if the other kids are mean?” I smile sweetly at my baby brother and give him a small peck on the forehead. “Don’t be afraid, Alex. You are going to make so many friends in your new class. Try and talk to a few and show them your toy truck.” Alex grew a big smile and pulled his truck out of his bag. He held onto it for dear life. “Mommy will come get you, Alex. If you need me, just tell your teacher and she can contact me at the bakery. Have fun.” Again, Alex only nodded. He took the few steps into the classroom and I closed the door behind him. It was another two blocks until I hit my place of employment. I wind hit my face like knives. As soon as I saw the big sign of “Murkowski’s Bakery,” I knew I was near warmth. I opened the heavy metal door that led into the bakery. As soon as that door opened I smelled the wonderful scent of baking bread, sweet treats, and bitter tea. I must have smiled because a short and fat old man approached me. “Ah, yes, you like?” the man said in a heavy polish accent. “You come to buy?” “Oh no sir,” I said extending my arm. “My name is Maddy…I mean Madeline O’ Brian. I’m the new employee.” The old man grabbed his stomach and gave a hearty laugh. “Yes, I’ve met your father. A nice man indeed. He help me with car, I give you job. Come. I show you around.” I followed the nice old man around as he told me about all I would be doing. I would be the cashier, take the baked goods and put them into the display case, rearrange the display case, dispose of old items, help clean, and also package the goods when someone bought some. He took me back into the kitchen. “This is where everything is made. You will be spending most of your time with the baker. Let me get him for you before you start work.” With that, the old man disappeared in the back room. The voices did boom though. “Jackuv! Jackuv! Gdzie są wy?” The old man spoke in polish. “JA jestem prawo tutaj!” cam back a young man’s deep voice. I have never heard such a beautiful voice from a man before. “nowy robotnik jest tutaj i wy potrzebujecie spotykać jej.” A deep sigh came from the young man before I heard foot steps. He was coming into the kitchen. The thin door opened. I have never seen a more gorgeous pair of blue eyes. This beautiful creature stood at 6’1. His thin undershirt outlined his toned muscles. His locks looked as if they were uncut and they were a creamy shade of milk chocolate brown. He extended a silky crème colored arm towards me. “Hi, I’m Jack.” |
| Maude was indeed working on that green jacket I’d left off with yesterday. She smiled as I entered the room. “I hope you don’t mind, Lexie,” she said, stitching away. “I don’t mind,” I enlightened, shaking my head. “Knock yourself out. Miss Lucy gave me something else to work on, anyway.” I made my way to the third sewing machine on the right, and started filling it with black thread. There were eight of us all together that worked at Miss Lucy’s shop, but mostly my shifts were on the same days as Maude and Chelsea’s, and sometimes Anna’s. Anna and I were perhaps the only ones under twenty who worked there. I felt like I could relate to her in the best way, but Chelsea and Maude were very polite and considerate to me, and they treated me with great respect, which I thought was very kind of them, considering the age difference. Anna was one year younger than I, when Maude and Chelsea were in their thirties. “Lexie, you will never guess what I’m sewing,” Chelsea exclaimed sweetly. “It’s something exciting.” I looked over in her direction and saw that she had numerous pieces of fluffy, white fabric, lace, bows, and several different-sized beads, all scattered around in a disorganized fashion—but that was Chelsea’s way, the only way she ever got anything done. “A wedding dress?” I asked, thinking it a bit odd. “You’re right!” she broadcasted. “Now, when’s the last time one of us got to make a wedding dress? When’s the last time someone ordered one in this shop?” “Not since I’ve been here,” I recognized. “Had to have been years ago,” Maude put in. “Not until I first started working here.” “Which was about the same time I started,” Chelsea nodded. “Remember Florence’s first day?” I’d heard off an on about this “Florence” character. Chelsea and Maude seemed to find her rather amusing and almost every month they’d bring her up at least once. She seemed a bit troubled in my point of view, but to Chelsea and Maude, she was the subject of ridicule. “She came in here, she thought she knew it all,” Maude explained. “She didn’t even know what a square knot was, until we taught it to her.” “She stumbled over everything,” Chelsea said. “Sometimes I think you put things on the floor purposely, Maude; just so we could have the pleasure of seeing her fall.” “And remember when she thought you put that disgusting piece of gum in her hair?” The two women recklessly chortled, a few tears leaking out of each of their eyes. Maude took in a deep breath. “Remember how surprised she was when she found out it was her own gum?” I interrupted abruptly. “Why did you two razz her so much?” I asked. I’d never really gotten into the conversations about Florence often. This happened to be one of the first times I’d said anything about it, I guess I’d wanted a change. The two of them looked a little confused, possibly surprised, that I had asked such a question. They didn’t say anything for a while, just minded to their work. It wasn’t until I started laughing that Chelsea finally decided to speak up. “Florence was a very old woman,” she told me. “She thought that because she was so old, she should be put in charge and be above everyone who was younger than her.” “We drove her nuts, so she eventually quit,” Maude added. Still—for some unknown reason, there was something about this “Florence” that stuck in my head. |
| I stand in awe. That voice is gorgeous. It is deep but not to the point of booming. It was definitely a man’s voice. I must have been staring because a chuckle escaped his lips. “You got a name, doll face?” he said to me. I tried to speak but nothing would come out. My eyes bulged a second before I blurted out, “Maddy O’ Brian. What is your name?” after I said that I became every shade of red. Jack laughed. “Jack Murkowski. I’m guessing you’re the new girl my Grandfather hired.” I only nodded, afraid of what else might leave my mouth. That was the only interaction I had with Jack all day, well, until break. I grabbed myself a glass of water and sat on my stool behind the cash register. Jack walked out onto the main floor, wiping his hands of the grease, and leaned over the counter to look at me. “O’ Brian huh? So you’re Irish then?” he said to me with his eyes locked to my face. “100%” I responded. “My grandfather came to the united states in the ‘70’s.” “Same with my Grandparents. Got out of Poland and moved here. Worst mistake they ever made.” “Why?” Jack sighed. “The people in Chicago aren’t the best, you know? Too many things to get caught up in.” “I haven’t really met a lot of people,” I said as I pushed down my fluffy dress. Jack watches me do this. “You just moved here? Because you don’t look like most of the girls around these parts.” I nod. “Typical story. My father put too much money in the stock market and when it crashed, so did we.” “Which street are you on?” “Fisher.” “Apparently you didn’t lose it all if you can afford to live in the good apartments.” The way Jack said those words made me a bit angry. “What do you live on then?” I said in a teasing tone. Jack looked at me and smiled an amazing white pearly smile. “Maple,” was all he said. I lifted an eyebrow. “Maple? Where’s that? Downtown or something?” “I don’t even live in Chicago. My parents left me the house in Berwyn when they died. I watch over my kid sister, Annie. She’s only thirteen.” “I’m sorry,” I responded. I didn’t know what else to say. Jack shook his head and gave a small laugh before locking his eyes with mine. We just looked at each other for a while. “How old are you, doll face?” he asked. “I’m seventeen.” Jack scratched his chiseled jaw line with his pointer finger. “Why aren’t you in school?” I rolled my eyes. “I stopped going a few weeks before we moved here. Mother thought it was about time I got myself a job.” “I know how that goes. I had to stop school and work here after my parents died. I didn’t like it anyway.” “How old are you, Jack?” I ask in what seems to be randomly. “Twenty,” he responds. “I just turned twenty a month ago.” “It must be real hard having to take care of your sister so young.” “It’s not that bad,” he said before the bell on the door went off. A tall and lean woman walked in. she had on a form fitting black dress and a matching hat. She took off her hat, revealing her youthful tanned face. She smiled and exposed her perfect teeth. “Hi Jacky baby,” the woman said as she made her way over to Jack. Jack stood up, showing that he was only an inch taller, and kissed her. “Hi Marcia.” Jack slung his arm around her waist and looked at me. “If my Grandfather is looking for me, tell him I’m on an extended break.” With that, Jack and Marcia walked out together. |
| I took a long look over in the direction of The Glendale Place on Bunker Street before I walked close enough to enter it. It slightly resembled a house, only it was much larger and with much more windows. It was an old place, so it looked homey and comfortable from the outside, but I only knew too well that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. With a deep breath, I slowly made my way over to the door. The first room I entered—what I presumed to be the lobby, something or other—was very small. There was a brown desk in the right hand corner, but nobody was behind it. There was, however, a small lamp shining on its corner, which seemed to be the only source of light in the room. The wallpaper was of a tainted yellow, with faded pink flowers scattered in vertical rows all around. The floor was of a white carpet, but it was scummy; I’d almost felt like I had a million different parasites sticking to the bottom of my shoe. Then there were two staircases—one on the right side, next to the desk, and the other on the left. I knew that our apartment was supposed to be on the left. Just as I started climbing the stairs, I realized, it’d be impossible for someone over five foot five to get through there. I was short, so I had no problem. But when it came to my dad, I supposed he was going to be having problems with our new living conditions from now on. Once I reached the tenth stair, there was a hallway with three different doors. That was the home of apartments 1A, 1B, and 1C. I had to climb up two more flights of stairs to reach the top floor—and there it was. The last one in the corner, room 3C. Slowly, I walked a few paces to reach it. Then, I knocked on the door of our new home with the little energy I had left. After waiting a couple of seconds, my twelve year old sister, Eleanor, came to my rescue and opened it. I expected to see complete chaos. After all, the apartment only had three rooms in it when there were seven people in the family. But there was no noise. “Lexie!” she grinned. “We were just eating dinner.” “Oh, good,” I said, walking inside. Eleanor closed the door behind me. “I’m hungry.” “It’s not a big dinner,” my sister told me. “But Dad says that tomorrow we’re going to have a feast. He doesn’t care about the price, says we all deserve it.” There was a room on the left and a room on the right. The one on the left presumably was the bedroom, where we all slept. And the room on the right was the kitchen. I followed Eleanor hopelessly to the room on the right. “Hey Lex,” Mom said as my sister and I came in. I grabbed a seat next to my twin brother. “How was work today?” “Hi Mom,” I replied. “It was pretty good. Well—that is, except for the Bumnerson girls. They came in to order black dresses—their father died yesterday.” “That’s terrible,” Dad interjected. “Henry Bumnerson, wasn’t that his name? He sold cars, didn’t he?” I grabbed myself a helping of spaghetti, all that was left, in fact. “I’m not sure,” I said. “Miss Lucy told me about it when I first came in. That’s all I know.” Alex spoke up beside me after he shoved a forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. “Yeah Dad, he did sell cars. I remember him. He was the big cheese who tried persuading you into buying that breezer.” There was one thing about Alex I haven’t mentioned yet: his extensive obsession in cars. It’s not that he collected models, or had many posters of them. He just talked about them feverishly. “And what good would a breezer do us now?” Dad shot back. Alex didn’t say anything. We all ate in silence for a while before Susie and David started throwing food at one another. That’s when Mom took them aside and punished them to the bedroom. I had one last conversation with Alex before I went to sleep that night. The next day would be Monday, and as it felt like, we would enter the school building as completely different people. “Our first baseball practice is after school tomorrow,” he said to me. “I’m going to try to be pitcher this season.” “That’s good, Alex,” I told him. “That’s real good.” “Do you think we’ll be okay?” he asked me. “I think we’ll be fine,” I replied. “After all, we’re one of the lucky ones. Dad’s still got his job.” Unlike Mr. Bumnerson, I thought, plainly to myself. He’s dead. |
| It’s been a month. A month since my family and I have moved to Chicago and this little apartment. A month since I’ve been working at the bakery. A month since I’ve known Jack. A month since I’ve first seen Marcia. I can’t say that I don’t like Marcia. I don’t really know her. She usually just comes in and takes Jack away. I assume they’re going together by the way they are. I suppose I could even dare to say that I’m a bit jealous. Jack is the only person I’ve met that is around my age and I barely talk to him. I get curious about him and seeing a girl who knows him closely can make me a bit miffed. I can’t do anything about that. It is 1930 after all. Actually, it’s pretty well into 1930. Middle of April in fact. Can you believe it? The stock market crashed almost half a year already. Good thing my family only had to move a month ago. So I’m working on my typical Saturday morning. We’re supposed to start work at six but Jack never comes in until ten. Annie, Jack’s little sister, always keeps me company until Jack finally gets to work. She’s a sweet girl, knows a lot more about life than I do. “Why don’t you ever curl your hair, Maddy?” Annie says as she plays with my reddish locks. I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. I never really found a need to.” Annie stops and looks at my face. “You mean you never hit the town?” “I don’t know anyone here,” I say softly. “Still, you should curl your hair. A gal has to look good in case a male is looking.” “No male is ever going to be looking at me, Annie.” “Jack looks at you,” Annie says with a smile. I roll my hazel eyes. “Jack looks at me only because we work together.” Annie shakes her head, causing her curly blonde locks to move about. “That’s not true. You’re not like the gals here. You’re special and Jack knows it.” I smile wide. I can’t believe he notices me. “Isn’t he going with Marcia?” “Marcia Perez?” Annie says with a small giggle. “Jack never went with her. Sure, he spends the most time with her but Jack isn’t one to tie down. Grandpa wants Jack to settle down, get married and have a family, but Jack is having too much fun being single.” Before I could utter another word, Jack came in. He did his usual swagger to the counter where Annie and I were. “Good morning ladies,” Jack says as he finishes up unbuttoning his shirt so he could work. “It’s almost the afternoon, Jack,” Annie says rolling her blue eyes. Jack looks at the clock on the wall. “Not quite yet.” Jack picks up the book I was reading. “The Canterbury Tales?” he says lifting an eyebrow at me. “It’s a book made of a lot of little stories. It’s really good. You should read it, Jack,” I say. “I’m not that much into reading, doll face.” Mr. Murkowski storms onto the main floor with a big frown. “Jackov, Gdzie ma wy?” Jack rolls his gorgeous blue eyes. “I’ve been at home, Gramps. Can we please speak in English?” Mr. Murkowski turns a light shade of purple. “Work starts at six, Jackov. I expect you to be here.” “It was a late night last night and I needed to sleep a bit longer. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.” “Wy jesteście żałujący? Cały wy kiedyś mówią przemawiać jest żałujący, ale wy nigdy zmiana zmieniać; zmienny. Wy potrzebujecie przerywać zatrzymywać się działać jak podobny do; podobnie do tego; upodobanie do dzieckcko dziecinny i znajdują żonę!” “I’m not going to get married to someone just because you want me to! I’m only twenty.” “I was having my first child at twenty,” Mr. Murkowski yells back. Jack only smiles at him. “The times are different now, Gramps. I’m young and I have the rest of my life to have a family. I’m going to get married when I want, to whomever I want.” “You’re just wasting your life, Jackov.” “But it’s my life and I can waste it if I want to.” Mr. Murkowski stomps back into his back office. Jack walks into the kitchen fuming. Annie and I just took it like a regular Saturday morning. As always, Marcia came during the break. She always wore a different dress but always wore the same fiery lipstick. She looked around before coming up to my counter. “Is Jack here?” she asks me. I nod. “He’s in the kitchen. He hasn’t finished a load yet.” Marcia smiles at me and takes out a long cigarette and lights it. She sucked on the tip for a few seconds before letting the smoke escape her mouth. “How old are you, Kid?” she asks me. “Seventeen,” I answer slowly. Marcia nods as she takes a puff from her cigarette. “I remember when I was seventeen. I bought my first Galapagos lipstick. I bet a light red would look great on you. I see if I have a light red and bring it over for you. A gal always has to look her best.” “Marcia, how are you?” Jack says as he comes out of the kitchen. Marcia gives him a small kiss but makes sure to not touch him. “Jackie baby, you ready?” “Sorry, toots. My gramps has been on me all day so I can’t get out. We’ll get together tomorrow okay?” Marcia puffed one last puff. “We’ll see, Jackie,” she says before walking out. Jack just turned and went back into the kitchen. We work a bit later that night. It’s already dark outside when I can go home. I start to pick up my stuff and put everything into my bag. My book falls out of my hand and onto the floor. I go to get it but jack grabs it before I do. “You don’t want to forget this,” he says as he hands it to me. “Thanks,” I say as I put it into my bag. “I guess I’ll see you Monday.” I head for the door. Jack runs to it and opens it for me. “Let me walk you home, Maddy. Its not safe going by yourself.” I only nod. We walk down to the corner of the street in silence. “Why is your Grandfather so hell bent on you getting married?” I ask breaking the silence. Jack watches his feet as we walk. “You know old people. They want you to live like they did. It’s not like I’m not trying to find the right girl.” “Marcia is nice,” I say nicely. “She’s a great gal,” he replies still looking at his feet. “So why don’t you marry her?” Jack looks at me finally. “Marcia is a bird, no doubt about that. She also is a hot tongue at 22. I’m sure she gets with other guys.” “That’s horrible,” I say not believing her infidelity. Jack smirks. “We’re not going together or nothing so it’s okay. I’m a known cake eater myself. Gramps wants me to settle but I like having someone new slung over me.” I shrug my shoulders and look away. “I wouldn’t know.” We reach the front of my apartment building and we stop at the door. “You never went with a guy before, doll face?” Jack asks me. “I was going with this boy once. I kissed him a few times but it didn’t last long before he found some better girl to go with.” “Why would you think that bat was better than you?” Jack asks sincerely. I look down. “Because she is, along with every other girl.” Jack places his hand under my chin and lifts my head up so he could look into my eyes. “Don’t think that, Maddy. You’re a great dame and guys are going to be fighting over you.” I smile. “You really think so?” Jack smiles back. “I know so,” he says before putting down his hand. “Get inside before the bugs start biting. I’ll see you on Monday.” I bought myself a curler the next day. |
| I always sang in the mornings. I suppose I’d adapted the habit from my mother when I was very young. Our mother used to wake us up with church hymns, sing-song-like nursery rhymes, and the occasional Trixie Smith song, usually being “I’m Through with You” or “He May Be Your Man”. Just as I’d suspected, the four of us were running late. Alex, Eleanor, David, and I had to jog to school side by side in order to make it to first period in time. Susie was too little yet to attend school, so Mom was in charge of looking after her. Dad had already left for work in the morning. “I don’t think I can make it, guys,” Eleanor gasped. “This is nothing,” Alex groaned. “Besides, we’re almost there. Look how close we are to the school.” We had to go an extra three miles to get to school rather than the one mile it would have usually taken us to get there back when we had our old house. David seemed to be running low on endurance as well. Before I could tell Alex to slow down, maybe we’d be better off walking the rest of the way; we were already at the door. Eleanor and David went their separate ways, and Alex and I headed to our school room. We got there just in time, right before Mr. Clark was about to start the lesson of the day. “We will continue with our class discussion from last week,” Mr. Clark said, clearing his throat. “Does anybody remember what we were talking about?” Philip Wheatley immediately raised his hand, and naturally Mr. Clark called on him. And that’s the last thing from reality I remember until I felt someone budge my shoulder. I looked up, and there was Alex, giving me a funny look. “Lexie,” he whispered. “Don’t fall asleep.” Before I could ask my brother how long I’d been out of it, I heard another unfriendly voice. “What was that?” Mr. Clark asked. “Nothing,” Alex said, trying to save me. “Yes, Mr. Clark. It was nothing. I was just checking something.” I felt like dead meat. “Looks to me like you were sleeping, Miss Schultz,” he groaned. “See me after class.” Which lasted, oh, about three or so more minutes until the bell rang and I had to march up to my teacher like an idiot. There were still two or three stragglers left in the room, collecting up all their belongings to go to their next class. “Yes, Mr. Clark?” I asked him, a little timidly. “This is the third time you fell asleep in my class,” he explained to me. “The third time.” I know it sound awful—falling asleep three times in my first class of the day—but I had a perfectly good explanation for that. Lately I hadn’t been getting enough sleep, what with the stress, working extra hours, and dealing with fights around the house. Fighting between my parents was getting worse and worse as the days went by. They didn’t like to let us kids know about it. They’d usually pretend to be happy during the day, and fight at night—oftentimes, waking me up. Alex would wake up sometimes, too. Before I could say anything back in return, I heard a voice behind me. “Don’t be sore at her. It isn’t her fault that she fell asleep in your class, Mr. Clark.” “I won’t tolerate your troublesome attitude any longer today, Miss Waverly,” he groaned. “Now go to your next period class before you find yourself in the same situation as Miss Schultz, here.” I started panicking. What? What had that girl just said? How was she to know it wasn’t my fault? And Mr. Clark—I was in a ‘situation’? What situation? I couldn’t get in trouble. Mom and Dad would kill me. “What do you mean, Mr. Clark?” I asked him, trying to be as innocent as I could. “I’m sorry, Lexie,” Kim Waverly said to me as she grasped the rest of her books in her hands. “I’m sorry that Mr. Clark has nothing better to do than to give you a detention because of his poor, pathetic life. His wife left him two years ago, you know.” “That’s enough!” If Mr. Clark was furious before, you couldn’t tell. Now, his eyes were flaming with fire and his voice was boiling; he was angrier than I’d ever seen him before. “The both of you are to report back to this classroom after school for detention! Now leave before I give you any more punishments!” I jolted for the door. I could hear Kim in the background: “I know why you’re doing this, Mr. Clark. You’re lonely. You have no family and—” “Kim!” I shouted. I hardly knew this girl, but I hated seeing her getting the same torture from Mr. Clark as I was. After all, she’d attempted to save me—hadn’t she? Did she know something I did not? I knew that she was setting him off, but I didn’t want her to get into any more trouble. Kim took one more look over at Mr. Clark before she headed over toward my direction. “Some detention, huh?” she asked me. “Not really… why were you getting him so mad?” I asked. “You were only making it worse.” Kim laughed. “You think Mr. Clark was mad? He wasn’t. Trust me, you don’t know what he’s like when he’s mad. I’ve seen him way worse than he was today.” “When?” I asked her, out of curiosity. “You don’t want to know,” she replied. “So I guess I’ll see you in detention—right?” “Right,” I said, thinking about what my mom and dad would think. |
| It is Tuesday. Nine days since I bought my hair curler and I have used it each day. And each day, he hasn’t noticed. I can’t blame him, I mean, he is a boy. No, Jack is definitely a man. A man in every sense of the word. Yes, he’s only twenty, but he is a man. A man that I have become good friends with. And that’s all. I walk down the short hallway in the apartment and into the kitchen. Alex is already sitting at the table and eating the small bowl of hot cereal he eats for breakfast every morning. I rub his small head of hair while I get myself my glass of orange juice. I can’t eat anything for breakfast because mother says the cereal is for Alex because he is a growing boy…and also she doesn’t want me to get fat. I take my glass of orange juice and place it on the table. Alex looks at me with a smile full of hot cereal. “Can we go to the park today, Maddy?” he says as some cereal falls from his mouth and onto the table. I give a small chuckle. “Sure, Alex,” I say as a give a squeeze to my curly red locks. Not a second after I say that, I hear the loud clicks of my mother’s heels on the floor. “Madeline Ruth O’ Brian! Where are you?!” I roll my eyes. “In the kitchen, Mother.” I hear the rush of my mother’s heels in the hallway. When I look up form the table she is already standing in front of me with a scowl on her face. “How much was it?” she asks holding out my curler. I stand up and put my glass in the sink. “It only cost five dollars.” “Where did you get the money to pay for it!?” “It came from my paycheck so don’t worry…” My mother sucked in her small bottom lip and tapped her toe. “I can’t believe you stole from me!” I once again roll my eyes. “It’s not your money. I worked for it so I think I’m entitled to have a few dollars if I want.” “How are we supposed to pay for bread now!?” I laugh. “Maybe if you stop buying those expensive things for yourself then…” I don’t let out another word of that sentence. My mother’s harsh right hand slaps my face. It feels cool on me but as soon as it leaves my cheek, all I can feel is heat. My hand goes directly to where my mother’s was. I look at her with my mouth open, still in shock of what she did. I examine her face. There is not a once of regret in it. My mother puffs up her hair with her hand and shoves the curler in the hand that isn’t on my reddening face. “Take this to the store and get your money back. I want to see that five dollars when you get home,” she says in her usual tone before picking up a crying Alex and walking back into her bedroom. The whole walk to the bakery, my hand never left my face. I stopped in front of the door and just looked at my reflection in the glass. I moved my hand and could see the huge red spot that was forming. I quickly entered the bakery and put my head down on the counter. The tears burned when they hit my cheek. After a few good minutes, I felt a soft touch on my shoulder. “What’s wrong, doll face?” it was Jack’s deep voice. I lift my head from the counter and wipe at my eyes. “It’s nothing,” I say as I swipe a curl behind my ear. “Nothing? Maddy, your whole cheek is bright red. What twit did this to you?” I try to smile but that gives me a bit of pain in my face. “The twit is my mother.” Jack shakes his head slightly as I wince from the motion of his thumb on my cheek. I’m not sure if I wince from the pain or the pleasure from him touching me. “Why would she do this to you, Maddy?” Jack asks with a sweet tone. I roll my eyes slightly. “I bought myself a curler with the money that I earned. I have to take back the one thing that is mine so she can keep buying all of her things.” Jack didn’t say anything more. His eyes were focused on my face as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Jack took out a five and placed it in front of me. I pick it up and raise an eyebrow. “Take it,” he says. “Give the monster her money and you keep that curler. You look pretty with curls, doll face.” I swear my cheeks became a brighter red. “Thank you, Jack. Now I just need to get through a whole day with this red mark on my face.” Jack turned towards the clock. “I have an idea, doll face.” Before I could say anything, Jack grabbed my hand and we headed for his car. I didn’t ask where we were going; I really didn’t want to know. The only thing that mattered was that I was with Jack. |
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