Unfortunately, as the synapses in his mind frayed, he spent most of his savings, buying things he didn’t need online and sending money to strangers. She moved him to the assisted-living community and sold their apartment at the bottom of the market, paying off his debts with the bulk of it. When Griff came into her life, he brought a renewed sense of hope with him. Everything always turned out fine for Griff, so why not let some of his optimism and confidence rub off on her as well?
Her head began to ache and a familiar aura shimmered wherever she looked. Outside, a flash of lightning was followed by a giant clap of thunder that made Bird jump and run into her lap, shaking. Sometimes when the barometer changed suddenly, the pressure in her head would grow until the inevitable migraine took her out of commission for the next twenty-four hours.
If she didn’t do something soon, get somewhere, she’d be stranded with a dog and four suitcases in the pouring rain, unable to focus or even speak without throwing up.
She scrambled to her feet and grabbed two suitcases and the leash and stumbled to the elevator. But instead of pressing the lobby or even the taxi button, she hit four. Stella’s apartment was quiet, the only sound the hum of the refrigerator. Miss McLaughlin’s key was on the counter and Rose snatched it up. For the first time she noticed a series of photographs that lined the wall between the bedroom and living room. All in black and white, showing Stella in different clothes, different poses. In one, she stood in a shirred strapless bathing suit and cocked one hip toward the camera, her hair falling in shiny waves to her shoulders. Stella had been a beautiful woman.
Outside Miss McLaughlin’s apartment, Rose fumbled with the lock, worried that someone would open up their door and demand to know what she was doing. She let the dog inside, placed the two suitcases in the narrow foyer, then headed back upstairs. She left the key to Griff’s apartment next to the mail that had accumulated, then returned to Miss McLaughlin’s with the last of the suitcases.
The apartment was the same layout as Stella’s, but faced north and seemed much smaller. The living room held a mid-century, angular couch, one chair, and a simple walnut coffee table. An old record player sat on a small writing desk, and a bookcase lined one wall. Bird lapped up the last of the water in his bowl in the hallway and curled up on one corner of the sofa, clearly at home.
What was she thinking? She wasn’t. The migraine was getting worse, growing steadily on the right side of her head, just behind her eye. Miss McLaughlin wasn’t expected back for two and a half weeks. If she went to Stella’s and the woman returned home from the hospital, she’d have to explain, and she didn’t want to explain anything at the moment. She just needed a day or two to collect herself, figure out a plan.
Squinting through the throbbing in her head, she filled a glass with water and took a couple of sips, then lay down on the sofa with Bird snoring softly at her feet. As the room whirled around her, she gave in to the pain, thankful for a place where she could suffer in silence.
Four suitcases and a dog that wasn’t even hers. It was all she had left.
CHAPTER TEN
New York City, 1952
Darby’s heart soared when she received the envelope with Mother’s familiar, elegant handwriting. She’d stifled memories of home ever since she’d arrived, afraid to think too much about her room, her beloved old house, and the screened-in patio where she’d sat with her dogs and read. Mother wrote with her usual reserve, making no mention of Mr. Saunders, and encouraged Darby to work hard and do well. However, at the bottom she’d drawn a detailed picture of the two dogs lolling in the grass. Darby knew this was Mother’s way of saying she was missed, and she carefully taped the letter on the wall above her small desk.
She’d apply herself and make Mother very proud, and go home for Christmas break with perfect marks. With a sigh, she returned to her homework for her secretarial accounting class, a soporific mess of figures and columns. Her favorite class so far, and the one in which her scores were consistently above average, was typing. While she typed, she remembered how Stick’s fingers had flown along the keyboard, as if they were independent of the rest of his body. He wasn’t thinking about the individual notes but the whole phrase. And Darby found when she looked at sentences, the whole thoughts, of the practice test, she made fewer mistakes than when she focused on the individual letters. Her fingers were becoming more nimble.
A knock at the door broke her concentration. Esme poked her head in, then quickly came in and closed the door behind her.
“I don’t have much time. Eustis is after me. How about we head downtown again?”
Darby hadn’t seen Esme much the past week, and part of her had been relieved. She proved to be a strong distraction, one that Mother would definitely not condone.
“I can’t, too much work to do.”
“The other girls giving you any more trouble? I’ve been stuck in the laundry room all week, couldn’t get away.”
“No, they ignore me completely now, which is fine with me. It’s a relief not to have to pretend to be polite.”
“So come downtown. You owe me, right?”
The strange phrase surprised her, but she held firm. “Sorry, not tonight.”
“Sam asked about you the other night.”
“Sam?” Darby knew exactly who he was.
“The owner’s son, cooks the food.”
“What did he ask?”
“Why I brought you down there. He seemed protective. Don’t you think that’s sweet?”
Darby imagined he was more scornful than sweet, after her silly reaction to the music. “I really shouldn’t.”
“That’s too bad.” Esme dropped her chin to her chest and shrugged one shoulder. “Because I’d love to have someone to celebrate with. But I guess not.”
Darby jumped out of her chair. “You got into acting school?”
Esme nodded and Darby gave her a hug. “Congratulations! I knew you’d get in.”
“But that’s not all.” Esme glowed just like the Ford girls, even in her maid’s uniform with its dull black dress, black stockings, and silly white cap.
“What’s going on?”
“I am. The owner of the club, Mr. Buckley, said I could go on before the headliner tonight.”
Darby grabbed Esme’s hands. “That’s wonderful. How did you manage it?”
“He was holding auditions the other afternoon, right before my shift. I asked if I could give it a shot, like a real singer, and he said fine. You could say I blew his socks off. I’ll have a full band behind me and even a backup singer.”
Her excitement was infectious. How could Darby resist?
As they walked from the train to the club, Esme took Darby’s hand in her own and swung it merrily. They got off at Union Square and headed south down Fourth Avenue, past a cluster of used bookstores, their wares spilling out onto the street in uneven stacks. New York was a town of surprises.
Darby gave her hand a quick squeeze. “So now you’ll be going to acting school, working at the Barbizon and at the club. How will you manage?” Darby thought of her own schedule of classes, which seemed paltry in comparison.