“I’ll bet you are.” Betty laughed and sank down on a matching chair.
“I know you’re too busy to ferry my classwork back and forth. How’s training going?”
“It’s fine.”
“You miss me?”
She affected a dramatic expression and tone of anguish. “I do. So much, in fact, that I can barely run. I’m afraid Stella Walsh is going to cream me the next time I see her.”
“Is that so?” He propped himself up on his elbow. “You know, I’m out for spring track.”
“The whole season?”
“Yeah, I’m disappointed. Apparently, this foot break is a real bugger, with tendon damage, the works, but you know what I realized?”
“What?”
“Because of this injury, I won’t be an official member of the track team this spring.”
“Does Coach Hill know you’re out for the season?”
“He does. He came by the other day to check on me, and I broke the bad news to him. I also told him that I plan to ask you out.”
At this, Betty straightened in surprise. “You did?”
“Yep. So, what do you say? Give an injured fella some mercy and go out for dinner with me?”
“You don’t look like you’re going anywhere any time soon.”
“I don’t intend to wait until my cast comes off and risk you falling for some other guy. How about you come over tomorrow night and join me for dinner? Just the two of us.”
“As you said earlier, I’m very busy. I don’t think I can fit anything else into my schedule.”
“Too busy for a poor fella who can’t walk? Now, that’s just cruel.”
“Well, I don’t want you to ruin my reputation as a nice person, so I suppose I’ll come after all.”
Bill raised his brows. “I make no promises I won’t ruin your reputation.”
Betty threw a cushion at Bill as she stood to go. “Fine, you don’t scare me. See you tomorrow night.”
19.
Spring 1932
Malden, Massachusetts
WHEN LOUISE RETURNED HOME TO TELL HER PARENTS she had taken a job with Mrs. Clark, they met the news with stoic resignation. Louise had steeled herself for an argument, but it never arrived. Instead, Mama folded herself onto a kitchen chair and rested one of her hands, cracked and worn, on the table. “Mrs. Grandaway’s children tell me I’ve done all that’s been needed. Friday will be my last day. The house is being sold this weekend. Time for me to go.”
Louise checked Papa for his reaction. Gray lightened his hairline, gray that hadn’t been there the last time Louise had taken a good look at him. His brown eyes, usually sparkling and teasing, appeared weary. Louise bit her lip. “Maybe my job with Mrs. Clark would be better for you.”
“No, it wouldn’t. You were hired to be an assistant to Miss Mabel. They can’t have Miss Mabel and me, that’d be too much. You go on and take that work. I’m not sure if anyone in town needs someone. If they don’t, some of the ladies in church have spoken of the laundry.”
“Oh, Mama, you don’t want the laundry.”
“Of course I don’t, but it’s reliable work, and in some ways, it might be easier. The idea of just doing a job and not getting mixed up in family affairs offers some advantages. I spent years with the Grandaways and it’s been exhausting.”
Working in the laundry was steady, as Mama said, but brutal, filled with harsh cleaners and backbreaking labor. The pay wouldn’t be as good as Mrs. Grandaway’s, but now Louise understood why her parents hadn’t argued when she had announced she didn’t plan to return to school. They needed her wages. The family needed her. Knowing that brought a heavy sense of responsibility, but also pride.
“I can give everything I earn to you,” Louise said.
Papa shook his head. “No, if you’re earning wages, keep some of it. You’re an adult now and it’s only right.”
“But I’ll give you most of it.”
“Let’s give this new arrangement a few weeks and see what happens.” Papa stroked Mama’s back. “You’re going to be able to keep training?”
“Yes, Coach Quain’s told me that I should hear from the Olympic committee this spring about being invited to the National AAU Championships in Chicago in July. The Olympic team will be decided at that meet.”
“You’ll need to keep some of your earnings from Mrs. Clark to pay for that trip.”
“But Coach Quain says the AAU and the club will pay for it.”
“You should have some of your own money too. Just in case. Sometimes things change and you don’t want to get stranded somewhere far from home. And you’ll need some spending money. Start thinking about how much you’ll need and be sure to save for it.”
“Have you discussed time off to travel to Chicago?” Mama asked.
“No, I figured I had plenty of time to bring that up.”
“Mrs. Clark won’t like any surprises,” Mama said. “Make sure you tell her immediately.”
When Louise had accepted Mrs. Clark’s offer of working for five dollars a week, it seemed like a windfall, but now she wasn’t so sure. Her glowing sense of contribution faded. And what if Mrs. Clark didn’t accept her plan to travel to Chicago?
The next morning she awoke in the dark and pulled on a navy-blue work dress that Mama had given her. She wrapped a scarf around her hair and set off for the Clarks’ house. The day passed briskly under Miss Mabel’s tutelage as she moved from one task to the next, learning the ins and outs of how the family operated. The older woman seemed pleased to focus on her work in the kitchen while Louise took on entertaining Mrs. Clark’s daughter Beatrice. When the little girl rested, Louise dusted, polished, and put away toys.
One afternoon Louise was watering a large pot of maidenhead fern in the living room when Mrs. Clark passed through. “Excuse me, ma’am, I need
