Chapter 15
CHAPTER
It took an hour or more to drive to Coney Island, on the southwest corner of Long Island, but the time passed quickly.
Elsa updated Archer on the plight of the Petrovics and the new Spalding relatives she’d met, and he shared about his quest to achieve independence from his father.
He still hadn’t moved out on his own, and as much as he joked about it, she could tell it bothered him.
“You’d have an easier time paying rent if you sold the Rolls,” she suggested.
“And ride public transit with the masses? Not my style.” He laughed, but Elsa suspected he wasn’t kidding.
“Besides, this auto was a gift from my father, remember? Not only would it be rude to sell it off, but the profit I’d gain would still be from my father since he gave the Rolls to me in the first place.
So paying rent with that money would prove nothing. Savvy?”
“I get it.” Elsa braced herself against the door as he took a turn too fast. “What about that suit you’re wearing? Did it really cost you four months of paychecks?”
He squinted at her, though his hat brim blocked the lowering sun. “Listen, doll, don’t worry about it. Didn’t your mother teach you that talking about money was ‘vulgar’?”
A retort sprang to mind, but the hard set to his jaw made her swallow it. She hadn’t meant to pry, and she sensed he’d been pressed enough tonight.
By the time they parked and found Ivy and Percy at the appointed meeting place, however, he was all smiles and confidence again.
“Did you save any room for Nathan’s?” Ivy hiked a thumb over her shoulder at Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters and Soft Drink Stand, where hot dogs and root beer were only a nickel each.
Situated on the corner of Stillwell and Surf Avenues, it was across the street from the subway station and always had a crowd.
Elsa put a hand to her stomach. “I’ll definitely have room later. Let me walk off dinner first. Shall we?” Threading through couples and families, they headed south on Stillwell, toward the beach, the men leading the way.
“How did it go, by the way?” Percy hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his trousers.
“We sampled cuisine from four of the top caterers in Manhattan,” Archer said. “How do you think it went?”
While the men chatted, Elsa explained to Ivy what her mother had arranged. “I wish I’d known about it ahead of time. It would have been so fun to have you there and cast your vote, too.”
“You do know my favorite food is hot dogs, right?” Ivy spread her arms wide, emphasizing once more where they were. “Percy would have been a good judge, though. His palate is quite discerning.”
Elsa lowered her voice. “Did you two get along all right while you were waiting for us?”
Ivy grinned. “I gave him some smashing ideas for that novel he’s working on.
You know something, for as different as he and I are, I’m more comfortable with him than I am with anyone at work, simply because I’m not trying to impress him.
I don’t think Percy is impressed by anyone or anything, which means there’s no point in being anyone other than myself. ”
Elsa squeezed her friend’s shoulder. Most of Ivy’s colleagues at the New-York Historical Society were real blue bloods of old New York with roots going back to the Dutch families.
From what Ivy had shared, they believed Ivy was less fit to work there due to her middle-class upbringing and the fact that she wasn’t even from New York.
She worked harder than any of them, though.
“Was Percy at least impressed with Nathan’s?” Elsa asked, trying to keep the mood light.
“He didn’t say so.”
“Can’t imagine he’d volunteer that. Let’s ask.” Elsa linked her arm through Ivy’s and waited for a break in the men’s conversation.
“Investments, I told him,” Archer was saying, obviously rehashing her father’s interview about his financial viability.
Percy burst out laughing. “That’s what you call it now? Oh, that’s rich.” He swiped off his glasses to rub his eyes.
Archer slapped him on the back, but his head turned to follow an attractive young woman passing by. “He works on Wall Street. He gets it.”
“And if that isn’t a gamble, I don’t know what is.”
Elsa cut a glance to Ivy and saw her own concern reflected in her roommate’s expression. Suddenly, she didn’t care a hoot about whether Percy had enjoyed the hot dog.
“Ready to be amused?” Percy tossed over his shoulder as he put his glasses back on. “Ivy and I already explored Steeplechase Park, but we could hit Luna Park next.”
“Why don’t we start there?” Archer pointed to a giant contraption called Deno’s Wonder Wheel.
It stood almost fifteen stories high and looked like the Ferris wheel’s unruly cousin.
Elsa counted eight cars on the outside of the wheel, each of them holding six people.
Then sixteen more cars swung from tracks in the interior of the wheel, sliding toward the hub and back out as the wheel turned.
Elsa’s stomach turned just watching it. “I’d better give all that food a little more time to digest before I try that.”
“No? The roller coaster, then. Thunderbolt opened last year,” Archer said, but he was clearly distracted by all the beautiful women smiling in his direction. “What a crop of tomatoes here, eh, Percy?”
“Archer.” Ivy cocked her head and snapped to get his attention. “If she isn’t up for the Wonder Wheel yet, what makes you think she’d go on a roller coaster?”
Elsa’s sentiments exactly, but Ivy’s response was quicker.
“What? Oh.” He shrugged again, and Elsa was beginning to understand why her elders had always called the gesture lazy. Truly, it was no substitute for words.
A man on stilts walked past them, wearing a straw boater and a sandwich board advertisement. “Don’t miss Luna Park!” he bellowed, sweat streaking his ruddy face. “The heart of Coney Island!”
“It’s a sign. A literal sign.” Archer grinned. “How about it?”
The rest of the group agreed. Spying an approaching trolley, they hopped on and clattered down Surf Avenue beneath electric lights strung between poles on opposite sides of the street.
Riding the breeze were the salty smells of sea and sweaty people.
They disembarked outside Luna Park’s elaborate white stone entryway and waited their turn to pay the dime-per-person fee.
The name of the park was spelled out in electric bulbs that curved to fit inside giant crescent moon shapes.
Inside, the crowds moved at a shuffle pace. Barkers called out to steer tourists into their attractions. Popcorn and pretzels were sold on every corner, which explained the kernels crunching beneath Elsa’s feet.
“Now what?” she murmured, barely hearing her own question.
“World Circus Sideshow!” a man called from his perch on a stand outside a tent. “Step right up and be amazed by Armless Wonder, Spider Boy, a four-legged girl prodigy, the world’s strongest man, and the ugliest woman alive! World Circus Show, ladies and gents.”
Elsa shook her head and turned away, only to be confronted by more shouting men, each vying to be heard over the others.
“Get your thrills on the Toboggan, the roller coaster of the Alpines!”
“Fancy girls! Take a peep!”
Stepping over a puddle of spilled beer, Elsa pulled her friends to the edge of the sidewalk.
“On second thought, this really isn’t my scene.
” Cars full of shrieking children roared by on the wooden roller coaster.
In a large window over Percy’s shoulder, a woman was covered by strategically placed fans and nothing else. Heat rushed to Elsa’s face.
“Come on, there’s something for everyone here!” Archer protested.
As if to prove his point, another barker called, “Live babies! All the world loves a baby! Three pound babies, still alive!”
Elsa turned to find a huge sign that read Incubator Babies.
“I read an article about this,” Ivy said.
“Hospitals don’t have these incubators, so prematurely born babies are cared for here in a hospital-like environment at no cost to their parents.
The nurses, incubators, food, and medicine are all paid for by those who spend their dimes to see. I’d like to go in.”
“Me too,” Elsa said. “In fact, that is the only thing here I’m interested in. Other than that, I’d rather walk along the shore.”
“You would?” Percy’s necktie blew sideways in the wind, and he tucked it back into his vest. “Sorry, I’m surprised that would appeal to you.”
Elsa frowned. “It appeals to millions. Not all at once, thank goodness, but the beach and boardwalk are the entire reason all of these amusement parks are even—”
“Yeah, I get it,” Percy interrupted, “but I thought going for rides would be more your thing, given your condition.”
“Change your mind about renting one of those rolling chairs?” Archer asked.
Irritation flared. Elsa bit her tongue, reminding herself that he could have no idea how the suggestion affected her. He didn’t know she associated those chairs with shame and loss, and she would never tell him.
Ivy crossed her arms and glared. “And what are we going to do about your condition, boys?”
Now she had Archer’s attention. “What condition is that?”
“Rudeness. It seems to be catching. Maybe you ought to go home and sleep it off.”
Ivy’s feisty spirit drew a smile to Elsa’s lips.
“All right. We don’t have to all do the same thing.
Why don’t we part ways for the night? You and Percy can do all the rides you want and take the Rolls back afterward.
Ivy and I will be fine on our own. We don’t even mind taking public transit home. ”
Ivy nodded her agreement. “That sounds great.”