“That’s brilliant, darling.”
Elaine scrounged about in her little closet and found a crisp beige number, something woolen and tailored. Madeline had made it for her many moons ago. It was still in perfect condition. “There, now, try this one.”
She handed the garment to Lisa, still on its hanger.
Lisa headed to the washroom, and after a flurry of faucet sounds, she emerged, her cheeks rosy and scrubbed. She looked ready to face the cold streets of New York—and the world.
“Fabulous, darling! Remember, you are brave,” Elaine said.
And she smiled.
It was as though Madeline were here with them, to celebrate.
Madeline would be busy in the corner of the room, setting up a little table with a phonograph, then removing a record album from its sleeve. She would set the needle down and Elaine would tell her to hush—these boardinghouse walls were too thin—but Madeline would laugh and unlock the narrow little door, bounding up and down the halls, inviting every woman she encountered to an impromptu get-together in the tiny room.
Epilogue
November 1963
Elaine arrived at the luncheonette where Lisa worked. It was six o’clock in the evening, and the restaurant was closed for the day.
They would have the whole space that night for free, and they wouldn’t even have to pay; they would only have to finish the dishes from the last shift.
The place would be theirs for three golden hours.
Lisa had brought her portable record player and a stack of records, and Elaine had carried in a stack of books.
“Tell me what to do first,” Elaine said to Lisa, and together they scrubbed the teetering piles of dishes. It was a massive amount to clean, but the two of them made quick work of it, singing songs and telling stories.
Elaine talked about her work. “You wouldn’t believe what they did at the Chronicle. You know about that proposed amendment to the Constitution here, the Equal Rights Amendment? There’s been more agitation about it lately, and the Chronicle doesn’t want to seem behind the times. So instead of giving the female fact-checkers a raise, they just promoted the only two male fact-checkers, and so now they can’t be accused of unfair pay.”
“That’s ludicrous.”
“You’re telling me. Samantha really wants out, you know. She’s been there for five whole years without any talk of a raise.”
“What does David think?”
“Oh, I didn’t tell you? He quit last week.”
“Oh yeah?”
“He got a job at a different newspaper.”
“Why is that?”
“He doesn’t like the way they’re treating me and the other women.”
Lisa whistled. “Wow, sounds like you got yourself a catch there!” Then Lisa changed the subject—she had been off the dating scene since Billy. “Hey, did you bring that Beatles album with you?”
“Of course, dearie!”
At last they finished the stack of dishes. They dried their hands and applied fresh coats of lipstick, using the tin tiles of the kitchen wall as their mirror.
Afterward, they headed into the main area of the luncheonette and sat down at a large booth, flipping on the record player and bouncing in their seats to the rhythm. They laughed their heads off and did silly things, dancing with their shoulders and sliding across the floors in their stocking feet. Soon ladies started to knock at the glass door, coming in one by one, then streaming in all at once. They poured in with food and decorations—laughing and prancing through the door.
It all shone in their faces and their smiles, their energy and movement. Elaine did a reading of a new poem, and they turned the music back up; Lisa jumped up and down, the most energetic she had been in some time.
“I can’t believe I’m dancing!”
“Well, why not?” Elaine said, and joined her, twirling all around.
It was a warm glow, almost like a light, radiating from within all of them. The feeling shimmered throughout the space, propelling them across the luncheonette floor in the wildest dance of their lives.
Elaine, breathless, paused between songs, sitting down with Lisa for a glass of water.
“Hey Lisa—” As Elaine gulped down the cool liquid, her voice assumed a different quality. “I wanted to bring this up before the night is through—I got a new article to fact-check today. It was about Madeline’s ex, Fred Abbott. It sounds like he’s being arraigned tonight, and I heard that others are next.”
“Really?”
“I called the courthouse, and it’s true.” Elaine grinned; a pleased flush spread across her cheeks.
Lisa stared for a moment, wide-eyed; she seemed struck in disbelief.
Dizzy, she hunched down in her gingham waitress uniform; then she stood up, wearing one of the widest smiles of her life.
The night was beautiful.
More and more ladies streamed into the luncheonette, new friends and old.
Together they danced the night away, and Lisa’s face grew more and more relaxed as the corners of her eyes lifted in unbridled delight.
She was free.
When the night started to simmer down, Elaine flickered the lights to get their attention. “Let’s do a little poetry, ladies.”
The women read their gorgeous pieces, full of light and hope. Elaine stood with her notebook, ready to say something—but then she paused. The words were so palpable that they could barely emerge from her throat.
But then someone shouted out, in the way of Madeline, “Read us a poem, darling.”
So she started again: “I have something to share—I wrote it quickly, on my way here. It seems as though the words are flowing out of me again lately.”
Don’t let them tell you who are.
Don’t stop yourself, darling.
I hope you shimmer, darling.
Glimmer as you can.
Their eyes all sparkled as they applauded, all aglow, like Madeline.
Even in fear, she had never let the shadows consume her; she had radiated outward in a million beams of light, as a reminder to allow their full selves to shine. They too would try to always give forth this resplendence, even in a world that would prefer otherwise.
Elaine’s eyes were lively and gleaming as she took a bow.
Readers Club Guide Questions
At the start of the story, Lisa is twenty-two years old. How much of her “blindness” about Billy would you attribute to her relative youth? What were some warning signals about him that she could have picked up on earlier? What are some reasons Lisa may have found it difficult to walk away from Billy despite the warning signs?
The Starlite is a welcoming enclave for women of all walks of life. In your own life, have you ever experienced a setting where barriers of class and life experience were temporarily demolished? If so, share your experience about what made it work. If not, what usually stands in the way? How was it different at the Starlite?
In different ways, both Elaine and Lisa run up against barriers that affect their involvement in the workplace. In which ways would you say that these barriers have changed for women since the early 1960s? Are there any “invisible” barriers that persist to this day?
Elaine hoped that she could help to reform Tommy from his hard-drinking ways, although she eventually learned that she was not able to save him from himself. Do you believe that it’s ever possible for a partner to change the other’s entrenched habit or addiction? What do you think a partner should do if the other person’s addiction begins to spiral out of control? Can the relationship ever come out on top of the addiction?
When Madeline initially played the part of the “political wife,” she was trying to preserve her own future. For wives of philandering (or otherwise corrupt) politicians, what choices do you think they have to come out on top? Is it possible for the wife of a politician to seek retribution without facing significant consequences? Why or why not? What do you think is the best recourse for a politician’s wife who has be
en betrayed?
The Starlite social club offers a host of activities for every interest. If you were going to organize your own social club, where would you like to host it? What activities might be available?
Elaine uses poetry as an expressive outlet for her complex feelings, but she finds herself temporarily unable to write after Tommy’s passing. If you feel comfortable sharing, have you ever used writing of any kind as an expressive outlet? Or have you used another expressive outlet? Discuss the way(s) in which your outlet has helped you—and whether you have always been able to use it.
Throughout the story, Lisa evolves as an individual, growing less and less naïve. At what point do we see hints that Lisa is starting to “see the light”? Describe some of these moments—does she accept her new understandings immediately? What are some “blockades to enlightenment” that stand in her way?
Madeline knew how to make all newcomers to Starlite feel welcomed and comfortable. Is there anyone in your own life who has a knack for putting people at ease? What does that person do to make others feel accepted and honored?
The ladies of the Starlite find a way to honor the spirit of the Starlite, even after the unthinkable happens. Have you ever been involved in a powerful group or organization that needed to adapt or adjust its course in order to persist?
Author Biography
Danielle Martin started her professional career as an assistant with the William Morris agency before pursuing a degree in teaching. She previously worked as a special education teacher in New York, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana. Currently she works as a freelance writer near New Orleans. Born in Putnam County, NY and raised by two generations of native Brooklynites, her depictions of the boroughs of New York were informed by her childhood experiences, family accounts, and a love of city history.
This is a work of fiction. All of the names, characters, organizations, places and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to real or actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Danielle Martin
All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Alcove Press, an imprint of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Alcove Press and its logo are trademarks of The Quick Brown Fox & Company LLC.
Library of Congress Catalog-in-Publication data available upon request.
ISBN (hardcover): 978-1-64385-523-3
ISBN (ebook): 978-1-64385-524-0
Cover design by Nicole Lecht
Printed in the United States.
www.alcovepress.com
Alcove Press
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New York, NY 10001
First Edition: November 2020
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