“Eighteen?” Vince snorted. “That what he told you? He’s twenty if he’s a day.”
Minnie turned back to Peter. “Is that true?”
Peter considered the options. Lie. That was what someone like Vince would do. Explain. That was what Ma Simmons would tell him to do, but Minnie might not understand. He licked his lips. “Well, now...”
“It is true, isn’t it?” she demanded. “Why would you lie about your age?”
Vince took that opportunity to excuse himself to use the facilities.
Peter was glad to have Vince out of the way for this painful admission.
“Well? Why did you say you were younger than you were?” Minnie demanded.
When Peter turned his back on the past, he hadn’t counted on the price he’d have to pay. The bill had now come due. “I did it because I heard no one wanted kids over fourteen. I thought the orphanage would send me back on the street if they knew I was sixteen.” He stared into his coffee and waited for her reproach.
“How dreadful.” Instead of anger, she offered sympathy. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He swallowed hard. “I couldn’t tell anyone. Once a kid turns seventeen, the orphan society considers him an adult. I would have been cut loose with nowhere to go.”
Her lip quivered. “Oh, Peter. Mrs. Simmons would never send you away.”
“I know that now, but I didn’t know that then.”
“But it’s been four years.”
“I know, but how do you tell someone you love that you lied to them? I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. So, what’s a couple years?”
“I suppose you’re right, but I would have kept your secret.” She quickly squeezed his hand, and a jolt of electricity shot through him. “I’ll keep it now, if you want.”
Her understanding pretty near overwhelmed him. “Thanks, but I suppose there’s no point now. Let me tell Ma first, though, will you?”
“Of course.”
His heart swelled with compassion. “You’re the best, Minnie Fox. You always were.”
She cast him a tentative smile. “You’re just saying that.”
He wanted so badly to hold her hand, but he didn’t dare. “No, I’m not. You’re the smartest gal I know. And the prettiest.”
This time her smile didn’t waver.
She made him feel about ten feet tall.
* * *
Peter’s admission about his real age changed the whole way Minnie thought about him. She’d always considered him a kid. Those little tugs of attraction meant nothing. He just had a crush on her, like she’d had on Reggie Landers.
So she’d kept Peter at arm’s length and called him a friend. Now she noticed the pleasant curve of his lips and the way his hazel eyes shone when he looked at her. Over the years, his shoulders had broadened, while his waist stayed nice and trim. Best of all, she enjoyed spending time with him and looked forward to the day he would bring the first board of the new luggage compartment to the dress shop.
At church on Sunday, he glanced her way at least a dozen times. She smiled back and was thrilled to see his neck redden. Unfortunately, other girls looked his way, too. Some even hurried over to intercept him before he left the sanctuary. He treated each one with kindness and respect, which only made them hang around. Minnie couldn’t say anything personal, so she settled for telling him that Doc Stevens had shot down the idea of taking Daddy to Battle Creek by automobile.
“I’m sorry,” he said before Lucy Billingsley pressed in to ask if he could sing.
Frustrated, Minnie left. No use trying to have a private conversation with those girls hanging around.
When over a week passed without word from Peter, Minnie headed for the garage after closing the dress shop. She would simply ask how the car was coming along. It was a perfectly understandable question. To her surprise, three girls were peering in the garage windows and giggling. They hopped from one window to another until one shrieked that she’d seen Peter.
“He’s too old for you,” Minnie called out.
They shot her a look of disgust before hurrying off in a chorus of giggles.
When she stepped into the office, no one was there. The work bays were empty, too. “Peter?”
He stepped out from behind a tall set of shelves. “I’m glad it’s you. I was afraid they were coming after me.”
She burst out laughing. “You’re so afraid of high-school girls that you had to hide?”
A sheepish grin split his face. “I guess that sounds pretty silly. Anyway, I’m glad you’re here.”
The admission made her all warm and mushy inside.
“Is everything all right?” he asked.
She knew he meant her family, but she felt a little awkward now saying why she’d come over, as if she was questioning his ability to do the job. On the other hand, she did need some idea when to expect the work. She examined her shoes, which needed shining. “Daddy’s still too weak to travel, but that’s not why I stopped in. I wondered if you can tell me when to expect the first board.”
“Soon. I haven’t rushed, since Vince said he wouldn’t pick up the car until the beginning of next month.” He looked out the window. “It’s too nice a day to work. Want a soda? I’m buying.”
Minnie hadn’t had a soda in ages. “At the drugstore?” Companies were selling them in bottles now, but she preferred the ones at the soda fountain.
“Sure thing. Let me close up, and we’ll head right there.”
Minnie waited outside, glorying in the first warmth of the season. Crocuses peeked out of the half-frozen earth and waved their lavender petals in the light breeze. Daffodils and hyacinths would come along next, followed by the showy tulips. How she loved the colors of spring. From bleak grays to a vibrant rainbow. That would lift anyone’s spirits.
When Peter finished locking up the garage, they strolled along Main Street, looking at the window displays in the department store and the mercantile.
“Look at that!” Minnie pointed to a cube-shaped wooden box with black Bakelite dials. She pressed close to the glass to read the manufacturer’s label. “RCA Radiola. What’s that?”
“A radio. You can listen to music broadcast through the air. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have one?”
“It looks complicated to operate and costs a fortune. Thirty-five dollars. I’ll never own one.”
“Maybe someday.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and they strolled on.
“I suppose.” But it seemed hopeless.
When they reached the drugstore, Peter grasped the door handle, but something caught Minnie’s eye. A handwritten notice on plain white paper announced that a new community theater group had formed and was conducting auditions for a musical revue.
“Look!” Minnie pointed at the notice, her pulse accelerating. “Imagine that. A musical revue right here in Pearlman. And they’re holding auditions in two weeks.”
Peter joined her. “A musical revue?”
“You know, like the Ziegfeld Follies.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Aren’t those a little risqué? Are you sure your parents would approve?”
Minnie was tired of everyone telling her what she could and couldn’t do. “I’m nineteen now. I don’t see why I have to have their approval for everything. Besides, I’m sure this revue won’t be the slightest bit risqué. It says here that Mrs. Kensington is the director. She’s president of the Ladies’ Aid Society and as proper as they come. Oh, Peter. This could be my big chance. Maybe one day I’ll be famous. They could even play my songs on that machine.”
“Maybe.” He squinted at the sign. “It says rehearsals will be every evening in April and May. That would mean no more working on automobiles.”
For some reason, he looked pleased, which completely
mystified her. Didn’t he like spending time with her? Hadn’t he just put his arm around her shoulders? Well, he couldn’t get rid of her that easily. “Don’t worry. Ruth and Sam will be back in April to manage the dress shop. Then I can work on cars in the daytime.”
He didn’t look relieved. “First you have to audition and get a part. Have you ever sung solo?”
“Well, no,” she admitted. “But it shouldn’t be much different than singing in choir.”
“If you think so.”
“You’re always telling me I can do whatever I put my mind to.”
“Yeah.” But his brow refused to release a frown. “But I didn’t mean you should put your mind to any old thing. You gotta be choosy.”
“I am choosy.” Sometimes that man could drive her to distraction. “Quit being such a stick in the mud and buy me that soda you promised.”
Finally, he smiled.
* * *
Though Peter prayed Mr. and Mrs. Fox would refuse to let Minnie audition for the musical revue, they gave their permission. Didn’t they know this would only fuel her daydreams about singing in a nightclub?
She got more and more excited each day and could talk of nothing else. She finished the boards Peter brought her, but he deliberately dragged his feet while he figured out a way to wriggle out of this agreement with Vince. Now, with her auditions for the musical revue coming up the first week of April, one more thing hounded his thoughts day and night.
Minnie didn’t know that those fancy nightclubs she idolized often used the musical acts as a cover for the real moneymaking activities taking place behind closed doors. The thought of Minnie anywhere near that scene made him sick.
“Will you go with me Tuesday?” Minnie asked as the audition date approached.
While finishing the luggage compartment, they’d become closer as friends, though she still gave no indication she wanted anything more than that. Mariah had advised him to be there for Minnie, not to pressure her and to wait for her to let him know she was ready for more. He supposed going to the auditions fit into that, but he couldn’t pull up much enthusiasm, even when they stood in the school auditorium waiting for the director to call her to the stage.
Girl after girl tried out for a spot. Each brought some applause, but the loudest applause came after Sally Neidecker, dressed in a shocking flapper dress, belted out “Second Hand Rose.” Sally, with her sleek bob and painted face, looked artificial to Peter, but Minnie oohed and aahed with the rest of the crowd.
“Do you think I look all right?” she asked, fussing with her hair.
“You look pretty.”
She rolled her eyes. “You always say that.”
“I mean it.” He didn’t know how else he could say it. “You’ll do great.”
“Are you sure?” She nibbled her lip.
“Don’t worry.” He squeezed her cold hands in his warmer ones. “You can do anything you put your mind to.”
For a second, her confidence buoyed, but then Mrs. Kensington called Minnie’s name, and the nerves came back full force.
“I can’t,” she whispered. “Tell her I don’t feel well.”
Peter wanted to do just that, but if he let her walk away now, she’d consider it failure. So, against better judgment, he pushed her forward. “You can do it. I’ll be right here. Just watch me when you’re singing and forget everyone else.”
She looked terrified but managed to walk to the front of the auditorium and climbed the stairs to the stage.
How small and pale and vulnerable she looked! He wanted to hold her, to hug her and tell her she didn’t need to do this to prove herself to anyone. But then the pianist played the opening notes, and Minnie started to sing. Her sweet soprano began in a whisper before the words to “Amazing Grace” gathered steam. He’d never heard her sing solo before. In the choir, her voice blended with the others. She was good. Real good.
By the second verse, he had tears in his eyes. She couldn’t possibly know how much that song meant to him, for he’d been headed down the wrong path, doing the wrong things, until God, through Mr. Isaacs and the orphan society, gave him a second chance.
When she finished, the previously raucous auditorium was dead silent. For long seconds, no one said a thing or applauded. He looked around and saw the same stunned expression on each face. In that moment, he knew she would win a spot in the revue. Minnie, on the other hand, paled. She ran from the stage and up the aisle past him, trying her best to cover sobs.
“Minnie, wait.” He went after her.
She left the auditorium and stumbled onto the barren lawn. Her sobs came more audibly now.
“You did wonderful.” He reached for her, but she pushed him away. He caught her arm. “It was beautiful.”
“They hated it,” she choked out. “I should have done a popular song, like the other girls, but Mother wanted me to do a hymn. Why did I listen?”
“It was the right song.”
She pulled away. “Leave me alone. You never wanted me to do this. You’ve fought me from the start. Well, you won. Are you happy now?” She backed away, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“But don’t you want to see the results?”
“No!” she shouted. “Leave. Me. Alone.”
She ran, and he let her go. Her despair would turn to ecstasy when she learned she’d made the revue. Nothing he could say before then would convince her of the truth.
He shuffled toward Main Street, hands in his jacket pockets. At the corner, a newsboy hawked the evening edition of the newspaper. Peter could use something to take his mind off the events of today. He paid the nickel and tucked the newspaper under his arm. He didn’t want to go back to the hubbub of the orphanage. Tonight, he needed some time alone, so he stopped at Lily’s for a cup of coffee.
After settling at the back table, he opened the newspaper and sipped on his coffee.
“May I join you?”
Peter pulled down the paper to see Pastor Gabe. Anyone else he’d ask to leave, but he couldn’t say that to his pastor. “All right.”
Gabe sat. “I see you got today’s newspaper.”
“Yeah.” Peter lifted it back up. “I’m reading”
“I see that. I was wondering about something, though. What’s the name of the town that Vince is living in these days?”
“Cicero, Illinois.” Peter dropped the paper. “Why?”
“Page five.” Gabe stood. “I’ll be at the parsonage if you need to talk.”
“Why would I need to talk?”
“Page five,” Gabe repeated before leaving.
Peter leafed to the spot and nearly knocked his cup of coffee over when he saw the headline: Cicero Police Shoot Capone.
In minutes he’d scanned the short article and discovered policemen had shot and killed Frank Capone after a day and a half of brutality surrounding the local elections. Vince said his boss was named Al, not Frank. Could they be the same? Peter read more carefully and discovered Frank was a brother to Al. Apparently three men had been accosting citizens outside the polls, trying to force them to cast their vote for the Republican ticket. Chicago police approached, and Frank Capone fired at them. A firefight ensued, and Capone got shot. The police captured and arrested a second man, but the third—described as dark, short and stocky—vanished into the night.
The air left Peter’s lungs in a whoosh. Short, dark and stocky. Vince. What if the man who’d escaped, the man who’d terrorized citizens trying to vote, was his old friend?
Chapter Thirteen
Minnie hurried home from the auditions, wishing she’d never gone. Why did every risk she took end in disaster? Before entering the house, she wiped her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Then she forced a smile. Mother had refused to let her audition until Minnie agreed to sing a hymn. If only she’d
been able to sing a popular song, like Sally. Then she would have gotten lots of applause and won a spot in the revue. Mother knew that singing a hymn would ruin her chances. Minnie would not let her mother know that she’d failed the audition.
She opened the door and stepped inside. The kitchen was still warm from the day’s cooking. Minnie peeled off her coat and removed her hat and gloves. The house sounded unusually quiet. The kitchen was empty, as it often was at this time of day, but so was the living room. How odd. None of her family had come to the auditions. Where would they be? Father hadn’t left the house since Ruthie’s wedding last October.
A note of panic chased away Minnie’s despair. “Mother?”
No answer.
She crossed to the front door. Maybe her mother was outside pulling last year’s flowers from the beds lining the front of the porch. Minnie shivered as she opened the door. It had been a fine day, warm for early April, but the setting sun took the heat with it. She wouldn’t choose to work outdoors after dusk.
Neither did Mother. Then where...? There wasn’t anyone outside, just an automobile. Minnie turned back to the living room when she realized that was Doc Stevens’s car parked in front of the house. The doctor! She raced through the house and up the stairs, reaching the landing just as Mother and the doctor left Daddy’s room.
“Daddy?” she gasped, out of breath.
Mother’s eyes were red and her complexion pale.
“Is he...?” She couldn’t ask the rest.
“He’s resting now,” Doc Stevens said. He looked to Mother. “I don’t see any other choice.”
Minnie’s heart nearly pounded from her chest. “Other choice? What’s going on? What happened?”
“Hush now, child,” Mother said, her tone brooking no discussion. “Let me see the doctor out, and then we will talk.”
Minnie trailed her mother and the doctor down the stairs. While Mother talked quietly with Doc Stevens on the porch, Minnie stood in the doorway to the kitchen, watching the conversation that Mother clearly did not want her to hear. The doctor’s shoulders were rounded, as if he carried the burden of every painful diagnosis. Mother nodded, calm and businesslike. Mother never broke down in front of others.
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