Shaken to the Core

by Jae

With a grateful nod, Kate took the cup of coffee Mrs. O’Brien handed her. She blew on the steaming surface while peering over the rim of the tin cup, keeping an eye out for Giuliana. What was taking her so long? Did she have trouble finding her way back to their campsite in the jumble of tents and makeshift shelters?

  After the hell they had been through together in the last two days, being separated, even for just a few minutes, made Kate restless.

  You’d better get used to it. God willing, everything will go back to normal one day soon, and then you won’t get to see her anymore. The thought made her chest burn as if she’d taken a sip of the too-hot coffee.

  Jimmy O’Brien, who’d roamed the park to see if he could get any more food for his children, returned and settled at the fire.

  “Did you buy anything?” his wife asked.

  “Do I look like an eejit? I amn’t paying what they ask for a can of sardines or a tiny little bit of condensed milk. You’d think the tins were made of gold.” He held up a newspaper. “This is all I got.”

  His wife frowned. “You wasted money on a newspaper?”

  “They’re handing it out for free.”

  If Kate had been a dog, her ears would have perked up. She stopped looking around for any sign of Giuliana and slid a little closer to Mr. O’Brien. “They’re printing newspapers? How is that possible? The Call building was on fire last time I saw it.”

  “Sure was.” Mr. O’Brien nodded. “I hear the Chronicle and the Examiner burned down too. This one was printed over in Oakland.”

  Kate peered over his shoulder at the newspaper. She’d never thought she’d see the day when the Call, the Chronicle, and the Examiner—fierce rivals—would put out a joint edition, but now they had. They must have taken over the printing plant of the Oakland Tribune. In tall letters, the headline proclaimed Earthquake and fire: San Francisco in ruins and, farther down the page, Entire city in danger of being annihilated. When Mr. O’Brien turned the first page, she saw that the newspaper consisted of just four pages.

  No photographs. Good. That meant she still had a chance to sell hers to a newspaper editor.

  “Death toll reaches three hundred,” Mr. O’Brien read out loud to his wife.

  “Three hundred?” Kate echoed. “That can’t be right. I saw four collapsed boardinghouses on Sixth Street. There must have been at least three hundred people killed on that street alone.”

  Mr. O’Brien shrugged. “Guess officials don’t want the world to know that the city is going arseways. Bad for business.”

  Kate’s father nodded. “What kind of businessman would want to invest in a city that could be struck by disaster at any moment? Not the cowards back east, that’s for sure.”

  So that was why the city officials were downplaying the damage the earthquake had done. That also had to be the reason why soldiers had been instructed not to let anyone take photographs.

  It made Kate all the more determined to take more photographs. People had a right to find out what had really happened to San Francisco.

  She looked up from the newspaper. Where on God’s green earth was Giuliana?

  Finally, she saw the familiar figure appear between two tents.

  Kate barely resisted the urge to jump up, rush toward her, and embrace her. Her relief at seeing Giuliana might be a little out of proportion, but this was a dangerous time, after all.

  Giuliana sat in the grass next to her, their shoulders touching lightly.

  Did she enjoy that bit of closeness as much as Kate did, or was she just trying to create as much distance as possible between herself and Kate’s parents, who sat on the other side of her? Well, no matter the reason, Kate decided to enjoy it while it lasted. “Did you get your letter sent off?”

  Giuliana nodded. “And look what I got!” She held up a can with the beaming grin of a young mother presenting her newborn for the very first time.

  Kate had to smile. She peered at the label. “Peaches! Where did you get those?”

  “You didn’t steal them, did you?” Kate’s father asked, his bushy brows drawn together.

  “Father!” How could he think that of Giuliana, even after seeing her head into a burning house to save a woman she didn’t even like?

  “No, sir. I did not.” Only the stiffness of Giuliana’s words gave away that his suspicion had hurt her. “I bought them from a man there.” She waved in the general direction of the Red Cross food station.

  And how much did you pay for them? Kate wanted to ask but didn’t. It would only embarrass Giuliana if she pointed out her lack of money. Not that any of her family had a cent to their name at the moment.

  No one had a can opener either, so Mr. O’Brien opened the tin for them with his knife. They passed the can around the fire.

  When it was her turn to take a slice of peach, Kate’s mouth started to water. She lifted the dripping piece to her mouth. The juicy, sweet fruit seemed to melt on her tongue. She took a sip of the sugary water from the tin too and, when she was done, licked the last drops off her fingers. She turned to pass the can to Giuliana and found her gazing at her. Was she looking at Kate’s mouth? Kate wasn’t sure. She quickly wiped her lips, in case she’d made a mess of herself. “Thank you. This was really a treat.”

  Giuliana fished a piece of peach out of the can.

  Kate tried not to watch as the smooth slice of fruit slid between Giuliana’s lips.

  Then Giuliana turned in the grass to hand the can to the next person in the circle—Kate’s mother.

  Kate nearly giggled as her mother took the can, holding it with just her fingertips as if afraid she’d get her hands dirty, and eyed it for several seconds.

  “It tastes wonderful.” Kate gave her an encouraging nod. “Just like the Peach Melba we had the last time we dined at Delmonico’s.”

  “I highly doubt it,” her mother said but reached into the can and took a slice for herself before passing the tin to her husband.

  “Thank you.” He glanced at Giuliana for a moment and gave her the tiniest of nods.

  As far as an apology went, it wasn’t much, but Kate knew that her father was too proud for anything else. She’d never heard him apologize to anyone and certainly not to a servant.

  “No need to thank me, sir. I bought the can with the money you gave me when you sent me away,” Giuliana said with a smile sweeter than the peaches.

  The look on her father’s face nearly made Kate inhale her own spit. Serves him right.

  When the can was empty, the O’Briens leaned back on the grass. “Any idea what ye’ll do? Will ye stay here?” Jimmy looked at the other adults around the campfire.

  “Not on your life!” Kate’s mother burst out before anyone else could answer. “I’m not spending another night among rats and other vermin. We’re catching the first ferry we can get to Belvedere Island.”

  “We don’t have any money for the ferry,” Kate said. Even if they did, she wasn’t sure she’d want to go, especially since her parents had made it clear that Giuliana wouldn’t be welcome in their summer house.

  “Ye don’t need it.” The newspaper rustled as Mr. O’Brien shook it. “The paper says the trains are free for anyone wanting to leave the city. I bet ’tis the same for the ferries.”

  “What if you want to go to New York City?” Giuliana asked. “Is this free too?”

  Jimmy O’Brien nodded. “It says so in the newspaper. The cities along the way will even give free food to the travelers.”

  “What’s in New York City?” Kate asked.

  “Work,” Giuliana said quietly. She trailed her fingers through the grass, not looking at Kate. “I met Calogero. He says no earthquakes happened in New York. You can earn money there.”

  The slice of peach suddenly sat like a lump of lead in Kate’s stomach. Giuliana wanted to leave? Her head told her that it made sense. There was nothing here for Giuliana anymore, no way to make enough money for her family, at least not anytime soon. Her heart wanted to ask Giuliana to stay, but what right did
she have to do that? She couldn’t offer her a thing.

  Her father got up and brushed off his army-issued pair of pants. “All right. Then let’s head out for the ferry.”

  Suddenly, that was the last place on earth Kate wanted to go. The ferry would take Giuliana to the train station in Oakland and forever away from her.

  * * *

  They didn’t have any baggage to pack, so leaving was just a matter of getting up and saying good-bye to the O’Briens.

  Giuliana made sure the grass-stained bandage around her right hand wasn’t coming loose and that her leather pouch was still safely tied around her waist. Then she was ready to leave—at least when it came to preparations. Mentally, she wasn’t sure she was ready at all.

  When they passed the hospital tent, she clutched Kate’s sleeve. “Wait!” She couldn’t leave—possibly forever—without saying good-bye to someone who’d been so kind to her. “Lucy.”

  She didn’t have to say more than that.

  Kate nodded and turned to her parents. “Could you give us a minute? We need to say good-bye to a friend.”

  “A friend?” Mrs. Winthrop followed their gazes over to the hospital.

  “She’s a doctor,” Kate said.

  At the word she in combination with doctor, Mrs. Winthrop’s eyebrows traveled up her forehead. Then she sighed and shook her head. “All right. But be quick about it. We don’t want to miss the ferry.”

  Never mind that they didn’t even know how often or when the ferries were running—or if they were running at all. Giuliana bit her lip and stepped into the hospital tent, followed by Kate.

  As she had expected, she found Lucy at work, making the rounds among her patients. Her once-white skirt and shirtwaist had even more stains than yesterday, if that was even possible, and her hair looked as if it hadn’t been combed all day. Flakes of ash stuck to it.

  Giuliana reached up to touch her own hair and realized she probably didn’t look any better. Still, she worried about Lucy.

  A smile lit up Lucy’s tired face when she saw them. She led them into a quieter corner of the tent, where they could talk. “Good morning. How’s the hand?”

  Carefully, Giuliana moved her fingers. The skin felt too tight, so she couldn’t quite clench her hand into a fist, but the sharp pounding pain had faded to a dull ache. “Is better, thank you. But you look bad.”

  Lucy’s grin grew. She tilted her head. “Didn’t we have that conversation about your Italian charm already?”

  For some reason, Lucy never failed to make her blush. Did it have to do with that new, strange awareness she had of women? Well, not exactly women, plural. Just Kate. She liked Lucy, but she couldn’t remember how it had felt to have Lucy touch her injured hand or pat her shoulder. The way Kate’s body had touched hers last night, however, was carved into her memory for eternity. “You know what I mean,” she said when she realized that Lucy was waiting for an answer to her teasing question. “Did you sleep?”

  “A little. We had firefighters coming in for treatment all night.”

  “They still fight the fires?” Giuliana asked.

  Lucy nodded. “They’re making one last stand at Van Ness.”

  “It’s that wide avenue we crossed a few times,” Kate said, turning to Giuliana. “Remember?”

  Giuliana nodded. The avenue had to be at least one hundred feet wide, so she hoped it made a good firebreak.

  “If the fire crosses it, the rest of the city will go too.” Lucy’s shoulders were as tense as the strings of a net full of fish, but she forced a smile. “How about the two of you? Did you get any sleep?”

  The memory of how she’d spent most of the night brought new heat to Giuliana’s cheeks. “I slept very good.” Realizing how that sounded, she quickly added, “I mean, it was not so bad. I was tired and slept like a tree until the rats woke us.”

  “Rats?” Lucy echoed.

  Kate nodded. Was there a hint of redness in her cheeks too? “Hundreds of them, all over the park. The earthquake must have chased them out of their homes.”

  “Not the best bedfellows. Do you have a better place to spend the next couple of nights?” Lucy asked.

  “My parents and I are heading to our weekend mansion on Belvedere Island,” Kate said.

  A wrinkle appeared on Lucy’s smooth brow. “Just you and your parents? You’re not taking Giuliana?”

  Giuliana didn’t want Lucy to think badly of Kate or Kate to feel guilty about her parents’ lack of hospitality. “I will go with the train to New York City and stay there to earn money.”

  The wrinkle on Lucy’s forehead deepened. “You’re leaving for good?”

  Hearing it stated so bluntly made Giuliana’s stomach burn. Or maybe it was her heart. She wanted to clutch Kate and hold on, no matter what. It was a childish wish; she knew that. When she’d been about to board the ship to Merica, she’d wanted to cling to her mother or that old mulberry tree in the village square too, but, of course, she hadn’t. She’d done what needed to be done, and she’d do the same now.

  “This is the best decision, no?” she said with a shrug. “There is nothing here for me in San Francisco anymore.”

  “I think there is,” Lucy said. Her gaze flicked to Kate.

  What did she mean? Giuliana looked from her to Kate and back. She couldn’t possibly mean…? No. The earthquake, the fires, the rats…everything she’d been through was making her see things. Lucy was just talking about her friendship with Kate.

  “Lucy,” Kate whispered sharply. “Please. Stop it.”

  Again, Giuliana looked back and forth between them. Kate wasn’t embarrassed that Lucy knew about their friendship, was she? Giuliana sensed that something else was going on, but she wasn’t sure what.

  Lucy scrubbed a hand over her face. “Well, I, for one, am sad to see you go.”

  A small smile tugged on Giuliana’s lips. Finally a Miricanu who wasn’t so reserved when it came to her feelings. “I am sorry also. Kate told me what you talked about yesterday. I am sorry that we cannot do that.” If circumstances were different, she would have attempted to somehow get more medicine for Lucy’s patients.

  Lucy’s mouth fell open. “She…she told you?”

  It wasn’t really that astonishing, was it? “Yes, after I asked and asked.”

  Kate tried to push between them. “Would you two stop talking about me like I’m not right here?”

  “She did?” Lucy said as if Kate hadn’t spoken. “And yet you want to leave?”

  Giuliana shrugged. What else was she supposed to do?

  Lucy reached out and rubbed Giuliana’s shoulder. The touch was warm and friendly, but it didn’t send little tremors all over her body the way every brush of Kate’s hand did. “I know you’re scared, Giuliana. But you don’t need to run.”

  “I am not scared,” Giuliana said immediately.

  “Liar.”

  All right, it had been a lie. Seeing Kate being threatened by a soldier’s rifle had been one of the scariest moments of her life. But Lucy couldn’t seriously think that she was running to New York City just so she could avoid having to break into another drugstore, could she?

  Next to her, Kate fidgeted and rapidly shook her head in Lucy’s direction.

  Giuliana glanced toward her but spoke to Lucy. “I know it is very important to you—”

  “To me?” Lucy echoed. “It’s important to Kate.”

  “To Kate?”

  Kate tugged on Giuliana’s sleeve and tried to pull her away from Lucy. “Um, we really have to go. My parents are waiting outside.”

  Giuliana dug her heels into the trampled grass and stared at her. “Why did you not tell me that to get more medicines is so important to you?”

  “It’s not. I just…Let’s go.” Kate’s tugs on her sleeve became more desperate.

  “Medicine?” Lucy cocked her head.

  Giuliana wanted to scream, grab both of them, and knock their heads together. It was as if they were having two different conversat
ions, and it made her feel the way she had her first few months in Merica, when she’d barely understood a word of English. “Yes, medicines. What did you think I was talking of?”

  “Uh…” Lucy looked at Kate, who stared back wide-eyed and shook her head. “Nothing. It was a misunderstanding. Guess I really need to catch some sleep.”

  Was that really all that was going on? Giuliana eyed her for several seconds before deciding to let it go. “You do that.” She stepped closer and kissed both of Lucy’s cheeks the Sicilian way. “Good-bye.”

  Lucy touched her own cheeks with her fingertips. “Good-bye. Take good care of yourself.”

  Kate pulled Giuliana toward the tent’s flap. “Good-bye for now, Lucy,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll come visit you once I’m back and things have calmed down.”

  Then they were outside, surrounded by the bustle of the refugee camp.

  “What was that?” Giuliana waved back toward the tent.

  “No idea. I suppose we’re all very tired.” Kate marched toward her parents.

  With a shake of her head, Giuliana followed. Something was going on; she could sense that. Something that somehow involved Kate and Lucy and her. She’d wait for the right moment and then try to get it out of Kate.

  * * *

  Their trek to the ferry building was slow-going. The streets were littered with debris and abandoned objects, and refugees in soot-stained clothes were still fleeing toward the park, dragging trunks and pushing wheelbarrows and baby strollers piled high with everything they had managed to rescue from the fires that were still raging. Huge billows of smoke hung over the city, darkening the sky.

  Mrs. Winthrop was slowing them down too. Every few minutes, they had to stop so she could catch her breath. It might have been easier if she had used the breaks to actually breathe and not to complain about her shoes and the condition of the streets.

  Not that Giuliana minded the slow pace. At least she didn’t have to strain her ankle and her aching muscles too much. She also wasn’t sure if she was really in such a hurry to reach the ferry, knowing it would mean saying good-bye to Kate forever.

  Kate also seemed to ponder something. She hadn’t said a word since they’d left the park.