Nothing major had changed in Claudia and Meredith’s lives. Meredith had met a boy at one of the interschool social events and dated him for a few months, but it fizzled out during the bus boycott, since he was from Mississippi and told Meredith he didn’t like her politics. She didn’t like his either and didn’t miss him after he stopped calling her. Claudia was still deeply involved with Seth. Meredith knew they were meeting in motels on weekends and pretending to be married, and Meredith was praying, as Claudia was, that she didn’t get pregnant. They had vowed to confront their parents and marry after graduation, which was still a year and a half away. They longed to be out in the open with their relationship, and to be married, but felt it wisest to wait until after graduation.
And Ted’s friendship with Meredith had deepened. He was as confused as ever about his future. All he knew for sure was that he didn’t want to work in his father’s bank, or marry his high school sweetheart, but he still spent time with her whenever he was in Greenwich because it was easy, and he worked at his father’s bank in the summer. He felt like he had no other options, and he didn’t have the imagination to find them. The path of least resistance always seemed to be the one he chose.
Meredith spent July and August on Martha’s Vineyard with Alex and her parents, and Claudia was on Long Island with her family, separated from Seth for yet another summer. They went back to Vassar in the fall of their senior year, and within days of their return to school, the nation was once again mesmerized by news reports that shocked everyone. Nine students in Little Rock, Arkansas, had presented themselves for admission to all-white Central High School, and had been refused entry. The governor, Orval Faubus, had called out the National Guard to stop them, in the presence of an angry mob of white onlookers, determined to stop the colored students from entering the school. Nineteen days later, black lawyer Thurgood Marshall got an injunction to remove the National Guard, and the Little Rock police escorted the nine teenagers into the school. And at the urging of Martin Luther King Jr., President Eisenhower ordered the Little Rock schools desegregated and provided protection for the nine students for the remainder of the school year.
It was another major leap forward for desegregation, which once again made Meredith wish that she could be there. She said as much to Claudia as they watched the news on TV, and Claudia told Meredith she was crazy. It wasn’t her fight, and there was a good chance that someone was going to get killed in Little Rock with tension sky-high between whites and Negroes. It was a dynamite keg waiting to explode.
“It’s everyone’s fight,” Meredith corrected her. “You can’t just watch this on TV, or write about it later, like some historical event you’re not part of. You have to stand up and fight for what you believe in,” she said heatedly, and as she watched the nine students walk into Central High School, with tears pouring down her face, she knew that one day she would be there for fights like this. The universe was finally beckoning to her. She had waited her whole life to be part of something that was important and made a difference. It was time now for her to stand up and take her place.
Meredith got into heated discussions with other students about the cruelty, immorality, and illegality of segregation. And when she got home for Christmas, she was outspoken about the vital importance of change now, arguing that it could no longer be postponed or delayed. She thought it barbaric to keep people in segregated conditions, with public bathrooms, buildings, medical facilities, schools, and different forms of transportation. She felt it was the last vestige of slavery in this country, and that it was time to stop it. And again and again, she found herself watching and reading Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and being deeply moved by him. He was an extraordinary orator, and everything he said made sense to her. She also became an avid fan of the American Civil Liberties Union, and she sent them several contributions, sacrificing her pocket money and allowance to do it. Claudia commented that if people in Europe had spoken up for the Jews as ardently, Hitler wouldn’t have been able to exterminate six million of them.
It was during spring break from Vassar, two months before graduation, that Meredith went to the office of the ACLU and applied for a job. She said she was willing to do anything they needed her to do, from pouring coffee to protesting. She warned them that she was planning to go to law school in a year, but after graduation, she wanted to work for them until then. She filled out an application, and they promised they would get in touch with her.
She took the train back to Vassar and told Claudia what she’d done. Claudia wasn’t surprised. She still had to find a job herself for after graduation, but her parents wanted her to take the summer off and think about it in the fall. They were encouraging her to do charity work instead of looking for employment, but she wanted a job, preferably with a newspaper or freelance, and to write a book about her war experiences one day. She told Meredith she’d die of boredom if she wasn’t working, and that playing bridge and being on charity boards with wealthy women wasn’t what she wanted to do with her life. She was worried that Meredith’s work for the ACLU could be dangerous, but Meredith didn’t mind. She insisted that there was a risk in anything worth doing, and she was willing to take it on. She hadn’t told her parents about her plans, she wanted to wait and see if she got the job before tackling that.
But Claudia couldn’t make firm plans yet anyway. Seth was going to tell his parents about them as soon as they both graduated in June. He had decided he didn’t want a life in the military, which would be a blow to them too. He had an eight-year military obligation to fulfill after West Point, five years in the army and three in the reserves. It was possible to get out of it, though costly and his parents would view it as a disgrace. As a result, Claudia didn’t know if she’d be going home with him to Virginia now, staying with him in New York, or living on an army base, if his parents refused to pay to release him from his commitment. She couldn’t look for a job until she knew. The only thing they were sure of was that they were getting married. But their parents’ reaction was uncertain, and so was where they would be living once they were married. They wanted to get married as soon as possible. She was sure her parents would be reasonable once they saw how much they loved each other. Seth’s family was harder to predict.
Two weeks later, Meredith got the call that she’d gotten the job at the ACLU. She told Claudia immediately. Her plans were taking shape, and she was going to tell her grandfather at graduation. She knew he’d be proud of her.
On graduation day, both girls were nervous. They were leaving the safe comforts of Vassar, which was like emerging from the womb. Meredith was planning to inform her family about her job, and she knew her parents would be concerned. And Claudia was waiting to hear from Seth after he told his parents. He was going home to Virginia with them straight after his own graduation, and intended to tell them about Claudia when they got there. The graduation ceremony at West Point was an elaborate and lengthy affair, and she knew he wouldn’t have time to call her before they flew back to Virginia that night. The shock for them would be that he wanted to marry a girl they’d never met, of the Jewish faith, and abandon the military career he’d prepared for for four years, which was an important tradition for them.
But he was sure he could convince them of what an extraordinary woman she was. He was going to share with them everything she’d been through during the war. She deserved a happy life now, and he was going to give it to her. And if obliged to, he would fulfill his military commitment, but after that he wanted a civilian life with her. He still had to find a career path, but with her plans to work for a newspaper, Claudia would be busy. And in a few years, he wanted them to move to Virginia and start having babies, if they waited that long. They were both twenty-three years old, old enough to know what they wanted, and they had been together for the entire four years they’d been in college, and had never wavered once in their devotion to each other. They knew it would be a strong argument to both sets of pa
rents, and the fact that they loved each other. Neither Seth nor Claudia doubted that their families would come around, although they knew it wouldn’t be easy at first. Seth said his parents were reasonable people and would love her when they met her.
Meredith and Claudia hugged after the graduation ceremony, and they had tears in their eyes. They had grown up together over the past four years, and hated leaving each other now, to live with their respective families in New York.
“Did you tell them yet?” Claudia whispered to her, meaning the job at the ACLU.
Meredith shook her head. “Tonight at dinner. Have you heard anything from Seth?”
“He’s not going to sit down with them about it until tonight, when they get back to Virginia. I don’t think I’ll hear from him until tomorrow.”
Both women joined their families then. Everyone went out to lunch with their parents, and afterward picked up their things and headed home.
The McKenzies got back to their apartment at six o’clock, and they had reservations at 21 at eight. It was Robert and his father’s favorite restaurant, and one of the most popular posh dinner venues in New York, with delicious American food and terrific steaks. Meredith couldn’t believe she’d graduated, and now she could go out and live her life and do everything she’d dreamed of. She’d been waiting for this for years. She finally felt all grown up.
The Steinbergs were eating at home that night, and had planned a dinner for Claudia the next day. Her parents had told her over and over again how proud they were of her. She went to her room and lay down before dinner, thinking about Seth and what he was saying to his parents in Virginia. She was sending him thoughts of love and strength. Once they knew their children were getting married, both sets of parents would have to meet. She could hardly wait to introduce Seth to her parents, once they got over the fact that he wasn’t Jewish. They had gotten used to Meredith in the past four years and were very fond of her. Claudia knew they’d adjust to Seth too. The whole world didn’t have to be Jewish, even if all their friends were.
* * *
—
The McKenzies walked past the statues of jockeys that lined the entrance of 21. The dinner for Meredith was in an elegant wood-paneled private room. The whole family was present, including her grandparents, and a few of her parents’ close friends. It was a festive occasion with flowers on the table, great wines, and a delicious dinner. There was a cake for Merrie at the end of it, in the shape of a mortarboard with her name on it, and “Congratulations” written across it in gold icing, which the pastry chef had made especially for her. Her father took photographs of her with it.
They drank champagne with the cake when it was served, and after all the plates had been set down, Meredith tapped her glass with her knife to get everyone’s attention.
“I have an announcement,” she said, almost glowing with pleasure. Everyone wanted to hear what it was. Her parents knew it wasn’t an engagement since she didn’t have a boyfriend, much to her mother’s disappointment. In four years of college, she hadn’t met a boy she cared about deeply. Her mind was always on other things, either causes, or her studies, or her friends. Her dedication to her studies had paid off, since she’d graduated cum laude, which was not easy to achieve, particularly at a school like Vassar.
“I wanted to let you all know that I’m not going to be one of those deadbeat graduates lounging around the living room and watching TV. I have a job, and I start next Monday.” A ripple of pleasure and admiration ran through the assembled company, waiting to hear the rest of her news. “I’m going to be working for the ACLU until I go to law school, I hope in a year.”
She was beaming as she said it, but there was not a sound in the room. Her mother looked like she was about to cry, and her father’s face had gone pale. Their friends didn’t know how to react and took their cues from Meredith’s parents, who were visibly distraught at the announcement. Only her grandfather was smiling and raised his glass to her.
“Well done, Merrie. Good luck to you. We’re very proud of you. You go get ’em!” She smiled back at him, but the look on her parents’ faces chilled the mood immediately. They said absolutely nothing. Her father signaled for the check and paid it, and a few minutes later everyone stood up to leave. She saw him say something angrily to her grandfather, and by then Janet was crying, and Meredith’s grandmother was trying to comfort her. The two women were very close, and very similar in character. Both were quiet and passive and supportive of their men. Bill’s mother had always been like a mother to Janet too, since she had lost her own.
“How could you?” her father said to Meredith after the guests were gone, as Alex watched them intently. He was twelve years old, and he wasn’t entirely sure what the ACLU was, except that he thought they organized protests of black people in the South who were fighting segregation, but he couldn’t understand why his sister would work for them, since she wasn’t black and lived in New York. “What are you doing working for an organization like that?” her father asked, as her mother sobbed audibly. “What are you going to do, plan protests and marches and get arrested?” He knew they defended civil liberties, but they were most active about desegregation these days.
“I’ll do whatever they assign me to do,” Meredith said quietly. “I’ll be working in the New York office, unless they need me to help elsewhere. There’s plenty to do here, on a variety of issues. Daddy, times are changing, they have to. Segregation is an ugly part of our history. We all have to work against it now.”
“Let the government and the southern black ministers do that. Can’t you get a decent job doing something else?” he said angrily. “Look at what you’ve done to your mother.” He pointed to his wife, who looked like she was melting.
“It’s the job I wanted. And the work I want to do, fighting injustice and discrimination. It’s important work. I want to be part of the changes in this country. That’s where the future is, for all of us.”
“Not to me. Tell that to your grandfather. You’re not some black woman sitting on a bus, Meredith. You come from a good home.”
“That’s the whole point, Dad. People like us have to take a stand too. It’s not just someone else’s problem. The laws in this country have to change, and it’s people like us who can change them. And Grampa,” she said proudly. Her grandfather was watching the exchange between father and daughter and said nothing.
“You don’t need to be part of it. Besides, it’s dangerous.”
“So is crossing Park Avenue,” and then she started to get angry too. “You used to be courageous, Dad. What happened to you? You fought for all those people who survived the camps, to get them justice. Do you not want desegregation? Would you rather keep things the way they are?” She’d never even thought of that before. Maybe he was a racist.
“Maybe I would. Maybe it’s simpler not to turn everything upside down all the time. It’s been working like this for a long time.”
“Working for who? Not for colored people. Can you even imagine what it must be like to live with segregation? To be discriminated against for your whole life? I can’t. I’ve never lived it. But I sure want to help them change it. I believe in what I’m doing, and I’m sorry if you don’t.”
“No, I don’t. You’re a rabble-rouser, Meredith, and you’re naïve. You don’t understand the risks you’re taking. You want to make a career out of making trouble. That isn’t what your mother and I want for you.”
She thought about it for a minute and nodded. “I know you don’t, Dad,” she said sympathetically. “You’re right. I do want to make trouble for all the people who are persecuting others, and keeping them down, underpaying them, and treating them like they’re less than human. That can’t seem right to you. It has to stop, Dad. Someone has to stand up to them. And not just colored ministers. Everyone. It’s time to fight the good fight, and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m sorry you and Mom don�
��t like it, but that’s who I am. And it’s who you used to be too. Who do you think I learned it from? Not just from Grampa. You fought for the victims and underdog too. And now it’s my turn. I’m sorry if you don’t like who I turned out to be. Thank you for dinner,” she said and turned and left the restaurant.
She walked all the way home from 21 back to their apartment, and it took her almost an hour. It was a cool June evening, and she thought about what she had said to her father. She believed every word of it.
When she got home, her parents’ bedroom door was closed, and neither of them came out to see her. They were heartsick over her decision to work for the ACLU, but that was what she was going to do. There was no turning back now. It was time to fight for those who needed it, just as her grandfather had encouraged her to. She had waited four years for this, and now she had graduated and was on her way. And like it or not, by word and example, this was who they had taught her to be. It was a bitter pill for her parents to accept her as she really was. They still thought they could change her and make her follow their path and not her own. But it was too late for that now.
Chapter Six
Claudia was up at six-thirty in the morning, waiting to hear from Seth. She was sure he was still sleeping. She stayed near the phone all morning, and was tempted to call him. She had his number at the farm, but she didn’t want to interrupt him if he was still discussing things with his parents. By eleven, she was literally shaking, and had snapped at both her sisters when they asked why she was sitting by the phone. At noon he called her, and she was relieved to hear his voice.
The Good Fight Page 9