Read Online American Dreams by John Jakes - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Jakes
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Historical, Sagas, Family, Motion Picture Actors and Actresses, Chicago (Ill.), German Americans
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planted a chaste kiss on her cheek.
'Promise me you will.'
'I do, Carl, I do -- bless you! You give me the extra courage I need. It won't be easy facing him.'
Carl ambled over to pick up the ball. He,tossed it to her underhand.
'Just remember, Pop respects strength. If your knees quake, don't let him see. You can do it. Hell, sis, you're an actress, aren't you? Act!'
She ran to him. 'Oh, Carl. "What impossible matter will he make easy next?"'
'Huh? What's that?'
'A line spoken by a character named Antonio, in The Tempest. Act two, scene one. Fits you perfectly,' she exclaimed, throwing her arms around I
him. With thoughtless enthusiasm Carl wrapped her in a huge hug that left Page 51
her breathless and gasping, but braver and more confident than she'd felt for days.
9 Obligatory Scene
T!
The season's frenzy consumed the household. Fritzi plunged into Christmas shopping, dashing through Marshall Field's and the Fair and Carson's in search of presents. She spent carefully from her savings,
' r B holding back forty dollars for a ticket to New York and subsistence until 1 8 sne f°und work.
Every morning lisa dashed off to shop, or help with children's parties at Hull House, or socialize with her wealthy friends. Nearly every night she and the General went out to a party or banquet. Joe Junior either disappeared after supper or didn't come home from work at all, leaving Carl 42
Dreamers
and Fritzi to play checkers and talk for hours. Joe Junior came home long after everyone was in bed.
The Crowns attended Sunday services at St. Paul's Lutheran together, again without Joey. Nor did he join them in the music room when Fritzi played carols and the General sang in his strong baritone voice and Carl bellowed like an enthusiastic but tone-deaf steer.
Wednesday of the week before Christmas -- all four Advent candles glowed on the dining table now -- Fritzi went to the depot to buy a ticket on the New York Central's Empire State Express. 'One way, day coach, please.' She would not spend money for a berth. The Mortmain company had given her a great deal of experience with sitting up all night; she knew how to race for a seat nearest the stove, and use available newspapers for covers.
She constantly rehearsed what she wanted to say to her father, but put off the actual encounter. Joe Crown did have a temper. That fact tempted her to flee without facing him. Couldn't she resort to a letter?
No, said Ellen Terry, most emphatically:
You know that in any well-wrought drama, certain obligatory scenes must be played because everything previous leads up to them. To omit them Page 52
is a cheat. It's the same in a family. Your father is not some minor character to be dismissed offstage with a few lines in a scented envelope.
The other reason you must speak to him is personal. Cowardice doesn't become members of this family, including you.
All right, she would do it Saturday, before the family left to attend the annual party for employees of the brewery. The General paid for the event every year.
She was up early that day, her stomach on fire, her palms already damp. She began to dress about four. It was a clear, cold afternoon, with a few winter stars already showing beyond her bedroom window. She struggled into her gown, red satin with a deep lace bertha. lisa had bought her the dress for last year's party.
Groping at the nape of her neck, she closed the clasp on the pearl dog collar choker borrowed from her mother. Then she yanked a comb through her tangled hair. Her hair reminded her of frayed yellow rope. She threw the comb at the glass and stuck out her tongue.
A clock on the mantel of the small fireplace showed half past four. Her father had announced their departure time as six o'clock. Fritzi supposed the General would drive them to Swabian Hall in the Welch; the streets were dry.
Obligatory Scene
43
She heard a heavy tread in the upstairs hall, ran to the door.
'Papa! You're home early.'
'Yes, I managed to
'Promise me you will.'
'I do, Carl, I do -- bless you! You give me the extra courage I need. It won't be easy facing him.'
Carl ambled over to pick up the ball. He,tossed it to her underhand.
'Just remember, Pop respects strength. If your knees quake, don't let him see. You can do it. Hell, sis, you're an actress, aren't you? Act!'
She ran to him. 'Oh, Carl. "What impossible matter will he make easy next?"'
'Huh? What's that?'
'A line spoken by a character named Antonio, in The Tempest. Act two, scene one. Fits you perfectly,' she exclaimed, throwing her arms around I
him. With thoughtless enthusiasm Carl wrapped her in a huge hug that left Page 51
her breathless and gasping, but braver and more confident than she'd felt for days.
9 Obligatory Scene
T!
The season's frenzy consumed the household. Fritzi plunged into Christmas shopping, dashing through Marshall Field's and the Fair and Carson's in search of presents. She spent carefully from her savings,
' r B holding back forty dollars for a ticket to New York and subsistence until 1 8 sne f°und work.
Every morning lisa dashed off to shop, or help with children's parties at Hull House, or socialize with her wealthy friends. Nearly every night she and the General went out to a party or banquet. Joe Junior either disappeared after supper or didn't come home from work at all, leaving Carl 42
Dreamers
and Fritzi to play checkers and talk for hours. Joe Junior came home long after everyone was in bed.
The Crowns attended Sunday services at St. Paul's Lutheran together, again without Joey. Nor did he join them in the music room when Fritzi played carols and the General sang in his strong baritone voice and Carl bellowed like an enthusiastic but tone-deaf steer.
Wednesday of the week before Christmas -- all four Advent candles glowed on the dining table now -- Fritzi went to the depot to buy a ticket on the New York Central's Empire State Express. 'One way, day coach, please.' She would not spend money for a berth. The Mortmain company had given her a great deal of experience with sitting up all night; she knew how to race for a seat nearest the stove, and use available newspapers for covers.
She constantly rehearsed what she wanted to say to her father, but put off the actual encounter. Joe Crown did have a temper. That fact tempted her to flee without facing him. Couldn't she resort to a letter?
No, said Ellen Terry, most emphatically:
You know that in any well-wrought drama, certain obligatory scenes must be played because everything previous leads up to them. To omit them Page 52
is a cheat. It's the same in a family. Your father is not some minor character to be dismissed offstage with a few lines in a scented envelope.
The other reason you must speak to him is personal. Cowardice doesn't become members of this family, including you.
All right, she would do it Saturday, before the family left to attend the annual party for employees of the brewery. The General paid for the event every year.
She was up early that day, her stomach on fire, her palms already damp. She began to dress about four. It was a clear, cold afternoon, with a few winter stars already showing beyond her bedroom window. She struggled into her gown, red satin with a deep lace bertha. lisa had bought her the dress for last year's party.
Groping at the nape of her neck, she closed the clasp on the pearl dog collar choker borrowed from her mother. Then she yanked a comb through her tangled hair. Her hair reminded her of frayed yellow rope. She threw the comb at the glass and stuck out her tongue.
A clock on the mantel of the small fireplace showed half past four. Her father had announced their departure time as six o'clock. Fritzi supposed the General would drive them to Swabian Hall in the Welch; the streets were dry.
Obligatory Scene
43
She heard a heavy tread in the upstairs hall, ran to the door.
'Papa! You're home early.'
'Yes, I managed to
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