The Glittering Life of Evie Mckenzie Page 3

  She smiled and tried to collect herself, suddenly embarrassed at her own ardor, and simultaneously disappointed that Roger seemed intent on adhering to the unwritten laws of propriety.

  Despite her disappointment, Evie realized that Roger most likely wasn’t eager to do anything with the trio playing in the corner, and tried to put her deflated feelings aside. She should have more self-control, too, after all.

  For the rest of the evening, they enjoyed the privacy that having the club to themselves afforded, and when Roger brought her home later, Evie felt like she’d been in a dream all night. She went up to her room and crawled into her bed, turning everything over in her mind. She was relieved that her mother didn’t seem to sense anything different when she’d greeted her at the door and wished her good night. She’d tell her about it tomorrow, but for tonight, she just wanted to enjoy her secret. She lay down and gazed at the ring sparkling on her hand.

  She was going to be Mrs Roger White. She’d spend her life with Roger. He was perfect.

  Why then, did her mind keep returning to another man, one with eyes like glaciers and fingers like fire?

  Chapter Four

  Tug

  It was a rare night that Tug wasn’t at the club, slinging drinks and keeping an eye out to make sure no one got out of hand and the cops didn’t cause any problems. But Roger had assured her that she wasn’t needed, and had encouraged her to enjoy a night off. She could use a break anyway. But even with a night free, Tug found that her mind was on business. She rang Janie Evans and Evie, looking for accomplices to help her feel out the competition.

  ‘I’ve got plans with Roger tonight, Tug,’ Evie said.

  Tug was surprised. ‘I thought he was working. He gave me the night off. Someone’s gotta take care of the club!’

  ‘I guess Chuck’s got it covered,’ Evie said.

  ‘That’s odd,’ Tug said. But she wasn’t going to worry too much about it. She was going to enjoy her night off, even if Evie had other plans. She would have liked for her to come, but consoled herself with the fact that Evie sounded a little disappointed not to be able to.

  Janie took more convincing than Tug would’ve liked, but she wasn’t about to complain since she won her over in the end. ‘I’ll pick you up at nine!’

  ‘Your father’s letting you drive his car?’

  ‘What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, right?’ The truth was that Tug’s father was rarely conscious by nine o’clock at night, and he certainly wouldn’t remember where he’d parked his beat-up jalopy. Tug borrowed it often since she’d learned to drive, and she’d become a proficient driver, even after a few cocktails.

  ‘See you then!’

  *****

  Tug pulled up outside Janie’s parents’ place at exactly nine, and Janie darted out from behind a shrub on her neighbor’s front porch.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Tug asked, laughing as Janie got into the car and pulled her camel coat tight around her.

  ‘I told my parents I was meeting some friends and I left a while ago,’ she said, looking glum. ‘They think I’m meeting some boys.’

  ‘Oh?’

  ‘They don’t like me spending all my time with you and Evie. They’re worried I’ll never get married.’ Janie stared out the front window, her eyes sad. ‘They spent my whole life keeping me away from boys and now they’re practically foisting me on them!’

  Janie’s parents had sheltered Janie to the point where she was practically a shut-in, but now that she was almost eighteen they wondered why there weren’t suitors knocking down the door. Tug shook her head at the irony. Her own parents were separated, and the timing – just as she was preparing to debut – had removed any possibility of her joining the ranks of the marriageable society girls of her day. Instead of coaching her to the finish line she’d been pushing her toward for her entire childhood, her mother had moved out, taken every cent that she’d saved on Tug’s behalf, and left Tug to nurse her father, who was more interested in drinking than he was in introducing her to the right type of man. Tug was on her own.

  ‘We’re not worrying about that for tonight, Jane.’ She guided the car away from the curb. ‘Tonight we are two girls on the town, out for a good time. And to pick up a few tips about how to get more people into the bar.’

  ‘The first part sounds swell.’

  ‘You need a drink or two and the second part will sound swell, too.’

  *****

  The girls made their way to a club that Tug had heard her customers talking about, a place just north of the Village situated through a door in a back alley. The door wasn’t marked, but Tug had asked enough questions about how to find the place that when she saw two young men disappearing down the alley, she was quick to follow them.

  ‘We can’t follow men we don’t know into a dark alley!’ Janie hissed.

  ‘I need to see where the door is, Jane. Come on, or we’ll be out on the sidewalk all night!’ Tug pulled Janie behind her, following the men until they stopped and opened an unmarked door. The girls watched as the men disappeared through the door, light spilling out from inside. ‘Come on!’ Tug and Janie followed, pushing through the heavy wooden door to find themselves in a small square space lit by a single bulb glowing on the wall. The room was covered in wallpaper of heavy red flocked velvet, a pattern so dense and complicated that Tug felt the walls were moving as the velvet snaked around them. There was no clear exit from the room.

  ‘I don’t like this, Tug. Where did they go?’

  ‘There’s gotta be another door here. They didn’t just disappear!’ Tug began running her hands around the small room, her palms flat on the walls. After a moment, she became frustrated. Through the walls – or maybe the floor – they could hear the faint din of a band and of people’s voices, but they could find no clear way inside. Just then, the door they had come through pushed open again, and they found themselves standing in the small space with a large round-faced man who seemed unsurprised to find them there.

  ‘Hello, ladies,’ he said.

  Tug elbowed Janie hard, and Janie yelped.

  The man laughed, his face reddening. He had what Tug’s father would have called a baby face. In fact, Tug’s father had many things to say about the particular man in front of them, and Tug had heard all of them, especially when the Yankees were winning.

  She swallowed hard. ‘You’re … you’re Babe Ruth,’ she said, looking up into the friendly face.

  The man grinned as Janie gasped. ‘I was this morning,’ he said.

  ‘My father’s a big admirer of yours,’ Tug told the big man. ‘He thinks you’re gonna win the pennant again this year.’

  Ruth glowed, rubbing his hands together and swaying slightly on his feet. ‘And what about you, what do you think?’ He winked.

  Tug giggled lightly and put a hand to her hair. ‘I don’t suppose you can show us how to get into this joint, can you? I can’t seem to remember.’

  ‘Sure I can,’ Ruth said. He reached up and pressed a button in the high corner of the room, camouflaged by the detailed flocking of the wallpaper. A small hole flipped open at eye level in front of where Tug stood, and an eye appeared.

  ‘Hey Tony,’ the baseball player said. ‘I’ve got a couple pals with me tonight.’

  The entire wall before them swung inward, opening to a long hallway leading into the dark. Tug hesitated.

  ‘Go on,’ said Babe Ruth. ‘It’s right on down there. I’ll show ya.’ He placed a hand on the small of each girl’s back, and ushered them into the darkness.

  The sounds of the club increased in volume as they moved closer, and finally they came to another door, lit by another single bulb.

  ‘Enjoy your evening, Mr Ruth.’ The voice came from the darkness behind them.

  ‘We will, Tony.’ Ruth’s hand dropped lower and he gave Tug’s rear end a pat as he said it. She jumped, practically tripping through the door and into the club that had revealed itself before them.

  The place was la
rge – at least twice as big as Evie’s, Tug thought. There was a band on a small stage in the center of the far wall, and there were girls on the stage in front of the band. They wore costumes and feathers on their heads attached to large headdresses. The costumes were slinky, revealing dresses, falling high above the girls’ knees, and dropping daringly low in front.

  Janie actually gasped when she saw them. ‘Those girls must be prostitutes,’ she hissed to Tug. ‘What kind of place is this?’ Her face was a mask of shock.

  Tug looked around her, her smile widening. ‘This, Jane, is the kind of place I’m gonna run one day.’

  Ruth ushered them toward the bar, where he was immediately greeted by most of the men and several of the women who had been seated and standing there. Though a dark exotic-looking woman had wrapped herself around the ball player within minutes of his arrival, he still asked Tug and Janie what they’d like and handed their drinks to them, smiling broadly as he did so.

  Janie and Tug sipped at their drinks and stared around them. There were couples dancing in the center of the floor, and the girls on stage were moving to the music, following some pre-choreographed steps that they had clearly rehearsed. And when the song came to an end, a woman with blonde hair appeared, holding a microphone. ‘Give the little ladies a great big hand!’ she called to the crowd, who complied with applause and cat calls.

  ‘That’s Texas Guinan,’ Tug hissed to Janie.

  ‘You know Texas?’ Ruth asked, overhearing.

  ‘No, I … I met her one time,’ Tug told him. ‘I think she’s amazing.’

  ‘She’s the bees’ knees,’ Ruth agreed.

  ‘This is her club?’ Janie asked, wide-eyed.

  Ruth nodded, the dark-haired girl at his side practically climbing the big man as she regarded Janie and Tug with a look of pure malice. After a moment, Ruth had turned back to the bar, and Janie and Tug moved to the side.

  The space was packed. Elegant chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, and the floor was waxed to a high shine. The bartenders wore a uniform of sorts, or at least they matched one another in crisp white shirts and red bow ties, and the two of them were in constant motion, pouring and mixing. The cocktails appearing on the bar top were more complicated than anything Tug made at Evie’s, where there was little going on in the way of mixing things. Tug knew that mixers were a way to disguise lower quality alcohol, and Evie’s didn’t have that problem since their connections were at the Yale Club. The Club had been allowed to keep any alcohol purchased prior to Prohibition to serve to private members once the Volstead Act went into effect. And they’d had a year to stock up in advance of the law being official. As a result, excessive quantities were procured, and eager entrepreneurs became rich quickly, supplying bars and individuals who had the right connections and cash.

  Tug watched everything with an eye toward making Evie’s better, and Texas Guinan did everything right as far as she was concerned. After a couple of hours, Janie insisted that they go home, though Tug would have been happy to stay all night. They thanked Babe Ruth and went back out into the frosty night, the dark sidewalks and silent streets a jarring contrast to the gay club interior.

  Chapter Five

  Evie

  ‘You met Babe Ruth?’ Evie stared at her friends as they sat together in the parlor of her parents’ house. Tug’s descriptions of their night out had Evie almost forgetting all about her own news. ‘What was he like? Was he handsome?’

  ‘He was zozzled,’ Janie said flatly. It was clear she hadn’t been as impressed with the famous player as Tug had.

  ‘He was handsome,’ Tug said, interrupting her friend. ‘And generous, too. He bought our drinks all night, even though we barely spoke to him. The place, though, Evie. I’ve gotta talk to Roger …’

  ‘Roger!’ Evie almost shouted. ‘Oh girls, I have news, too! I can’t believe I nearly forgot!’

  Tug and Janie both sat up straighter, waiting for Evie’s news.

  Evie held out her hand, where the small gold ring shone brightly on her finger, the square diamond on top flanked by small triangular stones on either side. The band was etched in a scrolling pattern, making the whole thing appear delicate.

  ‘That’s some fancy handcuff,’ Tug said, shaking her head. ‘Guess this explains why I wasn’t working last night.’

  Evie watched her. For some reason, Tug didn’t look happy for her. She was staring at the ring, looking almost angry about something. Janie, on the other hand, was bouncing in her seat.

  ‘Oh, girls, this is swell! When do you think the wedding will be?’ Janie’s big brown eyes were wide, her face clear and open.

  Evie smiled at her. ‘My mother says it would be improper to wait less than a year. I’d like to finish school, but Mother says that would be too long.’

  Tug smiled a thin smile and then poked Janie in the shoulder with one finger.

  ‘Ouch! What was that for?’

  ‘You’re such a wurp sometimes. We don’t want Evie married off and pregnant any sooner than she has to be.’ Tug grinned at her friend. ‘I say delay.’ She winked.

  Evie wondered if Tug had seen something on her face and was just repeating what she thought Evie wanted to hear. She wasn’t in a hurry. In fact, though she was excited about the idea in some ways, another part of her felt like she’d just found her freedom – going to school, the job – and now Roger wanted her to give it up. ‘Well I’m in no hurry,’ she said, pulling her hand back to her lap. ‘Tell me more about the club, girls!’

  Tug and Janie told their friend about the dancers and the cocktails, the easy way Texas Guinan flitted between her guests, treating everyone like she’d known them forever. She’d even remembered Tug.

  ‘She said it was nice to see me again,’ Tug beamed.

  ‘She probably says that to everyone,’ Janie said, her voice low.

  Tug shot her a fierce look.

  Janie shrugged.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. That girl knows her onions, and I picked up some ideas out there last night. Now I just have to get Roger to listen.’

  ‘Oh, he will,’ Evie said. ‘He’s reasonable and he wants the club to do well …’

  ‘He wants the club to stay exactly as it is,’ Tug said. ‘But he’ll listen to me.’

  Something in Tug’s tone made Evie watch her friend more closely, but she couldn’t figure out quite what it was. Tug was a tough girl, and she rarely threw her feelings out for everyone to see.

  ‘Tell me more about Babe Ruth,’ Evie said, hoping the girls would come up with something she could use in her column. ‘Did you see anyone else?’

  ‘Well, Mr Ruth had some dumb Dora practically wrapped around his neck,’ Janie said.

  Evie’s ears perked up. ‘His wife?’

  ‘Most definitely not his wife,’ Janie said. She looked offended by even saying the words.

  ‘That’s something.’ Evie made a mental note. ‘Hey, you girls want to go out tomorrow? My folks will be at the show, and if I sneak out, they’ll just think I’m with Roger.’

  ‘I’ll be at the club,’ Tug said.

  ‘I think one night in a week is enough for me,’ said Janie. ‘I’m exhausted. I didn’t get to bed until after three o’clock!’

  Tug rolled her eyes. ‘I thought you wanted to meet a man, get married, and have some babies right away.’

  Janie stiffened and her face grew stony. ‘No, Tug. That’s what my parents want. And I’m not sure the man they have in mind is ossified in a gin joint at two in the morning anyway.’

  Evie leaned in, touching her friend’s knee. ‘What do you want, Jane?’

  Janie was quiet a minute, staring at the shining ring on Evie’s hand. ‘I have no idea.’

  *****

  Evie wrote a column about Ruth’s appearance at Texas Guinan’s club, but she worried Tobias would want something more. She went to Evie’s that night hoping someone interesting might stumble in, but the same crowd of regulars sprawled at the tables and leaned up against the b
ar. Evie watched the familiar faces come and go and wondered if maybe Tug had a point about the place needing something else.

  ‘It wouldn’t hurt to listen to her ideas, would it?’ she asked Roger as they sat together at a table in the corner of the dark club.

  ‘I suppose not, but it bothers me that you both think there’s something wrong here. We’ve got a nice quiet operation. We’re making money, and as long as we keep things low-key, we don’t run into problems.’ Roger’s dark eyes were fringed by lush lashes, and his smooth cheeks flushed as he spoke.

  Evie put her hand in his and smiled up at him. He was undeniably handsome – the dark wavy hair that was begging to be tousled and the broad width of his shoulders always made her feel safe and warm. She leaned into his solid form, smiling.

  Roger’s fingers were running up and down her own. He stopped at the ring and lifted her hand to look at it. ‘Do you like it, honey?’

  ‘I love it, it’s gorgeous!’ Evie did love the ring. Still, something in her made her take it off when she went to bed. Removing it almost made her feel like she could still be free sometimes, which made her realize that wearing it made her feel trapped in some ways. She hated herself for wishing that Roger had waited longer before proposing to her. It made her more conscious of the way she felt in his presence every moment since he’d put the ring on her finger, as if anything short of perfect companionship might bode poorly for their future union.

  ‘You sure?’

  Evie’s nerves danced. Had Roger seen some hesitation? ‘Of course I am,’ she said quickly. ‘I love it.’

  *****

  Buck dropped Evie at the University the following day for class.

  ‘I’ll be back this afternoon, Miss Evie,’ he said with a wink.

  ‘Thanks, Bucky.’ Evie walked between the buildings, wandering up the long sidewalk toward her English class in no real hurry. She was early, and that gave her time to wander. The arch at Washington Square Park was Evie’s favorite place to sit and watch people, and she was thankful that the morning air wasn’t as frigid as it had been. As March moved slowly into springtime, New York was waking up, and Evie looked forward to the coming heat. Though the balmy moisture that doused Manhattan in the summers could be oppressive, there was something about that desperate swelter that brought a sense of urgency to everything, including evenings out at the clubs.