Echo Moon by Laura Spinella

Author:Laura Spinella [Spinella, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503901131
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Published: 2018-05-21T16:00:00+00:00

ACT IV, SCENE I NEW YORK 1917

The sun sat lopsided over the earth. This was Esmerelda’s impression as she peered upward, through the hotel room window. To see any sky at all, one had to bend over and look up, the building across the alleyway so tight to hers. Since midsummer, this had been her view.

On the verge of fall, Luna Park had cut back on its acts. The Coney Island landmark would officially close for the season in days. Only Barney and Bill’s soft shoe and Jimmie’s dramatic reading remained on the bill. This meant Oscar’s Traveling Extravaganza could only be in one place and Cora had to find other means of employment. She’d taken a job cleaning the bathhouses, remarking to Esmerelda, “It’s no matter. Oscar will be movin’ us all on to other shows. He’ll have to. Only that Elephant Hotel stays open year-round.” Esmerelda’s situation gave Cora a place to sleep, but it was wages Oscar needed to see—whether you earned your nickels juggling cups and saucers and a cat or by scrubbing sand and piss.

Cora said she didn’t mind about the bathhouses. But Esmerelda could see she’d been crying after returning late at night. She also had to insist that Cora bathe before getting into bed. She reeked of urine, sweat, and lye soap.

“Bathe more than once a week? Who ever heard of such a thing?” she said. Esmerelda had draped Cora’s undergarments over a chair, shoving them under her clearer nose the next morning. After this, Cora would wash herself and Esmerelda would scrub her clothes in the sink, hanging them on the indoor clothesline.

Dwindling Luna Park crowds also meant Henry Erlanger no longer needed a solo songstress. Esmerelda was fortunate to remain in Benjamin Hupp’s employ. So she told herself it was good news when he decided to experiment with the shift in patronage that came with cooler weather. Benjamin added a pricey luncheon menu to the supper club, envisioning businessmen and Upper East Side ladies’ groups taking advantage. Esmerelda provided background music—a softer version of her evening fare. Not long into the new schedule, the idea seemed to be taking hold.

It left Esmerelda exhausted, performing from noon until three, then again in the evenings. But the change she found most disturbing was the amount of time she spent inside the hotel. She looked up at the crack of sky and then across the alleyway.

The Hupps had opened their fancier hotel next door. Benjamin had prattled on about the finished project, also boasting to Esmerelda that he’d taken up residence there—a suite, located directly across from her room. This was during a hotel tour he’d insisted on, showing off the lobby floor, where a sweetshop, haberdashery, and photography studio had rented space. Gazing in the window of the photo studio, she’d smiled at Benjamin, thinking how much she’d like to tell Phin about it.

This morning, Licorice sat on the windowsill. She scratched his head and he jumped down, darting under the bed—his favorite spot.

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