The Girl on the Boat by Kate Hewitt

Author:Kate Hewitt [Hewitt, Kate]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-08T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

The Mayfair Club was on 14th Street, in the city’s theater district. Nicknamed the “Café of all Nations,” its walls were adorned with murals of scenes and flags from every country imaginable, and its art deco interior was furnished with sleek tables of chrome and black, with white banquettes upholstered in turquoise. The waitresses were dressed in the native garb of different countries; the one representing the Netherlands even wore wooden clogs.

“I pity her,” Sadie whispered as they watched the waitress carefully clomp her way between tables. “They look awfully uncomfortable.”

Sophie giggled back, feeling nervous and excited all at once. The club had a far more sophisticated feel than the rather sedate dances on the Jewish Community Center’s roof terrace. Here was a place where all of Washington was rubbing shoulders—government officials, military personnel, office workers, socialites. She was surprised to see the mix of black and white people among the crowded tables; in a supper club, at least, segregation did not seem so present.

Carefully, she smoothed down the front of her bronze taffeta dress, the color now faded and the fabric worn, but still the only suitable garment she had to wear out of an evening. Over the last few months, she’d considered buying another dress, but her wages were so low, and every extra penny she saved, either for postage for letters, or simply to tuck away for a rainy day. If her family did make it to America, they would need all the money they could to survive. She wasn’t about to waste any of her hard-earned dollars on mere fripperies.

“Let’s find a table,” Sadie said, as she wound her way through the crowded club. “And drinks! I’m parched.”

Besides Sadie, there were three others there from the Center that Sophie knew, if not that well—Elizabeth, a single woman in her thirties, and two men, Jacob and Adam, who seemed to be acting as dates for Sadie and Elizabeth. Sophie didn’t particularly mind feeling like a fifth wheel, but she was certainly conscious of it as they all sat down—Sadie and Jacob on one side of the table, Elizabeth and Adam on the other, and her alone at the end.

“What can I get you ladies for drinks?” Jacob asked as he stood up to go to the bar.

“Whiskey sour for me,” Sadie replied blithely.

“Sidecar for me,” Elizabeth said.

Sophie, still having no real experience of cocktails, stammered, “I’ll… I’ll have a lemonade.”

“Lemonade!” Elizabeth exclaimed, rolling her eyes, while Sadie shot Sophie a quick, sympathetic look. “You can’t come to the Mayfair Club and have lemonade.”

“How about a splash of gin with it?” Sadie suggested kindly, and Sophie blushed, feeling like a child.

“Very well,” she mumbled, looking down at her lap. In that moment, she wished she hadn’t gone out at all.

This is the life you wished for, she silently mocked herself, once upon time. Cocktails and dancing and handsome men—you wanted it all, Sophie, well, now you have it. But at what cost?

“Sophie,” Sadie said quietly, touching her hand, “you can have a lemonade if you really want to.

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