It's Just Lola (51 page)

Lola
often caught Johnny watching her. 
Lola told Mrs. Ashton that she didn’t need lunch and arranged to come in an hour later.  Even so, the pace was exhausting
, but s
he had the money faster than she dreamed possible. 
In a very few months, s
ecure in the knowledge that she had the money for the lawyer, she
told the people at work that she was looking for a small inexpensive place to live. 
When Johnny asked if she was ready to go home that evening, he was alone.

“Where’s Gina?”

“She moved back to Oakland to take care of her
sick mother
.”

Lola hesitated.  “Maybe I’ll just walk tonight.”

“Hey, Lola.”   Johnny held out his empty hands, palm up.  “Don’t I always treat you like a lady?  It’s not safe out there.” 
As he drove,
he asked her why she wanted to move.

“My children are in boarding school and I want a place to bring them.”

“You got kids?” 

“
I have three in boarding school
.  I miss them terribly.”

“I got a nice apartment in the building I could let you have.  It’s big.  Three bedrooms and a
maid’s
room off the kitchen.  You’d love it.”

“I can’t afford anything like that.  I was thinking more of a studio apartment with a shared bath.” Lola laughed at the idea of such a big place.

“Listen, Lola, I gotta be straight with you.  You caught my eye the first day you walked into the restaurant.  There comes a time when a man has to think about settling down, and you’re the kind of girl a man can take home to meet his mother.  You know what I mean?” 

“Yes, I believe I do know what you mean.  You want me to be your new girlfriend and you’re using my children as...as a way to make it happen.”  She realized they
had
stopped in front of the YWCA.  She grabbed the handle to open the door, but Johnny pulled her back. 
Fear and anger battled for first place in her emotions.

“No, that’s
not
what I mean.  Listen to me.  I’m asking you to marry me.  You can bring your kids home and we can get a maid to do all the work.  You can quit your other job and do whatever you like during the day.  I’ll buy you anything you want.”

Fear and anger melted away in a vision of what this could mean.  She spent a full minute imagining the life.  She’d married without love once before, and it wasn’t so bad.  Regretfully, she shook her head.  “I can’t.”

“You can’t or you don’t want to?”

“I can’t.  I’m still married.”

“That’s not a problem.  I have a good lawyer; you can get a divorce. 
In the meantime,
I’ll be Uncle Johnny and give the kids time to get used to me.  Then we can get married.”

“I couldn’t do that.  I’m Catholic.”  To Lola’s surprise, Johnny laughed a deep satisfying laugh, unlike the
braying
laugh she
sometimes
heard in the restaurant.

“Grow up, Lola.  You work in a speakeasy.  You break the law for a living—and you’re worried about a divorce?”

That startled Lola.  She’d stopped thinking about the speakeasy as illegal.  It was just the place where she worked.  She promised to think about
his offer
and got out of the car before he had a chance to
say more
.  She ran to her room and collapsed in tears.  Her entire world was turning upside down.  What had happened to her?  She had turned into the kind of person she always detested—someone who would do anything for money.  There was no denying what Johnny was.  He was a gangster.  If she accepted his offer, she’d be his moll.  What kind of life was that for children? 

Maybe s
he was just being melodramatic.  The children would never see anything other than the nice restaurant.  She could buy them things they’d never had.  She would get a good night’s sleep and never have to worry about laundry or cleaning.  It’s not as though they were selling their customers cheap moonshine.  Johnny sold good whiskey smuggled in from Canada.  She pulled the covers up under her chin and fell asleep. 

That night for the first time since she started working the back room she dreamed of
Wulf
.  He walked into her room and said, “Do what you have to do for the children.”  She woke up feeling refreshed and ready for anything.  Her problems were solved.  She’d accept Johnny’s proposal tonight and bring her children home.  If there was one thing Lola knew, it was how to be a good wife.  Johnny would never regret his offer.  She found herself humming while she worked, and smiled constantly.

“You’re certainly chipper this morning,” said Mrs. Ashton.
  “Did the lawyer get results?”

“
Not yet, but he’s working on it.  The reason I’m happy is that
I have an offer of marriage.”  Lola just couldn’t keep the news to herself. 

“I’m so happy for you.”  Mrs. Ashton actually gave her a hug.  Then she laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh, it’s not you, dear.  I was just thinking that if I ever thought of getting married again, Mr. Ashton would rise from his grave to stop the wedding.”  She smiled at Lola.  “He was always so jealous and protective of me.  It was rather nice having a protector.” 
Before Lola could comment, a
customer
arrived and
claimed her attention.

Lola shook her head.  Mrs. Ashton had no idea what real jealousy was like. 
Wulf
would...  She grabbed the edge of the workbench to steady herself as she completed her thought. 
Wulf
would go into an insane rage and probably kill her if he saw her having a drink with a man—let alone making money that way. 
Did she really believe
Wulf
came to her in a dream?  That dream was her own wishful thinking. 
Wulf
would never have consented to what she was doing. 
What
was
she doing?  She was about to go against everything she believed in to be with her children—or was
she really doing this for the
children?  Lola felt sick.  S
uddenly she didn’t trust her own logic any more.  S
he didn’t know what to believe.  Was she just so tired of working so hard that she was willing to do anything to have it stop?  Yes,
if she accepted Johnny’s proposal,
she
’
d be with the children—until there was a raid and both she and Johnny were dragged off to jail.  What would happen to the children then?

Oh, God, it could happen now—maybe even tonight, or tomorrow night. 
Why had she been so blinded by greed that she refused to admit that the place could be raided? 

“Mrs. Ashton, I have to go.  I think I ate something that didn’t agree with me.” 
Lola ran to the restaurant.  She asked to see Johnny in private.

“
Hey, doll.  What’re you doing here early?
  Did you quit your job already?”

“
No, that’s what I came here to do.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry, Johnny.  I can’t do this.”  Tears
ran
down her face.  “I wanted to, I really did.  I woke up this morning excited about it, but I just can’t.”

“Did you really give it a chance, Lola?  Why don’t you stay on for a whi
le and think about it some more
?”

“No, it would be too much temptation for me to stand.  I’m sorry, Johnny, you’ve been a good friend to me, and I appreciate it.” 
Lola extended her hand, expecting a handshake.  He took her hand, pulled her close and kissed her.

“If you change your mind, give me a call.”
  If he knew how close that kiss came to changing her mind, he would have kissed her again.  It was hard, but she walked away.

~ ~ ~

With two jobs,
Lola had been too busy to visit the lawyer.  Now she made
an appointment
.  She
prayed that he had an answer to his letter say
ing that
Charlie
was
transferring the stocks back to her.  If not, at least
she had
the money he
need
ed
to start the lawsuit
.  S
he
walked into his office
and
knew
from his face that
his news
was not good.  Sinking into a chair, she took the letter
he extended
.

Dear Mr. Brown
,

It is with deep regret that I cannot fulfill your request.  Your
client’s
sister and her family departed for the United States
several months ago
to seek medical care for their daughter, Juliet.  The child
is being
treated at the San Francisco General Hospital. 
T
he doctors here
have given them no hope for her recovery.  God willing, the doctors there will be more hopeful.

I hope that you will
persuade your client to give her sister comfort in her hour of need and
not
to
pursue this matter at this time.  Please,
ask her to pray for them, not cause them more heartache
.

Respectfully,

Juan Garcia, Attorney

“He’s right.  I can’t bother them about money now,” Lola said when she
’
d read the letter.

“It
’
s your choice, Mrs.
Wulf
. 
It
would be a painful time to bring legal action against your sister’s husband.  However,
it may be
your
only
opportunity to force your position at a cost you can afford.”

“I can’t do that to her,” whispered Lola.  “She had so much trouble bearing children. 
I can’t even imagine how she must feel
.
 
T
his might be the only opportunity
to take affordable legal steps, but
it might also be the only opportunity
I’ll ever have
to become a real sister to Juana.  In Juana’s place
I
would want a
sister now
.
”
  She left the money and told Mr. Brown to begin drafting the papers, but not to file anything until she gave the word.

The next day
Lola
asked
Mrs. Ashton
for a day off, explaining what she’d learned
. 
When Lola arrived at the hospital,
Juana’s face told her Juliet was not getting better.  Tears filled her eyes as she ran to her sister and embraced her.  “
I’m so sorry. 
I came as soon as I heard.”

“What?  I’ve been begging you to come since we arrived.  You never answered my letters.”  Lola bit back her desire to say the same.  Of course Juana hadn
’
t answered her letters—she’d been on her way here with a dying child.  She explained briefly that she’d moved and the letters were probably all at Guttenberg Street.  She spent the rest of the day
comforting Juana and crying with her as
the story of
their desperate attempt to find a cure for Juliet
unfolded.  The quest
took them from Lima to Quito, and finally to San Francisco.
  It was late when
Lola
finally left the hospital, promising to return right after work the next day.  Tomorrow she
’
d take Charlie aside and talk to him
about the stocks
.

The next day
Lola
went straight to
the hospital
from work.  S
he was surprised to see Juliet’s room empty.  A nurse directed her to the hospital chapel where she said the parents were talking to a priest.  Lola ran to give what small comfort she could to her sister. 

~ ~ ~

Lola thought the sky itself was crying cold tears over the small funeral with its small coffin.
  She would wait and let them mourn before talking to Charlie.  Meanwhile, she’d spend every spare minute with them to help them in their grief.

Two days later
when Lola arrived at their apartment,
Charlie
was stuffing clothes into a suitcase.  He’d
received a telegram
from the manager of the mines,
and he had to return to Ecuador immediately.  Juana said she
wasn’t going
.

“I can’t leave you alone here.  How would you manage?”

“And I can’t leave Juliet alone in that cold foreign cemetery.  Don’t worry, I’m not alone now.  I have Lola.”