Archie rolled his eyes. “Sure thing, but knowing you, you’re going to have more fun ducking into the cafés and meeting some of the expats than you are playing a wide-eyed tourist.”
Archie had made a point to be in Manhattan when I returned home from the Adirondacks and we’d spent every spare minute together. After just a few short weeks in the city, I was already having a hard time imagining my days without him. We’d fallen into a routine. He had business dinners while I performed, and he often brought his work associates to theFrolicafter. He picked me up from my show each night, and we either headed down to the Village, stayed in Times Square or jetted up to Harlem. We both stayed in his suite at the Plaza, then in the morning he’d order room service and we’d try alternating techniques to cure our hangovers. Archie swore by a fernet and Coca-Cola and rubbing vinegar on his temples, while I could get by on a cold glass of tomato juice, plain toast and a nap, which didn’t work out so well for me on rehearsal days. Those first few weeks back in Manhattan together were nonstop, each of us wanting to show the other our version of the city and to show each other off to our friends.
We went to the Cotton Club one night, to a boxing match in New Jersey the next, to dinner at a politician’s town house the next. What I loved most about Archie was his ability to fit in wherever we went—he appreciated the opportunity to explore new and different places, and he was fascinated to meet people with all differentlifestyles. He could hang his hat at an uptown club just as well as he could at a speakeasy in the Village. We were like chameleons, the two of us, not too fancy but perfectly at home getting all gussied up and mingling with anyone we might meet.
After the Grotto closed, we went to Tony’s for a nightcap.
“Ruthie and I are dead set on heading up to Harlem,” Pauline said, tugging on my arm. “Tell Archie and his friends they have to come.”
“I want to, but we can’t tonight.”
“Come on, Olive, you’ve got some life left in you.”
“Of course I have,” I said. “But Archie leaves tomorrow, so I’m going to make sure he gets a good night’s sleep.”
We walked up to the Plaza arm in arm. “Mr. Carmichael, welcome back,” the doorman said, holding open the glass door to the towering marble palace. I felt like a million bucks walking through those doors with Archie by my side. At the beginning of the summer, I could never have imagined being taken with someone so mature and businesslike and yet so fun and dashing. I wouldn’t have thought it possible for me to take my eyes off the stage for more than a minute for a man, but the funny thing was I was having a grand time onstage and a grand time off. It was as if I were proving everyone wrong. I could have it all.
Archie led us over to the manager at the front desk. “I wanted to let you know I’ll be heading back to Cincinnati tomorrow for a week or so, and Miss Shine will be staying as my guest in my suite.”
“Of course, Mr. Carmichael, I will be sure to let the staff know.”
“Thank you, I’m glad to know she will be well taken care of, and if there’s anything she needs, anything at all, please make sure she is attended to.”
“As you wish, sir.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
I sat in the plush grey velvet chair, looking out the window while I sipped my tea. The fall leaves were aflame in the treetops outside. I crossed my legs Indian style and massaged the arches of my feet, painful lately from wearing my dancing shoes for so many hours each day.
Archie had been gone two days but it felt like two weeks, and the Plaza was less magical somehow without someone to share it with. I took the elevator to the lobby and went to the telephone booth to try to reach him, but when I picked up the receiver, I felt a sudden urge to call home.
“Flatbush six-seven-two-seven,” I said to the operator.
With the exception of a few letters that I’d sent home to my mother letting her know my whereabouts, I hadn’t actually seen my parents or my brothers for over a year.
“Mama?” I said when she picked up.
“Olive,” she said with a sigh. “Thank God. I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’ve missed you, Mama.” As soon as I said it, my eyes filled with tears, and the sudden rush of emotion surprised me. I’d been busy lately with the nightly performances, rehearsals, a few more commercial sittings and now spending time with Archie every spare minute I could get. I was the happiest I’d been in a very long time—ever, really—yet something about not sharing that with my mother made it all feel less real somehow. It was as if I couldn’t really enjoy this new life I’d built for myself if I couldn’t share it with my family, if I couldn’t have their blessing. It was a thought that lurked around in the back of my head, brushed aside. But now, hearing her voice made me want her approval, and my father’s, more than ever.
“Is everything okay?” my mother asked. “Where are you?”
“Everything’s wonderful. I’m at the Plaza.”
“The Plaza?” She sounded skeptical about this, and I could hear a thousand questions running through her mind.
“Oh Mama, I have to see you, to tell you everything. I know it’s been a long time but can you come here? We could have tea.”
“Of course, Olive. Tell me when and I’ll be there.”
The following afternoon I got to the Palm Court tearoom early. It was an impressive, airy space with live palm trees reaching up to the glass ceiling, enormous marble columns and mirrored doors. I wore a below-the-knee cream chiffon dress with a dropped waist, white lace gloves, cream cloche hat and the string of pearls that Archie hadgiven me. I sat watching the entrance for her arrival and jumped up when I saw her.
“I’m so relieved to see you.” She took my face in her hands when we were seated. “It’s been far too long. Oh, Olive, your father’s very…” She looked down, almost as if ashamed.
“It’s okay, I know.” I nodded. I wanted to ask her about him, if he’d eased up even just a little, if he might be open to a visit, but apparently the answer was no, not yet. “Isn’t this place magnificent?” I looked up to the domed yellow-and-green skylight.
“It is, but what are you doing here?”
