Albany Park (2 page)

Jim climbed onto the fence surrounding the subway station entrance and the others followed. From that vantage point, they were three to four feet higher than the street. Turning and twisting they looked in every direction without encountering any empty space in the huge, joyous mob. All traffic on the normally bustling street, had stopped. On top of a streetcar directly in front of them, a husky sailor without a hat was waving a flag. Another sailor had climbed a light pole and was singing “Anchors Away” at the top of his lungs. To the right and left, soldiers and sailors were being mobbed by women. Men were drinking bottles of whiskey which they shared with anyone wanting a taste. Two soldiers, each with a chest full of ribbons, were laughing and kissing women as they passed around large pitchers of beer. A sailor stripped to his undershirt handed Vic a bottle of beer, saying, “Drink up, kid, now you won’t have to go to war!” Vic took a gulp as the laughing sailor motioned with his head to the others and said, “Give some to your pals, too.”

A pretty blonde with a short pleated skirt that flared to reveal her pink panties and the dark, eyebrow-pencil line down the back of her bare legs, made to look like she was wearing hose, was jitterbugging with a soldier to the ”Andrews Sisters”, belting out “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy From Company B.” Hundreds watched, clapping with hands over their heads as the music blasted from loudspeakers attached to the brightly lit canopy of the State and Lake Theater. The soldier’s hat flew off as he swung the blonde around in a circle where a space had widened for the dancers. Squealing at the end of the dance, the blonde threw her arms around the soldier’s neck and gave him a big smooch. The crowd hooted and applauded.

Two soldiers, a sailor wearing an Army cap and a marine with his shirt tail flying squirreled up a street car further down the street. Once on top, they joined hands and began singing, “The Caissons Go Rolling Along,” as voices all around joined in they continued with the “Marine Hymn, Anchors Away and Air Corps,” songs.

By seven o’clock, the mob began to thin. The boys had been there since about two and had eaten only a couple of sandwiches, along with two shared root beers, that had been given to them by a gray haired woman in a Red Cross Uniform.

Sam, tired of watching all the young women kissing the servicemen, walked up to a dark-haired girl who had just kissed a sailor, spun her around and pressed his lips on her mouth. Pushing him away, she squinted, made a sour face and laughed, “Easy, junior, you’re too young.”

Everyone in earshot roared and Jim almost lost his glasses as he scooted away, managing a pinch on the thigh of a tubby young redhead.

Al Gordon signaled the boys to watch as he quickly felt the breast of a young woman wearing a bright red dress. Winking, he bumped into another girl grabbing a handful of her ample behind and quickly ran, getting lost in the crowd.

Vic, with Jim following walked down a block and stood in a doorway taking in the sights and tried to make eye contact with a group of girls about their age that were close by. The girls ignored them and turned away. One in particular, a tall brunette with a bright smile finally turned back. Vic looked directly at her, as she walked over to him.

“What you looking at, good looking?” she said loudly, flinging her arms around his shoulders and kissing him on the mouth. Her friends screamed as she held on for a second and then they all ran off. Vic laughed as he wiped away the lipstick. Wide-eyed Jim slapped him on the back. “Leave it to you, Wayne,” he grinned. “All the women go for you.”

Turning back, they looked for Al and Sam. Twenty minutes later, without any luck, they gave up and retreated down into the subway. On the platform, three black kids with a sax, trumpet and drum, circled a hat on the ground holding coins and a few dollars as soldiers and sailors danced to the music with girls and women of all ages. Most of the men watching the dancers were swaying drunk or halfway under the influence. Others waved bottles or passed them around while the women with them were laughing hysterically at the show. A few of the ladies looked like they had been drinking, too.

Jim stood quietly, wiping his glasses on his shirt tail and scrunching up his eyes, trying not to miss anything. Vic, a small smile on his face, stood tapping his foot and clapping to the beat of the music. The crowd wound down as the whooshing sound of a slowing train approached; drowning out a loud rendition of Glenn Miller’s “In The Mood.” Jim motioned with a flick of his head that it was time to board a train home. Once again, no one was collecting fares, and they stood in the crowded train almost all the way back to Albany Park.

Across from the end of the Ravenswood line at Kimball, they boarded a westbound streetcar. Vic jumped off the back platform at Central Park with a wave to Jim and started walking toward Monticello. Humming the Marine Hymn, his head was still reeling from all he had witnessed downtown. He remembered how Pa described the excitement at the end of the First World War. Now he too, would have something to tell his kids years from now.

He spotted Shirley on the corner of Monticello and Lawrence, a half a block from his house Turning and tucking at her blouse, she was fluffing her hair and looking at her reflection in the large plate glass window of Korb’s Delicatessen. Spotting him, her hands went to her hips and as he got closer he could see her lips drawn tightly. He tried to be casual as he approached; he could tell she was mad.

“Where ya been?” she wanted to know, “I’ve been at your house and even your mother didn’t know where you were. Don’t you care that I’ve been waiting here for over an hour,” she hissed, spitting out the words. “And weren’t we supposed to see each other at the school this afternoon.”

Coming closer, he ran his hand through his mussed hair. Stopping, he stuffed one hand into his back pocket and shrugged as if he didn’t understand. “Oh yeah, I forgot with the war ending and all. I went downtown with the guys.”

“What about me?” she answered, through her tightly clenched teeth. “Lately, you’re always forgetting or too busy or something.”

“Hey, cool it Shirley,” he said, shifting from one foot to the other. “I just forgot. Don’t make such a big deal about it. Besides, I don’t have to report to you.”

“You don’t care. Everybody else is more important than me. You’re always with Sam or Jim or I don’t know who,” she scolded, standing her ground, her hands still on her hips.

He saw her eyes narrowing and her lips pull tighter as she waited for his response.

“Oh come on, stop that crap. You know I gotta work and yeah, I get together with my friends. And sometimes we play ball or do things.”

“Yeah, I bet.” She sniffled. “I know you got another girlfriend.”

“Oh, cut it out. How can I have another girlfriend? You never let me alone. Everywhere I go, you’re keeping tabs on me. You’re always asking the guys where I am and wanting to know everything about me. And I told you to stop calling me at home. My Ma doesn’t like it.”

“Look Victor, I just care about you but you treat me like dirt. If you only knew how you hurt me. The other boys treat their girlfriends nicer. You’re always too busy.” Her voice rose. “Look what you did today. The war is over; I thought you’d want to be with me, so we could celebrate together. Instead, you ran downtown with your friends and didn’t even think about me”.

“Hey Shirley, cut it out. You act like we’re married. I can’t take this crap anymore. Maybe we should just forget about it.”

She burst into tears and moved toward him. He backed away, turning his palms up.

“In fact, you know what?” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve had it. Let’s just take it easy for a while. Maybe it’s time for you to find someone else.”

He started walking away but she ran in front of him, blocking his path. “Wait! Victor, what are you saying? I love you.”

“Forget it, Shirley. I’ve had enough of this. Go find someone else. I can’t take it anymore. We’re not even fifteen, and you want to be so serious.”

Pushing her away and running a few steps, he turned. “And stop crying. You’re always crying. I can’t take that either. Just stay away from me.”

Vic broke into a run as he turned down Monticello. “And I want my Aztec jacket back too,” he yelled over his shoulder as he checked to make sure she wasn’t following him.

Seeing Ma and Pa and the neighbors sitting on the stoop of the three flat next door, he put Shirley out of his mind. Through the open windows, Vic could hear the nine o’clock news reports flowing out into the street; the celebration was still in full swing on State Street. His little sisters, Faith and Lilly, along with two little girls from next door, all looking weary from the long day, were sitting on the concrete steps. Lilly’s eyes were almost closed as she tried to suppress a yawn but she did manage a smile when she saw Vic. Faith just leaned against the short brick wall, where the folks were sitting, and grinned. The neighbor girls giggled shyly looking at Faith and Lilly watching them talking to their big brother as they murmured, “hi Vic. “

Ma’s shiny black hair was swept up in back and she flashed one of her glorious, light- up-the-room smiles when she saw him coming. Vic noticed her big soup pot, which she must have been pounding a few hours earlier, was next to her on the ground. Pa’s eyes were a little glassy as he waved and slurred a hello. He had a few drinks in him, Vic figured. Both greeted him with hugs and Ma kissed him on the cheek, whispering, “Thank God, it’s over.”

From the extra squeeze she gave him, he could tell she was relieved.

“Anything else goin’ on?” he asked.

“What, isn’t this enough? Oh, now that you mention it, that pushy little Shirley Siegal was looking for you earlier,” she answered with shake of her head.

Looking down and putting his arm around her, he smiled sheepishly. “Ah, don’t worry Ma, she’s nothing, she just likes to bother me.”

Letting go, he grinned, “Weren’t you worried about me?”

“Not today,” Ma smiled back. “The war is over and I’m glad Frank is coming home without a scratch.”

Vic noticed tears in her eyes.

Chapter 2
 

The last few weeks had been very tough on Ma. Vic’s older brother Frank had returned from Europe after V-E day and was on a thirty-day furlough from the Army with orders to report to Fort Sheridan north of the city for assignment to the west coast and most likely the Pacific.

Frank, at twenty years old, had been through eight months of heavy combat leading to the victory in Europe. Out of a company of one hundred and ten men, only he and seven others had survived without being killed or wounded. His division had been part of the Allied First Army that fought in the bloody Battle of the Bulge and the advance through the Hurtgen forest. At the war’s end in May, they were occupying the German coastal city of Bremerhaven. Frank was the company’s Motor Sergeant, in charge of all the company vehicles.

He surprised the family by arriving home on a Friday night in the middle of July while Ma was preparing dinner for the family; including Frank’s wife Sally, who came over every Friday.

In the parlor, Pa was listening to the radio. Gabriel Heater had just signed on with his familiar, “Ah, there’s good news tonight,” when the doorbell sounded. Vic, without a shirt, on his way to the bathroom, opened the door.

With a big grin, Frank snapped to attention and saluted. Eyes bulging and mouth open, but unable to make a sound, Vic stared at his soldier brother; in his rumpled Army khakis with the pants tucked into his boots and a chest full of ribbons. A large duffle bag was at his feet.

“Oh my God,” he finally screamed, opening the door wide. “It’s Frank.”

Ma and Sally rushed to the door knocking Vic aside as they kissed and hugged their hero husband and son, home from
the war
.

Pa roused from the couch, was there in an instant, followed by seventeen-year-old Flo, running out of her bedroom in a slip, her hair up in curlers. Close behind were, chubby, ten–year-old Faith, standing back but jumping up and down with her braids flying; and little six-year-old Lilly, bawling, as she peeked through her fingers, frightened by the noise and excitement. Tears flowed as hands and arms tugged Frank into the dining room.

The table was set for a usual Friday night, with the remnants of dishes from three sets Ma had from when she first married. The six dining room chairs and one paint-chipped kitchen chair were in their usual places; Sally’s being in Frank’s spot.

With Sally at his side, Frank wiped his sleeve across his eyes and hugged everyone. Ma was holding the now-quiet Lilly. He held out his arms to the little girl, who nestled her face into Ma’s neck. Pa put a finger to his lips, signaling for quiet. Slowly, Lilly rubbed her eyes and started to smile and then reached out. Frank took her gently and she giggled when he kissed her. She loosened up when he said, “Hi, Lilly, don’t you remember your big brother?” Smiling, she showed the wide gap where her front teeth were missing and flung her arms around his neck.

Putting her down, he kissed Sally and hugged Ma again, saying, “You’ll never know how much I love and missed all of you.” With a handkerchief pulled from his pocket, he wiped at his eyes. “This room is just the way I imagined, except I see Lilly graduated to a regular chair from her high chair.”

Looking around again, he said, “Wait, aren’t the curtains new?”

“The curtains are the same,” Ma said, tugging at the hem to show him the deep golden shade. “I only dyed them a little darker than they were. But I’m sure glad you’re home. Now that you’re here, maybe I can get the room painted.”

Pa rolled his eyes, while everyone else laughed, knowing that she had been after him to paint the room for months.

Flo, her slip clinging to her legs, hustled to set another place and motioned to Vic to grab another chair from the kitchen.

Frank sat next to Sally, who glued herself to his side with her arms around him. Ma, on the other side, just gazed at her son with tears brimming.

Vic couldn’t get over his big brother. He appeared taller, slimmer and older in his uniform. And when he rolled up the cuffs of his shirt, he looked broader across the shoulders. His eyes looked tired but intense as they took in the family and the surroundings. He also talked more softly than Vic remembered. He couldn’t wait get him alone, so he could ask him if he killed any Germans, and especially, he wanted to know the truth about the Jews who were tortured and killed in the concentration camps.