though wistfully, when disappointment was an undiscovered emotion . The warmth and wit of her old school friend suddenly seemed deliciously tempting. The misunderstanding in the Baltimore bedroom with the “Chinese wand” was behind themand need never again be mentioned. Putting the letter back in the envelope, Evangeline made her mind up to go to England at once.
As the SS Thalassa switchbacked its way through the Atlantic waves in one of the worst crossings in memory, most of the passengers clutched their queasy stomachs in the privacy of their luxury staterooms. The outside temperatures dipped so low that the bottom of the empty swimming pool had cracked in the freezing winter weather. Evangeline counted her blessings that she was making this journey during the winter months so that one of her secret shames would remain undiscovered. Evangeline had a profound fear of water and had never learned to swim. Deck tennis and table tennis were also impossible activities in the heaving ship, but movies and bridge filled the hours between meals most satisfactorily. Evangeline found herself unaffected by the rocking motion of the waves, as long as she kept herself away from the terrifying sight of the rolling, cresting seascape. As a result she was often one of just a handful of diners in the restaurant and, lavished with the constant attention of dozens of under-occupied waiters, she felt the glee of a hippopotamus that had just landed on a thick and oozy mud bank.
With Wiggle in canine paradise, devouring as many sausages and biscuits as his small jaws could manage, Evangeline wished the voyage would take double the time. There had been cocktails and cigars, caviar and canapés, and she had enjoyed herself, the many invitations to dance with the perspiring assistant captain notwithstanding. Evangeline was not a gifted dancer despite the hours of lessons that she had undertaken at her mother’s insistence on the premise that you never knew when they might come in useful for “important society gatherings.” On the final evening on board Evangeline and her naval suitor stumbled their way through the Viennese waltz, his clammy hand suctioned to a small area of Evangeline’s exposed flesh. The cutaway lozenge on the back panel of her evening gown provided the impetus for awhisky-drenched suggestion that the assistant captain might introduce her to his widowed mother who lived in Liverpool and who would so enjoy hearing tales of the New World in Evangeline’s charming accent.
In more ways than one, Evangeline was looking forward to reaching Liverpool but above all she was excited about the reunion with her schoolfriend. She was particularly pleased to have found the perfect gift for Wallis, a belated Christmas present as well as something that would remind them both of the years of affection and of memories that still bound them together. A week before she sailed for Britain Evangeline paid a visit to Hochschild’s. The shop’s familiar yellow and black delivery vans still darted through the Baltimore streets, bringing a flash of colour to the grey asphalt. After much thought, nostalgia encircling her as she browsed through the departments she and Wallis had once known so well, Evangeline had stopped in the music department and come across a box of jazz records marked “old stock.” There, near the top of the pile, was a recording of W. C. Handy’s “Memphis Blues,” the band’s top hit in 1909 and re-released in the 1920s under Hochschild’s own label, Belvedere Records. The name was clearly imprinted on the yellow vinyl record. What a perfect present to take to Wallis at her new address at Fort Belvedere! The coincidence could not fail to delight her friend. How the gift would confirm to Wallis how much she had missed her teenage companion! She had made a couple of other purchases too. For Joan there was a stylish umbrella with the Hochschild logo stamped on the black and yellow waterproof. And for Philip there was
As the SS Thalassa switchbacked its way through the Atlantic waves in one of the worst crossings in memory, most of the passengers clutched their queasy stomachs in the privacy of their luxury staterooms. The outside temperatures dipped so low that the bottom of the empty swimming pool had cracked in the freezing winter weather. Evangeline counted her blessings that she was making this journey during the winter months so that one of her secret shames would remain undiscovered. Evangeline had a profound fear of water and had never learned to swim. Deck tennis and table tennis were also impossible activities in the heaving ship, but movies and bridge filled the hours between meals most satisfactorily. Evangeline found herself unaffected by the rocking motion of the waves, as long as she kept herself away from the terrifying sight of the rolling, cresting seascape. As a result she was often one of just a handful of diners in the restaurant and, lavished with the constant attention of dozens of under-occupied waiters, she felt the glee of a hippopotamus that had just landed on a thick and oozy mud bank.
With Wiggle in canine paradise, devouring as many sausages and biscuits as his small jaws could manage, Evangeline wished the voyage would take double the time. There had been cocktails and cigars, caviar and canapés, and she had enjoyed herself, the many invitations to dance with the perspiring assistant captain notwithstanding. Evangeline was not a gifted dancer despite the hours of lessons that she had undertaken at her mother’s insistence on the premise that you never knew when they might come in useful for “important society gatherings.” On the final evening on board Evangeline and her naval suitor stumbled their way through the Viennese waltz, his clammy hand suctioned to a small area of Evangeline’s exposed flesh. The cutaway lozenge on the back panel of her evening gown provided the impetus for awhisky-drenched suggestion that the assistant captain might introduce her to his widowed mother who lived in Liverpool and who would so enjoy hearing tales of the New World in Evangeline’s charming accent.
In more ways than one, Evangeline was looking forward to reaching Liverpool but above all she was excited about the reunion with her schoolfriend. She was particularly pleased to have found the perfect gift for Wallis, a belated Christmas present as well as something that would remind them both of the years of affection and of memories that still bound them together. A week before she sailed for Britain Evangeline paid a visit to Hochschild’s. The shop’s familiar yellow and black delivery vans still darted through the Baltimore streets, bringing a flash of colour to the grey asphalt. After much thought, nostalgia encircling her as she browsed through the departments she and Wallis had once known so well, Evangeline had stopped in the music department and come across a box of jazz records marked “old stock.” There, near the top of the pile, was a recording of W. C. Handy’s “Memphis Blues,” the band’s top hit in 1909 and re-released in the 1920s under Hochschild’s own label, Belvedere Records. The name was clearly imprinted on the yellow vinyl record. What a perfect present to take to Wallis at her new address at Fort Belvedere! The coincidence could not fail to delight her friend. How the gift would confirm to Wallis how much she had missed her teenage companion! She had made a couple of other purchases too. For Joan there was a stylish umbrella with the Hochschild logo stamped on the black and yellow waterproof. And for Philip there was
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