JOHN AND ROSE
Chapter Twenty-Four
June 13, 1928
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
John, Rose, and Christopher sat in chairs in
the high school gym, watching a long line of seniors step up to get their
diplomas. Near the middle of the ragtag, uneven line they could see Mary and
Nadia, looking very dignified in their caps and gowns.
John watched them with mixed emotions. He was
glad to see them graduate and go on with whatever they had planned for their
lives, but he also found it difficult to believe that they were grown up. Where
had the time gone? Wasn’t it only yesterday that he had taken two tiny girls by
the hand and led them from the Carpathia and into a new life? And now, here
they were, eighteen years old and graduating from high school, Nadia a year
early.
Rose watched them with pride, remembering
when they were very young and she was their caretaker. They had grown up so
much since then, and they both had their own dreams and plans for the future.
Mary wanted to be an actress, although she had already taken on her first two
film roles, courtesy of Blue Rose, Rose’s movie studio. Nadia’s goal was to go
to college, though she didn’t yet have any concrete plans beyond that.
Rose glanced at her fifteen-year-old son,
sitting restlessly beside her and watching the seniors with envy, wishing that
he was graduating, too. He had just finished his freshman year of high school,
and was chomping at the bit for the greater freedom and status accorded to
older students. He wasn’t terribly fond of school, except for playing on the
baseball team, although he was more serious about it than Mary had been.
In three years, they would watch Christopher
graduate from high school, and if Nadia had her way about it, she would finish
college the following year. Then, it would be many years until they had such an
event again, when Jane would graduate from high school in 1946. Rose looked at
the infant in her arms, contemplating the idea. It seemed to be a very long
time away, but she was sure that it would pass as quickly as the years when the
older children were growing up.
She looked up as first Mary and then Nadia
crossed the makeshift stage and accepted their diplomas. When she had been
eighteen, she had been the mother of a young infant, working for the Calverts
and living in a tenement in New York City. It all seemed so long ago, but
watching the young women return to their seats, she was glad that their lives
had been easier than hers. Not that she would have traded the life she had led,
but they had never felt the need to flee from a life that was crushing them.
Even when Mary had run away to Hollywood, it had been because she wanted a
career, not because her family was too much for her to live with.
Rose reached for John’s hand as his eyes
followed his daughters, grown up and finished with high school now,
understanding what he was feeling. She was proud to see that they had grown up
so well, but it was sad to see them ready to leave and make their own way in
the world. She would feel the same way when Christopher was ready to leave.
As the last of the students received their
diplomas and sat down, the room was filled with barely contained excitement.
When the principal finally announced that the ceremony was over, and the
students graduated, the room was filled with whooping and cheering, mostly from
the graduates, who, in their excitement over being finished with school, forgot
that they were supposed to be adults and behaved like children again.
*****
John took the family out to Cedar Rapids’
best restaurant that night to celebrate his daughters’ graduation. Mary and
Nadia had primped and stood before their mirrors for an hour, highly conscious
of their new status as adults. Rose had gotten Christopher to dress up, too,
though he still slouched along, more interested in the food than in anything
else.
Mary and Nadia sat side-by-side, each
sporting new dresses and jewelry that had been gifts from their father for
graduation. Their faces were bright and cheerful as they discussed their plans
for the future.
"I’m going to Hollywood," Mary said
confidently, setting her fork down beside her plate. "And this time, I’ll
do it right. No more fly-by-night dirty movie directors for me. I’m going to do
what Mom did—work had and see how far I can get."
"You’ll make it," Nadia told her.
"You’re a really good actress. Those pictures you did for Mom’s studio got
rave reviews, even if they didn’t get widely released."
"When are you planning to leave,
Mary?" Rose wanted to know. "Do you still plan to finish the picture
you started last month, or do I have to find another actress?"
"I’m staying until I’m done, of course.
I was thinking of leaving at the beginning of September. We should be done by
then."
Rose nodded. "I may come with you, if
your father doesn’t mind me being gone for a couple of weeks. I keep in touch
with the people I know in Hollywood, so I may be able to help you get started.
I’ll also show you how to write a proper résumé."
"Thanks, Mom. Dad, do you mind if she
comes with me?"
"Well, I’ll certainly miss having you
around, Rose, but I don’t see any problem with you accompanying Mary to
California. I wish that I could go, too, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get
away. Maybe, when there’s time, we’ll all come out to California. And remember,
Mary, if things don’t work out, you can always come back here."
"I know, Dad. I’ll remember that."
John looked at Nadia, who was finishing her
dinner. "What exactly do you have planned, Nadia?"
"College, of course. I’m thinking of
majoring in English."
"Which college? Coe?" John looked
at her, hoping that she had chosen his alma mater, though it could be
uncomfortable for her to go there, since so many people remembered him and
might already have expectations for what Nadia would do. It had only been three
years since John had graduated from college himself.
"Actually…" Nadia looked a little
uncomfortable. "They accepted me, but…there’s another one that I would
like to go to more, and they accepted me also."
"Which one?" Rose asked,
interested. She had been considering going to college herself, even if she was
older than most of the students. There had not yet been time, between starting
a business and raising a family, but she hoped to go one day.
"A university in Mississippi."
"Mississippi?" John looked puzzled.
"What’s in Mississippi?"
"I haven’t been there before, and it
sounds like an interesting place to go to college."
"It could also be difficult."
"Because I’m darker-skinned than many
people?" Nadia shrugged. "I know that, but there’s prejudice
everywhere. Even here, where I’ve lived for several years and belong to one of
the richest families in town, there are some people who won’t give me the time
of day because I look a little different. I’m used to it."
"That doesn’t make it right," Rose
responded. "People should accept you for who you are and not what you look
like, but there are far too many people who can’t see beyond the surface."
She had met some of them, people who assumed that she was a loose woman because
she was an actress. They didn’t speak loudly—no one wanted to go up against the
Calvert family, who had a great deal of power in the area—but they did say it,
and it hurt sometimes. Now, her stepdaughter wanted to go to a university in an
area that was notorious for its prejudice against those who weren’t white.
"Nadia…what you’ve seen here is nothing compared to what you might face in
the South."
"Then I’ll face it. Someone has to.
Maybe things would be better if more people were willing to stand up for what’s
right."
"That may be, but…Nadia, please try to
understand that we aren’t trying to run your life. You can go where you want,
do what you want, but we’re still your parents, and we’re concerned for you.
Mississippi may be more than you can handle." John wasn’t certain that he
wanted to send his daughter off to a place where she might face such prejudice,
without her family’s money and status to protect her. But he also knew that he
couldn’t protect her forever, and that she had to make a life for herself out from
under his shadow.
"I’ll find out." Nadia was firm on
the subject. She was going to the university of her choice, regardless of what
anyone thought. She understood her parents’ concern, but it wasn’t going to
deter her.
"We wish you luck, then," Rose told
her, glancing at John.
"Yes." John nodded, reluctant to
let her go, but knowing that this was what she wanted and was determined to do.
"But the same thing goes for you as for Mary. If you need to come home,
the door is always open."
Nadia looked at him gratefully, more nervous
about going to a university away from home, let alone in a place where she
might be disdained for her skin color, than she was willing to admit.
"Thanks, Dad. I’ll be here until late August, and then I’ll catch a train
to Mississippi."
John nodded. "Remember, Nadia, that if
you need us, we’ll take the time to go there, to help you work out whatever
problems you might face. Mary, the same thing goes for you. We’ll be there for
you if you need us."
"I’ll remember that, Dad." Mary
looked at the dessert cart hungrily. When she got to Hollywood, she would have
to watch her weight—the camera really did add ten pounds, as she had discovered
when appearing in Rose’s first moving picture—but for now she could eat what
she wanted.
"Go ahead, Mary," John told her.
"Choose whatever you want."
Mary hurried off, looking over the rich
desserts. John looked at Nadia, admiration for her in his eyes. She was a brave
girl, more brave perhaps than her sister, who wasn’t likely to face the
prejudice that Nadia would. There would be some, perhaps, because of her chosen
profession, but nothing compared to what he feared Nadia would have to face.
"We’re proud of you, Nadia," he
told her. "You’re one of the strongest people I know, and I think you’ll
be okay, regardless of what you face."
Nadia looked up at him, smiling at his
blessing of her plans. "Thank you, Dad. I hope you’re right."