The Condition of Cynthia Rose

A New York Surprise

Chapter 12-A New York Surprise

We exited the train, Williams first and then I. As I stepped down on the pavement, he held my hand.

"Love, just wait here a moment while I send for our cars."

I nodded and sat down with our luggage. I wondered what surprise Williams had for me. I looked out into what was known as New York. It didn't seem all that interesting from where I was. But it was full of people! Would I grow to love the city? Inside, I held onto some fears I had about living there, like the riots that occurred just months earlier, the squalor like living conditions, the immigrants, the fast paced life...In Danbury I was use to seeing the trees and living life slowly in a quiet town. How would I fare here with all of the changes?

After about ten minutes, Williams came back and told me that a driver would bring the motorcars around for us. Then, we walked through a busy train station until we reached the outside. A motorcar was sitting at the curb. It was black and looked similar to the one I rode in earlier with Williams.

"Ah! There he is right on time," Williams said.

"Who?" I asked.

Another motorcar pulled up behind the one that was parked. A very skinny boy, about sixteen or seventeen, stepped out of it. He was well dressed and looked like he could have been one of my cousins. Williams opened the back door of the one that just pulled up and began loading our things inside. I never saw a motorcar that looked so new! I felt like a doll in a toy bin, just waiting for someone to bring me to life in the world they created. I felt so useless and out of place! The boy started helping Williams load the luggage and when they were finished they walked over to where I was.

"Danny, this is my new wife, Cynthia," the boy tipped his hat to me and I acknowledged him.

"Darling this is Danny, and he will be your driver."

"My driver? I've never had a driver before," I said, bewildered.

"Come, this way," Williams said as he helped me into the motorcar, "anytime you want to go somewhere you give Danny here a call and he will take you there. So how do you like your new motorcar? Someday I could teach you to drive it! The women here are learning to drive themselves. Soon there won't be any need for horses and carriages on these streets!" he said with a laugh.

I wished in that moment that I wasn't speechless but I was overwhelmed. "My motorcar?" was all I could say.

"Cynthia, this is the surprise I was telling you about! You now have your own motorcar and your own driver to take you any place you want to go!"

"It will take some getting use to ma'am!" the boy said.

And he was right; I would need time to get use to this wonderful new lifestyle.

Williams got into the other motorcar and I rode in my own with my driver. I was still in shock. I didn't know things would be quite like this. How much money did Williams have? I never really knew but I was beginning to think that it was much more than anyone had thought!

"I'm happy to be your personal driver ma'am," he said.

"I never had a driver before."

"I'll take you anywhere you want to go! But at the request of Mr. Burkett, there are some places I'm not allowed to take you."

"Why not?"

"Dangerous. Have you heard about the race riots in the Tenderloin? Our people pulled from streetcars, beaten in the streets after that man was just trying to protect his own."