Belle of the Midnight Swing

Chapter 1

"Belle!  You won't believe it!" The shrill voice calls before the tiny bell above the door can signal her arrival.  I nearly spill the steaming cup of tea I'm reaching towards one of the customers in the corner of the room.  My platter falls from my other hand and clatters to the floor, causing everyone hunched over the morning's newspaper to peak up in curiosity.

Poppy Winchester stands in the entrance wearing a butter yellow frock and matching cloche, her blonde curls peaking out from the brim like corkscrews.  In her hands she holds a piece of silver stationary that shines with each wave of her hand as the early rays of sun reflect on its surface.

She rushes over, her white heels clicking rhythmically on the black and white tiles, and curls her fingers around my shoulders.

"Please Poppy, you know Mr. Faust will have my hide if she hears you storming in here again," I whisper under my breath and begin to push her towards the entrance.  As if on cue, my boss bursts from the kitchen in a stormy tirade.  His apron is stained with grease and grime, his gray hairs stick to his brow in a stringy mess, and his usual imprinted frown seems to have grown even more terrifying than usual.  The jungle of dark hairs on each forearm seem to stick up as if electricity is flowing around him and his nose twitches under his unkempt mustache.

"Ms. English, I'll be havin' a word with you in the kitchen.  And you," he snarls and points the spatula in his hand at an unaffected Poppy, "Unless you plan on ordering a heaping pile of pancakes or a cup of coffee, then I won't have you shrieking here in my restaurant."  Poppy rolls her eyes and, uninterested with Mr. Faust's chide, examines her manicured red nails.  He turns on his heel and marches back into his lair in the kitchen.  The customers slowly lose intrigue and sink back into their newspapers.

"I don't see why he has to be such a wet blanket," Poppy shrugs as I push her out the door and follow her to her father's jazzy blue Model T.  "I find out the most wonderful news and now I'm not even excited anymore," her plump red lips curl into a pout and she slumps against the door of the car.  

"This will be the third time this week I've been scolded by Mr. Faust.  What if he fires me?  You know I have to do this for-"

"For your family, I know," Poppy mocks and straightens the ruffles of my apron sleeves.  "That's all you ever talk about.  How you and your family came here to America out of money and you've gotta be the breadwinner for everyone.  If I were you, I would have stayed in London.  I hear the parties there are much more grand."  I groan and brush away the few dark curls that have fallen in my eyes.

"There's work here in New York, and anyways, I'm perfectly happy working here at the cafe," I mumble and begin to make my way back towards the front doors.  Poppy follows on the tip of her toes, the wind blowing at the hem of her skirt and threatening to take the shawl draped over her arms. 

"Not with Mr. Faust bossing you around all day.  Besides, why doesn't your daddy just work?  Or your sisters?"  She asks innocently while I creep back inside and find the platter I had dropped to the floor earlier.

"My father's sick, and you know Camilla and Sable would never survive a day in the workforce." I chuckle to myself, imagining my two sisters rushing around trying to wait tables and dropping every platter of food that leaves the kitchen.  I may not be the best waitress, but it's the one thing I have experience in and they don't.  That and carrying a tune, perhaps.

"You can't just let them party all night and sleep all day while you work hard to scrap up bills."  Poppy slides into the booth I'm working to clean and places the mysterious stationary in the center of the table.  "Which is why I'm bringing you with me to the Midnight Manor tonight."  I freeze in place and the cleaning rag nearly slips from my fingers.

"Isn't that the most exclusive party in all of the city?"  I question and knit my eyebrows.  Poppy nods eagerly and smoothes out the shiny paper with tentative hands.

"It's the bees knees!  It's all anyone talks about and I just received an invitation this morning," she squeals and swings her legs madly under the table.  I lean down and squint to get a better look at the gem that lays before us.  In swirled letters, an invitation addressed directly to Poppy invites her to dance and party under the stars at the famed Midnight Manor.  She nearly buzzes beside me trying to contain her excitement.

"I-I can't," I mumble and turn away.  "I'm not very fond of parties.  I don't do well around big groups of people and I have nothing to wear.  You know I'll never fit in.  Everyone will stare at me."  I hang my head and carry the dirty plates back to the wash basin.  Poppy nearly trips over her own feet trying to rush after me.

"That's a bunch of baloney.  I'm sure one of your sisters has a pretty dress for you to wear, or you can borrow one of mine.  I have plenty.  You'll look as pretty as a picture!"

"I'm sorry, Poppy," I utter.  "Maybe some other time."  I shuffle past her to clean another table and she stomps after me.

"I won't take no for an answer, Belle.  You're coming with me whether you like it or not.  This is the biggest night of my life and I just won't have it if you're not there with me," she huffs.  "I'll be at your door half past eight and don't think I'll let you get away with spending another night at home curled away in the dark."  She nods her head curtly and marches out of the diner.  

I notice all the customers have peaked up from their papers again and Mr. Faust stands at the entrance to the kitchen, arms folded and foot tapping impatiently.  He sniffs and motions for me to follow him before disappearing back into the kitchen.  I nervously curl my hands into fists and take a heavy breath before following.

Once inside, I stand shyly in the corner while he continues his work frying eggs and cutting fruit.

"I always let you get away with these things, Belle.  Everyone's trying to get a job these days and you're lucky enough to be working here in my establishment," he grumbles and flips a row of golden pancakes.

"I know, and I apologize.  I tried to telling her to leave but she wouldn't listen to me," I plead.

"It's not just her.  You're always coming up with excuses and I just won't have it anymore.  I'd like you to hang up your apron and leave for good."  My heart drops and my knees grow weak to the point of feeling like jelly.

"Please, you can't do this.  My father can't work, I'm the only one putting food on the table and no where else will hire me-" he cuts me off with the raise of his palm and gestures for me to hand him my apron and lace headpiece.  I do so with a heavy heart and quickly leave the restaurant without another word.

I don't know how I can face father when I return home.  How I'll have to struggle just to find another job and explain to my sisters that I'll never be able to make the rent on our tiny apartment before it's due for a month.  We'll be out on the streets; the great fear I've had ever since Father told us that he had lost the entirety of our family's fortune and only had pennies to our name.  That day, his debts finally surfaced and the walls of our family's mansion sunk in to crush me.

The days following that announcement I watched as the men hauled every last piece of furniture, every last memento of my childhood out of our home to be sold for the tickets to America where my father thought he could escape the debts looming over us.

I watched as my sisters locked themselves in their rooms and shed far too many tears.  My father, who's health was already ailing, fell sick under the stress and was bedridden, even on our passage across the seas to the land of a promising future.

I was the only one could walk the streets of the city looking for hiring businesses that would even consider hiring a young penny-chasing woman who had just stepped off the boat.

The day Mr. Faust had begrudgingly handed over the job to me after losing his only waitress, I thought the sun was finally going to rise and promise a dawn to my family's never-ending darkness.  

And now I had lost it all.