I shook my head as he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed it. Then he started the car and drove off toward 30th Street, the road out of town, the moonlight shining over the bay and the channels as we passed through the marshlands, which held a beauty in the darkness that I had failed to see on the drive in. He turned right onto the Garden State Parkway, and the wind whipped around us, making conversation impossible. But Freddy reached over and took my hand around the exit for Ocean City, and I felt a shiver up and down my spine as he traced a thumb along my palm.
The road was empty and dark, surrounded by pine trees on the left and the shore towns in the distance on the right, the moon and stars our only companions. It felt terribly romantic. Like we were running away together. I wanted to slide over and let him put an arm around me, but I felt it was best to keep my wits about me. The last thing I needed was for us to not make it to our destination, but wind up in the backseat on the side of the road.
Eventually Freddy exited the highway, and the sign read “Atlantic City.” “Really?” I shouted over the wind.
“Have you been?” I shook my head. “I’ll take you during the day sometime. A proper visit.”
Ada would never allow it. But I didn’t want to spoil the fun.
Instead, I watched the horizon as the lights of the most famous boardwalk came into focus.
Avalon was quiet by ten o’clock. Atlantic City was just getting started. We parked and walked up a set of stairs to the boardwalk, and I immediately felt overstimulated by the sights, sounds, and smells that accosted me. And this coming from a New York City girl!
Everyone wore their finest. Suits and ties on the men, dresses with starched crinolines on the women. Ignoring the heat, many women wore faux mink stoles around their shoulders and were dripping with rhinestones. The few children who could be seen were asleep in strollers or their parents’ arms.
I felt almost underdressed in my sundress and espadrilles, but if I had learned anything from Ada, it was that confidence was everything. So I didn’t smooth my skirt or fluff my hair. I walked along on Freddy’s arm as if I were the one whom everyone else had come to see. And the two of us did turn heads.
“You look like a movie star,” Freddy said, taking my hand and twirling me around. He pulled me toward a photography booth. “Come on. Let’s get a picture.”
But I resisted. “I don’t want a trail of evidence for Ada.”
“Why doesn’t she like me?”
Well, there was certainly no way to explain about his family, which was a sobering thought in and of itself. Even if marriage had been an option, the idea of being tied to his parents was quite disconcerting. “She said I’m not allowed to date while I’m here.”
“Does she have someone in mind for you?”
“Oh no! Nothing like that!” But I did remember her comment about needing a man who would stand up to me. That could be Freddy, I thought, looking up at him. He refused to take no for an answer, and while he didn’t overpower me, he got me to cave with charm. I could see where that would be appealing in the long term. “No, she’s got strict rules about her business. Once you gave me your number, you became off limits.”
“But I gave you my number. Because you said you would go out with me if I didn’t like Ada’s matches.”
“I, technically, wasn’t authorized to say that.”
“Well, you did. And I don’t like any of her matches.”
“You still haven’t met any of them!”
He grinned down at me. “Doesn’t matter. I still know I like you better.”
I turned away so he wouldn’t see my smile.
Freddy paid the admission for us to go onto the Steel Pier. The smells of fried foods and popcorn assailed us as a man directed us toward the diving horses. “One last dive tonight, folks. Just one last dive tonight.”
“Is that real?” I asked.
“Of course.” He pulled my hand. “You have to experience it.” I let myself be tugged along, and Freddy secured us a spot in the stands. The announcer told us we were about to experience one of the greatest wonders of the world.
“Is this safe?” I asked.
“Perfectly so.”
But I remembered my mother telling me about Sonora Carver, who lost her sight in a diving accident. So when the bathing suit–clad girl climbed to the top of the tower, I felt a flutter of anxiety in my stomach. And when the horse began barreling his way up the ramp to the tower, I clutched Freddy’s arm in sheer terror, holding my breath as the girl jumped onto the horse and the two of them flew together through the air, seeming to hang there for an impossible moment, before plunging into the tank of water below, emerging to the sound of such thunderous applause, shouts, and stomping of feet that I wondered if the pier would tumble into the ocean.
“You all right there?” Freddy asked me.
“Perfectly so. Why?”
“If you hold my arm much tighter, I’m afraid you’ll wrench it off.”
I laughed a little and released him. “I’ve never seen anything quite like that.”
He put an arm around me, pulling me to him comfortingly with a squeeze. Then he took my hand and led me out to get an ice cream cone to soothe my nerves.
We ended the evening dancing in the Marine Ballroom as a band played. Had it been the afternoon, I wouldn’t have dared, as Ed Hurst broadcast his “Summertime on the Pier” dance show live there every Saturday and Sunday. But this late at night, we were safe from cameras, other than the roving boardwalk photographers. Not that I thought Ada would watch anything so frivolous, nor did she turn on the television before dark, but I was enjoying whatever this was with Freddy and didn’t want to see it come crashing down.
By the time we returned to the car, it was after one. “Sure you want to go back?” Freddy asked.
“Wherever else would we go?”
“Why, anywhere we want. We could just drive south and live in Florida. Or west to California. We could stop at the Grand Canyon on the way. I’ve always wanted to see that.”
“We can’t just run away.”
“We can do anything if we’re together.”
Suddenly he was kissing me, my back pressed up against the car. And for a moment, I believed him, that anything was possible. What if we did just keep driving? Start fresh someplace where parents and aunts didn’t dictate our futures?
As we drove back through the moonlight, I leaned against Freddy, my shoes off and legs up, feet hanging out the open window. My posture was drowsy, but I was awake with the possibilities of what life could be like if we just escaped.
But we eventually reached Avalon, and Freddy parked his car on the main road again to avoid detection. “I’ll help you get back upstairs,” he said quietly.
“I can do it.”
“What kind of a gentleman would I be if I weren’t there to catch you if you fell?”
I shot him a flirtatious look. “Or try to catch a glimpse of what’s under my dress, you mean?”
“If so, I’d have brought a flashlight,” he said, winking. He held a finger to his lips. “Let’s get you to bed safe and sound.”
He kissed me one more time on the path up to Ada’s house. “I had a wonderful time tonight,” I said.
“We’ll have to do it again.”
The reality was that it would be close to impossible to fool Ada a second time. But I nodded, thinking as I climbed up the railing and onto the roof that I probably could have flown up to my window instead.
CHAPTER NINETEEN