Author's Chapter Notes:
NOTE: STRONG RACIAL SLURS/STEREOTYPES IN THIS CHAPTER, PLEASE BE ADVISED! THIS DOES NOT AT ALL REFLECT THE FEELINGS OF THE AUTHOR, I IN NO WAY ASSOCIATE MYSELF WITH SUCH PEOPLE!
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
The moment Salomi saw Gabriel walk onstage with the blackface makeup, she got up and left. But she still heard the word ‘nigger’ thrown around like it was the same as talking about the weather. She ran out of the club and down the street. Why was he doing this? Then a hand grabbed her arm and she knew it was him,”GET AWAY FROM ME!”she shouted at him as tears poured down her cheeks
But he was doing the same, the shoe polish was strong but it was starting to run. “Lomi, please let me explain-“
“Is that what you think!?”she yelled at him. “That we ‘niggers’ just care about food and we sell women for bean soup, like we are just objects….commodities?! HUH!? IS THAT WHAT I AM!? AM I JUST AN OBJECT TO BE SOLD OFF FOR SOME FUCKING WATERMELON!? HUH? CUZ YOU KNOW THAT’S ALL WE EAT!”she screamed at him as she tried to think of every black stereotype known to man. But what hurt the most was that he did this every night and got paid for it.
“STOP IT!”he yelled back at her,”That’s not what I think and you know it! Stop saying shit like that or you are no better than they are”he said pointing towards the club
“IM BETTER THAN YOU!”she shouted at him,”I CANT BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO THIS!? WHY?!?”
“BECAUSE I HAVE A FUCKING FAMILY TO FEED LOMI?! WHAT ELSE WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO!?”
“I’D RATHER STARVE THAN HAVE YOU DO THIS, BUT YOU MUST NOT CARE! THERE ARE OTHER THINGS OUT THERE GABRIEL-”
“WHAT!? WHERE LOMI? WHAT ELSE IS OUT THERE?! LOMI I HAVE LOOKED ALL OVER MANHATTAN AND I HAVENT FOUND A THING! YOU KNOW THIS! I WAS ON THE VERGE OF GIVING UP, WE BOTH WERE, UNTIL I FOUND THIS PLACE”
“OH SO THIS NIGGER HOPPING SONG AND DANCE HAS SAVED OUR LIVES HUH? I SHOULD BE GRATEFUL? I SHOULD BE HAPPY THAT WHILE YOUR BEING RACIST AND STEREOTYPICAL, FOOD IS STILL BEING SET ON THE TABLE!?”
“THAT ISNT IT LOMI AND YOU KNOW IT!”he shouted at her and then started coughing. They were both screaming at each other at the top of their lungs in the freezing cold. “Lomi I swear I didn’t know-“
“I didn’t know either. I didn’t know that you could be capable of THIS!”she said her voice rising again
Gabriel grabbed both of her shoulders and shook her,”I’ll never be capable of this! I didn’t know! When I realized that I would be doing this, it was my opening night….my first night! I was going to quit right there….but I have to feed you and the children and myself. There are sacrifices that we have to make! In the past month I have thrown up over 40 times because I know that you would hate me for it. But it paid for our rent and then some! I couldn’t leave…then Paul gave the gifts….you were singing his praises….I know this may sound like a crock of bull to you but I did this because I love you Lomi. I do. I love you so much that I would do something this stupid to make sure that your alright, that the children are alright. That wasn’t me up there Lomi, understand. Up there was a lonely man who hated his life, who hated performing for those people, who despises minstrelsy, racism and any other stereotype for any race….you know this! I know your upset and I didn’t tell you because I was ashamed. I have to admit that I started getting used to it. I would drink myself into an oblivion and perform and when I wake up its all a blur…sometimes I don’t even remember. But…Im just so tired of all that we are going through. I don’t want to live like this. I just wanted things to be back the way they were. I wanted to perform and to provide for you and for you and the children to be happy”he said as he started to cry and he sank to his knees,”Believe me that everyday and every night, I hate who I am because of this. Resorting to this so we can get….one loaf of bread….”he said as he sobbed, he wrapped his arms around her waist and cried as his head rested on her stomach
This was all a shock. She couldn’t believe that this was the truth. Everything felt like a façade. For awhile they were happy getting the gifts from Paul, having extra money to buy necessities, for a while there it almost felt like things were back to normal, before the crash. Before they lost everything they had. But then she thought of Mary and what she had said.
“All of us have resorted to doing things that we don’t want to do for our families”she had said. And Salomi remembered thinking that Gabriel was lucky, but he wasn’t, he was just like her. His decisions weren’t true, but last resorts.
She started to cry and they both held each other as they knelt in the alley behind the bar. Then they heard screams, shouts, noisemakers and people saying ‘Happy New Year’. A new decade had begun. It was now 1930 and it seemed that the Roaring 20’s came to a rough and abrupt end but everyone hoped that things would be the way they used to be.
“I’ll always love you Salomi. Until the end of time, no matter what happens”
“I love you too Gabriel. Happy New Year”she said, wanting to kiss him, but the blackface made her want to throw up. He got a rag from out of his pocket and started to wipe the shoe polish off. He almost looked like his normal self again when the rag turned black and he couldn’t use it anymore,”You can wash it off when you get home”she said to him
“Then lets get to it”Gabriel said as he started walking. Salomi stopped him
“So your quitting?”she asked him
He nodded,”I cant do this. You know that. I don’t know how I did it for so long, maybe it’s the fact that you didn’t know. Everyone made it such a fantasy that it almost sounded appealing, but they didn’t even know. You all just knew that I was performing like I always wanted. But Im glad you came tonight Lomi, even though I never wanted you to, because if you didn’t come tonight. I wouldn’t have had the courage to leave”he said as they walked down the street. The streets were now filled people wishing a Happy New Year, but this year and the coming years would be a struggle for all of those who have lost so much.
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When they got home, they explained the situation to Ruth and Robin over a bottle of wine. The two agreed that he was a strong person for enduring what he did and it was disgusting that people could be so racist. The next day, Gabriel sat all three children down and decided to teach them the importance of race. He explained that whatever race you are, you are an equal and to not let anyone tell them any different.
“Your mother is Native American and Black and Im….well white, some people think that’s wrong”Gabriel explained to them
“Mother’s not black”Dahlia said in shock,”Shes brown?”
“Shes lighter yes. See, blacks come in all colors, shapes and sizes. Some Hispanics are as dark as blacks are….but they are a totally different race. Its like God mixed the colors together”he said. But the children stared at him confusingly
Salomi sighed,”Your confusing them dear”she said as she got out the paint set. “Lets say that this piece of paper is me. Its white, yes…but think of it as a clean slate, its just a blank page. Now my father was mostly Irish and Portuguese. The Irish are from Ireland and are considered white”she said as she added white paint to the paper. “Portuguese are a group of people from the country called Portugal. They speak their own language, but they are considered Hispanic. They are darker than the Irish”she said as she added a light brown color to the white
“Its getting darker”Michael said
“Now, my mother was Native American and Black. Native Americans were the original people in this country. They also had their own language, culture. Most Native Americans have 'red' skin tone”she said as she added red to the white and brown,”Now we add Black, the blacks come from Africa and their skin is said to be the darkest”she said as she added a dark color and started to mixed it all together,“Now my mother was Native American and Black. She got punished because she fell in love with my father, who would be your grandfather-“
“Why?”Rita asked
“My mothers parents didn’t like the fact that your grandfather-“
“Abraham?”Michael asked
“Yes…Abraham….my mother…whose name was Salomi as well was punished for falling in love with Abraham. He didn’t have enough money, and they wanted her to marry someone that had the same color skin as hers. But she didn’t listen, she loved Abraham. They got married and then they had me. As a result I have Abraham’s and Salomi’s skin color but mixed together”she said as she held up the paper. It was a now a great mixture of red and brown, looking almost like Salomi’s skin color. “Its not exactly the same but you all understand?”she asked them
“So…do you think that when God makes people, he uses a paint set?”Rita asked with a laugh, not knowing if she wanted to believe her own conclusion
“Who knows”Salomi said with a smile
“Its like Math”Michael said
“How so?”Salomi asked him as Gabriel watched intently
“You added Grandfather Abraham with Nana Salomi and we get mother”he said
“That’s one way of putting it, yes”Salomi said excitedly, she was excited that they were understanding.
“So when we add you and you together?”Rita asked as she pointed to Salomi and Gabriel,”You get me?”she asked
“Yes and Michael-“
“AND ME!”Dahlia said excitedly and they all laughed,”So….Im brown?”she asked, confusingly
“That’s a little more difficult to explain. You all are very different. Michael is a little darker than you Dahlia because he gets that from me. But you have dark hair and brown eyes from me too. Rita here gets her hair,eyes and lighter skin from your father”she said,”It all depends on how its split…but that’s harder to explain. You’ll learn that in Chemistry…years from now”she said
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Once Gabriel quit working at Paul’s club, they were all in dire straits again. But somehow they seemed to pull through. Ruth found a job waitressing at a restaurant. Since she had “Maisy’s” on her resume and the restaurant owner was a fan of Dorothy’s, she was hired on the spot. She asked Salomi to join her but she was intent on being home with the children, especially Dahlia, unless she felt it was necessary. Both Robin and Gabriel worked odd jobs. Some days they would shine shoes, or load piles of coal onto trains, or help out at the fish market. They endured long lines in the morning and sometimes they weren’t picked out of the crowd, one of them would or if they were lucky, both. In the meantime, they all had just enough to eat. But sometimes it was barely anything. That winter seemed colder than any other winter but that was due to the fact that they could never afford the water heater or a fireplace. Salomi knitted many blankets and cooked for everyone and cleaned. But she was content, because everyone was fine. She wasn’t ever going to resort to doing something she wouldn’t be caught dead doing like Gabriel or Mary. She still worried about Mary, she promised she would come by…but she hasn’t yet. Thankfully it started to get warmer but it seemed that things were getting worse. The predictions that Rita and Michael’s teachers made were correct and their school was closed down. This depressed Salomi deeply. Rita and Michael cried because they both loved going there and they felt that they would never see their friends again.
“Things will be alright soon. I promise. Its hard….but in the meantime I’ll teach you”Salomi said. She tried her best juggling their work and Dahlia learned as well. Poor thing was only 4, who knew if she will ever get to go to school. But Salomi taught them as she was taught, at home, at their own pace and rewarded them. It seemed a nice arrangement. But days were hard, she wasn’t a trained teacher after all.
“I still don’t understand mother”Rita said as she started to cry. She felt as if her work was the hardest of all and she hated math. There were days when Dahlia gave up cooperating and had no desire to learn. Michael didn’t have any problems, however, he would ask many questions that Salomi honestly couldn’t remember and he would get frustrated with her.
“Fine….get a glass of water and take a break, wipe your face”Salomi told her and Rita did so as someone knocked on the door.
Salomi sighed, was it the landlord again? What else could she say to her? She opened the door and smiled and hugged Mary tightly to her. “Oh thank God, I was so worried”she then looked at Kit and Nicky. They looked depressed, thin and destitute but they were there and that’s all that mattered. “RITA! MICHAEL!”she shouted to them,”Say hello to Kit and Nicky”she said and the two women looked on happily as they were all reunited. They sat down and talked about the economy, the school closing, the depression. Mary admitted that she was going to stop selling her body when she found a real job. Salomi told her about Gabriel and his ordeal at the club. “If you ever need help with them, just bring them by while your looking. Its hard to look when you have two children straggling along”
“Well that was my idea actually”Mary said to her. “Ive been trying to find a job but its hard with them around. They get tired and walking all over the city with them slows me down-“
“You don’t have to say anymore. I understand”Salomi said,”Bring them over anytime”she assured her
And the next morning, she did. Mary dropped them off and Salomi ended up teaching the five of them. The day was much better. Rita seemed to learn better with Kit there. Michael helped out Nicky and Dahlia was just fine with more kids in the house. “Alright, why don’t you all go out and play for a little while?”she told them. “You all have done very well”she said.
“Wow you still have this?”Nicky asked Michael as they went outside and played with his baseball
“I hid it. We had to sell all our toys”Michael admitted. Salomi did find it but he begged her to not sell it and she agreed to keep it secret. Gabriel was too distracted with other things to look for it and forgot.
“Lucky, I should have done that”Nicky said as they started to toss the ball around while Kit and Rita danced and taught Dahlia how to play hopscotch. They were tossing the ball when someone caught his eye. Was it? It was! Then the ball hit him in the forehead
“Ow!”
“What were you looking at?”Nicky asked and then turned around. “Oh”he said
“EMILY!”Michael shouted and Emily turned around. She saw Michael and waved, looked around and ran over. “Hi”he said as she came up to them.
“Hi. How are you Mikey? Nicky?”she asked them
“Ok”Nicky said nonchalantly as he tossed the ball
“Im fine. I was worried about you”Michael said. Nicky gave him a look, what for?
“Really?”
“Yes, you never came back to school and then we couldn’t go back anymore either. Its been a long time”
“Yes, my mommy said we had to stop going. We got another new home. Its way smaller and colder”she said
“Us too”Michael said,”We live here”he mentioned as he pointed to the building
“You do?”she asked,”Looks better than mine”she said,”But we live kind of close. What do you do all day?”she asked him,”Im always bored. I miss school” Nicky rolled his eyes. He was just fine without school
“Me too. My mom teaches us”
“Really? She has her own school or something?”
“Yeah something like that”Michael said.
“Emily!”they heard a voice and a tall woman ran over to her,”What did I tell you about running off?”
“Sorry Mother. They used to be in my class. Michael and Nicky. Michael’s mommy started her own school. She teaches them. Didn’t you want to find me another school mother?”Emily asked excitedly
“Your mother?”she asked Michael
“Yes, my mothers smart”Michael said proudly
Salomi had glasses of milk set out for the children when there was a knock at the door. She went to answer it and it was a woman, looking confused,”May I help you?”she asked her
“Are you Mrs. Brewster? Michael’s mother?”she asked
“Yes….is he alright?”she asked hurriedly. A lot of children played in the streets since schools were closing. It was dangerous with New York’s traffic at times.
“Oh hes fine. Hes talking with Emily now. Im sorry…my name is Emile Hubbard. Im Emily’s mother”she introduced herself
Salomi shook her hand,”Very nice to meet you. Would you like to come in?”she asked her and Emile nodded and walked in. Salomi saw the books and toys on the floor and hurried to pick them up. “Ive heard a lot about Emily from Michael. They are very good friends”
“Yes I hear a lot about Michael as well”Emile said,”They seem to have gotten very close. The city was a great shock and I was afraid she wouldn’t make friends, we are originally from a small town outside of Philadelphia. We lived on a farm there with my mother.We were passing through when she ran into Michael and he told us that you have your own school?”
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