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“All right, all right. Come back tomorrow afternoon. One of the girls will give you a uniform. And put some makeup on. You look like a kid like that. And for chrissake,” he growled, “get rid of that sweater.”

“Yes, sir.” She grinned, looking like a kid again and she smiled up at him as he stared at her. He had never seen anyone as beautiful as this girl … and she was eighteen … He just prayed Harry wouldn’t find out, or he’d kill him.

“Be here at four o’clock. Sharp.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you.” Her voice was husky as she thanked him. It was a wonder no one else had snapped her up. With those looks they could have made her a dancer, or even a stripper. But she was too innocent for that. There was a lot more to Crystal Wyatt than he thought, as she hurried out the door before he could change his mind, and almost ran all the way back to Mrs. Castagna’s.

The first thing she did was return Mrs. Castagna’s sweater with her thanks, telling her that she was now working. She said it with pride and confidence, as though she’d been made president of General Motors.

“You got a decent job?” Mrs. Castagna eyed her suspiciously. The girl was too pretty for her own good. Already the man who sold insurance was hanging out in the halls, hoping to run into Crystal on the way to the bathroom. But Crystal seemed not to notice him. She was quiet and she handled herself well. She didn’t run around flirting with men or acting cheap. She was decent and polite. She stayed in her room and never even used the
kitchen. And for reasons Mrs. Castagna couldn’t yet explain, she liked her.

“I’m working in a restaurant,” Crystal told her proudly, and the old woman smiled at her. She was a sweet girl and she reminded her of one of her granddaughters.

“Doing what?”

“Waiting on tables.”

“Good.” The old woman pretended to growl at her, but it was no secret that she liked her. She was a good girl, and she hadn’t given her any trouble. “Make sure they pay you. The rent is due in ten days. And it’s too late this month to give me notice.” She put the fear of God into all of them. It kept them in line. But it only made Crystal smile. She could see through her, and she liked her too.

“I know, Mrs. Castagna. But I’m not moving out.”

“That’s good, that’s good.” She waved and went back to her kitchen as Crystal left.

The next afternoon she walked the dozen blocks to Harry’s on the Barbary Coast, excited and thinking about work, wondering if it would be very different from the diner.

She appeared at exactly four o’clock, with her hair pulled back tightly in a tidy knot, and wearing the lipstick she had bought that morning in Woolworth’s. It was red and a lot too bright for her creamy face, but when she’d looked in the mirror, she had decided she looked a lot older.

The maitre d’ who’d hired her the night before introduced himself as Charlie and put her in the care of an older but very attractive waitress named Pearl. She laughed and said that it was really Phyllis, but no one had called her that since she was a kid. She said she’d worked there for years, and she had been a dancer long
before that. She helped Harry out now and, then by hoofing for him when one of the performers didn’t show up, or singing if they wanted her to. She had known Harry for years, and she didn’t tell Crystal that long ago, she had been his mistress. She looked Crystal over carefully, found her a clean uniform, and showed her around the kitchen.

“Things get pretty busy round about eight. But it slacks off a little by ten, and then they come in again for the last show at midnight.” It was as much a restaurant as a nightclub, Crystal realized fully now, and she was excited as she looked around her. She hoped that they would keep her. Pearl invited her to dine with them, and the rest of the help, before they opened. And as she listened to the comfortable chatter around her she knew that she loved it. There were waiters and waitresses, and busboys, and cooks and dishwashers in the kitchen. It was a bigger place than she’d realized, and she decided it was just as well she hadn’t known or she would never have dared to go in and ask for work. And then, with a smile, she realized she didn’t even know how much they would pay her. Pearl told her she could keep her tips, and if anyone got drunk and gave her a rough time, all she had to do was tell Charlie, the maitre d’, or one of the bartenders.

“It’s a nice place to work,” Pearl explained, “they don’t make us take much shit here. Harry’s a great guy.” The warmth of memory touched her eyes as Crystal watched her. And then, much to Crystal’s horror, “You a virgin?” Crystal stared at her in silence and suddenly Pearl laughed. “No, not like that, hell, who is?” although Crystal looked as though she might have been. “I meant you ever worked in a place like this before?”

Crystal laughed, relieved at having the question explained.
She lowered her voice and explained conspiratorially, “Actually, I worked in a diner back home.”

Pearl grinned and patted one of Crystal’s slender hands. “Then you got a lot to learn, sweetheart. Stay close to me and I’ll teach you.” Crystal thanked her lucky stars for Pearl, particularly later when they got busy. It was hard waiting on tables, with Charlie keeping an eye on her, and people expecting her to remember what they wanted, but she fought to keep it all straight and when she served her last dinner, she knew she’d done well and Pearl confirmed it. And she had made twenty-one dollars in tips. It was almost exactly half a month’s rent. She wanted to run home and tell Mrs. Castagna.

“You want a ride?” Pearl had an old car, and they left together that night, as Crystal accepted gratefully. Her feet were killing her as she thought of buying new shoes before the next evening.

“Thanks for the ride.” She smiled winningly at her new friend as they pulled up in front of Mrs. Castagna’s on Green Street.

“Any time. This where you live?” Pearl looked up at the house curiously. “You live with your folks?”

“No,” Crystal shook her head quietly, “I rent a room here.”

Pearl nodded, thinking that eventually she could do better. She was the kind of girl men would tip heavily, just for the pleasure of talking to her, and hoping to win her favor.

“Good night,” she called, and waved, as she opened the door with her key, and Pearl drove away in the old Chevy. And for the first time in weeks, Crystal slept peacefully that night, she was exhausted. But she was working, and she had made an absolute fortune. And as she drifted off to sleep, she decided she loved San Francisco. It was a long way from home, but that was exactly what she wanted.

Crystal met Harry two weeks after she’d started working in his restaurant. The job was hard, but the pay was fair, and the tips she got every night were terrific. The people who worked there were friendly to her, and many of them, sensing how young she was, took her under their wing and treated her almost like a daughter. For the first time since her father’s death, people were kind to her, and she felt welcome. And suddenly, she seemed to blossom. There was no one shouting at her, no one resenting her for who and what she was. She hummed to herself all the time, and the minute she got to work, she looked happy. Harry had heard a lot about her, and he was curious about the girl everyone said was a knockout. He was sure they were exaggerating, but the moment he laid eyes on her, he knew they weren’t. He was watching her from across the room, and later Crystal saw him conferring with Pearl but she didn’t have time to wonder what they were saying. A little while later, Pearl signaled her, and Crystal felt suddenly nervous as she approached
them. She wondered if he knew she was not yet eighteen, and if she was going to get fired, as she approached the table where they were talking.

“This is Harry, Crystal. The Boss.” She shook his hand, feeling scared, but her smile showed none of her fears as Harry stared at her in fascination. She was even prettier than they’d said. She was stunning.

“Hello, Harry.” Her voice was deep and gentle as he watched her. Looking at her was like finding diamonds in your bathtub.

“I hear you’ve been doing a good job.” He’d heard a lot more than that but he didn’t tell her. “You like it here?”

“Yes. A lot.” She smiled shyly at Pearl, who looked back at her proudly. She’d taken an interest in her, and at times it was almost like having a daughter.

“Pearl tells me you can sing a little bit.” He was understating the case, but he wanted to move on her with caution. “Ever think about singing on a stage?” Crystal shook her head with a look of amusement. “You might like it.” Crystal seemed to hesitate as he glanced at Pearl. “Pearl could teach you a thing or two, and with a face like yours, we could put you on the stage one night and see how you like it.” He was trying to sound casual so as not to scare her off, but he already had a plan in mind, and he’d been talking to Pearl about it for the last half hour. With her looks it was crazy just having her run in and out of the kitchen with dinners.

“Want to give it a try?” He looked encouraging and for a minute, Crystal felt a rush of excitement. She loved to sing, and the idea of doing it for an audience in a restaurant made her tingle. She wanted to hug him for giving her the chance, but she tried to look cool as she nodded.

“I’d like that.” And then she laughed her soft, husky laugh. “What if they throw rotten eggs?”

“Then we take you off quick.” He grinned. He was a nice man, and Crystal liked him. “You wanna see if Pearl here can teach you a few things? She sings pretty good and she’s a damn fine dancer, was anyway, before she hurt her ankle.” He had met her years before, when she was working at the Fox Theater, and they’d been lovers for years, although they weren’t any longer. He had only given her the job years later, when she couldn’t dance anymore, and all she could do was wait on tables, but he still had a soft spot for her. It showed in the way he looked at her and talked about her dancing. “Let Pearl show you a thing or two, okay, kid?”

“Okay.” She said the word breathlessly, smiling at Pearl, as he walked away. She wondered what would happen if she couldn’t do it. She waited until he was out of earshot and then looked at Pearl. “Think I can do it?” She wanted to very badly as Pearl nodded thoughtfully, wondering for a moment if Harry might fall for Crystal. She was so beautiful but she hadn’t done anything to encourage him. She didn’t have to.

“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. And when they hear that voice of yours, they’re gonna go crazy. I’ll teach you a few tricks and a few dance steps. They’re gonna love you. Come in tomorrow at two, and we’ll fool around for a while with the piano.” She looked at the girl, envying her her youth, and yet she liked her too much to resent her.

“You don’t mind doing it?” Crystal looked at her gratefully, and Pearl laughed.

“Hell, no. It’s fun for me.” She shrugged then with a nostalgic smile. “I don’t mind doing it for Harry.”

Crystal met her there the following afternoon, and Pearl showed her a few simple steps. And Crystal was impressed at how limber she was, and how graceful.

“You’re good.” Her eyes were bright with admiration
and Pearl was touched as she shook her head almost shyly.

“Not anymore. I used to be. But it’s been a hell of a long time since I broke my ankle. They never fixed it right and that was the end of it for me. But even before that, I was just an ordinary hoofer.”

They played around for an hour on the stage. Pearl showed her how to move, how to hold the mike, how to dance just enough to keep her body moving to the music, and then she told her to sit in a chair near the piano. “Now let’s hear you sing. You don’t need me to teach you how to do that. Just let it go. Sing something you like and go with it.” They settled on a song Crystal knew her father had loved to hear her sing and Pearl played it by ear, as Crystal let herself drift into the music. She sang softly at first, hesitating and feeling self-conscious. And then suddenly, the memories of her father and her early years began to engulf her, and her voice grew along with the pain and the tenderness she felt. Her eyes were closed and there were tears rolling down her cheeks when she finished. And Pearl sat staring at her in silence, awestruck. She was a lot better than even Pearl had suspected. Crystal’s voice had a purity and a power that would have her audience breathless. “Jesus Christ. I didn’t know you could sing like that. You ought to go to L.A. and make a record.”

Crystal shrugged and wiped the tears from her cheeks, as the other waitresses began to arrive for work. “Maybe one day.” But she still doubted that it would ever happen. Pearl made her promise to come back and rehearse again the next day, but they both felt buoyant. It was as though they were sharing an important secret. And that night Pearl told Harry the kind of news he liked to hear. “You got yourself a winner. She doesn’t know it yet, and I don’t want to scare her, but she’s fantastic. She’s got a
voice that’ll knock you dead. With a little training, she could be real big one day. Wait till you hear her.” Harry looked pleased and the next afternoon he snuck down from his office to listen. There were tears on his cheeks too this time, and he grinned to himself all the way back upstairs to his office.

Pearl rehearsed with her through all of May and part of June, and on a slow Thursday night, Pearl and Crystal knew she was ready. She’d rehearsed over twenty songs, and her performances for Pearl had been smooth and disarming. Harry knew she was going to sing that night and he was standing quietly off to one side, watching in nervous anticipation. Finding a girl like her was something that happened once in a lifetime.