Chapter Twenty-Eight
As Lila settled into her new job, she found that there were many advantages to working as a cocktail waitress. The pay was better and so were the tips. The money was piling up in a cookie tin under her mattress; she had never imagined that she would be able to save so much. What if she saved enough to buy a car or even a house? The possibilities were exhilarating. It was also fun to flirt with the young soldiers. She felt good about serving them and bringing a little joy into their lives. It was a thrill to be called beautiful
every day by so many handsome young men. Lila had never felt so desirable. Her mother always said that it was lazy to sleep past six o’clock in the morning, but working at night and sleeping late was such a pleasure! Lila had never felt so alive. How could something so enjoyable be wrong?
One day she was washing laundry when Veda said, Lila, we need to talk.
She asked if it could wait—the laundry wasn’t going to wash itself—but Veda insisted. Lila sighed and said, All right, Veda, what do we need to talk about?
Veda looked nervous. She said, Lila…I’ve noticed that you’re sleeping later than usual. I thought you were just going to the movies in the evening, but Mrs. Christiansen has insomnia…she told me yesterday that sometimes you come home as late as four o’clock in the morning.
Lila stopped cranking the wringer and said, That old busybody…I don’t know why anybody listens to her.
She started cranking again, but Veda put her hand on Lila’s arm. Lila, I’m worried about you. I know Earl is the one who called off the wedding, not you, but you’re twenty years old and you’re not married. What are you doing so late at night? The neighbors think you’re selling yourself to men.
It was like a verbal slap in the face. Lila narrowed her eyes and said sharply, Is that what you think of me?
Veda blushed and said, Well not really, but I don’t know what to think. You come with us to church and then you disappear at night. It can’t be good! David is too young to notice, but what kind of example do you think you’re setting for Looy?
Lila was angry. Was it so terrible wanting to work and not get married right away? Had Veda already forgotten that she once planned to be a nurse? Lila said, I am not
selling myself,
Veda. I’m offended that you would think that.
Veda quietly said, I think I hear David crying,
and that was the end of the conversation. Veda bounded up the stairs like she had seen a snake in the basement.
Lila wanted to tell Veda everything—about working at Carroll’s and the tin of money, about the joys of flirting with men and sleeping late, even about Lloyd and how much she was missing him—but how? While Veda was living the perfect
life with a house and a family and going to church every Sunday, Lila’s pile of secrets was growing. It was easier to avoid talking with Veda than to bridge the gap that was growing between them.
Surprisingly, Looy didn’t seem to mind going to church. He had become active in the youth group and was talking about getting baptized. One of the deacons announced that area farmers would need help picking berries starting in June. With so many young men involved in the war, the jobs would have to be filled by young women and children. He emphasized that as good citizens and Christians, it would be a shame for them to let the crops go to waste.
Lila thought nothing of the announcement, but a few nights later at dinner, Veda asked Looy if he would be interested. He would be fifteen in September.
Red turned to Looy with a serious face and said, Harvesting is hard work, but are you ready to be a man?
Veda said, Red, he’s still just a boy…I was thinking that Lila should go with him.
Lila’s mouth dropped open. She was stunned that Veda would make such a suggestion, especially without asking her first. The only way to do it would be to sacrifice her job at Carroll’s. Maybe that was what Veda had in mind—to get her away from the city. She wanted to say no, but the look on Looy’s face changed her mind. He was so eager for an adventure.
Three weeks later, Lila found herself on a truck with Looy and two sisters from his youth group, Jean and Patty Shuda. Their parents were from Poland and had twelve children—a large family even for Catholics. By the time they were halfway to Richmond, Lila was already tired of their incessant chatter. The girls—who were so close in age and appearance (with blue eyes and white-blonde hair) that they were often asked if they were twins—were very excited and seemed to have an endless amount of energy. They were all sitting in a tight cluster, trading gossip about their teachers and friends. Jean was going to Aquinas (the Catholic high school) and they debated whether Logan High School was better. When they arrived at the farm of William Stanton, their home and workplace for the next four weeks, Lila was relieved to be offered a private room; it was small, but at least she would have a little time and space to herself. In her suitcase, she had packed some work clothes (which were clean, but heavily worn), an apron, an extra pair of shoes to wear to church on Sundays, and materials for writing letters.
Lloyd had begun writing back to Lila a few months earlier. The rough, brown envelopes were addressed to Lila Slaback, 2211 Kane Street,
but never had a return address. Every time she received one, she worried that Veda would want to have a talk about where the letters were coming from. Thankfully, Veda never opened them.
February 6, 1943
Dear Lila,
I miss you like crazy. Thinking about you makes me forget about being in prison for a while. The warden says I might get a reduced sentence if I’m
helpful.I’ll try to help if I can. Here’s a new joke for you:Teacher: Why are you late again for school?
Kid: I had to take one of our heifers to the neighbor’s farm for breeding.
Teacher: Couldn’t your father take care of that?
Kid: I guess, but the bull does a better job.
Love you, Lloyd
Under the writing there was a drawing of a man standing behind a cow with his pants around his ankles. Lila laughed. Lloyd had such a dirty mind, but he was also very talented at drawing. It wasn’t until she saw the image that she understood the joke.
By the end of the first week, Lila regretted that she had not said no to Veda. Although summer was just getting underway, it was hot, and the mosquitoes were thick. It was fun to pick berries on a Saturday—the Slabacks had done that many times to get berries for jam—but doing it every day was backbreaking work. The strawberries were low to the ground. It was killing her knees. The blueberries grew on higher bushes, but they were so small. It took a lot of picking to fill a single bucket. The berries ripened in stages; by the time they reached the end of the field, it would be time to go back and pick the berries that had just ripened. She was grateful when Mrs. Stanton asked if she would help with cleaning and food preparation in the afternoon. Anything to get out of the fields a little early.
Looy, Jean, and Patty were sleeping in the barn. Lila knew that Veda would not approve of the mixed company,
but her only choice was to keep her private room or sleep in the barn with them. Lila decided to keep the room. What Veda didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her. Besides—after spending all day in the fields, what trouble could Looy and the girls possibly get into? Lila was worn out from the work and assumed they were too.
Four weeks later, the berry season was over. Mr. Stanton thanked them for their hard work and paid them each fifty dollars. Looy and the girls were thrilled. All the way home, they talked about how they would spend the money. Jean and Patty were giving part of their wages to their parents, but Veda had already promised Looy that he could keep whatever he earned. Lila was disappointed. She could have made more money in one week by working at Carroll’s.
A few months later, they heard that Jean was pregnant. Her parents had decided that Looy and Jean were too young
to get married, so they sent her to live in a house for unwed mothers. It was supposed to be a secret, but of course, everyone in the church knew. It was a major scandal. A few days after they heard the news, Veda cornered Lila in the kitchen and demanded to know why Lila had allowed
this to happen while they were on the farm. You were the adult! You were supposed to make sure that nothing happened!
Lila flushed with anger and frustration that Veda was blaming her. She yelled, You and I were both there when Red asked Looy if he wanted to be a man. What did you think was going to happen, Veda? Was I supposed to treat him like a child?
Sometimes while walking to and from work, Lila wondered if Jean’s baby would be a boy or a girl. Would he or she be funny or serious? Would the baby grow up to be a factory worker or maybe something more exciting like a famous wrestler? How could Jean’s parents force her to give the child up for adoption? How could Jean just allow it to happen? Maybe Looy and Jean were too young to get married, but it was a tragedy for everyone. The baby would never know that he or she was a Slaback.
Notes
The work of cocktail waitressing combines food and beverage service with adult entertainment. I know for a fact that Lila worked in bars as an adult. She might have found the work exciting, but it was not very socially acceptable. It’s a very different lifestyle from being a Catholic stay-at-home mother. Lila and Veda were naturally growing apart. I imagine how difficult it would have been for Lila to be confronted and judged by her not-much-older sister.
I stumbled across a tiny snippet of news that Lila and Loy
were picking berries in Minnesota in 1942. I questioned whether that was Lloyd or Loyal, but I eventually realized that Lloyd was in prison during that time. In this chapter, the job becomes a pretext for Veda to get Lila out of her job and into something more wholesome. However, it backfires on both of them when Lila fails to supervise Looy and one of the girls (Looy’s eventually wife in real life) gets pregnant. I have no idea if they really had an unplanned pregnancy, but this story gives us insight into two things:
- the pressure on girls and young women to avoid having a child out of wedlock, and
- Lila’s perspective on pregnancy and motherhood.
She is not eager to become a mother, but she is also sad (maybe even a bit angry) that Jean has been forced to give away her child.
For more information, see Ylva Baeckström1, Stephanie Lynn Budin2, and John C. Spurlock3.
Gender and Finance: Addressing Inequality in the Financial Services Industry (London: Taylor & Francis, 2022).↩︎
Freewomen, Patriarchal Authority, and the Accusation of Prostitution (London: Taylor & Francis, 2021).↩︎
Youth and Sexuality in the Twentieth-Century United States (London: Taylor & Francis, 2015).↩︎