Carmella Commands
I’ll pull this thing through, but you gotta do what I say. If I tell you to kiss a dirty wop kid, you kiss him. See? I’ll tell you why afterwards.”
After Carmella had two-stepped home—for that is what she did—Miss Sargle sat for a long, long time at her desk, thinking. And the thinking she did just then was perhaps the longest educational step she had ever taken.
Carmella could hardly control her joy. She was to be an executive—a boss. Dearly did she love to boss. Her standing with her family and her friends was certain to rise. And—Dixon!
Maria and Tommaso listened to her story.
“I do not know this Hope House,” said Tommaso. He looked across at his wife. And so slightly that the keen-eyed Carmella did not see, Maria nodded. She knew Hope House. Her heart was high with pride that her daughter had been asked to help manage it.
“All right, Carmella,” said Tommaso. “When do you begin?”
“Tonight.”
Tommaso laughed.
Dixon did not call at the cottage for several evenings. When he did, it was on one of Carmella’s nights at Hope House. She was putting on her coat when he arrived. Breathlessly she explained her new work to him, and announced the pay with a flourish.
“Bully for you, kid!” said Dixon. “But listen!
[275]
