Hotel Laguna by Nicola Harrison EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Nicola Harrison
- Language: English
- Genre: Women’s Literary Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Laguna Beach, California—February 1946
I stepped off the coach, directly in front of the boardwalk, and was
immediately struck by the colors. Everything sun-drenched and vivid—
from the towering palm trees shooting up into the cloudless blue sky to the
polished shine of the automobiles lined up along the curb. On my left was a
large, white hotel with Mission-style details and scalloped parapets, and just
beyond, the ocean glistened green and blue, fronted by striped beach
umbrellas dotting the sand.
“Wowsers,” I said to myself, as I took it all in.
The coach pulled away and I looked back, feeling the weight of my
suitcase in hand. Everything I owned was packed into that small rectangular
case, and the remainder of my wages from the airplane factory were tucked
into the waistline of my trousers. I carried my case down the boardwalk,
past a ballroom and a café, to a wooden bench, where I sat and considered
my next move. It was almost two o’clock in the afternoon, and before the
day was over I needed to find a place to sleep and a job to pay my way.
A young boy walked down the boardwalk calling out, “Chocolate sodas,
malted milkshakes, hot beef sandwiches. Come and get one at Walter
McQuinn’s Ice Cream Parlor.”
My stomach growled at the thought of food.
“Shoestring licorice, root beer barrels. Get your sweet-tooth fix at
Walter McQuinn’s Ice Cream Parlor.”
I waved him over. “Excuse me, does this place Walter McQuinn’s sell
newspapers?”
“Yes, ma’am. Newspapers, magazines, Mary Janes, Sugar Daddies,
Coca-Cola floats.”
“And where is Walter McQuinn’s Ice Cream Parlor exactly?” I asked.
“Walter McQuinn’s Ice Cream Parlor,” he called out for all to hear,
“located on the corner of Forest Avenue and South Coast Boulevard, just
across from the beach!” He turned, pointed, and continued on, “Banana
splits, Brown Cows, tutti-frutti sundaes.”
“Thank you,” I said, picking up my belongings and heading over in that
direction.
Perched on a stool at the granite soda fountain, I went straight to the
classified section of the South Coast News. I scanned and scanned.
Carpenter wanted, inside and outside work, must have materials and
tools … Installers needed for cesspools and septic tanks. Experience a
plus … Housing needed for veterans, list your vacancies with American
Legion … Housekeeper needed, two days a week.
I sighed and circled the last one. I was capable of so much more after
the work I’d done over the past few years at Douglas Aircraft. I knew my
way around a toolbox just as well as the fellas, but now that the war was
over and the men were back from overseas, the women who’d been doing
these jobs had been thanked and sent on their way. There was no more
demand for us to work a man’s job, and they’d let us know how they felt
loud and clear.
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