Andi Leigh Writes

 Chapter 20 Carolyn (September 1957) ... The chill September air brought a nice breeze into the garden behind the hotel. Some of the young women from Bradley Diamond's were scheduled to work in the hotel gardens to harvest some produce for the kitchen. In return, the students would get to keep some of the fresh herbs and vegetables for their own cooking classes. Carolyn was worried that the sun would make it too hot but she was thankful that the breeze saved them from the heat that swam down from the afternoon sun. Carolyn noticed that some of the girls were weary about getting down into the soil. One complained about worms and many of them didn't want to get their clothes dirty. Carolyn saw that Nancy felt differently. She donned a pair of gardening gloves and went right to work; weeding the garden and digging for potatoes and carrots. Carolyn pulled green onions and bulbs of garlic from the soil. She enjoyed the smell and the worms did not bother her in any way. She was caref...

 Chapter 19 Lane (April 2023) ... June of 1957. That date was written in the corner of the letter. The ink bled only a little bit and Lane was surprised that the letter was legible. There were no signs of water damage on the crinkled page, only slight wear from passing time. Lane began to read the letter as they sat in the closet on the floor. The glowing lightbulb that hung from the ceiling provided enough light to be able to read the handwritten words but Lane still strained their eyes. The cursive was nicely done and Lane thought that the handwriting was beautiful. The letter was written to someone named Tommy. Dear Tommy, After my first month here at Bradley Diamond's I have concluded that I was right. This school and what we ladies are being taught is utter nonsense. The mistress is a terribly strict woman who doesn't stand for diverging from the schedule. She hates fun! She hates individuality and she hates anything that is capable of mistakes. She said my curtsy needed w...

 Chapter 18 Nancy (June 1957) ... Nancy made Carolyn laugh. She thought that Carolyn's laugh was a sweet sound, one that she wanted to hear again, but Carolyn was no longer in the cheerful mood she had while they were in class. Her smile turned to a pout as she had no choice but to put on rubber gloves and grab a bucket of water and floor cleaner. The two women were busy scrubbing the hallway floors of floor C. Other floors of the hotel had carpets installed but floor C's halls were bare, most likely to elicit punishment such as this. Nancy did make Carolyn laugh, but in the middle of class while the mistress herself was giving a lecture. Mistress Laurier did not find her outburst as endearing. So the two young women were punished and had to clean the floors after their remaining classes of the day. Nancy felt gutted; she knew that Carolyn wanted to relax and read after the day's activities. "I'm sorry," Nancy said as she was kneeling on the hardwood and scrub...

 Chapter 17 Carolyn (1949) ... When she was a little girl, Carolyn always had trouble making friends with the other girls in the neighborhood. When they wanted to play with dolls and have tea parties, Carolyn was indifferent to these games. She did join in and participate but ten-year-old Carolyn preferred to climb trees and play in the dirt. She wasn't afraid of bugs and would spend her time catching daddy longlegs in jars. She would proudly show off her findings to the other girls but was always met with reactions she didn't expect. "That is disgusting!" a girl named Margaret said. She clutched her doll close to her and backed away from Carolyn and her bug. Young Carolyn laughed. "It's not! He's cute!" Margaret shook her head. "Get it away!" "He wants to join the tea party." "Well, he's not allowed," Margaret cried. "Take it away! Take it away now!" "Yes, please get rid of that horrid spider," a...

 Chapter 16 Lane (April 2023) ... Ophelia had taken Lane out shopping one day and decided to stray away from the usual thrift store they shopped at. The pair looked for things in their local mall and luckily it wasn't overcrowded like it was most days.  "What do you think of this?" Ophelia asked. She was holding up a dress and wanted Lane's opinion on it. They were zoned out and staring off in the distance while Ophelia attempted to gain their attention. “Lane?” Ophelia said. There was no response. "Lane?" she said again. "Hm?" "What do you think of this dress?" She held up the dress again. Lane thought it matched her style perfectly. It was black and would go with every other piece of black clothing she owned. "You'd look so good in that," they said. "Are you okay?" she asked as she put the dress in her shopping basket. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just—Atlas showed up at my work the other day." Ophelia...

 Chapter 15 Nancy (May 1957) ... The train Nancy and Willard were on had made it to its destination. They arrived at the train station and Willard checked his watch. The bus they needed to take would arrive soon. "I apologize, miss," Willard said to Nancy. "Whatever for?" Nancy was confused as to why Willard was apologizing. "We must take a city bus the rest of the way." Nancy laughed. "Don't be ridiculous! I've been on plenty of buses before, Willard. This is hardly the first. I'm not too good for it." He sighed and then smiled. "I'm glad." Willard led Nancy to the bus stop and held tightly onto her suitcase. He still would not allow her to carry it herself even when she insisted upon it. "Look, Willard. Look at that woman over there," Nancy said as she pointed to a woman walking down the street. "She's carrying her own bag!" "I won't allow it, Miss Nancy," Willard said. "I...

 Chapter 14 Carolyn (May 1957) ... Room C7 felt cold and quiet when Carolyn returned from one of her classes. She tried her best to maintain proper posture while carrying her textbooks down the hallway of floor C but slumped as soon as she arrived at her door. She pushed her way into the room and looked at the empty bed that was briefly Holly's. She heard that soon the bed would no longer be unoccupied and she would have a new roommate; one that would be starting a tad late but would be given extra work to complete to make up for her absence. The mistress had told her the news a couple of days ago during lunch. "Miss Moore," Mistress Laurier had approached Carolyn as she was quaintly eating her soup. She gracefully put her spoon down and looked up at the mistress to speak. "Yes, Mistress Laurier?" "I have some exciting news, my dear." the mistress said. "You will be having a new roommate in a couple of days. Is that simply wonderful?" "O...

 Chapter 13 Lane (April 2023) ... The sun was hidden behind gray clouds and the afternoon was foggy and damp when Lane left to go to work. They had to leave their car behind when they left Atlas. The car was never actually Lane's to begin with. Atlas bought it and paid for the insurance. Everything was under his name. It was another shiny present that was used to guilt Lane during their relationship and Atlas loved to bring up the gifted vehicle when they would have even the slightest disagreement. Atlas would always ask Lane where they were going before taking the car; it didn't matter if Lane was simply going to work. He needed to know just where Lane was going in the car he had bought for them. Lane hopped on a city bus to go to the job they had started right before moving into the apartment. Before, when Lane was living in a three-bedroom house, they used to work as a bank teller, a career choice that Lane would have never picked. Atlas had urged them to apply even though L...

 Chapter 12 Nancy (May 1957) ... This morning was a dreaded morning. Nancy woke up with a scowl on her face; as it was the day she would leave her family to live at the Sequoia Bay Hotel and attend Bradley Diamond's. She quickly washed up and got dressed, ate breakfast with her mother for the final time, and hugged her brother Tommy goodbye. "Why can't it be you taking me to the hotel?" Nancy asked while hugging her brother. She pouted as hard as she could. "I wish I could, Nan. But Dad thinks I'll help you run away." He smiled. Nancy chuckled. "That would be a wonderful idea. Let's do that!" "Willard is taking you. That's final." "Nothing against Willard, but he's not my brother. I feel terribly homesick already." "At least I get to drive you both to the train station. You will do wonderfully. And you'll be back in no time!" Tommy held his baby sister's shoulders and stared at her with sadness....

The cloud in my mind Keeps me wondering. It keeps me on my toes, Heart racing, Waiting for the worst to come. Sometimes it never does But the cloud remains. And when I am over its company, It tries to hide But I know it's still there.

 Chapter 11 Carolyn (May 1957) ... "You missed class again," Carolyn said as she entered her room and found Holly sitting in her bed. She wasn't dressed even though it was later in the afternoon and the mistress was unhappy with Holly's lack of participation. "I don't care," Holly sighed. "I never wanted to come here in the first place." Carolyn set her stack of textbooks down on the nightstand next to her bed. "Mistress Laurier is not happy." Holly shot a glare at Carolyn. "I don't care." "Well, you could at least attend class. It's really not that bad. The schedule rotates so every day it's a little bit different." Holly scoffed and got out of her bed. She walked over to the window and slid it open. She uncovered a pack of cigarettes and lit one as she went out on the fire escape to enjoy a moment. "Holly, you can't smoke," Carolyn sighed. She joined Holly at the window. "Hey, I...

 Chapter 10 Lane (April 2023) ... A buzz went off in Lane's apartment one afternoon. It was the intercom by the front door of the apartment, meaning, someone was at the locked entrance of the building waiting for Lane to let them in. Lane hopped out of their now semi-furnished bedroom and ran over to the intercom and pressed the button to speak. "Hello?" "It's me!" a voice chimed from the other end of the speaker. "I thought you were coming over later? I'm not dressed yet!" Lane laughed. "Oh, I wanted to surprise you. And please, I'm in pajama pants as we speak! Hurry up and buzz me in. I have a box of cool stuff for you." Ophelia stood down at the front door of the apartment building. She had brought some stuff over to help Lane decorate and carried it in a large plastic crate. "I'm buzzing you in but the elevator is still out of order. Want me to come down and help carry stuff up?" "Nah, it's okay. It'...

 Chapter 9 Nancy (April 1957) ... "Where are you taking me?" Nancy asked her older brother Tommy. He was concentrating on the road as he drove. Nancy sat, pouting in the passenger seat of the 1956 Chevy Corvette. "Dad wanted me to show you something, Nan." "Will you tell me?" "Dad told me not to. You'll see for yourself soon enough." "I don't understand why he'd want to ship me off to some dumb school." "He wants you to be a lady! Didn't you know?" Tommy laughed and Nancy shoved him on the shoulder. Tommy sighed. "I'm not a fan of it either, you know? Seems like outdated means. Maybe someday soon there will be no such thing." "I need it to be 'no such thing' right this instant." "I'm sorry, Nan." "You're lucky, you know?" Nancy said. "Born a guy. You don't get treated this way." "I suppose I am lucky." "It's unfortunate...

 Chapter 8 Carolyn (May 1957) ... Carolyn did not want the bus ride to end. She listened to the sound of the motor mix with the sound of casual conversation that other passengers were engaged in. She sighed while staring at her packed suitcase. The leather was smooth to the touch. Another pretty item her parents pretended they could afford. Carolyn shifted her gaze to the window and watched the buildings she passed by. The florist, the bakery, the post office, and her favorite bookstore. All things of the past until she graduated and became a free young woman. Until a man was to take her hand that is. Her family would not have it any other way. Carolyn heard a rumor of a debutante ball occurring soon after her date of graduation. She hoped she didn't have a place in the event. It would be too soon. Maybe she could make her debut several months after she leaves finishing school. She could only hope to push it off. Carolyn noticed that the bus was getting closer to the hotel. She rel...

 Chapter 7 Lane (March 2023) ... There was a moment that lived in Lane's mind unconditionally. A moment with Atlas, during a short period of time when he was nothing but loving. That short period of time did not last long but the moment was one of Lane's favorites. Lane scrolled on their phone, looking at pictures of them together. That's when they saw the photo evidence of the favored moment. The photo showed Lane and Atlas at a park during a warm autumn day. They stood close to each other to fit their faces into the frame and Atlas wore a large smile. In the photo, Lane looked at Atlas with such devotion in their eyes. Their love shined through the photo and they looked like the happiest couple in the world. In the background, Lane could see part of a large fountain and a silly mime standing triumphantly next to it as if she were fishing. The day the picture was taken, they had gone to the park to walk around together. They fed ducks and koi fish that swam around in the p...

 Chapter 6 Nancy (April 1957) ... "You're sending me away?" Nancy muttered as she stood before her father in the middle of his study. He sat at his desk and did not in the slightest look upset with the news he was delivering to his daughter. "It's a year-long program," her father said. "One year where you will learn to be ladylike. You'll come out of it a better woman! A woman prepared to be a wife and mother. It's very well-rounded, Nancy." Her heart dropped further. "I don't want to go." "Well, you don't have much of a choice. You run around with hooligans and you refuse to learn proper manners here at home. You desperately need to have a change of scenery and get away from that Lonnie." "We broke up." Nancy's face flushed. "Oh?" Nancy nodded while trying not to cry. "He's marrying someone else." She crossed her arms. "See? Something a common rat would do. Use you up j...

 Chapter 5 Carolyn (May 1957) ... It was the final morning Carolyn would spend in her childhood home before being sent off to Bradley Diamond's Finishing School for Rising Young Women which resided within the Sequoia Bay Hotel. Carolyn was familiar with the finishing school. Her family lived about a 15-minute bus ride away from the grand building. Carolyn sat up in bed and slowly tossed the covers off of her. Her bedroom was cold that morning as she thought about her parent's obsession with Sequoia Bay. She recalled that for several months her parents attended every event they could at the destination hotel. They went there for drinks and dinner for weekends on end, hoping to rub elbows with the upper-class patrons. While her parents were out socializing, Carolyn would remain home to watch her sisters and she would handle the cooking and cleaning. She didn't mind and was thankful that her mother didn't want to drag her along to these horrid events. Carolyn got dressed a...