When the Walls Fell (9 page)

Chapter Nine

T
he end of Market Street was chaos. Cable cars queued up in a turn of the century traffic jam as a growing throng of people gathered at the front of the Ferry Building. As she and Max got closer, she could hear a brass band belting out “Won’t You Come Home, Bill Bailey?” from a small stage that was decorated with red, white and blue bunting. A handful of people sat in chairs at the back of the platform as the band entertained the growing crowd.

Just as it had in 1929 New York, Elizabeth was struck with how well dressed everyone was. Nearly every single one of the men wore a suit and a hat. Many of them were a bit grungy, but then the streets were half dirt and horses.

The women’s dresses were all long, corsets tight and hats huge. Even the children that whizzed by with their penny candy and brightly colored pinwheels were miniature versions of the adults.

As much as Elizabeth loved to slob around in her jeans and t-shirt, the world had definitely lost something when it went casual. Her father had been a throwback. He never wore jeans. She didn’t think he ever owned a pair. He had two suits, four shirts and two ties—one that was lucky and the one he was wearing.

The gentle pressure of Max’s hand on her elbow pulled her out of the memory. “This way,” he said.

The crowd was getting thicker as they neared the stage. “What’s going on?”

“You wanted to meet Victor Graham, didn’t you? He’s the bulldog on the right,” he said pointing to the back of the stage.

Elizabeth craned her neck to see him, but they were still too far back and she was far too short. Max took her arm and together they threaded their way toward the foot of the stage.

“What is all this?” Elizabeth yelled above the din.

“Graham throws a little party like this every time he buys something.”

“What did he buy?”

“Cable Cars.”

“All of them?”

“Almost,” Max said and then, spotting someone ahead, he waved frantically. “Teddy!”

Max continued to lead her through the crowd until they finally emerged on the other side. Max and a small, nervous man with a neatly trimmed brown beard shook hands. The little man held a lunch-size brown paper sack tightly to his chest and worried a peanut like a chipmunk. Max clapped him on the back. “Should have known you’d be here, old man. Elizabeth West,” Max said. “May I present Theodore Fiske. An old friend from school.”

Teddy blushed beneath his whiskers and ducked his head.

Max leaned in and whispered to Elizabeth. “He’s a bit shy.”

Elizabeth extended her hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Fiske.”

Teddy looked at her hand anxiously. He blinked nervously a few times then extended his peanut-filled hand. “Sorry. I…” he mumbled as he dropped the peanuts and rubbed his hand on the leg of his trousers. “Hello. Teddy. I mean to say, you can call me Teddy. I’ll just…”

He bobbed his head as Elizabeth shook his hand. “Peanut?” he offered shoving the bag toward her.

Teddy wasn’t just shy; he was…different.

“Teddy,” Max scolded gently.

“I’d love one,” Elizabeth said and dipped her hand into the offered bag. “And call me Elizabeth.”

Teddy positively beamed at her with an endearing childlike quality that won her heart instantly and completely.

The band finished “Bill Bailey” and swung right into “Pomp & Circumstance”. An attractive man in his early thirties moved to the front of the platform and waved to the crowd. They cheered loudly in response.

He was energy personified and reminded her of how Teddy Roosevelt must have looked when he was younger. He commanded the crowd with a confident ease.

“That’s Graham,” Max said.

Graham lifted his arms to silence the crowd. “Thank you. Thank you! Welcome to the future!”

That was met with a loud, frenetic round of applause from the audience. Graham milked it for a moment before asking for quiet again. “Just over fifty years ago, San Francisco was one dirt road and a thousand dreamers.”

He surveyed the crowd. “Today, San Francisco is home to over a quarter of a million dreamers. That’s progress, my friends!”

The crowd roared its approval. He was good.

“Electricity surges through this great city, lighting the way to the future thanks to great men like George Roe and Thomas Edison. That’s progress! Messages can travel around the entire globe from our own Cliff House to the foreign shores of the Empire of Japan and back in minutes thanks to great men like John Mackay! That’s progress! San Francisco is the greatest city in the greatest country in the world thanks to people like you! That’s progress!”

The crowd went wild with applause, and despite not having any idea what was going, Elizabeth found herself joining in.

“I’m just a humble citizen. I don’t claim to be in the company of these great men, but I am proud to be part of this great city. And proud to welcome the Market Street Railway into the Graham Transportation family. That’s progress!”

It didn’t make much sense, but the crowd didn’t care.

“Consolidation! Better service! And that means potentially lower fares!”

“You mean lower wages!” a voice yelled out over the din.

Graham clearly heard the heckler, but did his best to ignore him and continue. “A more efficient company is a better company!”

“Is that what you told the twenty men you fired when you bought the last one?”

Elizabeth edged forward to get a better look at the heckler. He was small, but built like a bulldog with a face to match. Two larger men wearing gray coveralls and threadbare jackets flanked him on either side.

Graham apparently decided that he couldn’t avoid the dissenter anymore. “During a merger there are hard decisions to be made.”

“Lies! You made promises you didn’t keep! Union shops, you said. Closed shops!”

A few others from the crowd started to grumble. The anger from the men was palpable. And dangerous.

“Lies are your progress!”

Elizabeth saw the man nearest to her reach inside his jacket. He was going for a weapon. She reacted instinctively. All she could think of was Simon as she ran toward the man.

“Gun!” she cried out as she closed in on him and lowered her shoulder. Her years of watching football under the Friday night lights in Texas had taught her what to do. Head up, shoulder down and drive through your man.

She did, but it was a bit like driving a Yugo through a brick wall. It was a good thing he was turning and slightly off balance when she crashed into him or she would have just bounced off.

As it was, they fell in a tangled heap onto the pavement. The big man under her was stunned and looked up at her with wild, blue eyes. The next minute was a blur of men grabbing men and Elizabeth being lifted off the ground.

“Are you all right?” Max said appearing at her side.

“He’s got a gun!” Elizabeth said. “He was going to shoot Graham.”

“I was not,” the big man protested in a thick Swedish accent.

One of the men holding on to the gunmen, she realized, was a policemen. He reached inside the Swedes’ jacket and pulled out what was left of a big red tomato. The gathered crowd laughed.

“Going to throw this, were you?” the policeman demanded.

“No!” the big Swede said. “It is my lunch!”

That won another round of laughter from the crowd.

“I was hungry.”

Elizabeth’s cheeks burned with embarrassment and she wondered if she wished hard enough that she could turn invisible.

“All right, all right,” the policeman said. “Show’s over.” He waited for the crowd to ease back before he let go of the man and turned to the heckler. “All right, Ross, you and your men have made your point. Head out.”

The man grunted, but nodded his head to his partners. “Let’s go boys.”

“We wouldn’t want any more,” the policeman said as he tossed the Swede his smushed tomato, “vegetables hurt.”

“It’s actually technically a fruit,” Teddy offered.

The policeman narrowed his eyes at Elizabeth. “Keep an eye out for carrots,” he said before laughing and disappearing into the crowd.

“Dear lord, can we please leave?” Elizabeth asked quietly, wishing they were anywhere else.

“Not before you explain that,” Max said. “It was…magnificent.”

This was so humiliating. She could still feel the crowd’s eyes on her. “Please?” she tried again.

“Wait there!” a voice called out. Graham jumped down from the stage. He tugged on the hem of his vest and smiled broadly. “I didn’t get a chance to thank you, young lady.”

Apparently invisibility by sheer will was a no go. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Graham said, half addressing her, but favoring the crowd. “You’re quite the heroine! Risked your life for mine and for that I’m eternally grateful. I hope you’ll join me for the banquet luncheon at the Cliff House later today as my personal guest.”

The crowd applauded.

“This young woman is the very picture of progress.” He put his arm tightly around Elizabeth’s shoulders and turned her toward the crowd and, much to her eternal shame, a group of reporters.

“My heroine. My Tomato Girl!” he cried as the bright light from a photographer’s flash-lamp exploded.

Chapter Ten

T
he Cliff House was built in the style of a 17th century French chateau, although the pediments were clearly 18th century. At least, according to Teddy Fiske, who wasn’t just a font of information he was a geyser.

When they’d arrived at the Cliff House grounds, Elizabeth had made an off-hand comment about one of the statues that lined the parapet. A brief, rambling and absolutely adorable lecture on the etymology of the word parapet followed. It started out well enough with Latin roots,
parare
and
pectus
, and ended with a furious blush as Teddy realized he’d accidentally said the word “breast”.

This particular parapet was far from your typical battlement though. It was more like one of the elaborate gardens at San Simeon. Beautifully manicured lawns led to a long walled edge that overlooked the Cliff House and the rocky shore below. The wall was studded with Roman statues, vases and wrought iron chairs and a few people braved the cold ocean breeze to enjoy the view.

And it was an amazing view. From the cliff-side vista she could see for miles down the coast to the South or watch the tall ships sail in and out of the Golden Gate to the North. She couldn’t see the bridge from there, but she reminded herself, she couldn’t see the bridge from anywhere. It wouldn’t be built for another thirty years or so.

A cluster of rocks just off the shore caught her eye. “Did that rock just…move?”

Max laughed. “Seals. You’ll be able to see them better from the other side.”

Elizabeth loved to watch the seals in Santa Barbara. After living landlocked in Texas for most of her life, she adored the movement and life of the ocean. It had been a pleasant surprise that Simon did too. He wasn’t exactly the beachy sort. It was impossible to picture him in pair of Bermudas and flip-flops. He was more the cable knit sweater and Burberry pea coat type. It shouldn’t have been all that shocking; after all, England is an island. Lots of water to be had.

The party was already well underway by the time they arrived. Graham’s banquet took over the entirety of the third floor. Of course, there were seven stories to the Cliff House, so there was still plenty of room for everyone else.

The private section of the party, for only the chi-est of the chichi, was held in a special dining room overlooking the ocean. A few dozen four-top table were scattered through the long room with one larger table at one end and a player piano on steroids at the other. The brand new orchestrion was a band in a box. A big box. The size of a huge armoire it played scrolls of popular music. But it wasn’t just a piano or an organ it had wind, string and percussion instruments. Its rendition of “Yankee Doodle Boy” was loud, bizarre and wonderful.