Five-year-old Ella twirled around the spacious kitchen in their suburban home on Staton Island while her mother joyfully hummed a tune as she cooked beef stew for supper. Ella giggled and danced around her mother's legs, almost knocking her over. This elicited a smile and a laugh from her mother who stirred the thickening mixture, dodging Ella's spinning arms while she glided around the kitchen. Just then, her mother broke out in song, using the wooden spoon in her hand as a conductor's baton, waving it around as she sang My Lovin' Henry.
Ella clapped her small hands and tried to mimic her mother's voice. It was not at all in tune, or in time with the beat of the song, but her mother appreciated it all the same. Her father strode in just as her mother finished the song and clapped, giving his wife a bear hug around her waist, kissing them both on the forehead. Ella cried, "again, again," but her mother just smiled and shook her head, turning back to stir the pot of stew bubbling on the range.
Ella headed toward the bus stop, yawning as she trudged lazily. It was 4 p.m. and she had just finished her classes at Hunter College. Now she was on her way to Macy's, the department store where she worked. She reached the bus stop and waited there until a mahogany bus pulled up. She slipped her fare into the driver's hand, asked him to alert her when they had reached the stop closest to Macy's, and looked down the aisle. Most of the seats were empty, except for a straggly group of elderly people snoozing in the back row. She selected a seat next to a window and sat down, resting her head against the back of the seat. The bus beeped and pulled away from the curb, sputtering its way into the busy city.
YOU ARE READING
A Roaring Start
Historical FictionElla is a nineteen-year old girl living in New York during the 1920s. She has a passion for singing, but parents who don't approve. Lucky for her, someone up high believes in her and gives her a chance to pursue her dreams.
