Anna's Story - Part Three

He stood in the shadows of the front porch, smoking a cigarette.  He watched the girls walk by the house.  Normally, Stephen wouldn’t be home this time of day.  But today was his day of independence.  He was becoming a citizen of the United States.  This past year left him very little time to be social.  He came to this country, leaving everything behind after the war.  There wasn’t much left.  He wanted more for himself than he would have had in Europe.  He had been living with friends of his parents for the past year.  He worked for the railroad during the day and went to school at night.  He was ready to bust, he wanted to be out on his own.

He never noticed her before today.  She was beautiful. She had dark brown hair that shined like chestnuts in the sun.  She wore it n the flapper bob popular at the time.  Her eyes were as dark as a doe’s and had the same look of innocence.  Her cheeks were blushed with the kiss of the wind.  Her laugh sounded like glass wind chimes, delicate as it filled the air.  This girl stirred something in him he hadn’t felt since coming to America or back home for that matter.  He wanted to get to know her. 

A few weeks later, there was a community dance at Sacred Heart.  Stephen decided to attend but did not take a date. He was hoping they would meet.  He had been late to work a few times, waiting, wanting to see her as she went by.   He knew her name was Anna.  He had asked around the neighborhood.  Everyone knew her.  She was very popular with the young and old.  Anna was a good Catholic girl from a good family.  The more he heard, the more he wanted to know.  

The basement of the church was decorated for the spring dance.  Flowers from Easter were used as centerpieces.  The tables were covered in white linen sprinkled with petals.  Paper streamers hung from the ceiling at the support poles. They looked like maypoles to be danced around.  Mr. Stueben, carpenter and neighborhood handy man, created a gazebo to use as the dance floor. More streamers and flowers sprayed the gazebo.  Chinese lanterns were hung from the ceiling among the streamers, giving the impression of a soft, warm spring day in a country meadow.  Spring had been cold and wet. Cabin fever set in the last blizzard. The neighborhood was ready to venture outdoors to see their neighbors.  Stephen had become friends with one of Anna’s neighbors so he would have a proper introduction to her.

“Stephen, my boy”, Mr. Drawer bellowed.  He was doing his best to be discreet with his introductions. He was not an expert at being discreet.  “Please meet Anna; she is the daughter of my good friends, Andrew and Mary.  I’m sure she will be happy to introduce you to the other young people here at the dance.”

“Anna, the pleasure is mine.” Stephen took her hand in his, kissed it softly.  “It would please me very much if I could be your escort this evening. Unless, of course, you are here with someone.”

He knew she was alone with her parents.  Several young men asked Anna but she had turned them all down. 

Anna replied, “Of course, I would be happy to you to around.  I see the Bloombergs and the Sonnenfelds over there, both very prominent.  Both have lovely daughters.  I am assuming it’s the reason for the introductions.”

“No”, leaning toward her, he whispered, “the reason for the introduction was to meet you.  I could think of no other way.”

“Humpft, maybe coming up to me and saying, ‘Hello, my name is Stephen Zak…oh”, she gasped.  She forgot Mr. Drawert did not mention his last name.  A blush came to her cheeks.  He smiled down at her, knowing then that she was just as interested in him.  She was outspoken which interested him even more.  He spent the rest of the evening holding her in his arms as they danced.  She came only to his chest and he had to bend down to hear her.  Others tried to cut in but Stephen had not allowed it.  It was clear she was his. As the night began to wind down, Stephen asked Andrew if he could walk her home.  Andrew looked questioningly at Mary who nodded slightly.  He looked from his wife’s face to his daughter’s.  He found this was an argument he would lose if he tried.  He felt as if Anna was slipping through his fingers, but also felt the need to let go of her. 

He took Stephen’s hand in his own and said, “Fine, bring her home safe.”

Once outside, Stephen placed his coat around Anna’s shoulders and kept his arm there a bit longer than he needed.  He ran his right hand down her left arm slowly.  He took her hand in his, her fingers curled around his.  They walked hand in hand slowly toward her home. As they walked, she gave a small history of who lived in this house or who owned that store.  He could have listened to her for hours.  Her voice was as sweet as a lullaby.  The walk ended much faster than he wanted it to.  As they reached her front door, he turned her to face him.  They stood there, Anna looking up at him.  Her eyes searching his; she had looked into his soul.  Stephen cupped her face in his hands and brought his mouth down over hers.  He kissed her gently.

As he pulled away from her, Stephen saw his future in Anna’s eyes.  Tonight he knew he found the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.  Walking backward toward the street, he asked if he could call on her the next day.

“No, I’m busy. I have to help with the spring cleaning.”  She saw the hurt expression on his face, even in the shadows.  “But, please come over after mass on Sunday.”

Smiling, he called out, “Nothing would please me more.  See you then.”

Anna turned to go into the house.  Stephen turned and found he was walking with a bounce in his step and he could still taste her sweet lips on his as he whistled on his way home.