Free American Dreams by John Jakes

get away.'
    'Could I speak to you a moment?' Her heartbeat was thunder in her ears.
    'Why, of course,' he said with a benign smile. 'Shall I come in?'
    'It might be better if we go down to your office.'
    'Whatever you prefer.' He offered his arm at the head of the stairs. 'You look very fetching. You'll be the belle of the party.'
    'Hardly.' Nervous, she almost stumbled twice on the long descent past the stunning Christmas tree.
    In the office, Joe Crown drew the visitor's chair away from the wall.
    Outside, the deep blue shadows of Illinois winter shrouded the grounds.
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    Bare tree limbs shook in a lake wind.
    Fritzi sat on the forward edge of the chair, clasped her hands in her lap to keep them still. Stage fright! She couldn't remember Carl's words of encouragement.
    I
    'Now, my girl. What's on your mind?'
    'Plans, Papa. I want to tell you my plans.'
    'Please do,' he said, smiling again. He crossed his legs, folded his hands over the little paunch developing at his middle. She smelled beer along with his hair lotion. Perhaps he'd celebrated a bit at the brewery. He seemed in a fine mood.
    'I'm going to New York,' she said.
    His forehead wrinkled. 'How interesting. You're going to shop?'
    'To live. To look for work in the theater.'
    Somewhere in the west, dying daylight broke out beneath clouds, striking the office window and painting it red. Joe Crown never changed his posture or expression. Yet Fritzi fancied the blood left his cheeks.
    'I see. Well. It's good you told me.'
    He crossed to the door, which stood open a few inches. He closed it with a dungeon-like bang. He stood with his back to the window and his feet wide apart, like a military officer. She could see nothing but a black silhouette against a rectangle of red.
    'When did you decide this, may I ask?'
    ¦
    'Some time ago. I bought my railway ticket Wednesday'
    'Let's discuss this reasonably.' He still sounded calm and, if not exactly friendly, then not antagonistic either. She was emboldened.
    'With all respect, Papa, discussion isn't necessary.'
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    Dreamers
    'Permit me to disagree. It isn't healthy for a girl your age to venture to New York for a career in a dubious and risky profession. A career that might not exist at all.'
    'Carl's going to Detroit without the promise of a job. You approve of that.'
    'Carl is a man. It makes a difference.'
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    'Oh, Papa. That's so old-fashioned.' The challenge to his authority was blurted without thought; she was angry.
    His voice remained steady, controlled: 'New York's a filthy, wretched city, I've seen it many times. It's dangerous for a single woman. Go to a public theater' - he gestured energetically, warming to his case - 'as innocent people went to the rooftop theater at Madison Square Garden last summer, and it's you and not Stanford White who might be shot down by a jealous madman. It simply isn't safe, Fritzi. Please reconsider.'
    He
    was adamant. Well, so was she:
    'I've considered it carefully, Papa. I'm just informing you as a courtesy.'
    'How thoughtful,' he replied, with real rancor.
    'You know Broadway is the only theater that matters. If I don't find out whether I can succeed there, I'll hate myself the rest of my life.'
    Joe Crown peered out the window, his profile etched by red light.
    'Please understand, Fritzi, I'm not arguing to be difficult, or have my own way.' Oh, no?
    He held out his small, well-manicured hands, pleading. 'I want the best for you. A husband. A home. Children.'
    'I'm hardly the kind of raving beauty a man's going to marry.'
    'You underrate yourself, terribly. You'll find someone. Perhaps you mustn't set your sights so high. In any case, a young woman of good character belongs--'
    She jumped up. LKirche, Kiiche, Kinder? Papa, that was your century.
    This is mine. My life.'
    'Your life! You must regard it very cheaply if you insist on consorting with low theatrical people.'
    His voice had risen. Fritzi clenched her hands. The scene was veering out of control. 'How can