It's a Long Way from Home
High School: Grades 9–12
Story
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Robert talked and danced until 2:00 a.m. Louis watched him and talked a little to some other young men, but stayed far away from the young women. He was too nervous to talk to them. He had never socialized with young women without a chaperone before. Robert and Louis took a streetcar back home and climbed in the window and fell right to sleep.
The next morning Aunt Celia was in rare form. She was shaking and pointing her index finger straight up at Louis, who was at least a foot taller than she. "I know I can't walk up these stairs with this bad leg, but I am pretty sure you two were not in that room last night. Where did you go? Louis, I told you I was going to keep an eye on you. Robert, where did you two go? If I find out you trying to corrupt this boy, why I am going to tell your father when he gets home..."
Robert looked at Aunt Celia with his big brown eyes. "Awww, Aunt Celia, you are right. We weren't in our room." Louis's throat plunged down into his stomach. "We just walked down to the next block to see Thomas and Michael and their sisters. You know we're old enough to take care of ourselves. Can't we just visit some friends?"
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She looked at Robert suspiciously. "Thomas had better have been with you. I don't want you visiting any girls without a chaperone." With that she walked away shaking her head and muttering about how times had changed. The last thing Louis wanted was for his uncle to find out that they had been on the Stroll. Robert looked at Louis and winked, "Tonight we are going to a club."
After dinner the cousins jumped out the window and headed for the streetcar again. As they walked down State Street north of 26th Street, Louis could see the glow from all the lights from the Stroll. He could feel his heart beating. He was more excited and less nervous than the night before. What would a club be like? Louis wondered. "We are going to the Lincoln Gardens;21 it's a black and tan club18 up north on 31st Street," Robert explained. Louis was getting used to Robert's way of talking, but "black and tan" was a new expression.
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