THE BOYFRIEND
do you pay?’ We could only try you on piece- work, he said. He paid a cent for a sweater. When the sweater comes out of the machine, the cuffs and the sides of the sweater, and the pock- ets are unfinished. When it comes from the sewing machine, the threads are hanging, and the finisher has to finish off the sweater. I figured, What do I have to lose? I told him, I will start next Monday. In the meantime, nobody taught me how to thread the wool through the needle. This was my main problem. So, I thought about bringing a piece of soap from home. By the time I went for the job I learned how to thread the needle a different way. I bought a piece of wax for 2 cents. The first week, I made $4. I paid Mr. Snyderman his $3 a week. Then I started to make $5, $6, $10, etc., but I didn’t have any nice clothes. A NEW OUTFIT I got acquainted with a peddler. I told him, ‘I would like to have a piece of material for a suit, and a hat with a pair of shoes.’ I asked if he can finance me. I can pay him every week? He agreed. So, I went into Silverman’s, and I bought beautiful material. Then, I went to a dressmak- er, and she made me a beautiful suit. It was dark red. I also bought a black beaver hat for fifteen dollars, and shoes. I got dressed up, and everybody thought there isn’t a prettier girl. I started to make twelve dollars and as much as eighteen dollars per week. That’s how fast I was. I realized, it is time. I started to save a dollar. I saved $600. I wanted to have a picture of my father. I wanted to forget the past, and think that in the long run, maybe they did me a favor, and I was compelled to go to America. I sent my father twelve dollars and told him I wanted a family picture. He sent me the picture.
I was 16½ or 17. The boys liked me. One very good-looking boy was Jake. The people that he stayed with told me, ‘Dora, Jake is a wonderful boy.’ In the old country, his parents were in the wheat business. In this country, he had no trade, so he learned to be an outdoor painter. I went around with him for a while. We became engaged. He didn’t have any money to buy me a ring or anything. I was 17 years old. Jake was about 22. He was in this country for about a year, also. One day he suggested we take pictures of ourselves and send them to Russia so that they would know that we were engaged. We sent pictures to my father and stepmother, and he sent them to his parents. That’s how the time went on. In those days the day to court a girl was on Wednesdays and Fridays. I felt in my heart that this is not what I wanted. I wanted to love somebody; I had never had that feeling of love. I worked with a girl that came from Rovnat, very close to my hometown. Her name was Rose (Engelman). She was engaged. We would talk about our future, and sing the Jewish songs while we worked. She was a very pretty girl. She was a finisher, like me. Every Wednesday, we would walk down together from the 10th floor of our building, and her boyfriend would be outside with a bouquet of flowers to greet her. She was so happy. Whenever she used to talk about him you could see how happy she was. I just went along. One day, I thought to myself, ‘Why do I have to listen to my people and my brother and everyone. I’m only 17 years old. I still have plenty of time. I’m going to make an end to my engagement. I’m going to marry someone when I fall in love.
37
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease