wine glasses.
“How can children so young be expected to learn both languages at the same time? They won’t be completely fluent in their native language when they start school, will they?” asked one father skeptically.
Nelly laughed good-naturedly. “No, you’re right they won’t be fully fluent in either tongue at four to five years old. And, that’s the beauty of our approach. The kids will learn to be fluent from each other in both languages. As instructors, we design lessons and activities that are stimulating yet fun and the kids share what they learn with each other.”
“Can you really guarantee my child will learn to speak French fluently?” A mother asked.
“Yes,” both Monique and Nelly replied at the same time, “Provided your child stays in our program for at least 3 years. Should it not be the case, which is highly unlikely since children learn language skills easily at such an early age, the school would refund the last year’s tuition in its entirety,” added Nelly.
After a few more questions, Nelly turned the meeting back to me. My turn to pitch for money and commitments. After signaling Georges to top up glasses again and Manon and Monique to pass around plates of canapés, I addressed the audience anew.
“Dear Guests. I’m sure you are aware of the city’s plans to remedy the shortage of public schools over the next 2 years. Currently, there are 485 pupils in the 5 public schools the city finances for the exorbitant sum of $75,000 each per year to pay for rents, salaries and furnishings. The School Superintendent himself predicts there will be nearly 3,000 children aged 4-17 years needing schooling this year and possibly double that amount the following year given the rate of new arrivals by ship and overland. Clearly, there won’t be enough seats in public schools to accommodate all children who need educating. In order to build city-owned schools, they must first buy or seize the land through eminent domain. That all takes time, money and successful lawsuits.”
“Think about what it means for your children. How many students will be in a class if your child is fortunate enough to get a seat? Will that empty seat be in your neighborhood or will you have to traipse across town in the mud and muck to deliver your child in the morning and arrange for his or her safe return after school? How qualified will your child’s teachers be when the city pays only $150 a month to men and $100 a month to women teachers? What overburdened and underpaid teacher will have the time or incentive to work with your children individually as will be the case with our bilingual classes?” I paused to let my message sink in.
“As you see, you really have only two choices: put your children in overcrowded public schools far from your homes and let them sink or swim with the tide; or, ensure a quality education with us. We own our land in a safe area of the city and have our own crew of builders to assure our school house will be ready for its first class in September. Our initial class will be limited to 30 students — 15 English-speaking children and 15 French-speaking. There will be 2 very qualified bilingual teachers and an assistant. A tasty, nourishing lunch and a 4 P.M. snack will be provided from the kitchen of our notable restaurant.” I paused again so our guests could salivate about the gourmet lunch their kids would get every day and the traditional afternoon snack of pain et chocolat French kids eat to tide them over until a typically late dinner by American standards.
Once the murmur of assent quieted, I continued, “As the number of seats in our fall class are limited and there won’t be room for all who may want to enroll, you must make a non-refundable deposit of $150 which is equal to a month’s tuition to assure your child’s place. Our barman, Georges, will handle deposits and write receipts and our two professors will help you with the registration forms for children 4 to 5 years old.” I gave a little bow and waved in the direction of Georges, Nelly and Monique.
Later when the last guests departed, we compared notes on our evening’s accomplishment. We had 12 American kids signed up and 7 French ones as well. Georges broke out a vintage fine champagne cognac and we toasted our success. Nelly, Georges’ American wife who’d studied in private American and French schools, and Monique, our children’s minder and housekeeper whose ideas for the bilingual school had set the whole plan in motion, were beaming with pleasure that their dream was to become a reality in a few short months. The evening’s success was to get the 12 American and 7 French parents committed. With our contacts with the French Consulate and our successful French restaurant, we’d have no problem rounding out the French enrollment.
The next issue we had to deal with concerned Teri Rios, Manon’s Chilean partner along with Giselle Gaillard in our wine and food bar on the Long Wharf next to our brig, the “Eliza.” We had encouraged Teri to sue her ex-boyfriend, Raoul Mendosa, for civil damages for having fired his Derringer at her in Judge Roberts’ courtroom after the judge awarded her damages for stealing her wages when they lived together on our ship. She levied her judgment on Raoul’s shipment of quality Chilean wine which we bought from her and which she served in our wharf-side wine bar.
I had counseled Teri to get a judgment she could levy against Raoul’s newly rebuilt wine store his new mistress, Señora Batista, financed with earnings from her bagnio stocked with Chilean prostitutes who serviced sailors on lower Broadway. From jail, Mendosa signed over his interest in his now empty wine store to Señora Batista, hoping she could get his sentence reduced. Rather than going to court and risking being assigned a judge who shared the prevailing attitude among most civil authorities and Anglos that all Chileans and Mexicans were “greasers” and who would be unsympathetic to a cat fight between Chilenas, Teri chose to have Attorney Hawthorne try to negotiate a settlement with Batista.
Hawthorne threatened to file a lawsuit naming both Mendosa and Batista as co-defendants and co-conspirators who tried to steal Teri’s money to use rebuilding the wine store destroyed in the fire of May 3, 1851. Mendosa had testified in Judge Roberts’ court that was the reason he took Teri’s money and it was a matter of record the rest of the money to rebuild came from Batista. Hawthorne sought to link the fact that the day Mendosa stole Teri’s earnings of over $600, he left our ship with his belongings and moved in with Batista. Hawthorne at my suggestion bluffed that he had “inside” contacts with members of the Executive Committee of Vigilance who would be happy to shut down Batista’s bagnio. Both the threat of losing an expensive, drawn-out legal action that might also affect her very profitable whorehouse brought her to the bargaining table. She agreed to accept $5,000 from Teri in exchange for the deed to the store in Teri’s name. We knew she’d spent more than triple that amount to rebuild the store and evict the squatters who camped on the premises, so Teri had a measure of satisfaction that her rival lost money and face and her ex-boyfriend would have to stew in prison over losing everything because he lost his temper in court and tried to shoot her.
With title to the former wine store in the heart of the downtown commercial district, Teri indicated to Manon that she would like permission to leave the partnership for the wine bar and canteen on the wharf. She wanted to open a bodega to sell foodstuffs and Chilean wine in her new premises. Manon asked for my input on what her response should be.
“So, Chéri, since we encouraged Teri to sue to get the store we have to let her run it, no?” Manon said matter-of-factly.
“Yes, but we should impose some conditions for leaving the partnership early. She agreed to work in the partnership for three years and it’s been not quite 2 years. We have to replace her if the wine bar on the wharf is to continue to be a money maker. And you know that won’t be easy. Half of her customers were regulars and in love with her and her feisty ways. It takes an attractive, single woman with a lot of personality, character and perseverance to ward off all the Lotharios seeking to bed her and Giselle on the wharf. It won’t surprise me if Giselle won’t want to run the canteen if Teri is not there to keep the hustlers at bay,” I said.
“You got it right, Big Boy.
