The Ring Behind the Glass

Galloway tried a kiss and she offered only her cheek. "Here I say goot night, Gerry," she said. "Thank you for walking." She inserted her key.
"Have a drink with me tomorrow?" he asked.
The still-foreign words didn't form as she'd liked. Instead she told him the plain truth: She had to watch Erika and Hannah until nine. Berthe and Fritz would be dining with Fritz's family in wealthy Fort Green, Brooklyn, which was about a dozen blocks southwest of all the breweries.
"I'll be here at nine, then," he said.
She thought he said "beer at nine," and smiled. She waved goodbye and went inside, hoping she could borrow Berthe's black flapper dress with the handkerchief godets.