The Tall Girl
Claire backtracked a little to the front of the building and pushed open the door. Ah! What blessed fresh September air! She only breathed it during recess nowadays and that was only for an hour everyday. That period of time felt so scheduled that it was almost like being an actor-pretending to have fun from exactly four o’clock to five every day. By the time her mind was done re-calculating her algebra mistakes and finally beginning to wander into imaginative fantasies, the bell rang and it was time for Science. Casting these thoughts aside, Claire closed the heavy door gently and then trotted down the stone steps, but she only took two ladylike paces before the desire to run overwhelmed her and she was suddenly at the gate. Opening this was like dream. Suddenly she saw the road and “the real world”-something she had almost forgotten as of late. Miraculously, in her state of jubilee, Claire did remember to close the gate before embarking on her mission. She remembered all of Mr. Rueben’s directions and could also sense where to go just by sight and sound and soon found herself safely on Main Street and reading a pale green sign which said “The Hattery-the cherry on top of fashion.” On the sign there was a picture of a tall skinny lady wearing a hat shaped like a big red cherry. Claire pushed the door open and walked to the desk.
“How may I help you Miss?” Said a lady of multiple chins.
“May I please use your telephone?” Claire asked bravely.
The lady grinned and nodded.
“And no charge Dear-heart, as long as you tell your little friends that you’ve been at The Hattery.”
Claire smiled agreeably and went to the strange contraption on the back wall.
And then, suddenly she realized that she had no idea how to use it. Blushing, she looked back toward the desk. The woman was smiling at her.
“I’m-a-coming!” She said kindly. “You didn’t look like you had ever used one before.”
Claire just smiled and nodded, holding the “talk-into-piece” (as the woman called it) in her hand awkwardly.
“This should be very exciting for you dear.” The lady said putting a hand on Claire’s shoulder. She then told Claire how to speak to the operator: “Like you would to your great grandmother.”
“Marvin Winters at Yale University in New Haven Connecticut please.” Claire said in a loud, clear voice.
“Hold please.” The operator said dryly.
Claire nearly dropped the telephone! She looked at the lady (who was standing nearby) and grinned ear to ear. She stood there in this state until she heard another noise. It was an unfamiliar voice but she had missed what he said. Claire glanced anxiously at the hat-shop woman.
“He was just transferring you, dear.” She assured her.
Then there was a nerve racking pause and Claire looked at the square wooden telephone attached to the wall and saw it swirl around and fade a little. She felt as if she were in a dream! She had never done anything so strange in her life! At home her mother had no telephone-she said that she would never have any use for one- and the only neighbor who did was not an acquaintance of theirs. Mrs. Winters had dashed over once to telephone when she received a letter from her mother that her father was ill, but Claire had never used it and Mrs. Winters was so worried about her father that she didn’t talk about the telephone itself.
“Hello,” The telephone said. “Hello?” It said again, sounding slightly irriated.
Claire nearly panicked putting the telephone back up to her ear. The voice was familiar yet unfamiliar at the same time.
“Oh hello!” Claire said. “M-Marvin?”
“Yes-this is Marvin Winters…who is this?”
“This is Claire Winters-I mean it is Claire, Marvin! Your sister Claire!”
“Claire?! What are you doing using a telephone? I mean-is everything alright?”
“Oh yes! Everything is splendid…well I am fine. I just wanted to talk to you. I am homesick and I miss home…I mean I miss you a lot and school isn’t what I imagined after all.”
There was a short pause.
“I miss you too Pipsqueak. But your letters always make you out to be having a jolly time.”
“Oh but I am! I mean, I was. I have a good time and all but school is just…my opinions of it are just complicated.”
“Everything is complicated to girls. You’ll get the hang of it. You and Judy still friends?”
“Trudy.”
“Oh yeah. Are you and Trudy still friends or is that what this is about?”
“Oh no, it isn’t that at all. She’s a dear but she doesn’t seem to notice the issues with Beekman that I do.”
“Specify Pipsqueak. What issues? I haven’t heard anything but praise about it yet.”
There was the muffled noise in the background of boys being roudy.
“Marv-it was good to hear your voice but could I talk more about it through a letter?”
“Oh I see, someone’s with you. Well I wouldn’t want to think that you wasted any money…”
“Oh no…it has been paid for.”
“Well good then. I’ll be waiting for that letter.”
“Fine. Thank you Marvin.”
“Any time. You’ll get used to school Claire…good bye.”
“If you say so. Good bye Marvin.”
And Claire left The Hattery, unsure if she wanted to get used to it or not.
