Read Online Calling Invisible Women by Jeanne Ray - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jeanne Ray
Ads: Link
missing.”
five
W hen Gilda opened her door the next morning she looked down at Red. “When did you learn how to ring the bell?” she said.
“I picked him up so he could push it with his paw,” I said.
Gilda put her hand to her heart and for an instant closed her eyes. “You scared me to death.” She looked to the left and then to the right. “Where are you?”
“I’m right in front of you,” I said. The air was laced with decorative snow, tiny flakes being blown from side to side with no intention of sticking.
“Then why can’t I see you?”
“Jeeze, Gilda, it’s not like anything has changed. You know why you can’t see me.” I came in the house and Red followed behind, but Gilda stood stock-still in the middle of her entry hall, her hands spread out to either side.
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” she said. “Are you in the house? Did you find some invisible clothes?”
“I’m not wearing clothes.”
Gilda looked down at Red as if he were the one who was spreading rumors. “That isn’t possible.”
“It is, actually. I’m naked. I thought I would hate it but really, it feels kind of great.” I touched her hand so she would know where I was and she yelped.
“It’s freezing outside!”
“I know, but it doesn’t bother me. It turns out I’ve got the invisible thermostat. All the women have it. We don’t get cold and we don’t get hot. It’s sort of the reward for everything else.”
“All what women?”
“That’s what I came over to tell you. I went to a meeting of invisible women at the Sheraton yesterday.” I passed by her and went into the kitchen to fill the kettle. “There were a dozen women there. Alice thinks there could be more who come and just don’t say anything at first. They call them the wallflowers.”
“Who’s Alice?”
“She’s one of the women I met. She was great. We went out for coffee after the meeting. She’s an electrical engineer. She designs some kind of panel for computer chips. I didn’t actually understand what she was talking about but it sounded really interesting. She works from home so becoming invisible wasn’t as much of a hardship for her as it was for some of the other women. It turns out a lot of them get fired once they go through the change.”
Gilda stopped and put her hands on her head. “I don’t even know where to start,” she said.
“I know. It was a lot for me to take in, too.” I got down the box of tea bags. Gilda watched as they floated through the air.
“Wait a minute,” she said, and went upstairs. She came back a minute later and handed me a pretty flannel bathrobe, a dark coral pink with a blue satin piping. I recognized it because it was the one I had given her for her birthday last year. “Please put this on.”
I took it from her and held it in my hand. “Why? I’m not asking you to look at me naked.”
“That’s true, but frankly just the fact of it is making me uncomfortable.” Then she whispered, “What if Miller comes downstairs?”
“It wouldn’t make any difference. He can’t see me.”
“Well then put it on so I’ll know where to look when I’m talking to you.”
I put the bathrobe on, cinched the belt. True, it was petty and small-minded on her part, but since I had been liberated for exactly one day I knew I should cut her a break. “Better?”
“Thank you,” she said. “So how did you even find out about this meeting?”
“I saw an ad in the Herald . I mean, what are the chances of that? All the years I’ve been looking over the want ads and this has been there and I’ve never seen it. It’s so amazing when you think about it, like even their ads are invisible.”
“How often do these meetings happen?”
“The new members’ meetings are on Wednesdays. Those are the ones they advertise. But really, they have meetings all the time. And if you need a meeting and there isn’t one you can go to the website and ask. Apparently people are really good
five
W hen Gilda opened her door the next morning she looked down at Red. “When did you learn how to ring the bell?” she said.
“I picked him up so he could push it with his paw,” I said.
Gilda put her hand to her heart and for an instant closed her eyes. “You scared me to death.” She looked to the left and then to the right. “Where are you?”
“I’m right in front of you,” I said. The air was laced with decorative snow, tiny flakes being blown from side to side with no intention of sticking.
“Then why can’t I see you?”
“Jeeze, Gilda, it’s not like anything has changed. You know why you can’t see me.” I came in the house and Red followed behind, but Gilda stood stock-still in the middle of her entry hall, her hands spread out to either side.
“I don’t understand what’s going on,” she said. “Are you in the house? Did you find some invisible clothes?”
“I’m not wearing clothes.”
Gilda looked down at Red as if he were the one who was spreading rumors. “That isn’t possible.”
“It is, actually. I’m naked. I thought I would hate it but really, it feels kind of great.” I touched her hand so she would know where I was and she yelped.
“It’s freezing outside!”
“I know, but it doesn’t bother me. It turns out I’ve got the invisible thermostat. All the women have it. We don’t get cold and we don’t get hot. It’s sort of the reward for everything else.”
“All what women?”
“That’s what I came over to tell you. I went to a meeting of invisible women at the Sheraton yesterday.” I passed by her and went into the kitchen to fill the kettle. “There were a dozen women there. Alice thinks there could be more who come and just don’t say anything at first. They call them the wallflowers.”
“Who’s Alice?”
“She’s one of the women I met. She was great. We went out for coffee after the meeting. She’s an electrical engineer. She designs some kind of panel for computer chips. I didn’t actually understand what she was talking about but it sounded really interesting. She works from home so becoming invisible wasn’t as much of a hardship for her as it was for some of the other women. It turns out a lot of them get fired once they go through the change.”
Gilda stopped and put her hands on her head. “I don’t even know where to start,” she said.
“I know. It was a lot for me to take in, too.” I got down the box of tea bags. Gilda watched as they floated through the air.
“Wait a minute,” she said, and went upstairs. She came back a minute later and handed me a pretty flannel bathrobe, a dark coral pink with a blue satin piping. I recognized it because it was the one I had given her for her birthday last year. “Please put this on.”
I took it from her and held it in my hand. “Why? I’m not asking you to look at me naked.”
“That’s true, but frankly just the fact of it is making me uncomfortable.” Then she whispered, “What if Miller comes downstairs?”
“It wouldn’t make any difference. He can’t see me.”
“Well then put it on so I’ll know where to look when I’m talking to you.”
I put the bathrobe on, cinched the belt. True, it was petty and small-minded on her part, but since I had been liberated for exactly one day I knew I should cut her a break. “Better?”
“Thank you,” she said. “So how did you even find out about this meeting?”
“I saw an ad in the Herald . I mean, what are the chances of that? All the years I’ve been looking over the want ads and this has been there and I’ve never seen it. It’s so amazing when you think about it, like even their ads are invisible.”
“How often do these meetings happen?”
“The new members’ meetings are on Wednesdays. Those are the ones they advertise. But really, they have meetings all the time. And if you need a meeting and there isn’t one you can go to the website and ask. Apparently people are really good
Similar Books
