hundred and come down. That’s over and above all your uniforms, food, laundry, heat, light, and quarters, and quite a lot more than most of my talented stable are making.’
‘I hardly know what to say.’
‘Make up your mind. I’ve got to let her know.’
‘Why did you think of me, for this?’
‘Didn’t I tell you? You broke my goddam heart.’
‘Yes, but – it’s the second time lately I’ve had an offer of this kind. Not long ago a lady offered me a job as – a waitress.’
‘And you turned it
down
?’
‘I had to.’
‘Why?’
‘I can’t go home and face my children if they know I’ve been working all day at taking tips, and wearing a uniform, and mopping up crumbs.’
‘But you can face them with nothing for them to eat?’
‘I’d rather not talk about that.’
‘Listen, this is just one woman’s opinion, and it may be all wrong. I’ve got my own little business, and it’s all shot, and I’m just about holding my own if I eat in the tea rooms instead of the Biltmore. But if that goes, and I have to choose between my belly and my pride, I’m telling right now, I’m picking my belly every time. I mean, if I had to wear a uniform, I’d do it.’
‘I’ll go over there,
as a courtesy to you
.’
For the first time, Miss Turner departed from her hard-boiled manner, and showed some sign of annoyance. ‘What have I got to do with it? Either you want this place or you don’t. If you don’t just say so and all I’ve got to do is call up and tell her, and that lets me out. But if you do want it, for God’s sake get over there and act like you mean it.’
‘I’ll go, as a courtesy to you.’
Miss Turner got out a card and savagely wrote a note on it, her eyes snapping as she handed it over to Mildred. ‘All right, you wanted to know why that lady offered you a job as waitress, and why I recommended you for this. It’s because you’ve let half your life slip by without learning anything but sleeping, cooking, and setting the table, and that’s all you’re good for. So get over there. It’s what you’ve got to do, so you may as well start doing it.’
Shaken, Mildred got on the Sunset bus, but the address was unfamiliar to her, and she had to ask the conductor where to get off. At Coldwater Canon Drive, where he set her down, there was no sign of the street, and she started wandering around an unfamiliar neighbourhood, trying to get her bearings. The houses were big and forbidding, with driveways in front of them and clipped grass all around, and she couldn’t find the courage to approach one. Of pedestrians there were none, and she plodded around for the better part of an hour, peering at each street sign,losing all sense of direction in the winding streets. She got into a hysteria of rage at Bert, for taking the car, since if she had that, she would not only be saved walking, but could slip into a filling station and inquire in a self-respecting way, having the attendant produce maps. But here there were no filling stations, nobody she could ask, nothing but miles of deserted pavements, shaded by frowning trees. Finally a laundry truck pulled up, and she got the driver to straighten her out. She found the house, a big mansion with a low hedge around it, went up to the door and rang. A white-coated house man appeared. When she asked for Mrs Forrester he bowed and stepped aside for her to enter. Then he noticed she had no car, and froze. ‘Housekeeper?’
‘Yes, I was sent by—’
‘Back way.’
His eyes glistening with suddenly secreted venom, he closed the door, and she savagely trudged around to the back. Here he admitted her, and told her to wait. She was in a sort of service foyer, and in the kitchen, which was only a few steps away, she could see a cook and a waitress eyeing her. He returned, led her through dark, cool halls to a library, and left her. She sat down, glad to rest her aching feet. In a few minutes Mrs Forrester came in. She was a tall woman in
‘I hardly know what to say.’
‘Make up your mind. I’ve got to let her know.’
‘Why did you think of me, for this?’
‘Didn’t I tell you? You broke my goddam heart.’
‘Yes, but – it’s the second time lately I’ve had an offer of this kind. Not long ago a lady offered me a job as – a waitress.’
‘And you turned it
down
?’
‘I had to.’
‘Why?’
‘I can’t go home and face my children if they know I’ve been working all day at taking tips, and wearing a uniform, and mopping up crumbs.’
‘But you can face them with nothing for them to eat?’
‘I’d rather not talk about that.’
‘Listen, this is just one woman’s opinion, and it may be all wrong. I’ve got my own little business, and it’s all shot, and I’m just about holding my own if I eat in the tea rooms instead of the Biltmore. But if that goes, and I have to choose between my belly and my pride, I’m telling right now, I’m picking my belly every time. I mean, if I had to wear a uniform, I’d do it.’
‘I’ll go over there,
as a courtesy to you
.’
For the first time, Miss Turner departed from her hard-boiled manner, and showed some sign of annoyance. ‘What have I got to do with it? Either you want this place or you don’t. If you don’t just say so and all I’ve got to do is call up and tell her, and that lets me out. But if you do want it, for God’s sake get over there and act like you mean it.’
‘I’ll go, as a courtesy to you.’
Miss Turner got out a card and savagely wrote a note on it, her eyes snapping as she handed it over to Mildred. ‘All right, you wanted to know why that lady offered you a job as waitress, and why I recommended you for this. It’s because you’ve let half your life slip by without learning anything but sleeping, cooking, and setting the table, and that’s all you’re good for. So get over there. It’s what you’ve got to do, so you may as well start doing it.’
Shaken, Mildred got on the Sunset bus, but the address was unfamiliar to her, and she had to ask the conductor where to get off. At Coldwater Canon Drive, where he set her down, there was no sign of the street, and she started wandering around an unfamiliar neighbourhood, trying to get her bearings. The houses were big and forbidding, with driveways in front of them and clipped grass all around, and she couldn’t find the courage to approach one. Of pedestrians there were none, and she plodded around for the better part of an hour, peering at each street sign,losing all sense of direction in the winding streets. She got into a hysteria of rage at Bert, for taking the car, since if she had that, she would not only be saved walking, but could slip into a filling station and inquire in a self-respecting way, having the attendant produce maps. But here there were no filling stations, nobody she could ask, nothing but miles of deserted pavements, shaded by frowning trees. Finally a laundry truck pulled up, and she got the driver to straighten her out. She found the house, a big mansion with a low hedge around it, went up to the door and rang. A white-coated house man appeared. When she asked for Mrs Forrester he bowed and stepped aside for her to enter. Then he noticed she had no car, and froze. ‘Housekeeper?’
‘Yes, I was sent by—’
‘Back way.’
His eyes glistening with suddenly secreted venom, he closed the door, and she savagely trudged around to the back. Here he admitted her, and told her to wait. She was in a sort of service foyer, and in the kitchen, which was only a few steps away, she could see a cook and a waitress eyeing her. He returned, led her through dark, cool halls to a library, and left her. She sat down, glad to rest her aching feet. In a few minutes Mrs Forrester came in. She was a tall woman in
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