Laverda stood on the sidewalk in front of The Grand Hotel, wrapping her courage around
\nher shoulders like a shawl.<\/p>\n
I can do this…I can DO this….I CAN do this….<\/p>\n
Her words were silent now, but during the long walk from her house, she had whispered
\nthem in time to her steps, trying to march rather than simply walk. Soldiers marched
\ninto battle and they were brave; she would be a soldier today!<\/p>\n
I CAN DO THIS!!<\/p>\n
And she pushed through the revolving door into the lobby, marched across the polished
\nmarble floor directly to the registration desk and looked the clerk straight in the
\neye.<\/p>\n
“I would like to see the manager, please.” Laverda was happy with the way her voice
\nbehaved when she spoke. No nervous squeaks or false starts this morning!<\/p>\n
The clerk was known as The Guard Dog. He never let anyone see the manager unless he
\nknew the reason for their visit, and sometimes not even then. But he did always try to
\nbe polite, so he looked back at Laverda with a gentle smile on his face.<\/p>\n
“And why would a little girl like you need to see the manager?”<\/p>\n
For some reason,these words roused the actual soldier in Laverda. She surprised herself
\nand the clerk with her answer.<\/p>\n
“I may not be very tall, but I am hardly a ‘little girl’. And my business is with the
\nmanager, not with you. Please be kind enough to call him.”<\/p>\n
The Guard Dog did not know whether to bark or to laugh. He looked into Laverda’s angry
\nblack eyes and decided that maybe just this once the manager could deal with A Problem
\non his own.<\/p>\n
“Please wait one moment, madam.”<\/p>\n
He went to tap gently on a door marked OFFICE, disappeared for a few minutes, then
\nreturned to his post behind the desk.<\/p>\n
“If you will have a seat, the manager will be right with you, young lady.”<\/p>\n
“Thank you.”<\/p>\n
Laverda settled on the edge of a large leather chair. She was not nervous at all
\nanymore: the little skirmish with the clerk had relaxed her. For once she felt as
\nthough she actually could do what she had dreamed of for so long: get a job, one that
\nwould allow her to help with expenses at home on the farm. Times were hard. Jobs were
\nscarce, even for a high school graduate. Very few of her friends from the Class of 1919
\nhad found work.<\/p>\n
To keep her mind busy while she waited, Laverda looked curiously around the lobby of
\nthe hotel, which she had never entered before today. There were more oversized chairs
\nand a few small sofas, most with reading lamps and coffee tables nearby. A beauty salon
\nin one corner, a cigar shop and newsstand in another.<\/p>\n
To the left of the main entrance and directly across the lobby from Laverda’s chair was
\nthe doorway to The Grand Cafe, the hotel’s popular coffee shop and another place
\nLaverda had never been. She made a quick decision: no matter what happened during her
\ninterview with the hotel manager, she would treat herself to a ham sandwich and a
\nlemonade before the long walk back home. She had twenty-five cents in her coin purse;
\neven in a fancy place like The Grand Cafe, that would surely be more than enough money!<\/p>\n
Just as her tummy began to gurgle at the thought of a sandwich, the manager appeared
\nbeside Laverda’s chair.<\/p>\n
“Very sorry to keep you waiting, Miss. How may I help you today?”<\/p>\n
Laverda took a deep breath and stood up. This was it, the moment she had been waiting
\nfor!<\/p>\n
“I understand that you need a new daytime switchboard operator. I am here for the job.”<\/p>\n
The manager supressed his urge to laugh out loud at the nerve of this tiny young lady
\nstaring up at him so intently. He himself had just been informed yesterday that the
\ncurrent operator was moving out of town, yet here was his first applicant for the
\nposition! Well, times were hard, people rushed to any rumor of work. Why should this
\ngirl be any different?<\/p>\n
“I see. But what about your schooling? Wouldn’t a job interfere with your classes?”<\/p>\n
Laverda sighed. Sometimes she truly wished to be taller! But she had prepared herself
\ncarefully for this day and nothing was going to stop her. She reached into her purse
\nand produced her high school diploma, offering it to the manager with a smile.<\/p>\n
“I can start tomorrow.”<\/p>\n
This time the manager did laugh out loud. And he said the words that would mark the
\nbeginning of a new era for Laverda.<\/p>\n
“Fine. You’re hired. Come to the office; we’ll fill out some paperwork. And if you
\nreally can start tomorrow, you can spend the morning with Louisa learning the board,
\nthen be on your own by the afternoon. How does that sound?”<\/p>\n
She wanted to jump up and down, sing for joy, run home and share the news! But Laverda
\nsimply smiled.<\/p>\n
“That sounds perfect.”<\/p>\n
They took care of the paperwork in the office, then the manager took Laverda to the
\ncubbyhole room that held the switchboard and introduced her to Louisa, who welcomed her
\nwith a hug and a whispered “Congratulations, Cousin!”.<\/p>\n
After explaining the plan for the following day the manager left the two women alone,
\nsupposedly to get acquainted, but once the door closed they embraced again and fell
\ninto a fit of relieved giggles.<\/p>\n
“I knew you could do it, Laverda! I just knew it!”<\/p>\n
“Oh, Louisa I was so nervous! And then that desk clerk made me so mad! I wanted to
\nslap him!”<\/p>\n
This idea caused another giggle fit but finally they got themselves under control. Then
\nLaverda’s tummy made a hungry grumble and she told her cousin about her decision to eat
\nin The Grand Cafe before returning home.<\/p>\n
“Good idea! The food’s delicious and if you sit at the counter instead of a booth
\nyou’ll be able to watch the cook!”<\/p>\n
“And why would I want to do that?”<\/p>\n
“Well why else, silly…because he’s tall, dark and handsome!”<\/p>\n
“Oh, my stars, Louisa…I won’t have time for romance! I have a job now!”<\/p>\n
“Just go sit at the counter and enjoy yourself, dear!” Louisa gave her cousin a gentle
\npush out the cubbyhole door, then watched her cross the lobby and enter the cafe.
\n“Okay, Ben, it’s your turn now!” she whispered as she sat down and began making
\nconnections on the glowing switchboard.<\/p>\n
Inside the cafe Laverda climbed onto a stool at the counter and tried not to look as
\nnervous as she suddenly felt. Cousin Louisa had been talking about this newest
\nshort-order cook for weeks; ever since the day he first arrived at the hotel “in the
\nmiddle of a raining cats and dogs thunderstorm, dripping wet and laughing about
\nstepping on every poodle in the street”.<\/p>\n
The idea that anyone could be so cheerful under such conditions had intrigued Laverda.
\nWhenever Louisa had stopped by the house, chattering away about everything under the
\nsun as usual, Laverda had listened closely for any scraps of news about the cook. But
\neven though she had decided that he was indeed a very interesting person, she never
\nthought she might one day have a chance to see him herself.<\/p>\n
She peeked a time or two through the large order window, where she could see part of a
\nhuge stove and the usual clutter of a busy kitchen, but there was no sign of any tall,
\ndark and handsome cook.<\/p>\n
Laverda accepted the menu card offered by a waitress, using it only to check prices.
\nShe needed to be sure she could afford the brunch her tummy was demanding.<\/p>\n
“I’ll have the five cent ham sandwich,lemonade, and a slice of apple pie, please.” The
\nsandwich would surely be small, but Laverda didn’t want to spend more than ten cents,
\neven on a celebration meal. She was too careful with her money according to Cousin
\nLouisa, but she simply did not like the idea of an empty coin purse and always tried
\nto keep some change available.<\/p>\n
The waitress fastened the page with Laverda’s order onto a revolving wheel and clapped
\nher hand down on a small silver desk bell. “Ordering, Ben!! Give me one Covered Piglet,
\na Johnny Appleseed, and smash a few lemons!!”<\/p>\n
Laverda laughed at this description of her meal. She was still giggling when the cook
\nsuddenly appeared in the order window.<\/p>\n
Oh my stars, Louisa was right, he IS handsome! That was her first thought. Her second
\nthought was Oh my stars, he’s looking at me! And her third was Oh my stars, he just
\nwinked at me!!<\/p>\n
With that wink Laverda lost the poise she had maintained all morning. Her face felt
\nwarm, and she desperately wanted to look somewhere besides into the cook’s brown eyes,
\nbut she simply couldn’t turn away.<\/p>\n
Then he smiled, and the already friendly face became a spotlight of joy. Laverda’s
\nheart did a somersault. Oh my stars!<\/p>\n
A waitress rang the silver bell. “Ordering, Ben!! Give me a Naked Turtle On A Cloud!!”
\nThe cook winked at Laverda once more, then turned to prepare his orders, leaving
\nLaverda with time to puzzle over what had just happened. And something HAD happened,
\nshe was certain of that. If the waitress had not rung that bell and asked for whatever
\na Naked Turtle On A Cloud was, Laverda would surely still be looking into the cook’s…
\nBen’s, she allowed herself to think…into Ben’s sparkling eyes!<\/p>\n
She watched Ben moving gracefully around the kitchen. He was tall but not clumsy like
\nher brother. She could hear him whistling a little tune that made Laverda tap her toes
\nand wish for a dance floor. Then before she was quite prepared, Ben turned again and
\nput an enormous ham sandwich on the shelf of the order window. He slapped the bell,
\ncalled out “Order up….one Covered Piglet and a Johhny Appleseed!” And there was that
\nsmile with another wink too!<\/p>\n
The waitress placed Laverda’s sandwich on the counter but surely there was some
\nmistake…this couldn’t be her small five cent sandwich?!<\/p>\n
“Excuse me, but is this really just a Piglet? It’s huge!”<\/p>\n
The waitress gave Laverda her smashed lemons and laughed. “I don’t make the meals,
\ndearie, I just dish them out! If Ben says that is a Piglet, then it’s a Piglet! Enjoy
\nyour food, sweetie.”<\/p>\n
The bell rang again. “Order up…one Naked Turtle On A Cloud!” The waitress turned to
\nthe order window and Laverda caught a glimpse of the Naked Turtle: some kind of fruit
\nsalad on a heap of whipped cream, apparantly.<\/p>\n
One more peek at the order window, but Ben was not there so Laverda picked up half of
\nher Piglet and began to eat.There was a spicy flavor that she couldn’t identify, yet
\ndefinitely this was the best ham sandwich she had ever tasted. She ate the half, but
\nknew she would not have room for the rest; not if she wanted the apple pie too. She
\nsipped her lemonade and wondered what to do.<\/p>\n
“Is there something wrong with the Piglet, miss?”<\/p>\n
Oh, my stars! There was Ben sitting on the stool next to her! She glanced quickly to
\nthe order window and saw a different cook there, a grumpy looking tubby fellow.<\/p>\n
“Was the seasoned mayonnaise too spicy for you? I might have put too many chilis into
\nit this time.”<\/p>\n
Somehow Ben’s concern for his creation relaxed Laverda. “Seasoned mayonnaise! So that
\nwas the special flavor?! No, it was not too spicy, it was delicious! I just was not
\nexpecting such an adult Piglet. I’m afraid I’m nearly full already, but I still want my
\nJohnny Appleseed so I thought I’d rest a bit first.”<\/p>\n
Ben laughed with her and they began to chat, the business of the cafe whirling noisily
\nbut unnoticed around them. She told him about her new job; he told her about his plans
\nto become a bus driver for the city. She told him about her family on the small farm on
\nthe edge of town; he told her he had been wandering the country since leaving school
\none day at age fourteen. She told him about racing through the meadows on her little
\nblack pony; he told her about competing in Golden Gloves boxing tournaments.<\/p>\n
She told him about her dream to someday have her own little house in the city; he told
\nher he had the same dream but was waiting for the right girl to come along. And when he
\nsmiled at her, Laverda felt herself blushing again. Oh, my stars!<\/p>\n
Eventually they both realized that the rest of the Piglet had somehow been eaten, and
\nthe waitress had been by more than once to try to shoo them away. Ben would not let
\nLaverda pay her tab: he fished a dime out of his pocket and left it on the counter,
\nthen offered to walk Laverda home, promising to walk slowly since his legs were so much
\nlonger than hers.<\/p>\n
“I may not be very tall, but I am hardly a slow walker, Ben. I will easily be able to
\nkeep up with you! As a matter of fact, I might even need to walk slower just for you!”<\/p>\n
Ben’s rich laugh filled the hotel lobby as they left together. In the cubbyhole of the
\nswitchboard room, Cousin Louisa heard the sound and smiled. “I knew you could do it,
\nBen! I just knew it!” And she continued making connections on the glowing
\nswitchboard.<\/p>\n
Copyright Debbie Zapata OCTOBER 12,2011<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Laverda stood on the sidewalk in front of The Grand Hotel, wrapping her courage around her shoulders like a shawl. I can do this…I canTour Details<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5968","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-thousand-and-one-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5968","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5968"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5968\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5968"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5968"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/avoriginal.org\/dzx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5968"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}