“Keeps you from thinkin,’ don’t it? If I had your job I wouldn’t kick. Wear white clothes and lay out in the sun with them kids.”
“You’d ought to get a place in the city. A good cook like you are could make big money.”
“It ain’t so dead round here as you might think. Say, you know that man was in the garden ’smorning, the one the children took such a shine to. Is he an old friend to the family?”
“Who?—the one that asked for a piece of cake? Never saw him before. I thought he acted kinda crazy.”
“Well, they got him stayin’ in the house. He must be someone they know pretty well, he calls ’em all to their first names. Say, I wish you’d seen ’em at supper, honest it was a sketch.”
“Who all is there?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Brook, just usual sort o’ people; and a dame they call Miss Clyde, dark and a bit serious-lookin’; and this Mr. Martin. Well, for the lovamike, when I go in to fix the table I see smoke coming out from behind that screen in the corner, I think something’s afire. I run over and there’s Mr. Martin setting on the floor smoking on a cigarette. He looks at me sort of frightened, then he laughs and says not to tell anybody because he’s learnin’ to make rings. He stands around talkin’ to me while I’m laying the table, and then Mrs. G. comes in. He says to her ‘Do I have to go to bed right after dinner?’ The funny thing is he’s got a cheerful kind of way about him, you don’t much mind what he does, he does it so natural. Of course she knowed he was jokin’, she says he can set up as late as he likes. He says it’s nice to be able to do whatever you want to and he asks me if we’re going to have anything good for supper. Then he asks if he can ring the gong. I always like to do that, he says. Mrs. G. and me both busts out laughing. We laughed and laughed like a couple of fools. I was trying to remember what we was laughing at. I don’ know, we just screeched. He smiles too, kinda surprised. There’s something about him puts me in mind of the way I used to find things comical when I was a kid. I remember one day I got sent home from school for laughing. It just struck me funny to see the harbour out there and the sunlight on the water and people going up and down the street talkin’.”
Nounou tried to imagine what Lizzie looked like as a young girl, convulsed with mirth.
“They all comes in to eat. By and by, while I’m serving the consommay, he leans over and whispers to her—he’s settin’ at her right. No one else can hear, but I got it, I was right in back of ’em. When I’m in bed, he says, will you come and tuck me in? Well, I wish you could seen her, as red and rosy; she looks swell to-night anyhow in that silver layout o’ hers. I never seen any one look prettier; I think that other dame, Mrs. Brook, was kinda sore at Mrs. G. for wearin’ it.”
Nounou put down her cigarette in amazement.