"Hallo, Miss Meyerson!" he said, extending his hand, "is any of the boys around?"
"They're both out," Miss Meyerson replied, shaking Aaron's proffered hand. "It looks like old times to see you back here."
"Don't it?" Pinsky said. "It feels like old times to me. Is the boys busy?"
"Very," said Miss Meyerson. "We're doing twice the business that the books show we did a year ago."
Aaron beamed.
"That's good," he said. "Them boys deserves it, Miss Meyerson. When you come to consider it, Miss Meyerson, I got pretty good treatment here. The goods was always made up right and the prices also. I never had no complaint to make. But certainly a feller has got to look out for his family, and so long as my nephew gets along good I couldn't kick if oncet in a while Greenberg & Sen sticks me with a couple of garments. Last week they done me up good with eight skirts."
"And how is Philip?" Miss Meyerson asked.
"Miss Meyerson," Aaron began, "that boy is a good boy, y'understand, but somehow or another Greenberg & Sen don't take no interest in him at all. I don't think he learns much there, even though they did raise him two dollars last week."
"And how is your cough getting on, Mr. Pinsky?" Miss Meyerson continued.
"Since I ain't been taking the medicine it ain't been so good," Aaron announced, and, as if in corroboration of his statement, he immediately entered upon a fit of coughing that well-nigh strangled him. After Miss Meyerson had brought him a glass of water he repeated the narrative of the burned-out drug store and produced the bottle from his breast-pocket.