"It's a luxury being a writer, because all you ever think about is life."
Amy Tan
As the taxi pulled up to East Sixty Fifth Avenue I took in a huge gulp of air, along with my last sip of orange juice. I hadn't planned on eating breakfast while bumping across Manhattan in my crisp ivory Furstenberg knockoff wrap dress & pink sweater, but morning came quicker than I had anticipated & growling stomachs never serve as good first impressions.
There it was. The Touraine. A ridiculously gorgeous Residence on the Upper East Side. The type of living space reserved for those whose touch of elegance need no explanation. After all, it's Manhattan & addresses? Yeh, everything. As I stepped out onto the perfectly pristine sidewalk lined with the scent of fresh honeysuckle & gardenias, I felt a knot form in my stomach. Was I sure I could pull this off? Who was I kidding? This had to be a fluke. I mean I wasn't even qualified. Would she like me? Would she give me a chance to prove how amazing I could be? One thing was for sure.. I had to start moving my suddenly immobile legs into a forward direction or I would soon be knocked over by a rolling cab. As the taxi driver's grumbling voice jolted me back into reality, I boldly turned toward the fabulously gold front doors. "Just go in you goofball", I mouthed it under my breath, but the way the doorman looked at me I'm guessing he heard it too..
Riding the elevator up to the 9th floor, I rehearsed my opening line. "Hello Ms. Hadensen, such an immense pleasure to meet you." Immense? Was that good? How about lovely. Lovely is better? I struggled to see my lipstick in the reflection of the gold mirrored elevator buttons. Oh how I wished the elevator attendant wasn't there so I could swish my hair back & forth & check my teeth for bread crumbs. Honestly? I need an attendant to ride?
The buzzer was loud. Much louder than I expected & the very sound of it made me jolt. Like that kind of sharp shock when biting down on an aluminum foil gum wrapper.
"Hello. Ms. Hadensen will see you in the dining area" A very modern style maid of sorts with the most beautiful auburn hair wrapped in the tightest bun I had ever seen motioned me to hand her my sweater. My sweater? Ohhhhh please don't see the croissant crumbs I thought. Oh, well.. too late to think of all that now.
She entered the room in the style of dress that I could only liken to that of Eva Gabor in the opening scene of Green Acres. Long, flowing 1960's chiffon with a large chunky platinum necklace with the letter H on it. Equally golden blonde hair tousled into a tall coiffed do & shiny house slippers. She was elegance mixed with 1970's housewife. I thought it an odd mix, but this woman was all about personal, individualistic style & not at all about what I or anyone else thought of her.."You're a bit more preppy than I imagined from our correspondence" Preppy? Me?? "uhh..really?" I said it in the sort of high pitched erratic tone that not only gave away the fact that I was intensely nervous, but also the truth of my very bipolar fashion existence. "I like your style. Nice resume, but more importantly, what is it you do for fun?" FUN? Wha? Seriously, the first interview question for a personal assistant position in a high rise mansion was going to be about fun? I hadn't thought of that one. I hadn't planned that one out. uhhhh.. "well (I stuttered with a nervous laugh) I love to dance!" "Dancing is divine." She said it with the kind of laughter & slow Hungarian accent that magically slows heartbeats, but at the same time delivers a melancholy tone. "I haven't danced in years. I think I should!" As the seconds turned into an hour & 30 minutes. I learned a lot about Ms. H. I learned that she had began her journey into the interior design business as a young girl with parents to support & a long list of strikes against her. I learned that her philosophy of business was that laughter is first & all other things are second because (as she put it) "Wealthy people who buy luxury are really just looking for laughter & joy, but they don't know it. They don't even want to hear it, but it's true. THAT my dear is the secret to my success."
As we wrapped our conversation, I knew I wasn't the girl for the job. I knew I would never hear from Ms. Hadensen again & most likely never set foot into her princess style domain again. After all, I had absolutely no interior design experience & my dancing skills were only going to get me so far, but I was elated for the moments with her, for the peek into an extraordinary & eccentric life.
As I made my way toward the front door, I was frozen by the breathtakingly beautiful view from her parlor window & I noticed a small placque on the entry way table which read: the power of attraction.
"Keep dancing", she said as she shook my hand goodbye
"& by God don't you ever stop laughing"
I have& I won't.
Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams,
xo
Birdee Bow
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