7

Pops and Scags Go Downtown

Pops holds my hand as we go into his office downtown in the Palmolive Building. The glass in the outer door has Boomer’s name first and big and Pops’ name second and smaller. I stick my hand through the mail slot and wave inside saying, We’re here Boomer, hi Boomer. Pops tells me to be quiet, that Boomer may be on the phone. When we get inside, Pops lets go of my hand and I run into Boomer’s big corner office. His desk is huge and has a long table facing him so he could have big meetings with big people and I love sitting on Boomer’s desk.

Boomer is on the phone. When we walk in he looks at his watch. He places a hand over the phone’s mouth and says to Pops, Annie can’t make it today. Sit out front until Goldie gets here. Pops shrugs his shoulders and says to me, Come along, and we go into his office which is much smaller than Boomer’s. The desk is smaller but brighter than Boomer’s. I sit down behind it. It is so neat. Not like my desk at home. I am a slob. I sit down in Pops’ big chair and run my hands over the green blotter. It feels cool and soft like it would be keen-o to write or color on. What do you know, Pops opens his briefcase and there is my super large coloring book, my big box of crayons and my checkers set. I say, Pops, did you bring this for me? He smiles and empties the rest of his big black briefcase. Out come all these different colored pieces of paper, stacks of them. He places them on a corner of the desk and says, I’m going to leave you in here for a while until Goldie comes. I’ll just be in front. He takes off his jacket, pulls at his white shirt, hangs the jacket in a little closet, and takes his handkerchief out of his back pocket and wipes the skin between his nose and lips.

Pops, I ask, can I play office too? What I like to do is have his old colored pieces of paper and write on them even though they are already filled with words I don’t understand. Pops says, Sure, and reaches around the desk, opens his big bottom drawer and pulls out a stack of paper. Yes. This is going to be fun. He puts the papers in front of me and takes his pen out of his shirt pocket and gives it to me. We can hear Boomer’s voice but not what he is saying. He laughs a lot. Boomer booms.

Pops leaves me and goes to the secretary’s desk. I pretend that I am in charge here. I’m the boss. I click Pops’ pen and the little tip peeks out. On the top sheet of paper I write, Scags says to write to a man and tell him we want to make a lot of money. Boomer slams the phone down and then yells something at Pops. They talk in loud voices while I do all the work.

I make checks and x’s on every one of the sheets Pops gave me. I work very hard, very hard because I like making the stack smaller and smaller. The pink, green, and yellow paper is so thin and the writing on it is so blurry, I wonder how Pops can read it. When I finish, I pick up my checkers and go into Boomer’s office. It is so bright and cool in here. Boomer is reading the newspaper, looks over the top and winks at me.

Boomer says, I see you have your checkers set. Want to try and beat an old pro? Yeah, I say and walk over to him. Boomer picks me up and sets me boom down on his big desk that has all these keen-o things on it. There are brass pieces of engine machinery that are so heavy. Every time I go to pick one up, I can’t do it with one hand. They are so strange looking, like birds in some way, on one foot bending over each other, trying to get a cool drink of water.

Boomer folds up his newspaper, takes the checkers from me and sets it up. I tell Boomer, I like being red. He switches the board and says, What makes a winner? I answer, Having the first move. Presto-chango before I can believe it, I had the first move and he beat me. Whoa Boomer, I say, how did you beat me? I had the first move. Boomer says, We’ll try again. I do. I move one of the ones in the center and yes I do win. Boomer asks me, Are you getting hungry for that hot and sweet apple pancake?

I hear Pops talking to Goldie. Why is Goldie here? I ask Boomer. He picks me up off the desk and sets me back down on the floor. I smooth my dress. Goldie comes into Boomer’s office. She is really golden today in her sleeveless gold dress and gold shoes. I say, Hi Goldie. She says, Don’t I get a kiss? I run over to her and give her a big wet one on the cheek. I feel her hand behind my ear and then when I pull away a nickel is in her palm. She smiles a big smile as if she just did the keenest thing in the world, the whole world. I say to her as I take the nickel, I’m the boss here. Dropping my voice down low I ask Goldie, Don’t you think it’s time to eat? Goldie presses her lips to my cheek and I know she left her lipstick mark there. I rub my cheek. Goldie licks her finger and erases the smudge from my face.

Pops, I say, oh Pops. Pops is on the phone. Boomer looks at his watch and says, Well if we’re going to eat, let’s go. Pops, I say again but Boomer takes my left hand and Goldie takes my right hand and while Pops sweats at the secretary’s desk, his handkerchief wiping the back of his neck, he doesn’t see us leave. Why can’t he come too? I ask Boomer. But we walk out the door, down the hall, into the elevator, across the lobby to the street. Everybody knows Boomer. He likes to say, This is my granddaughter. Everybody looks down at me. I try to smile like Mama says to do but Pops got left behind. Pops is doing all the work.