"Pretty good drink, Scotch and Seven-Up."
He looked at me in what seemed to be embarrassment. "I don't know,
really," he said. "First time I ever had it."
"Stranger in town?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Got in only last night."
"Where from?"
"You wouldn't have heard of the place," he said.
("See! I told you!" Mae whispered.)
"I don't know," I said. "I've heard of lots of places: Medicine Hat,
Ephrata, Chestnut Bend, Gallipolis, Moses Lake, Lackawack...."
"None of those," he said, as if he were playing a quiz game. "It's a
little place in Missouri called Joplin."
"That's easy. I got my Signal Corps training near there during the war."
"You don't say!"
("Ask him where he got the new suit," Mae persisted.)
"Where'd you get the new suit?" I asked him.
"Bond's," he said. "You know, under the waterfall in Times Square?
It looked so cool. They have an artificial waterfall on top of the
building. It used to be Pepsi-Cola's."
("Ask him what time," Mae said.)
"What time?"
"About nine o'clock," he said. "When it opened. Why?"
("Why?" I asked Mae.)
("Ask him if he saw the aliens in there then.")
"Did you see the aliens in there then?"
"I saw a bunch of men come in in bearskins or something like," he said.
"I thought it was an advertising stunt."
("He thought it was an advertising stunt," I told Mae.)
("Doesn't he listen to the radio?" she asked.)
"Don't you listen to the radio?" I asked him.
"The radio?"
"The aliens from Monolithia were getting outfitted in Bond's at nine
A.M., according to the radio," I told him without benefit of Mae.
"Is that who they were? Well, well."
He drank his Scotch and Seven-Up at one gulp, making a face over it,
and said, "I've got to get going. I have a ticket for a show at 2:30."
("What show?" Mae asked.)
"What show?" I asked him.
He mentioned the new Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. "I'm meeting my
wife there. Would you like to see a picture of her and the kids?" He
took out his wallet to show me. In addition to the snapshot I saw his
Missouri driver's license and an old draft card.
"Nice-looking family," I said.
"Thanks. Got to run now. My wife has the other ticket and I'm meeting
her at the seats. Can't get lost that way, I figure. Pleasure talking
to you. You, too, ma'am."