Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Volume 1

Chapter 13.3: 1994, Ruiz

Charlie knocked on Mrs. George's door as I sipped my strawberry milk absentmindedly. He'd knocked five times just like last time. I found it odd. "Why do you knock five times?" I asked, but as Charlie opened his mouth we heard the sound of a chain lock sliding.

The door swung open and there stood Mrs. George. Except this time she looked wholly different. My eyes widened and so did Charlie's, but he cleared his throat and offered her the groceries to hide it.

She took them with a blue nail polished hand. Her face looked fresh, younger, her lips glossed with a rosy tint. Studying her face, she was wearing brown eyeliner to bring out her blue eyes. Her pale blonde hair was smooth and tidy, the curls at the bottom tighter, and on her head was a light blue headband. But most strikingly, she was wearing a 1960's type of shift dress. It went almost to her knee, flaring out a bit as a whole from her shoulders. The collar was a sort of half turtleneck. The whole dress was a powder blue, a color so old world to me. Her legs had on white tights, and her shoes were kitten heels in a matching powder blue. On her wrists were golden bangles, three of them.

She looked so small, so much younger than before. She looked like Alice in Wonderland in 60's Twiggy style. I was stunned.

"Hello, Mrs. George," I breathed.

"It's Georgina," she said quietly, shyly, looking down at the floor.

My heart about stopped. What did she just say?

"Here's your groceries. I gave you an ounce of meat more. It was on the scale already, so I thought it might be okay," Charlie said nervously as she took the groceries from him.

"Thank you, I appreciate it," she told him politely. Her eyes looked up at me then. I noticed she was wearing fake eyelashes. "Would you like to come in, Louise? I can't offer you tea..." She gave a little chuckle.

I gave a laugh that sounded like a sneeze in my surprise. Had she just made a joke?!

"Bless you," she said, thinking I had sneezed. Her hand beckoned me inside, like a grandmother's, sort of to the side. I walked past her into the mostly pink apartment in shock. Charlie bid her farewell, and she closed the door, locking it and sliding the chain lock in place.

I stared at her back as she made her way to the kitchen. She looked like she was in her late thirties maybe. But that couldn't be. She had to be in her fifties at least. I felt like I had entered a time machine.

When I sat on her pink rose patterned couch, I gasped as my eyes fell on something I had forgotten.

The photo book Ambrose and I had made for her sat on her coffee table. My hand rose to my mouth as tears filled my eyes. The photo book. I'd given it to Charlie to give to her. I looked at her and she was staring at me from the open fridge.

"Thank you for the photo album," she said in her quiet way. As she said it, I realized it sounded breathier, lighter than the voice she had used with me previously. It sounded...feminine. "Would you like a bottled water or something? You'll have to keep the cap on when you're not drinking it, though. Wouldn't want a repeat."

Something like a bomb felt like it was going off in my body. The image of her in her Georgina Monroe drag matched up with her voice as she spoke to me. That voice. It sounded like Marilyn Monroe. This voice...

"I've got Poland Spring. I can put some Kool-Aid in it if you want. Kids like Kool-Aid."

My hand gripped the couch as I felt dizzy. This voice. She was using her Georgina Monroe voice! I looked over to her and she was looking at me, smiling small.

"You're awfully quiet compared to before. You weren't so quiet on the street," she chuckled.

Another joke. Surreality set in.