Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Volume 1

Chapter 24.1: 1994, Ruiz

The doorman of Georgina's building was looking at me with narrow eyes and a suspicious manner. Why today?

"I told you, I know Mrs. George," I sighed, looking down at my grubby sneakers and feeling awful.

"Our Mrs. George doesn't get visitors," he told me for the third time, "it must be some other Mrs. George you know."

"Just tell her Ruiz is here to see her. She'll let me up, I'm telling you," I told him smartly again.

He shrugged then went inside the building. I saw him sit beyond the glass doors with the gold trim and I stared at him with a new anger. He sat there, staring at the wall, on purpose not letting me up. I banged on the door again and he didn't look at me. I couldn't believe it.

So instead, I stepped backwards on the sidewalk, getting a good aim at the third floor window of Georgina's and began to yell.

"GEORGINA!" I shouted, my hands surrounding my mouth, "GEORGINA!"

The double doors burst open and the doorman was on his feet looking thoroughly annoyed.

"Get away from that window, go on, dammit, I told you there isn't anyone here for you!" he said harshly.

"GEORGINA! YOUR DOORMAN IS BEING-!" I shouted once again.

Suddenly the window went up by two slender hands through the lace curtains. In a second more, Georgina stood just beyond the window looking down at us like a queen. She was wearing a bold red sweater set and matching red slim pants in a 1960's style, as always. Her hair looked like Marilyn Monroe's and her ruby red lipstick topped off an eye popping look. It was like looking at Marilyn Monroe if she had been allowed to age a little bit.

"Benjamin Beasley, I should have known," she called down like a 1960's movie starlet.

"You know this man?" The doorman called up to her.

Georgina looked startled for a moment and I looked down at the ground in shame.

"That's Ruiz, I know Ruiz," she said delicately.

"Okay then, sorry," the doorman said quietly, opening the door.

"Take note of it, Ben," I heard Georgina call down to him. The sound of the window shutting followed shortly after.

In a moment I was up the stairs and Georgina's door was already open for me. I hurried inside and Georgina shut the door with it pressed close to her. In a fluid movement she slid both of the locks into place.

"I didn't know you were coming, otherwise I'd have made something?" Georgina apologized, sitting down in her red chair like always. The red velvet mixing with her ruby red outfit played scandal on my eyes.

Then something about what she had said earlier in the window hit me.

"You called me Ruiz," I breathed, sitting on the pink rose couch as custom with us.

"Yes," she said, her eyebrow raised as if to say, what of it?

"You know how to pronounce my name? You always call me 'Louise'."

She smiled at me knowingly. My mouth dropped open a little as I tried to catch my breath from having run up the stairs.

"I call you Louise because its a girl's name," she said simply, continuing to smile.

"Oh," I whispered, so touched in my heart I couldn't really express it.

"Shall I take your coat? I can put it in the bedroom. I can also put some tea on. It felt mighty cold out there. You must want a hot drink," she said warmly, already getting up from her seat.