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Show ! 3111111 p Romance P In An Elevator tlTM I By Shirley Sargent 1.1. nn fpHE professor had been elevatoi starter in the six story Brent building ever since Tod Davis could remember. He clicked his castanets, guiding people into one or another elevator. Sometimes he said, "Car going up," or I "Step in, please," 3 Minute but usually he Fiction x just clicked his I riciion castanets and motioned. Tod sidestepped the crowd going into the second car. Valerie operated oper-ated elevator number three part time, helping to put herself through college. The professor winked and let Tod go in, but it wasn't any good. He was shoved into the corner opposite Valerie by eager shoppers. Romance in an elevator, Tod thought wryly. Personal conversation, conversa-tion, interrupted by calls of "Three, miss," and "Second, please," was nearly impossible, but Valerie managed man-aged it. "Good morning, Mr. Davis," she said now, formally. "Why aren't you at college?" "Too nice a morning to be cooped up," he said, watching her but conscious con-scious that every eye was on him. Everybody streamed out by the time they reached the top floor and only two nurses got in for the down, ride. Quickly, he said, "I'm quitting school." Valerie's expressions anger chasing disappointment told him how she felt. As people got on at the fourth floor level, all she could say was, "I'm afraid you're making a mistake." Tod had known Valerie would be stubborn. First floor and everybody out as a new stream crowded in. Just enough confused time for Tod to stop beside her. "It's that job," he said urgently, "I'll be making enough for us to be married on. Steady work." "So's running an elevator," she reported. "Why don't you talk to the professor?" TOD leaned against the wall, watching the professor direct traffic. He couldn't see college for the $2.70 an hour he'd get working for a construction company. Balance the promise of an underpaid white collar job after two more years of college against that kind of money, and you didn't give a darn for education. The castanets clicked, the professor's profes-sor's arm moved, people shuffled forward. Watching him, Tod was reminded of an automat. The professor pro-fessor was a fixture, performing the same gestures routinely. Habit and duty guiding him. Like a puppet, pup-pet, Tod thought, realizing why Valerie wanted him to talk to the professor. With the elevators all in use, he turned to Tod. "How's college?" As the elevator zoomed past the fourth floor he took her in his arms and proposed. "I'm quitting for a job at $2.70 an hour." "So you can get married?" "Valerie says she won't marry me unless I finish college." "Smart girl," the professor said quietly, turning back to the impatient impa-tient people, castanets clicking, arm waving. In the next hill, the professor spoke hurriedly, "I took this job on temporarily 23 years ago, because I needed money to be married. I was going to teach, be a professor, but the children started coming and this was steady. Great job if you like herding sheep." Tod watched the professor with sharpened awareness. Herding sheep. A steady job, but automatic. No thought, no chance for advancement. advance-ment. That's what Valerie had wanted him to see. Was Valerie afraid he'd end up like the professor? profes-sor? Thoughtfully, Tod boarded the third car, standing as close to Valerie as the pressure of the crowd would allow. "I thought you had to work," she said coldly. "I'm going back to college," he said, forgetting the people when he saw her eyes light up. They shot past the second floor without stopping. stop-ping. "Will you marry me right away?" he asked. "Oh, yes," she said and the elevator ele-vator zoomed past the fourth floor level as he took her in his arms. And the next thing they knew, the crowd was shouting, "Sixth floor, everybody out." |