Today
we complete the story "Paul's Case". It was written by Willa Cather.
Here is Kay Gallant with the
story.
Paul was a student with a lot of problems. He
hated school. He didn't like living with his family on Cordelia Street in the
industrial city of Pittsburgh.
Paul wanted to be surrounded by beautiful things. He loved
his part-time job as an usher at the concert hall. He helped people find their
seats before the concert. Then he could listen to the music and dream of
exciting places.
Paul also spent a lot of time at the local theater. He
knew many of the actors who worked there. He used to do little jobs for them.
And they would let him see plays for free.
Paul had little time left for his studies. So he was
always in trouble with his teachers. Finally, Paul's teachers complained again
to his father. His father took him out of school and made him take a job in a
large company. He would not let Paul go near the concert hall or the theater.
Paul did not like his job as a messenger boy. He began to
plan his escape.
A few weeks later, Paul's boss, Mr. Denny, gave Paul a
large amount of money to take to the bank. He told Paul to hurry because it was
Friday afternoon. He said the bank would close soon and would not open again
until Monday. At the bank, Paul took the money out of his pocket. It was five
thousand dollars. Paul put the money back in his coat pocket. And he walked out
of the bank.
He went to the train station and bought a one way ticket
for New York City. That afternoon Paul left Pittsburgh forever.
The train traveled slowly through a January snowstorm. The
slow movement made Paul fall asleep. The train whistle blew just as the sun was
coming up. Paul awoke, feeling dirty and uncomfortable. He quickly touched his
coat pocket. The money was still there. It was not a dream. He really was on his
way to New York City with five thousand dollars in his pocket.
Finally the train pulled into Central Station. Paul walked
quickly out of the station and went immediately to an expensive clothing store
for men.
The salesman was very polite when he saw Paul's money.
Paul bought two suits, several white silk shirts, some silk ties of different
colors. Then he bought a black tuxedo suit for the theater, a warm winter coat,
a red bathrobe, and the finest silk underclothes. He told the salesman he wanted
to wear one of the new suits and the coat immediately. The salesman bowed and
smiled.
Paul then took a taxi to another shop where he bought
several pairs of leather shoes and boots. Next, he went to the famous jewelry
store, Tiffany's, and bought a tie pin and some brushes with silver handles. His
last stop was a luggage store where he had all his new clothes put into several
expensive suitcases.
It was a little before one o'clock in the afternoon when
Paul arrived at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. The doormen opened the hotel's glass
doors for Paul and the boy entered. The thick carpet under his feet had the
colors of a thousand jewels. The lights sparkled from crystal chandeliers.
Paul told the hotel clerk he was from Washington, D.C. He
said his mother and father were arriving in a few days from Europe. He explained
he was going to wait for them at the hotel.
In his dreams Paul had planned this trip to New York a
hundred times. He knew all about the Waldorf-Astoria, one of New York's most
expensive hotel's. As soon as he entered his rooms, he saw that everything was
perfect--except for one thing. He rang the bell and asked for fresh flowers to
be sent quickly to his rooms.
When the flowers came, Paul put them in water and then he
took a long, hot bath. He came out the bathroom, wearing the red silk bathrobe.
Outside his windows, the snow was falling so fast that he could not see across
the street. But inside, the air was warm and sweet. He lay down on the sofa in
his sitting room.
It had all been so very simple, he thought. When they had
shut him out of the theater and the concert hall, Paul knew he had to leave. But
he was surprised that he had not been afraid to go. He could not remember a time
when he had not been afraid of something. Even when he was a little boy. But now
he felt free. He wasn't afraid anymore. He watched the snow until he fell
asleep.
It was four o'clock in the afternoon when Paul woke up. He
spent nearly an hour getting dressed. He looked at himself often in the mirror.
His dark blue suit fit him so well that he did not seem too thin. The white silk
shirt and the blue and lilac tie felt cool and smooth under his fingers. He was
exactly the kind of boy he had always wanted to be.
Paul put on his new winter coat and went downstairs. He
got into a taxi and told the driver to take him for a ride along Fifth Avenue.
Paul stared at the expensive stores.
As the taxi stopped for a red light Paul noticed a flower
shop. Through the window, he could see all kinds of flowers. Paul thought the
violets, roses, and lilies-of-the valley looked even more lovely because they
were blooming in the middle of winter.
Paul began to feel hungry so he asked the taxi driver to
take him back to the hotel. As he entered the dining room, the music of the
hotel orchestra floated up to greet him. He sat at a table near a window. The
fresh flowers, the white tablecloth, and the colored wine glasses pleased Paul's
eyes. The soft music, the low voices of the people around him and the soft
popping of champagne corks whispered into Paul's ears.
This is what everyone wants, he thought. He could not
believed he had ever lived in Pittsburgh on Cordelia Street! That belonged to
another time and place. Paul lifted the crystal glass of champagne and drank the
cold, prescious, bubbling wine. He belonged here.
Later that evening, Paul put on his black tuxedo and went
to the opera. He felt perfectly at ease. He had only to look at his tuxedo to
know he belonged with all the other beautiful people in the opera house. He
didn't talk to anyone. But his eyes recorded everything.
Paul's golden days went by without a shadow. He made each
one as perfect as he could. On the eighth day after his arrival in New York, he
found a report in the newspaper about his crime. It said that his father had
paid the company the five thousand dollars that Paul had stolen. It said Paul
had been seen in a New York hotel. And it said Paul's father was in New York. He
was looking for Paul to bring him back to Pittsburgh.
Paul's knees became weak. He sat down in a chair and put
his head in his hands. The dream was ended. He had to go back to Cordelia
Street. Back to the yellow-papered bedroom, the smell of cooked cabbage, the
daily ride to work on the crowded street cars.
Paul poured himself a glass of champagne and drank it
quickly. He poured another glass and drank that one, too.
Paul had a taxi take him out of the city and into the
country. The taxi left him near some railroad tracks. Paul suddenly remembered
all the flowers he had seen in a shop window his first night in New York. He
realized that by now every one of those flowers was dead. They had had only one
splendid moment to challenge winter.
A train whistle broke into Paul's thoughts. He watched as
the train grew bigger and bigger. As it came closer, Paul's body shook. His lips
wore a frightened smile. Paul looked nervously around as if someone might be
watching him.
When the right moment came, Paul jumped. And as he jumped,
he realized his great mistake. The blue of the ocean and the yellow of the
desert flashed through his brain. He had not seen them yet! There was so much he
had not seen!
Paul felt something hit his chest. He felt his body fly
through the air far and fast. Then everything turned black and Paul dropped back
into the great design of things.
You have just heard the American story "Pauls's Case". It was written by Willa
Cather.
Your storyteller was Kay
Gallant. |