Your Coca-Cola Bottler presents, Claudia. Claudia, based on the original stories by Rose Franken. Brought to you transcribed Monday through Friday by your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. Relax, and while you're listening, refresh yourself. Have a Coke. And now, Claudia. Oh dear, wait a minute, I'm coming. I'm coming, coming, coming. Mama, what are you doing here so early? You were supposed to come by till three o'clock. It's only, it's only two and the place looks a shambles. I won't look. Then you can come in and sit down if you find room on one of those chairs. What in the world is going on here? The place looks like a tornado swept through it. No tornado, just me. You said you weren't going to look. I have to. It's dangerous to sit in one of these chairs without looking. Clothes and hangers. I'm fixing things neatly. See, instead of David's clothes and mine all mixed up in one closet, I'm putting David's in one and mine in another. David suggested? No, my own idea. I'm nearly done. You sit here and I'll take these clothes away. Thank you. I can't stay long. Oh, here, here, here. Take this hanger with you next time you go out to the closet. All right. And that's it on the chair. Oh, I'm nearly through, Mama. Remember this pink dress? Keep on talking. I can hear you even if I can't see you. I have nothing to say. It's the dress I wore when I met David. That's why I have it in this cellophane bag. Saving it? Uh-huh. For our fiftieth anniversary. Here's the blue I wore on our first date. Which ended up in the drugstore. How'd you know? You told me a dozen times. Oh, so I did. Remember this one? Hmm? This one, this one here. Oh, oh, yes. It's the one with the toe on hem. Mama, it is not. It's the one I wore on the bus ride the night he brought you the flowers. It's still the one with the toe on hem. Is there anything on the couch I forgot to look? Uh, two dresses and a wool shirt of David. Shall I bring them in? No, thanks. The dresses are going to cleaners and I'm going to press this wool shirt. What did I hear you say? I said I'm going to press David's wool shirt. What did you think I said? That's what I thought you said. Mama, just because I burned a wool dress at home once, I suppose you think I can't iron, can you? Mama, look, I'll show you now. No, don't start ironing on my account. I'm leaving in a minute. I was going to anyway. I'll bring the ironing board in from the kitchen. It's David's favorite shirt and I like to have it ready for him when he comes home. See my new electric iron? It's a wedding present. It's like a radio with that dial. I'll show you how it works. Now watch. Over here. Come on over here. Watch. Maybe you better plug it in first or doesn't it need electricity? It needs electricity. Careful with your head under that table, Claudia. I can't see the iron, Mama. Anything happening? Making noises. Oh, it'll be right up. That means it's on. It's frightening. I'd be expecting it to explode at any moment. See, the nose is round. That way you can't lose any buttons. Just your shirt. There. Now you see you dial according to the material you're pressing. Cotton, silk, rayon, wool. I'm going to iron wool, so I set the dial to wool. Now for David's favorite shirt. I might get used to the ticking, but that little dial would make me self-conscious. It's like an eye watching you. You get used to that, I think. Oh, but it's a wonderful iron. Iron so smoothly, Mama. Oh, that's David phoning me. How can you tell? He hasn't phoned all afternoon. It must be him. Shall I get it? I'm going. Come on in the bedroom and listen. I'm not interested in your private affairs. Unless you say hello to David. Come on. I'm coming, coming, coming. You realize, of course, that whoever's phoning can't hear you until you pick up the receiver. I know, but it makes me feel so much better. Hello, David? Oh, fine. Good, I'll be ready. Mama's here. I told her it was you. David says hello, Mama. Tell him hello himself and see how he likes it. Mama says hello yourself and see how I like it. David says he likes it. He says come on in and talk to him. I'm on my way. Let me have the receiver. Here's Mama, David. Hello, David. I've been just getting a lesson in homemaking from your wife. No, not giving a lesson, getting one. Hold on. Wait a moment, David. Claudia, do you smell something burning? Yes, I do. Give me the phone. David, I've got to go. Something's on fire. I don't know what it is. I was just going to find out. I've got to go. Goodbye, darling. It's David's shirt. I know it. Oh, it is the shirt. You better take the iron off the sleeve. But it shouldn't burn when it says off. Someone should have told the iron. Stack it off. Maybe off isn't for phone calls. You know, there should be a position on there that radios for help. Better pull the plug out. Careful of your head on that table. Too late. There should be another outlet besides the one under this table. What happened? The lights went out. I never realized how dark this apartment was until now. I never believed it was afternoon outside. First thing for you to do is to come up from under that table. It sticks out further than I thought it did. Claudia, where's the fuse box? Fuse box? I don't know. I never noticed. We don't have any fuses anyway. Why don't you call the superintendent up to fix it? The house phone is here along the wall somewhere. Oh. Now what happened? There was a little chair against the wall too. It's all right. I've got it. No answer. Maybe the whole house is dark. Want me to go downstairs after the superintendent? No. Oh, here's somebody now. Hello? This is Mrs. Naughton in 2C. I think I blew out a fuse. That's putting it mildly. Well, could you send someone up to fix it? Oh, yes. The apartment's very dark. Thank you. Thank you very much. Superintendent will be right up. That's fast service. Probably because I've been so friendly with Bertha. Have you met him yet? No, but Bertha says he's marvelous. Do you mind sitting in the dark? I'm getting used to it. If I open the bedroom door, the light will be coming from there. Oh, I wonder who moves furniture in this apartment every time the lights go out. If you had everything against the wall, there'd be nothing to trip over. Small chairs near phones, that's all. Yeah, that helps a little, doesn't it? Little enough. It'd be nice if you could move to an apartment a little higher in a building, one without the windows facing a blank wall. Oh, being on the second floor has some advantages. Such as? Well, because it's right near the superintendent in case anything goes wrong. Come in. The door's unlocked. Mrs. Naughton? Yes? I'm Fritz. I've come to fix the fuse. Bertha says I could come right up to take care of Mrs. Naughton. Do you know where the fuse box is, Fritz? Oh, sure. Right here on this foyer. You just don't worry. I'll fix it. Do you need a chair? No, thank you. It's not high. I can reach without it. There. This is much better with the lights on, yeah? Thank you, Fritz. I met Bertha the other day. Oh, you are Mrs. Naughton's mother. Bertha tells me about you. I'm very happy to meet you. Not as happy as I when you fix the fuse. Thanks again, Fritz. I've got to run, Claudia. Mrs. Naughton, please, if everything is all right now, then I go. Oh, fine. Thank you, Fritz. Oh, our ice box won't defrost. Maybe you could fix that for us as long as you're here, Fritz. Yeah, you had the button. It is in a funny place in this refrigerator. I'll show you. You come into the kitchen. You go find out about the button, Claudia. I have an idea. This apartment give you a lot of trouble, Mrs. Naughton, no? Yes. I cut my finger last night helping Mr. Naughton fix a leaky faucet. Oh, that's too bad. You should call me. I'll fix it for you. Here. See? I'll show you about the refrigerator. You look in here, please. There, up on the top. It is hard to see, yeah? Well, that's because it's down so low. Oh, you just pull him out, and she defrosts herself. You want me to do it? Thank you, Fritz. Don't mention it. If everything is all right now, then I go now. Everything's fine. Goodbye, Fritz. Tell Bertha hello for me. Thank you. Thank you very much. I do that. Goodbye, Mrs. Naughton. Goodbye, Fritz. Oh, goodbye. Bye. What do you intend to do with the shirt now, Claudia? Keep hiding it till David forgets about it, I suppose. This situation hasn't come up before. I can fix it for you, if you like. We'll make a very nice shirt with short sleeves. Does David like short sleeves? Better than burnt sleeves, I guess. Well, want me to show you how to do it? You know you're going to do it. If you watch me, then next time you can do it yourself. There won't be any next time. I'll never trust an iron again. I guess I knew what I was doing when I wouldn't let you do any ironing at my house. Where are your scissors and needle and thread? In the drawer right next to you. Hmm. They are in here. Of course. A good wife knows where everything is. Now, we snip this sleeve off here. Oh, Mom, I can't watch. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing. David's beautiful shirt. David's beautiful shirt. And so there. Now all we have to do is hem it up and press it down. We can send it to the cleaners. They'll press it down. But it looks marvelous, much better than the other way. I hope David thinks so. It's so much cooler looking that way, too. Men should always wear short sleeves. Especially in summer. There. One's done. I don't see how you can cut them both the same length without measuring. If I did it the luck wouldn't be two inches longer than the right one. Claudia? Claudia, are you all right? What was burning? Oh, nothing. Nothing. What was burning over the phone? I had a vision of this place in flames. I took a cab home instead of walking. Hello, Mother. Hello. Goodbye, David. Wait a minute. Hold on, Mrs. Brown, before you leave. What are you two girls hiding? What do you both look so guilty about? David, there are times when our mother-in-law shouldn't be around. There are times when a woman wants to speak to her husband in private. This isn't one of those times. Say, what's going on here? Claudia will explain it all to you, David. Goodbye, children. Goodbye, Mother. Goodbye. I don't think I should let her out. All right? What is it, Claudia? What's what? What is it that you've been holding behind your back with the mistaken belief that I can't see it? Oh, that. David, would you do me a favor? As soon as you tell me what it is, you're hiding. Oh, well, that's part of the favor. Oh, that's part of the favor, huh? Now, first, darling, just make yourself comfortable. I'll sit down right here in the middle of the floor. Good. I'm comfortable. Sure? I'm comfortable. What constitutes being comfortable? Well, first, take your jacket off. Take my jacket off? Say, you didn't buy me that blue smoking jacket, did you? No, I don't know what you're talking about. Smoking jacket? No. There. There, now, my jacket's off. I suppose next you want me to take off my tie and shirt. That's right. How'd you know? All right. I don't know why, but I'll do it. Oh, thank you, darling. All right. Tie's stuffed. Here. Want me to help you? Here's the tie. Oh, you're missing a button on the shirt. I'll fix it tonight. Never say I haven't done anything for you now. Here I am running around without my shirt. Here, I'll give you the shirt off of my back. David, what more could I ask for? Nothing. And here's something for you, David. What is it? This looks like my old wool shirt. It is. Try it on. See how it fits. I know how it fits. I've been wearing it for five years. Just try it on, David, for me. It's not a shirt to wear every day in the week on hot nights, anyway. Hey, wait a minute. What happened here? Where? What happened? To my sleeves. They're gone. They are? Oh, so they are. Doesn't look rather short. Your elbows are sticking out. What gave you this idea? It's wonderful. You're not mad at me, David? No. No, I like it without sleeves. Put them around me. What? Put what around me? Your arms, darling, without sleeves. Oh. All story material used on this broadcast of Claudia was under the supervision of Rose Franken and William Brown Maloney. Shopping can be a tiring business, so here's something pleasant to keep in mind. You'll find Coke at the familiar red cooler, at refreshment stands, at lunchrooms, at surface stations, and at your favorite food store, ice-cold and ready for you to enjoy. Every day, Monday through Friday, Claudia comes to you transcribed with the best wishes of your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola. So listen again tomorrow at the same time. And now this is Joe King saying au revoir and remember, whoever you are, whatever you do, wherever you may be, when you think of refreshment, think of Coca-Cola, for ice-cold Coca-Cola makes any pause, the pause that represses.