Your Coca-Cola Bottler presents Claudia, based on the famous play and novels 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. La la la la la, dum do do do do do do do. Claudia? La la la la la. What? Huh? Who told you you could sing? Mama, you've got to be as fresh as David. I don't see how he can concentrate on his blueprints with such a racket going on. He likes me to be happy. Couldn't you find it in your heart to be happy a little more silently? La la la la la. What are you doing? Setting the table. What's it look like? In the kitchen. You're too high hat to eat in the kitchen. That's no way to feed your husband. Listen, with Gertrude off, I'm not going to wear myself to a frazzle, slaving and cooking and scrubbing. The day you're worn to a frazzle with work, I want to see it. Shakespeare! There's a brand new stocking. Come here, Cat. You leave Grandma's brand new stockings alone. You know, really, I do love to eat in the kitchen. I don't mind it myself. It's such a nice kitchen with all those windows. Beginning to look like it walked right out of a magazine advertisement. With the linoleum down and the curtains up. Hey, don't be so stingy with the onions. Mama David loves them. I have peeled onions until the tears are rolling down my cheeks. Always complaining. What do you think we're paying you for? Telephone. You don't say. Telephone. David, telephone. We'll answer it. I wonder who it is at this hour. I wouldn't know. What do you mean, this hour? What's wrong with half past six? People should not phone at supper time. I hate jumping up and down from the table. You're not sitting at the table yet. Well, I could be. I love onions. I want to live onions. He runs his family. He thinks he can sing too. Onions. Get that bass note. Onions. He smells onions. Onions. Onions. He smells onions. Onions. Don't be an asshole. Onions. Lilacs you smell. Who was at the phone? What are we having for supper? Onions? None of your business, onions. Who was at the phone? What are we having for supper, mother? I detest men who are so food loving. We're having veal cutlets. Any comments? Oh, yes. Roger loves veal cutlets. Roger who? How many Rogers do we know? David, what do you mean, Roger? He's coming for dinner. What? Who said so? He did. Why didn't you tell us? I am. Before. I didn't know before. Was that him on the phone? He on the phone. He on the phone? This is no time for grammar. Claudia, stop asking questions and unset the table and set it over again in the dining room. Where do you phone from? The telephone and the station. Eastbrook station or New York station? Eastbrook. Well, go down and call for him, you two. I can manage better alone. Wait a minute, mama. I have to get this straight. Is he going up to Boston to see his son again? No, he went up this morning, apparently. He's on his way back. Oh, dear. Where will he sleep? He's not going to stay. He's going on to New York. Just ask if he could stop over for an hour or so to break the trip. That's funny. It's not such a long trip to break. David, you know what? What? I think he likes us. Peculiar man. What do you know? Peculiar tastes. Well, you're going to let him stand in the station all night or will you get a move on and call for him? I don't know. You think we ought to let him stand in the station all night? Well, it's nice and warm. He said he was taking a taxi. It was quicker, so we won't have to worry. Why didn't you say so? Here, we'd better use the good plates, mama. You carry them in the dining room for me, will you, David? Look, don't unset the table. Just add an extra plate. And eat in the kitchen? David, Roger Killian is not only a very distinguished architect, but your partner to boot. I will not let him sit in the kitchen while I have anything to say. Well, as I live and breathe, look who's here if it isn't my old friend and colleague Bluff Noth. Come in, Bluff. I'm delighted to have you join us. Hand me your paw. And Shakespeare. Shakespeare, come right in. What brings you here? Glad to see you. Have off your collar and make yourself at home. I give notice. I'm leaving. Here, give mama your hat. I refuse to fix supper with one Great Dane dog, one Persian cat, and two full-fledged idiots crowding up a small kitchen. David, she not only says we're idiots, but she says this kitchen is small. Small? Do you ever hear of such a thing? Small? Why, this kitchen, looky here. From wall to wall. It's 18 feet this way and 13'6 this way. Yes, honestly, some people are never satisfied. Next thing, she'll be complaining about the size of her bedroom, I suppose. What are you beating up? Eggs. Eggs? A four-egg. I'm throwing together a few popovers, if you've no objection. Listen to it. Throwing together a few popovers. You mean showing off because a strange man is coming. What do you want to bet they won't pop? I'll take you up on it. There, there's a taxi. Mr Killian's here already and you haven't even begun to unset the table. Come on, Bluff, we'll go out and meet him. Down, Bluff, down, sir. Hey, mind your manners. Run along and powder your nose, Claudia. I can get through faster alone. Well, maybe I'd better get dressed up a little. I mean, you're right, he is David's boss. A little on the formal side, isn't he? Oh, well... Few times I've met him, I've always had a sense that he was rather, well, difficult to know. Yes, but not when you know him. I think he's chiefly sensitive and lonely. Oh, I thought he had a wife. Or is she dead? No, she's not dead. She seems to be very much alive. Found her important. I mean, she's terribly active in Washington or someplace. I've never met her. Look, isn't that husband of mine the limit? He's bringing Roger in the back way. They're heading straight toward the kitchen. Shakespeare, will you? Oh, then I've stepped on your paw, baby. Well, I didn't mean it. Here, let me see. Has it really hurt, you poor little fellow? He's just putting on an act. Don't let him fool you, Mom. Oh, here, kitty, kitty, kitty. Here, here's a little piece of nice chicken. She's lying to you, Shakespeare. It's only veal. Shh, shh, shh. Don't tell him. Here they come. My, doesn't Roger look pale next to David Sunburn. Yes, he does. Those few days up here have done David a lot of good. No, no. Look here, Bluff. Stop. Good Lord, David, don't you teach that dog of yours any manners? Hey, Bluff, mind your manners. Get down. Shakespeare, Shakespeare. Hello, Mrs. Brown. Hello, Claudia. Hello, Mr. Killian. Hello, Roger. This kitchen's a madhouse, David. Don't you know we've got a front door? We sure have a front door, but Roger wanted to drink a water to take a pill. What kind of a pill? What possible business is that of yours, Claudia? Just curious. If I liked it, I thought I might borrow one and take it too. You don't need pills for your nerves, my child. Such palliatives belong to the aging and the disillusioned. Mind if I sit on the windowsill here? Hello, pussycat. Come on, jump up. No, no, not you, Bluff. You're not a laptop. He thinks he is. Oh, I'm sorry. Don't move. I just wanted to open the window from the top to get this smell of onions out. Oh, let the smell stay in. It's wonderful. Right, right. What is that you're putting in the oven, Mrs. Brown? Cupcakes? No, popovers. Popovers? I haven't had popovers in years. Well, you're going to get popovers tonight. Hey, Claudia, where are you going? Dining room. Set the table. Oh, no. Now, can't we eat in here? The mother says you're a very distinguished man. She will not permit you to eat in the kitchen. Claudia, will you behave yourself? Please, Mrs. Brown, please, let's eat in the kitchen. Sure we can. Sure we can. Meeting come to order, please. Mama, you have been officially overruled. Well, at least go in the living room and wait until we're ready. Why, we're perfectly happy here, aren't we, Roger? Completely happy and completely relaxed. Well, I'm glad someone is. Claudia, will you climb over a few cats and dogs and stray men and hand me that strainer over there? I don't think I can make it. Say, David, hand me the strainer. Roger, let's face it, we're not welcome. Come along, come along, my boy. We're going to the living room. Oh, dear me, and I was so comfortable. Go on, out with you both. Don't be so rough with me. Remember, I'm going to be a father. You want to begin to act like one. Oh, look at the suns of the bay window. David, you're a lucky fellow. Yes, Roger. That is my own private sun over my own private little universe. I envy you. Cigarette? No, no, I'm off smoking for a while. I haven't been sleeping too well. Look, Roger, is anything wrong? You look a little frazzled. I don't mean to pry, but after all, I'd like to think we were friends as well as partners. If there's anything I can do, I thank you. But I guess this is a problem that, well, I'll have to work it out for myself. It's the boy, isn't it? Yes. You see, I didn't like the idea of leaving for Chicago tomorrow without having another talk with him first. Didn't do any good, though. I found him rebellious, sullen, unhappy, almost to a point of complete maladjustment. Sounds like the school's at fault. Not entirely. You can't expect a school to do the job that parents should have done. Come now, Roger, you've been a fine father to that youngster. Except that I've given him everything but the one thing that matters most, a decent home. I realized it just now, David, when I walked into that kitchen. I realized what a rich inheritance your child is coming into. My son never knew that kind of riches. There were nurses and tutors, the best ghouls. And never once in all the years that I can remember a scene of utter happiness and security, like the one that met me this evening. And yet, we started off nice people, Ruth and I. And then something happened. We lost the art of living, I suppose. And when you lose the art of living, you lose the art of love. Now we're two busy, successful people with a great failure on our hands. An unhappy child. I wish I knew what to say, Roger. Makes me a little frightened to think that a man and a woman can hold all of life in their hands and let it slip away without being aware of what was happening. That's the pity of it. We have no lovely memories. We've built a future for our son without the memory of a home. David, our boy never even had a dog or a cat. He had allergies instead, and I'm taking pills for my nerves. And Ruth, Ruth takes committee meetings in large doses. We're poor people, David, and you're rich. And getting richer every moment, storing up memories to last you your full lifetime. Well, David, Mama says the popovers are popping and the soup's on. So you can come in and sit down. And Roger never got a glass of water for his pill, so I brought it to him. Here it is. Thanks. Only I don't think I need it. I'll take the water, though, and pretend it's champagne, and drink a toast. I never had a toast drunk to me. It isn't to you, Claudia. It's to your son. And don't ask me how I know it will be a boy. I just know it. You're not so smart. You know it because we told you. Of course, David and I are the sort to have daughters. I remember saying the same thing. I wanted a son so desperately. And God gave you your wish. I hope our son will be as nice as yours. He'll be luckier, Claudia. Children, hurry up. The soup's getting cold. Because long after he's grown up, he'll remember the warm, sweet smell of a kitchen with his grandmother making popovers. Hmm. Every mother wants her youngsters to enjoy wholesome pastimes. One way to encourage such pastimes and such refreshment is to have a good supply of coke in the refrigerator at all times. For then the young people can offer hospitality to their friends. They can promote that sociability which is so often sought outside rather than inside the home. You can get Coca-Cola by the case at your grocers or your service station. Why not jot it down on your market list right now? What a charming way to spend an evening, eh, Mr. King? Supper in the kitchen with a happy young couple. Glad to see you're enjoying it, Mr. Killian. I am enjoying it indeed. It's not the usual way my friends entertain, but it's so much wiser. Well, that's how Claudia and David feel about it. I certainly do hate to have to go back to New York, but I must. From New York to Chicago. Say, that's quite a trip you've got there. All business. I suppose tomorrow will be a beautiful sunny day in Eastbrook. David will enjoy it to the hilt. Not only to the hilt, to the trout. He's going fishing. You'll find out tomorrow. Oh, how I envy him. Well, I'm glad for him anyway. I hope he has a fine day. It's the city for me, so goodbye, Mr. King. Goodbye, Mr. Killian. 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 Coca-Cola makes any pause the pause that refreshes, and ice-cold Coca-Cola is everywhere. This broadcast of Claudia was supervised and directed by William Brown Maloney. And now here's a word from your friendly neighbor who bottles Coca-Cola.