 Your coca-cola bottler presents Claudia Claudia based on the original stories by Rose Franken Proud to you transcribe 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 Office of Roger Cullian mr. Norton. He's busy on another call. Will you hold on for a moment? Can I see mr. Norton? Mr. Norton's busy and he has another call waiting. Oh, I'm sorry. I'll just sit here. Oh, why you're Mrs. Norton, aren't you? Well, yes, how do you know? Well, I certainly ought to recognize you. I've heard your voice so often. And you're Carol. I mean, Mrs. Miller. Mr. Norton talks so much about Carol and I I guess I've gotten used to thinking of you without a last name. Well, just keep on calling me Caroling. You can go right in Mrs. Norton. Isn't he busy? I don't think he could be too busy to see you. Mr. Kelly, you can have Mr. Norton now. Hello, David. Hello. Oh, hello, darling. I'll be off the phone in a minute. No, I didn't call you darling, Kelly. I've been calling you a lot of things this afternoon, but darling wasn't one of them. Sit down, darling. Now look, your contract calls for the structural steel specifications to be completed today and you're late. All right then, work overtime. We pour concrete at eight in the morning. Your steel isn't ready. We'll pour it down your neck. Oh, I can forget about it, huh? That's all I wanted to hear you say. And good luck. Darling, you're wonderful pouring all that concrete down people's necks. Do you do that all day? Do what? Throwing things around and bellowing at Mr. Kelly and bellow at Kelly. He sounded as if you were ready to kill each other. He's my pal. He's our honey and our sweetheart with steel. You didn't talk to him as if you were. Listen, darling, I was so gentle, he probably thinks I'm mad at him. Kelly uses language like steel, strong and to the point. Oh, hello. Hello, Kelly. No, I wasn't sore. If you say the job will be ready, then it'll be ready. I just wanted to hear you say it. What? Oh, oh, there was a lady in my office, you thick-headed galoot. I said a lady. The lady's my wife. Yeah, sure, I'll tell her. Yeah, so long. You see, his feelings were hurt. He thought I was angry with him because I spoke so nicely to him. David, I'm seeing a brand new side of you. I like it, darling. Kiss me. Well, I... Now, what do you want me to come to town for? What are you going to tell me? Tell you? Yes, your sweetheart with steel said to tell your wife something. Oh, he... Go on, what? Well, he said to ask you what a fine girl like you was doing married to a mug like me. What a beautiful compliment. I don't know who it is. He hasn't seen me. Well, that was just his way of saying that you must be a fine girl if such a wonderful mug as I married you. You know, I think I like Mr. Kelly. Kiss me again, wonderful mug. David, you realize this is the first time I've been in your office. It's a very lovely one. It has to be. We work with all of our clients here. Now, I didn't know you could see all over the city like this from your windows. Kelly, I'm glad I've seen it. What? All over the city? Yes. Now, when I call you up, I'll be able to imagine you much better. I'll think of you looking out of this window. Must you? I mean, must I? The window's behind me when I sit at the desk. It'll be sort of inconvenient turning around to suit your imagination. All right, then I'll imagine you're looking at your office. It certainly is a lovely office, darling. Everything seems lovely to you. Say, you're not really like this all the time, are you? What? Oh, don't worry. I'll never be saccharine, sweet, I promise. But this isn't a specially lovely day. Why? Because I'm seeing you. Uh, what time is it? You know, sometimes you even interrupt yourself, Claudia. It's 4.30. Why? Because I'm seeing you exactly two hours and 30 minutes earlier than usual. Say, David, why do you want me to come downtown? It's a nice time of year for taking a walk, don't you think? Do you mean to tell me you asked me to come all the way downtown on a bus just to take a walk? Well, when you take a walk, you've got to start somewhere. What's wrong with downtown? Nothing wrong at all. It's wonderful, darling. Let's go. Uh, Carolyn, I won't be back. Tell Mr. Killian that Kelly promises his end of the job will be finished on schedule tonight. I made a note of it. Good night, Mr. Norton. Good night. Good night, Mrs. Norton. Good night, Miss Nellie. She seems awfully efficient. Wonderful girl. She's awfully pretty, too. Has she? Haven't you noticed? Nope. If that were true, I'd be awfully mad if I were Miss Miller. But you are, so you're not. I'll look at Carolyn carefully tomorrow. I suppose she's in love with you. Who? What do you mean? Carolyn? Why? If I were she, I'd fall in love with you. Oh, I'm not her type. What a nerve. Why aren't you her type? I'd like to know. I don't know. She had her chance for a couple of years, but she turned me down flat. You got me on the rebound. She's not so efficient. Well, actually, she is, darling. Miss Miller is really Mrs. O'Neill. She got married three years ago to a young engineer. And it didn't work, so she's Miss Miller again. On the contrary. They've got a baby. Only we never got out of the habit of calling her Miss Miller. So she's still Miss Miller at the office. If anybody continued to call me Miss Brown, I wouldn't like it. All right, Mrs. Norton, what should we do? Well, you said a walk. It's such a lovely afternoon. Let's walk home. Say, you know, it would be a lovely afternoon to have a car and drive up the river away and have dinner someplace. Oh, wouldn't it? Well, if wishes were horses. We'd all be kings. Beggars would ride. Same thing. Well, how would you like to own that car? Which one? That one over there. That big black limousine? No, let's not. But lady, it's a handsome piece of mechanism. Oh, but stuffy. It wouldn't look like us. And we'd always be having to live up to his chauffeur. All right. We won't take that one. Now, how about the one behind it? That's more like it, but no, not yet. What do you mean, not yet? It looks too married. Well, we're fairly well married. Now, what I mean is that some sedans get to look like their owners. That one's a nice car, but it really isn't ours yet. I didn't know that cars had such complicated personalities. Sure they have. They're like a book. You can read them. Look, see the hand marks on the rear windows? That's children, three at least. And the doll paint on the fenders, that's weekends at the beach. And the scratches on the door. That's the doll that begs to be taken along. Now, read the one behind the sedan. Oh, that is a lovely car. Not bad. Not bad at all. That says all kinds of things. Like what, for instance? Oh, it's gay and young and very happy. And the top fold back. Of course it does, so the winds can blow through your hair. It's lean and low, and it's quick like hearts and love. David, a car like that makes me feel absolutely poetical. Does it look married? Uh, engaged or just married. Why just married? Because the top that goes back wouldn't be so good with babies. They'd have sniffles all the time. How would you like it? I wouldn't. But you were just going into ecstasy about it. But I wouldn't like it for us. Why? Because it's my philosophy not to envy things that I can't have. We couldn't have a car like that in a million years. A million years is a long time. Even a little longer than you have to wait for delivery of a car these days. Look, I'll tell you what. Let's just pretend that it's ours. All right. One for ten, and that's all. How about going up the river for a drive and then about an hour on the parkway? There's a little inn beside a brook. There wouldn't be a waterfall. Yep, I believe there is. Wonderful. And we'd have a top down? Yep. And there'd be the smell of burning leaves. One autumn leaves coming up. Oh, let's go home. I'm very happy. I had a lovely drive. You were too quick for me. I haven't come back yet. Claudia, do me a favor. Yep. My imagination isn't as good as yours. Let's just sit in it for a moment. Are you crazy? And the man who owns it comes along? We'd have an awful time explaining. We were just imagining. David, stop! Shhh! People will think we're stealing the car. That's what I'm afraid of. Hush up and sit down now and make yourself comfortable. I warn you, if the owner comes along, I'm not going to make any excuses for you. I'm going to claim I've never seen you before. I'll tell him you were in the act of kidnapping me. David, don't touch anything on that dashboard. David, the engine started. Well, what do you know? We live in an age of marvels. You just press the button. David, you lost your mind. You're completely insane. This is, this is stealing somebody else's car. Come on. Don't get yourself upset. We're not stealing it. We're just driving around the block, and they'll never know the difference. Say, mister. Yes. You got your lights on. Oh, so they are. Thanks. David, my heart stopped. Please get out before something happens. Oh, it's happening. David, they'll even send us to separate jail. And you. You know what you just did? I do. You went through a red light. I did. Are you trying to kid me? Not at all, officer. Do you drive a car? Yes, I drive a car. Say, I'm questioning you. You ain't questioning me. I had started across the intersection before the light changed. When I looked, mister, the light was red. Well, if you had looked an instant earlier, it would have been green. Yeah, that happened to me once in Jersey City. And the thick head gave me a ticket. Well, they haven't got such good cops in Jersey City. You ain't kidding. All right, buddy. Get going. Buddy, you, you dipsomaniac. You're a kleptomaniac. Just plain maniac. This is the most horrible nightmare I've ever had. Well, darling, fall out of bed and wake up and read this. It's a, it's the registration. It says not and heartily not. And it's your brother's car. Or rather, it was Hartley's car. It's ours now. Ours? Yes, I had a letter from Hartley this morning. I had mentioned something about the redberry job and he wrote me that the car solved part of the wedding present problem until I got back from Europe sometime next month. David, people don't give a car like this as a wedding present even if their family, they don't. Hartley did. It's just a little old last year's car. He had lying idle in the garage, eating its head off in storage bills. He says it'll be a load off his mind if we'll take it. But it's brand new. I know, they have a town car that Julia prefers. This was just an idea with them that didn't work out. But it's a beautiful car. Except that you described all the things that were wrong with it from Hartley and Julia's point of view. Too gay and young, they're on the sedate side. And the wind's blowing through your hair. That wasn't Julia's dish, no, Hartley's even. Wind gives her Hartley's silence. Oh poor Julia and Hartley. Oh, David, I'm so glad we're us. I'm not too proud to take leftovers. Quite a leftover, what? Quiet. Hey David, what's this big button? What big button? This one here. Claudia, don't touch that. The button puts the top back. Oh, that's nice though. Not when the car's moving. Things happen. You rip off the top or go sailing or something. Anyway, it isn't good. Might not be good, but it's lovely. You cannot be... Don't stop in the middle of traffic to put your top down and kiss your girl. Can you suggest a better place, buddy? All story material used on this broadcast of Claudia was under the supervision of Rose Franken and William Brown Maloney. Some ladies just take the unexpected in their stride. For example, when unexpected company drops in, they're always Johnny on the spot with hospitality. They keep a good supply of Coca-Cola on hand, all ready to serve. Coca-Cola is always welcome, always delicious. And what's more, your dealer can supply you. Next time you shop, ask for Coca-Cola in the carton or case. 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 joking, 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 refreshes.