So, fifteen more feet would have to be sewn on to extend each one. Then, Jack said, “You also have to consider each letter you’re covering.” The queens shifted uncomfortably, and LaRue asked rather impatiently, “What do you mean exactly?” “Well, there is the cross section of the H,” as Jack drew the letter on a piece of paper. “So, you would need fabric to cover each stem of the H and then the connecting middle piece, and sure you can climb up the ladder, but how are you going to fling the material to go horizontally? Then what about the O’s?” “What about the O’s?!” LaRue snapped. “Well, the O’s are circular, so how are you going to cover them? You’d probably need about, let’s say, three bolts for each, unless you have one really wide bolt of fabric…” “Oh, honey” LaRue interrupted, “the bolts of fabric are all the same size!” “So, right,” Jack continued. “Think about it – one bolt flung over an O isn’t going to cover it, so it would probably take at least three or four or more.” He continued to draw and explain they’d also need extra fabric for the Y and the two “V’s” that make up the W, and then there was the D… LaRue sat there looking dumbfounded and gulped back a martini. I was taking the meeting notes and set down my notebook. Gladys also wondered aloud where to put all the fabric once everyone took up the space in the back of her truck.
A few tried in vain to calculate the amount of material, and one queen passed out in Jack’s old wingback chair. The vodka bottle was empty, and LaRue wanted to smoke a cigarette but couldn’t do so in Jack’s apartment. So a few joined her on the roof for a cigarette. Jack started picking up the empty glasses and said he was tired and had to go to bed. As I was getting a better idea of how this story should go, I said my goodbyes and went back downstairs to my apartment to write. The police came by the next day and knocked on LaRue’s door bearing a photocopy of a photo still from the security camera posted outside by the design school trash bins. Gladys Goodfoot decided it was a good time to go visit her aunt in Barstow.
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