his lips slightly. After checking in the mirror again, he decided he was ready to help Ellen with the housework.
"What did you want me to help you with, Ellen?"
"Well, hello, Teresa. You don't look bad, even in that outfit. Why don't you vacuum the bedroom and living room first? I have some things to wash by hand now. When you get through with that, we can work on polishing silver."
Terry got the vacuum from the front closet and started on the living room rug. He was cleaning under the couch when the door bell rang. He shut off the vacuum and opened the front door. The man at the door said, "Good afternoon, madam. I'm your new Fuller Brush man. I have a gift for you from Mr. Fuller." He handed Terry a small vegetable brush.
Terry felt a panic seize him! He had not thought about how he was dressed until he heard the word madam. He was afraid to say anything now, but he must or the salesman might suspect something. He whis- pered, "Thank you," pointed to his throat, and shook his head.
The salesman said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Do you need anything today? Would you like to see a catalog?"
Terry shook his head again and smiled as he began to close the door. "I will be back in a couple of weeks. Here, take a catalog and look through it. Maybe you will see something you need. Hope your throat clears up soon. Good day, madam.”
Terry took the catalog, shut the door, and leaned against it while he took a deep breath. Ellen came out of the kitchen. "Who were you talking to, Teresa?" Terry told her what had happened. She laughed until tears came into her eyes. She was still laughing as she went back into the kitchen. Terry went back to the vacuuming and was soon done with the two rooms.
Ellen was setting the silver out on the table when Terry came into the kitchen. They sat down and polished silver while they talked. He told her about his previous TV activities and how he felt about all of it. They talked back and forth as the pile of cleaned silver grew. As Terry finished the last fork, Ellen glanced at her watch. "My goodness! It's 4:30 already. We had better hurry or we will be late for supper.'
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