AS THE MOUSE

OVES©

Soap Opera "As The Mouse Moves" - Monday July 9^th 2001
"Make up your mind lady, where do you want to go, Gracie Mansion or Fifth Avenue?" the cab driver said glancing in the back of the car towards Jan.
"Shut up and let me think a minute," Jan snapped as the driver hit the brakes at a stoplight.  She knew she had heard Skeeter's voice in the background when she called Elizabeth's penthouse and hung up a few minutes ago.  Her anger had been redirected by the talk radio show that was playing in the cab.  Her Father Stanley dating a nineteen year old was creating a lot of gossip around town. She knew her Father would be at Gracie Mansion now meeting with the mayor.
The cab driver turned the volume up on the radio as he waited for the stop light to change and his wealthy client to decide where she was going.
"Yeah, Stanley Morgan's daughter Jan is much older than that little southern tart her old man's fooling around with," the caller said on the  radio.
"So you think we need some morality in Gracie Mansion?" the announcer asked.
The light changed and the cab driver glanced in the mirror at Jan. "What's it going to be lady?"
"Take me to Fifth Avenue and change that dumb radio program," Jan said.
"You always this friendly?" the driver asked turning the channel on the radio to rap music.
"No, I'm not paying you to be my friend, just drive and turn off the radio, now!" she screamed.
"I should never have pulled over for you," the driver said changing the station on the radio.
"What?"
"I said I should have passed you by.  Every time I pick up women like you in Sutton Place I get this kinda thing," he said under his breath.
"Enough of your profiling and just drive," Jan said as the cab swerved to miss a New York Times delivery truck.
"I take it that if you were thinkin' about going to Gracie Mansion. You know the mayor?" the driver asked glancing in the mirror to watch her reaction.
"I'm going to report you," Jan said.
"What' ya going to report?  Huh, that I spoke to ya?"
"That you're insulting," Jan snapped glancing out of the window and noticing they were close to Elizabeth Ford's address on Fifth Avenue.
"Well if you're going to report me then I might as well ask you," he said.
"What?"
"You don't have a boyfriend do you?"
"What kind of question is that?"
"Cause I've always wondered about you women with all the money and bad attitudes…you don't got a boyfriend do you?"
"That's it.  I'm reporting you," Jan said taking a pen out of her purse and writing down the taxi number on a piece of paper.
"You going to tell them I ask about your boyfriend and it made you mad?" he said hitting the brakes as the tires hit the curb on Fifth Avenue.
"I'll see to it you don't have a job any more," Jan said throwing a ten dollar bill at the driver and opening the door.
"Have a good day!" he shouted over the sounds of the back door of his cab slamming.
Jan stepped up on the curb on Fifth Avenue into the crowd of tourists.  She pushed her way past them and walked towards the tower on Fifth Avenue where Elizabeth Ford lived.  She opened the heavy glass doors and walked inside on the pink marble floors.  She walked to the elevator and hit the button "penthouse". She glanced up at the lights and noticed that the elevator she was waiting for was on the penthouse floor and had just started to rapidly descend.  The thought crossed her mind that perhaps Skeeter was on his way out of Elizabeth's apartment and he would be in the elevator when the doors opened. The lights flashed as the elevator descended and the green light stopped on "lobby" as the doors started to open.
CONTINUED TOMORROW. MORE SOAP PICTURES BELOW.