Small Talkin'

My sister was married in late September, and after the wedding, I dog-sat while they were on their honeymoon. When Lauren and Brian returned, I packed a suitcase and went up to Grandma and Grandpa’s. Grandma and Grandpa were going to Michigan for a week in early October to celebrate another wedding. I stepped in as the new receptionist of Mickan Motor Company—answering the phones, manning the cash register and the gas pumps, and excelling in my main duty of chatting up the customers.

I didn’t realize how much I loved small talk until I went to New York City: the capital of “just give me the facts.” Everyone was too busy. I had my staples for small talk: the owners and workers of the convenience stores on each end of my apartment block, and the lady at Ashby’s who served me soup almost every day. 

But in Walburg, Texas, it’s a whole different ballgame. First of all, I learned to introduce myself as, “Ray’s granddaughter, Cindy’s daughter” whenever people would ask. Instantly, they would recognize the connection, and were even able to see the resemblance. “Are you one of the ones who was in New York,” some would ask. I would smile at the fact that Grandpa had probably told them a hundred times about how I worked in “Midtown Manhattan” and lived in Brooklyn.

On the first day, I had several regulars come in and say, “Wow, Ray, you look different.” One day, a young woman entered and announced, “Oh, I just love this little place. I’ve never even been to Walburg before.” I could feel my chest puff up with pride as I told her that it was family owned since 1927, when my great-grandfather built it, and how my grandpa took over, and now my uncle. She exclaimed how special that was, and how she was so glad to have stopped in. Several times, people wanting to hear a story would ask where Ray was. You could see the disappointment when I would explain that he was out of town. Regardless, they would take a seat and talk about everything from the weather to politics, saying whatever was on their mind. Then they’d be back again the next day to do it all over again.