She’s the most important woman in town, this Pat Frawley*. Oh ho, she is, and damn it, she’s going to let you know it, whether you like it or not. She’s going to make sure that everyone in the salon knows it, but right now she’s not too sure how she’s going to do it. But soon, when she unzips her purse to take out the credit card she’ll be using to pay for the wrap she’s having applied to her broken fingernail, she’ll see it: the tool that will allow her to accomplish her mission.
It’s her cell phone, of course. It’s not the latest model, but that’s OK. Pat Frawley is busy, very busy, crazy busy, and has no time to keep up with the latest trends in something as frivolous as cell phones. And yeah, so her shoes are cheap and could probably use new heels if you really wanted to look closely. And so what if she’s wearing a small plastic comb-type clip in her hair to keep it in its little topknot? Pat Frawley doesn’t have time to accessorize her shiny gray pantsuit properly. You would know that if you looked at her earrings, if only she would stop turning her head around so much to look around the room to see who’s noticing the Presence of Pat Frawley here at 23rd and Seventh in a salon where she’s taking time out of her crazy busy day to get her broken fingernail repaired.
After all, she’s going to be with the Dalai Lama tonight. That’s right. You heard it. You heard her on her cell phone right now. On her cell phone as she’s getting a manicure. On her cell phone loudly, telling someone named Lou or Abe that she’s the translator tonight for the Dalai Lama, which is, yes, hahahahaha, quite a change of pace from criminal law. Pat Frawley, you see, is multi-faceted. One minute she’s a tough-talkin’ lawyer, the next she’s sweet-talkin’ the Dalai Lama.
Oh that Pat Frawley and her expertly repaired fingernail. We can only hope she remembers to change her shoes.
*Is it her real name, or isn’t it? I’ll never tell.