Party on the Tenth Floor
Earl Stratford, the current owner of Stratford's Department Store, eagerly awaited the early closing on December 31. He and his wife were to attend the governor's New Year's Eve party, and he did not want to be late. As usual, he waited for the last of the customers and employees to leave the ten-story emporium before turning off the lamp on his desk, removing his Ermenegildo Zegna coat from the antique mahogany coatrack and locking his office door behind him.
As was his custom, he took the elevator down from the ninth-floor executive suite to the ground floor and headed toward the main entrance on 5th Avenue. As he passed through the women's wear department, he took no notice of the mannequins that lined the wide aisles. There was no logical reason for him to do so. Since he was a young boy, Stratford's was a second home to him. He and his mother frequently shopped at the store, ate at the tenth-floor restaurant or visited his father who had inherited the store from his grandfather.
The well-known New York department store, which dated back to 1840, celebrated its one-hundredth anniversary in September. During its century-long existence, Stratford's opened satellite stores in other major cities including Boston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Chicago. Unaware that in less than a year, America would be plunged into the Second World War, Earl was planning on opening another store in Detroit.
As the multimillionaire stepped out of the revolving door, he saw his car and driver parked at the curb.
"Let's get moving," he said once he was seated in the back seat of the limousine. "We have to pick up my wife and then head up to the governor's mansion in Albany."
Meanwhile, inside the nearly dark department store, there was movement in the women's wear department.
"He's gone," Amèlie announced excitedly.
"What time is it?" Gigi asked. "Can anybody see the clock?"
"No, but I have a watch on my wrist," Emmanuelle replied. "It's ten minutes after four."
"That gives us plenty of time to get ready," Léonie surmised. "After all, the party doesn't start until eight o'clock."
The eight mannequins, magically brought to life, gracefully climbed down from their pedestals. Amèlie, who was dressed as an athletic young woman in a tennis dress, led the way to the elevator. Once Mimi, the last of the group, was inside, Amèlie pressed the button for the second floor. When the car came to a stop, the mannequins got out and headed toward the beauty department.
"Look at all the lipstick!" exclaimed Minette, the newest addition to Stratford's family of mannequins.
"Wait until you see the selection of face powders and rouges," Françoise told her.
"And don't forget the perfumes!" Angelique added.
Normally, mannequins did not talk, walk or require cosmetics, but from the time the store closed on December 31 until it reopened on the morning of January 2, the plaster men and women of Stratford's could walk, talk and breathe. Soon, the eight mannequins from the first-floor women's wear department were joined by Anastasia, Lucretia, Donatella, Fifi, Francesca and Esmerelda, the six mannequins who were on display in the store's 5th Avenue windows.
"Here they come," Emmanuelle announced when she saw Fifi, wearing a mink stole, step off the elevator, followed shortly by her five companions who were likewise all modeling furs.
Not having seen one another since last January, the fourteen women greeted each other with hugs and kisses.
"Your hair looks different," Francesca, clothed in a full-length sable coat, told Gigi.
"Yes, I was given a new wig. It's supposed to make me look more like someone named Joan Crawford."
Since none of the mannequins had ever been to the movies, the actress's name was unfamiliar to them.
"It suits you," Donatella declared.
Françoise, a mannequin from the lingerie department and thus wore only a bra and silk slip, was eager to head for the stockroom where she could select an evening gown to wear to the party. However, her thirteen friends were trying out eyeshadows, mascaras, rouges and foundations.
"I like this shade of pink," Emanuelle declared, trying a new brand of lipstick. "It's better than the red color the factory gave me."
Angelique, who wore a conservative suit that appealed to professional working women, wanted to make herself look younger and more like Mimi who was dressed like a college coed. Lucretia, on the other hand, wanted to appear a mature, sultry femme fatale. She tossed her ermine jacket on the floor and brushed s smoky eyeshadow on her eyelids. Then she applied false eyelashes and a fake beauty mark.
Once the fourteen mannequins looked as though they had paid a visit to Elizabeth Arden's salon, they headed for the stockroom. Bypassing sportswear and lingerie, they headed directly for the evening gowns. Although Anastasia was reluctant to part with her chinchilla carcoat, she did not want to spend the evening sweltering in the heavy fur. Instead, she opted for a Coco Chanel design in classic black. Donatella had no qualms about trading her leopard jacket for an Elsa Schiaparelli gown in shocking pink, nor did Esmerelda hesitate to exchange the white lynx coat she wore in the window for a deep purple, floor-length evening dress by Jeanne Lanvin. Gigi's ivory peignoir set, which was popular with brides-to-be, wound up on the floor moments after the mannequin spied a gold Madeleine Vionnet silk gown. Likewise, Léonie immediately discarded the matronly housedress she wore after laying eyes on an Edward Molyneux design in emerald green velvet.
"This is perfect for the holiday season!" she exclaimed.
Minette, who was experiencing not only her first New Year's celebration but was also new to the magic of being transformed into a living woman, took longer to make her decision. She tried on close to a dozen dresses just to feel the textures of the different fabrics against her skin. Finally, after being urged by Fifi to make up her mind, she chose a blue chiffon Jean Patou gown to replace the Amelia Earhart-inspired trouser outfit she wore.
"Now that we're dressed and all made up," Mimi suggested, "let's head to the perfumes."
Nearly every mannequin had a favorite scent and quickly located them. Amèlie, Gigi, Angelique and Anastasia favored Chanel No. 5; Emmanuelle and Françoise preferred Worth's Je Reviens; Lucretia, Fifi and Francesca went directly to Tabu by Dana; and Léonie, Donatella and Esmerelda liberally spritzed themselves with Shalimar. Only Mimi and Minette were undecided. Minette eventually chose Evening in Paris, and Mimi opted for Joy by Jean Patou.
"What time is it now?" Anastasia asked.
Emanuelle glanced at her watch and replied, "Six-thirty. That gives us time to visit the jewelry department on the fourth floor."
"Why do we have to go there?" Minette inquired.
"You really are new to this!" Donatella laughed.
"Every woman—even one who spends three hundred and sixty-four days a year locked away in a rigid body—should know that no outfit is complete without accessories," Lucretia explained.
Minette who never wore jewelry when she modeled the trouser outfit, was unaccustomed to choosing necklaces, bracelets and earrings. She would rely on one of the other mannequin's help in picking out appropriate jewelry for the occasion.
After exiting the elevator on the fourth floor, Léonie at once found a matching emerald necklace and earring set that would match her green Edward Molyneux eveningwear. To add a splash of color to her gold Madeleine Vionnet silk gown, Gigi selected a similar matching set with rubies. Fifi, who wore her hair long, chose an amethyst necklace and bracelet combo but wore no jewelry in her earlobes. However, the majority of the mannequins chose diamonds believing that the lustrous white stones would go with any color of outfit.
"Haven't you made up your mind yet?" Lucretia asked Minette who was still trying on different rings and bracelets. "It's after seven already. We don't want to be late for the party."
"Don't worry, Lucy," Francesca said, calling her friend by her nickname. "It will only take us a few minutes to go up six floors on the elevator."
"But we still have to go to the shoe department on the sixth floor."
"Yes," Gigi agreed. "I don't want to attend a formal party wearing these fuzzy bedroom slippers."
"Which do you think I should wear?" Minette finally asked Amèlie. "The opal or the diamond?"
"Neither. I'd go with the sapphire."
Now that all the mannequins had jewelry to accessorize their eveningwear, they returned to the elevators and climbed two floors to the shoe department. The choice of high heels was more dependent on comfort than on style. Since these women planned on dancing the night away, they did not want sore feet to spoil the occasion.
Emmanuelle looked at her watch and announced, "It's ten to eight."
"Let's go!" a smiling Anastasia suggested.
Minette took a deep breath. Only six months ago, she had come off an assembly line, was placed in a wooden crate and shipped to Stratford's warehouse. From there, she was sent to the New York store and immediately dressed and placed in the women's wear department. In all that time, she never encountered a male mannequin.
"How should I behave when I'm introduced to a man?" she asked nervously.
"Just act normal," answered Francesca, who frequently appeared with her male counterparts in window displays. "After all, they're just mannequins like us."
"Most of them are, that is," Angelique said. "If I were you, I'd be careful ...."
The blond mannequin's well-meant advice was cut short when the elevator door opened on the tenth floor.
"Hello, ladies!"
Minette's face turned in the direction of the deep masculine voice. Although she had no preconceived ideas regarding any man's appearance, her heart skipped a beat when she looked into Jean-Claude's brown eyes.
"You must be new," he said after kissing her hand. "I've never seen you here before."
"She's the latest addition to the women's wear department," Gigi explained.
"Let me introduce you to the rest of the male contingency," Esmerelda said, steering Minette away from Jean-Claude. "This charming man with the graying hair is Alistair."
"Pleased to meet you. I'm the father figure of the group," he explained. "The men's department manager always dresses me up to look like a banker or a titan of industry."
"And this is Errol."
"I'm named after Errol Flynn, the actor."
But as was the case with Joan Crawford, no one knew who Errol Flynn was. Esmerelda also introduced Godric, Isadore, Montague and Pierce, all of whom politely welcomed the newcomer.
"And lastly, this is Weston, my husband."
"Your what?" Minette wondered.
"Last June, Stratford's had bridal gowns on display. I appeared in the window as a bride, and Weston was my groom."
"And I was the father of the bride," Alistair added.
Although she would probably feel shy if put on display in the windows where people walking along 5th Avenue would see her, Minette would love to exchange her mannish trousers for a wedding dress.
Especially if Jean-Claude was standing beside me as the groom, she thought, blushing.
* * *
Although the party was held in the tenth-floor restaurant, the kitchen was closed. Neither food nor drink was available. The mannequins, though, did not have much of an appetite. Even if a banquet had been provided for them, they wanted to spend their precious hours of life dancing and flirting. Soon after the women arrived at the party, Isadore turned on the radio that Montague had brought up from the ninth floor.
"May I have this dance?" Jean-Claude asked Minette.
"I'm afraid I never learned how."
"Don't worry. I'll show you."
It seemed as though butterflies fluttered in the young woman's stomach when he took her in his arms.
"Uh-oh," Amèlie groaned when she saw the two on the dancefloor. "Maybe someone should have told Minette about Jean-Claude."
"I tried to warn her when we were on the elevator," Angelique declared, "but I didn't have time to get the words out."
"I suppose she'll have to learn for herself," Anastasia said.
"Just like the rest of us did," Mimi added.
Outnumbering the male mannequins by nearly two to one, the females had to take turns on the dancefloor. Neither Gigi nor Françoise minded sitting out every other dance since, when on display in the women's wear department they did not wear shoes, they found teetering on high heels awkward.
"I'm beginning to miss my fuzzy little slippers," Gigi confided to the girl who modeled lingerie in bare feet.
Of all the women at the party, Minette spent the least amount of time on the sidelines. Although she had the opportunity to partner with each of the eight men, she found herself most often in Jean-Claude's arms.
When the clock in the tenth-floor restaurant struck midnight, signaling the start of 1941, the mannequins celebrated in much the same way as the humans did. They embraced each other and, in some instances, kissed. As Jean-Claude's lips brushed Minettes, the young woman felt as though she would explode with joy.
Is this what it feels like to be a real woman? she wondered. If it is, what a pity we are only alive for such a short while!
But she mustn't waste time with regrets. Stratford's would open at 10:00 a.m. on the second of January. That meant thirty-four hours were left until life was extinguished and the twenty-two men and women once again became plaster mannequins. As Minette watched Jean-Claude twirl Anastasia around the makeshift dancefloor, Amèlie warned her that before the store's reopening, the jewelry, shoes and clothing had to be returned to their proper places, and all mannequins had to be dressed in their usual attire and correctly posed on their pedestals.
"There must be no evidence of our coming to life. When the staff returns to the store on Thursday morning, you must be wearing your trousers and I must have on my tennis dress."
And Jean-Claude would be back in the men's wear department, Stratford's newest mannequin thought despondently. Oh, if only ....
Glen Miller's "Fools Rush In" came to an end, and Anastasia returned to her seat. Minette hoped Jean-Claude would seek her out for the next song, but it was Pierce who asked her to dance. Knowing it would be rude to refuse, she accepted. As the two moved to the beat of the Andrews Sisters' "Ferry Boat Serenade," she stole covert glances at Jean-Claude who was dancing with Emmanuelle.
I wonder if it would be considered inappropriate if I asked him to dance?
When the song came to an end, Pierce thanked her and approached Lucretia.
"I believe the next dance is mine."
Minette's heart leaped with joy as Jean-Claude offered her his hand.
"Are you having a good time?" he inquired.
"Oh, yes!" she gushed.
"Good. Your first time alive should always be special."
While Judy Garland sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," Jean-Claude drew the impressionable young woman close to him—much closer than any of the other couples were dancing. Minette was sure he would be able to feel her heartbeat in her chest. Although she had never experienced human emotions before, she was certain she was falling in love.
Like the mannequins, the radio was touched by magic. It played music nonstop. By midnight on January 1, several of the men were beginning to tire.
"I'm feeling every bit as old as I look," Alistair laughed.
"You may have gray hair, but I was manufactured six years before you were," Isador pointed out.
"No doubt, I'm the oldest of all," Godric announced. "I arrived at Stratford's back in 1927."
"And what about you, ladies?" Weston asked. "Minette is the newest, but which of you is the oldest?"
"Don't you know it's rude to ask a woman her age?" Donatella teased.
"But you're not women—not really," Montague argued. "Come morning, we'll all return to being inanimate objects."
"I suppose I'm the oldest," Mimi admitted. "I was made in 1929."
"Were you the first female mannequin at the store?" Minette asked.
"No. Josephina and Golda were here, but they were sent to the Boston store when Amèlie and Gigi were delivered. Magdelena, Lilianna and Margarita were replaced with Lucretia, Francesca and Donatella."
"What happened to them?"
"They wound up in Philadelphia. The others—I can't remember their names—were sent down to the basement."
A hush fell over the room, and frowns appeared on several faces.
"What's in the basement?" Minette asked.
Mimi hesitated to answer.
"The furnace for one thing," Jean-Claude replied.
"But why ...?"
"Mannequins don't last forever," Alistair explained. "When they wear out, they are destroyed. I don't know if they burn them in the furnace or not, but ...."
"No!" Minette cried. "That can't be true!"
"Why worry?" Jean-Claude laughed. "You're not even a year old. You would be replaced for years yet!"
Still, knowing she might be sent to another store or—far worse—to the basement, troubled her. She had just gotten her first taste of life, only to realize how uncertain it was.
"Come on, smile," the handsome mannequin told her. "Let's dance. Before you know it, the magic will come to an end, and it'll be another year before it returns."
* * *
The hours quickly passed. On Thursday morning, Emmanuelle looked at the watch on her wrist and alerted the others to the time.
"We'd better hurry up and return these things," she advised.
"No yet!" Minette cried. "Please can't we stay here a little while longer?"
"No," Fifi told her. "If the humans ever find out about what happens here at New Year's, it might put an end to the magic forever."
"We don't want that to happen!" Françoise exclaimed.
"We all must guard our secret," the wise Alistair declared. "Shall we return these tuxedos to the stockroom, gentlemen?"
"You go ahead," Jean-Claude said. "I'll join you in a moment. I just want one last dance with Minette first."
"All right," Donatella sighed, "but make it a quick one."
The other mannequins headed for the elevators. Before the door closed on him, Montague instructed Jean-Claude to return the radio to the music department on the ninth floor.
"Alone at last!" the plaster playboy whispered in Minette's ear; he then kissed her on the lips, causing her to quiver with excitement.
"And that concludes our program of dance music," the announcer intoned moments before the radio went silent.
"We'd better go," Jean-Claude advised and walked his dancing partner to the elevator. "I'll see you next year."
"Aren't you coming?"
"I've got to return the radio," he replied as the door closed between them.
As the elevator car stopped on the sixth floor, Minette suddenly remembered that she had removed her shoes sometime around three in the morning.
I'd better go back up and get them.
More than an expensive pair of high heels awaited her on the tenth floor, however. When the door slid open, she saw Jean-Claude with his arms around Gigi, who was once again wearing her ivory peignoir. Lucretia had returned the shoes and jewelry for her, allowing Gigi to quickly change outfits in time to keep her planned rendezvous with Jean-Claude.
"What was that one last dance with Minette all about?" she whined as his hand caressed her back.
"Don't be jealous. I only paid attention to her so that no one would suspect that you and I ...."
Both Gigi and Jean-Claude turned at the sound of a small cry, like that of an injured child.
"Minette!" he exclaimed with surprise when he saw her standing in front of the elevator.
"I ... forgot my ... shoes," she sobbed.
"We'd better return them and get you back to the women's wear department," Gigi urged.
Minette retrieved her shoes, and she and Gigi headed toward the elevator. Meanwhile, Jean-Claude unplugged the radio.
"Don't worry about me," he insisted when the door opened. "You hurry back. I'll take the stairs down to the ninth floor."
After stepping into the elevator, Gigi turned and blew a kiss in the young man's direction. Minette, overcome with jealousy and unaccustomed to controlling her newfound emotions, dropped her shoes and followed Jean-Claude to the stairway.
"Where are you going?" Gigi screamed. "Come back! We've got to ...."
The door closed, silencing her entreaty.
"Minette?" Jean-Claused cried when he saw the pained expression on her face. "Let me explain."
No words could assuage her pain or calm the rage she felt.
"You ... you ...."
Like an angry child in a schoolyard, she acted on impulse. She reached out both hands and pushed. Moments later, both Jean-Claude and the radio toppled down the staircase.
* * *
Like a king on a royal procession through his realm, Earl Stratford walked through the front door of Stratford's on Thursday morning nodding his head in response to his employees' greetings.
"Good morning, Mr. Stratford."
Nod.
This pattern continued as he walked down the wide aisle that cut through the women's wear department. Again, he paid no attention to the mannequins that lined the way. Amèlie, having resumed her rigid plaster body, was wearing her tennis dress. Mimi once again looked like a college coed, and Gigi was in her peignoir and fuzzy slippers. Emmanuell wore her maternity outfit, Léonie her housedress, Angelique her smart suit and Françoise her lingerie.
Just as Earl approached the elevator, Dunstan Jarrold, the store detective, called out to him.
"I'm afraid we had some trouble over the holiday," the former policeman informed the store owner.
"Oh? What's wrong?"
"There was a break-in."
"Was it a robbery?"
"It doesn't appear to be anything missing."
"Then how do you know someone broke in?"
"There are signs of vandalism," Dunstan replied. "A shattered mannequin and a broken radio were found at the staircase landing between the ninth and tenth stories."
"A mannequin, you say?" Earl asked with surprise. "There are no mannequins on either of those floors."
"I know. This one belonged in the men's wear department."
"That's on the third floor. Are you telling me someone carried a mannequin up six flights of stairs?"
"The culprit might have taken the elevator up, stopping on the ninth floor for the radio."
"Well, if nothing was stolen, fill out an incident report. The store is insured for damages."
"What do you want me to do with the mannequin and the radio?"
"If they're beyond repair, send them down to the basement."
Earl then entered the elevator and ascended to the ninth-floor executive suite. Dunstan returned to his own, much smaller, office on the first floor. As he passed the newest mannequin, who was dressed in an Amelia Earhart-inspired trouser outfit, he took no notice of her face. If he had, he would have seen a tear fall from the painted blue eye down the mannequin's plaster cheek.
Fortunately for the mannequins, their secret was safe. The humans wrongly believed the destruction was brought about by vandals. So, come December 31, there will be another party on the tenth floor. But for Minette whose act of anger had sent Jean-Claude to the basement, never to return, the wonderful magic she experienced on New Year's had come to a bitter end.
No, this is not one of Chewy's mannequins. This photo was taken when Salem hoped to become a model for Armani.
